Universal Information Services

Universal Information Services recently contributed our nationwide news monitoring services to the 2013 U.S. Senior Open golf tournament. Hosted in Omaha, Nebraska, this event drew professional players from around the world.

Our business-to-business services aren’t easily understood outside of the public relations and business intelligence world. To our clients, our news monitoring and media analysis services are instrumental to evaluating their efforts in promotion and branding. To most consumers our work is behind the scenes, and some may think that sponsoring events within our community may not have much return on the investment. I have two reasons why this notion would be wrong.

Having our name associated with an event as prestigious as the Senior Open generates awareness of our services. Almost all of Omaha’s major corporations were represented at the tournament, and our involvement allows us to expand our recognition on social media and in-person.

Second, we are reinvesting in our home community – that’s a good thing.

This year, we are also sponsoring the 2013 Midwest District Conference of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Similarly, this gives us the opportunity to inform more PR professionals of the news monitoring and media analysis work we provide as well as give us a chance to give back to the PRSA.

For any dollars or in-kind services provided through sponsorship and support, I see gratitude and brand loyalty come back from the community we help. Yes, our efforts are mainly specific to the Omaha Metro area, our home base, but we are giving. Do we have high profit margins to throw money around? Absolutely not. Can we sponsor many events? No. But the point is to be involved. Organizations who sit quietly in an area without getting involved miss a great opportunity. By getting involved, organizations can improve recognition both within their community, and globally.

In my opinion, our news monitoring sponsorship is a great vehicle to add value to our community and increase awareness of what we do. What do you think of sponsorship dollars? Good investment or bad?

UPDATE 8/1/2013
Universal Information Services is again sponsoring the Cox Classic Golf Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska. Like the above events, our news monitoring and media measurement services help events like this understand their impact on the community. We believe that our participation as a sponsor is a great way to give back to the communities we do business in. Does your company have a culture of giving?