Sponsorship in sport is hugely important.  Many sporting organisations use it to be able to keep their user pays fees down to a minimum, which in turn is able to attract people to the organisation.

But it is not an easy game, and so when you do secure a sponsor, you need to value the company and work hard on their behalf so a return on their investment is achieved.

Sport Northland has had a very long-standing partnership with ASB and is particularly proud of the fact that they have been the organisation’s major sponsor since the inception of Sport Northland back in 1991.

Both organisations work hard at the partnership, ensuring both maximise the benefits they receive from their involvement. From the outset there was a natural ‘fit’ between the two organisations, who had similar values and were both respected and trusted within the Northland region.

And while over those years many of the sponsorship benefits for ASB may have changed, the one constant has been the naming rights for the ASB Northland Secondary Schools Sports Awards, which in November will be the 24th time that ASB have been linked to this event.

Events have been a consistent theme in the partnership, with ASB also holding the naming rights for the ASB Northland Secondary Schools Events Programme and having close involvement with the annual Sport Northland Run/Walk Series.

With the recent signing of another sponsorship term, the ASB Kerikeri Half Marathon has also been added to this list of events. A particularly exciting aspect of the partnership is ASB’s experience with sponsoring major sporting events, including the ASB Auckland Marathon and the ASB Tennis Classic. ASB will be working closely with Sport Northland to add value and further enhance the event as a world-class competitor and spectator experience, and an iconic Northland-run event.

The event will be held this year on Saturday 21 November, and already ASB have had significant input into new and innovative ways of improving the experience that participants will have on the day.

Facilities have also been a key part of the sponsorship – the Sport Northland owned and operated ASB Leisure Centre was re-developed and opened in 2002 and has retained the ASB link ever since, including naming rights to the lounge/meeting room facilities in the centre, and more recently the ASB Stadium (Northland’s biggest and most comprehensive indoor sports stadium).

In 2010 the ASB Northland Sports House was opened, a facility not only housing Sport Northland’s main offices but also home for another 10 sporting organisations who had previously had no home of their own. Situated on the northern end of the ASB Leisure Centre, this facility has been hugely successful for the tenants involved and also for the provision of quality meeting room space for other sporting organisations, particularly after hours. A great legacy for ASB to be involved with.

Sponsorship partnerships can be hugely beneficial for both parties involved, but only if both organisations work hard to ensure that the other partner is getting the most from it.

24 years on, ASB and Sport Northland seem to have got that balance about right.