To sponsor something is to support an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. A sponsor is the individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor. 

Sponsorship typically benefits both the recipient by providing material benefits as well as the sponsor as a marketing tool that enhances the sponsor's public image and provides access to a wider audience.

Sponsorship may be an arrangement to exchange advertising for the responsibility of funding a popular event or entity. For example; a corporate entity may provide equipment for a famous athlete or sports team in exchange for brand recognition. The sponsor earns popularity this way while the sponsored can save a lot of money. This type of sponsorship, known as cause-related, is popular in the sports, arts, media and charity sectors.

When commercial radio stations began broadcasting in the early 1920s, the programs were aired without advertising. Many radio stations were established by radio equipment manufacturers and retailers and programming was provided to sell radio transmitters and receivers. This led to a system where radio and television programs were financed by selling sponsorship rights to businesses. Eventually, the broadcasters began selling smaller blocks of advertising time to several businesses.

Sponsorship is also becoming increasingly important in education. Many companies want their logo on sponsored equipment in return. Formula One teams, for example, have heavily relied on the income from tobacco advertising. Other types of sponsorships revolve around companies paying for parts of television broadcasts and sporting events which bear their name. College bowl games now contain the name of their sponsor such as the Tostito's Fiesta Bowl.

Many times a company's motives for sponsorship are sacrificed in order to create goodwill in the community which increases their good reputation. However, sponsorship is more commonly used to derive benefit from the associations created for a company's brand or image as a result of the sponsorship.

People may sponsor an individual or group of people to undertake a fundraising task, usually for a charity or other cause requiring funding. However, most sponsorship ads do not include:

-Alcohol 
-Tobacco products 
-Firearms/weapons 
-Fireworks 
-Health care services 
-Pornography 
-Sweepstakes 
-Gambling/lottery 
-Political ads 
-Social cause ads 
-Religious ads 
-Competitors 

There are some competitive brand names which have their own advertising formats that are not allowed for sponsorship advertising on the Internet. Typically, float-in ads, pop-up ads or surveys that have forms within them to collect personal data is prohibited on their services.

The most popular online today is keyword sponsorship. In fact, over $6 billion in sponsorship revenue is expected by the end of 2007. Amazingly, 92% of the revenues are generated in the U.S. alone. This type of advertising produces the perfect opportunity to directly engage the customer during their decision making process, and gives the sponsor a huge advantage that easily translates into increased revenue. 

Unlike traditional sponsored ads, search engines have discovered their own technique. How does it work? Well, engines sell the sponsorship of keywords to the highest bidder. When a Web user searches for a specific item using the keyword, the advertiser that sponsored the ad, their web site appears in the listings from the search results. Revenue is shared between the site and the advertiser powering the sponsored search. 

Overall, sponsorship advertising can be in many forms such as, ad positions in newsletters and ezines, text links, and banner placements. The pay off is faster along with the click through rates that are relevant and specific to the searcher or visitor. If a visitor is searching for information and ends up being a e-commerce purchase, the process has become more rapid and efficient than traditional less structured sponsored advertising.

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