Since late 2013, credit union naming rights deals have ranged from $60,000 for a high school gym to $120 million for an arena housing the NBA's Sacramento Kings, according to CU Times research. Though many credit unions don't disclose deal sizes, the average naming rights agreement is around $9 million.

That's relatively tiny compared to the nearly $250 million, 18-year deal Hard Rock struck this summer for the naming rights to the Miami Dolphins' stadium, or even the naming rights deal between New Era Cap Co. and the Buffalo Bills – worth more than $35 million.

But it doesn't necessarily mean credit union naming rights deals are less attractive, according to Metropolitan State University of Denver marketing professor Darrin Duber-Smith.

“We have in sports what we call the affinity advantage. People have a very weird affinity for their sports teams, especially for their colleges,” he said. “They are much more willing to associate themselves with a brand that associates themselves with something they love so much.”

Credit unions interested in doing naming rights deals have to master three things, however, according to Duber-Smith.

1. Set quantifiable goals

USU Credit Union committed $2 million to renovate the Utah State University football stadium.

The return on marketing dollars is notoriously hard to measure, but it can be done today for naming rights deals, Duber-Smith explained.

“The key is when you go into a sponsorship, venue naming-rights deal or really any marketing program, you have to set a measurable, achievable objective that you can measure before, during and after,” he said.

Brand attitudes, brand awareness and revenue increases are common measures, he said; coupon redemptions and social media likes are also common.

“You can set almost any measurable objective you want,” he said.

Sport venues didn't always know much about their customers, he noted.

“Twenty years ago it was a bunch of athletes doing the marketing. But there's a lot of sports business programs now, and it's become very professionalized. They're starting to use professional marketing strategies and tactics. They're really better able to calculate ROI,” he said.

2. Double the budget

“You don't just spend money on a naming rights deal – you have to have money left over to reinforce the relationship in the consumer's mind,” Duber-Smith warned.

That second bucket of spending, called activation, typically revolves around advertising the relationship.

Traditionally, the budget for activation was roughly 140% of the cost of the actual naming rights. But today, Duber-Smith said, that's fallen to 100% because naming rights deals have gotten more expensive.

“If you're paying $1 million for your sponsorship, you want to do $1 million in activation,” he explained.

3. Be sure you can afford it now – and later

The Cy-Fair FCU Stadium in Houston is pictured here.

It sounds obvious, but if a credit union allocates 10% of its annual revenue to marketing – a standard rule of thumb – and plans to spend half its marketing budget on naming rights, then a $5 million naming rights deal (and the $5 million of associated activation costs) warrants having at least $200 million in annual revenue.

Spreading the payout over several years may reduce that burden, and it likely will be easier to find agreements that go beyond just three or five years, Duber-Smith said.

“Teams want to do deals from between 20 and 30 years, and that's really what the sponsors want too,” he said. “You want it to be, because it takes a really long time for people to 'get' the relationship. Sponsorship deals last longer than many marriages.”

Of course, long-term deals also carry some risk if the credit union commits when times are good but then can't make the required payments in years when business is down. It's a situation retailer Sports Authority recently encountered in its deal to pay a reported $6 million on average per year for the naming rights to Denver's Mile High Stadium. The company has since filed for bankruptcy.

“When the next recession hits – and it will, it's cyclical – are you going to have the money left to be able to do it, or are you going to end up like Sports Authority?” Duber-Smith asked.