Blogging is a new thing for me. Sponsorship is not.
Blogging is a great tool for communicating. So is Sponsorship.
As I am working through my learning curve on best practices for blogging on sponsorships, I found a couple of great blogs and picked the brains of their owners.
These posts are opinions, insights and links to marketing and sponsorship news. They are meant to inspire and provoke thought. I encourage you to subscribe to my RSS feed and visit my website at www.sponsorshipinsights.com to learn about our services.
For our Canadian members and readers, we highly recommend his work and his in depth knowledge of the Canadian sponsorship marketplace. For a special discount, use SPONSORHIPINSIGHTS, when registering.
These posts are opinions, insights and links to marketing and sponsorship news. They are meant to inspire and provoke thought. I encourage you to subscribe to my RSS feed and visit my website at www.sponsorshipinsights.com to learn about our services.
Today, we are offering a guest columnist in this blog space. Please provide your feedback and let me know if you'd like to be a guest blogger on this site.
We all know this fact - the state of the nation’s economy has not been this bad for generations and the conditions are not likely to improve any time soon. Corporations are reducing spending, particularly in any areas deemed discretionary, which is how many would classify sponsorships.
So how can an organization develop new sponsors in these tough times? The answer is to work on principle, establish a solid foundation and offer true value that will resonate with the companies deemed most desirable for partnership. Be authentic and professional in your approach while truly focusing on the needs of the companies being approached. It’s easy to say that you’re committed to establishing partnerships – it’s another thing to truly act like a partner. Remember that, regardless of the type of organization you represent, your sponsors are most likely looking at your organization as a channel for driving business, however directly or indirectly.
While one might be tempted to simply have a fire sale and cut any deal possible, now is the time to get buttoned down, revisit and update your sponsorship plan and make sure that the information being taken to prospective sponsors reflects the reality of the market and speaks to the unique needs of the corporate audience. Here are some actions to consider as you look ahead to a challenging 2009 (and beyond) in your effort to secure sponsorship revenue to fund your endeavor.
Ø Have a formal plan and defined sponsorship program that shows the prospect that you mean business, that your organization is stable with a low risk factor. Corporations are generally risk averse but, in times like these, risk is often the biggest influencer in making spending decisions. Ø Present your offering not from the position of how wonderful your organization is (aren’t they all?) but how association with your group and access to its offerings can help companies do what they are in the business of doing. Ø Consider approaching your sponsorship packaging from the perspective of identifying and providing access to your assets. What a company is actually purchasing when investing in a sponsorship is access to the unique assets of the sponsored organization, whether brand affinity, a unique audience, events, media or direct business opportunities. Ø Don’t come off as desperate or fearful – potential sponsors can sense this from a mile away and won’t likely provide funds to an organization whose financial viability is strongly in question. Fear and desperation will drive away the risk averse in droves. Ø Take advantage of the tough times by clearly positioning your offering as a business solution – as a means to drive business, generate sales and deepen relationships with potential new customers. As with all of these tools, one must apply them authentically, in a way that reflects the true nature of the organization seeking sponsorship. Be sure that what you are offering can truly be delivered. Ø Offer your business whenever possible. Be ready to act like a true partner and make business commitments to the companies from which you are seeking sponsorship funds. And, by extension, be sure to approach those companies with which you do business with your sponsorship offering and seek quid pro quo from them as well. Ø Consider pursuing sponsors for your organization’s “green” efforts but only if truly committed to taking actual measures to address environmental matters. Of course, many companies are jumping on the green bandwagon and sponsored organizations have adjusted to take a green position, whether genuine or not. This is a fertile area in which to seek sponsorship and will likely be so for years to come but the pretenders are easily weeded out and reputations can be damaged by making claims that do not hold up when scrutinized. Ø Always have a professional presentation, a clean website, and take a respectful, consultative approach when recruiting sponsors. This may seem second nature and go without saying but, having sat on the corporate side for the past year, I can state first-hand that there are still many seeking sponsorship with poorly crafted, unprofessional offerings that come primarily from a position of need. Lead by clearly stating the strengths of your organization and how your assets can help prospective sponsors enhance their businesses and you should at least get some attention, the first step toward generating new sponsorships in tough – or any – times.
As a means for helping organizations develop or enhance their sponsorship offerings, I am making available my CD training courses, Sponsorship 101 and Sponsorship 201 to Dan Beeman’s Linkedin Sponsorship Insights Group at a special low rate. Designed to guide sponsorship professionals, new or experienced, in the art of sponsorship development, each CD is comprised of a one hour training program, led by yours truly, with presentations and bonus materials that provide access to intelligence gleaned over more than 15 years in the business. The programs are based on my successful webinar series administered with Sponsorwise and contain a wide range of valuable practices I have used in developing major sponsorships on behalf of both corporate and property clients.
