Sponsorship money to achieve these objectives would most likely come from a company's marketing or marketing communication budget. Sponsorship money to achieve these objectives might come from a company's human resources, community relationship, or philanthropic budget. It is important to keep in mind that over the years corporate sponsorship objectives have changed. In the 1980s sports and event sponsorships offered an alternative to rising television advertising costs. More recently, as sponsorship costs increase and companies become more sophisticated about event marketing, the focus has begun to shift to incremental sales.
Companies look for events which demonstrate a positive return on their sponsorship investment.