Other 'sponsorships' also seem to include letting them buy their gear at reduced rates to which they sell on and keep the profit, pretty much like becoming an agent for them
I think this is quite a good one for brands IMHO. Yes if you give one guy really good rates if he promises to push your brand in his area you don't make any on his kit but if you sell him kit for others at a more 'normal' rate and just leave him a bit to make a quid or two you actually come out better off overall as the exposure is good.
Yeah everyone wants people on TV etc but there's nothing like having a player in most leagues helping you out. If people at normal clubs see their main run scorers getting runs and using (lets say Hammer for this discussion) Hammer bats the chances are more in that club and oppos will at least look it up and if your man can offer a 'deal' (say 5 or 10% off list price) they are likely to buy.. So yeah, sponsoring top top players sounds good but I think brands miss a big trick almost not going after the top batsmens from 'normal' clubs. Just my opinion.
To prove this I've managed to secure sales for a brand of 12 bats, 15 sets of pads, 11 pairs of gloves, 1 helmet, 3 pairs of spikes, 2 bags already.. That's purely because they know I score runs so believe what I tell them! And I'm not pro player!