Regularly priced at $149 each, we are making each program available to this group for $119. A package with both 101 and 201 can be purchased for $219. We are also sharing revenues with Sponsorship Insights to help fund this valuable networking and information service. Oh, and shipping is free. The contents of these programs would cost thousands of dollars if delivered by way of a consulting relationship and each contain many practices that, if properly deployed, will generate a direct ROI many times greater than the programs cost.
Please click on this link for more information on our training programs. (link) Type in the promotion code (need) and place your order. You’ll have your CDs in a week or so to help you in your quest.
Good luck and here’s to a prosperous and positively event-ful 2009.
Kevin Bartram Bio
In his near-20 year career as a marketing executive and sponsorship consultant, Kevin Bartram has developed programs, events and partnerships for several Fortune 200 companies as well as nonprofit and government agencies. The marketing-based alliances Kevin has created will generate over one billion dollars in economic impact for the communities and organizations served. His personal mission is to support social change through the facilitation of creative, mutually beneficial partnerships.
Kevin’s recent focus has been on green-related sponsorships and developing alliances to address environmental issues, while working on behalf of Pacific Gas and Electric and dozens of partner organizations. In working to help PG&E make a difference in fighting climate change by driving adoption of renewable energy, energy efficiency and carbon offset programs, Kevin is partnering with a unique blend of non-profits, sport and entertainment properties, government agencies and entrepreneurs to establish new programs.
Kevin’s clients have included Cisco Systems (for which he created NetAid with the UN), NASA, the National Geographic Society, Wells Fargo, the Golden Gate Bridge District, SunPower, the University of California and dozens of others. He has developed major naming rights deals, created new cause–based events, led a technology marketing consortium and consulted entities as diverse as the Esalen Institute and the Vatican. Kevin speaks on effective cause marketing and sponsorship development and has recently introduced a CD-based training series.
These posts are opinions, insights and links to marketing and sponsorship news. They are meant to inspire and provoke thought. I encourage you to subscribe to my RSS feed and visit my website at www.sponsorshipinsights.com to learn about our services.
I found an interesting sponsorship story here about an Appliance Zone at an NFL stadium, which illustrates the desire of brands to break through the clutter of advertising and reach consumers in new, effective ways.
"We think we've kind of taken it to a new level," says Pete Ward, svp of the Indianapolis Colts football team, in a New York Times piece by Stephanie Clifford (12/11/08). Pete is talking about the many sponsorship deals bringing millions to the Colts and making possible its new (Lucas Oil) stadium. Many of these sponsorships are garden-variety. They've got a law firm sponsoring club lounges to the west, and a health-care provider taking care of the lounges to the east. A telecommunications company sponsors one entrance while a bank sponsors the other.
But in a bit of a twist, an Indianapolis-based appliance retailer, Hhgregg, has built out a 26,000 square foot store in a stadium hallway. David Abrutyn of IMG Worldwide explains: "In today's world of a very crowded advertising marketplace, it's very important for facilities to provide the brands and companies they're associating with a lot more than just signs and tickets." So, David doesn't see anything wrong with an appliance store in a football stadium, other than it might be irrelevant to fans.
"Are people going to a stadium to buy a washer and dryer? Probably not, but you're reaching an audience," David says. It's really not all that different from Chevy parking cars in the stadium's northeast corner. Or AirTran Airways installing airplane seats in the stadium's food court. Hhgregg's Jeff Pearson says so far nobody has complained. "It's trying to showcase these appliances in a way that relates to football," he says, adding, "I think the reception's been very positive." No complaint from the Colts, either. Such deals will pay for all but about $100 million of the stadium's $719 million in construction costs.
This is an example of what my company does for retail properties – bring brands to the common areas where the foot traffic exists and quality interactions are more possible. This drives new revenue streams for property owners and more effective promotions for brands.
The thing is, this venue, a sports stadium, is not as appropriate or effective as a shopping destination. With a sports venue, they are reaching the wrong audience and the brand play is ancillary to the desired experience (watching the game).
At a shopping destination, people (mostly women who control the majority of domestic spending) are more inclined to spend, are open to brand messages and wouldn’t look at it is an intrusion or inauthentic.
These posts are opinions, insights and links to marketing and sponsorship news. They are meant to inspire and provoke thought. I encourage you to subscribe to my RSS feed and visit my website at www.sponsorshipinsights.com to learn about our services.
This is a perfect fit for the venue and both partners. It will showcase their products and provide consumer entertainment while providing a Times-square-like environment with 21st century technology on the west coast.
This is also scalable as AEG is partnering with the NBA to build basketball arenas in China. Keep your eye out for some more, bigger deals to come between these two parties as AEG is building an internal agency to provide sponsorship sales efficiencies for their partners on a global scale under, Todd Goldstein and Shervin Mirhashemi.
According to this moning's LA Times, Panasonic will be one of eight sponsors committing to multimillion-dollar contracts over several years. Others include Coca-Cola Co., American Express Co. and Wachovia Corp.
Under the terms of the partnership, Panasonic will install more than 1,000 TV monitors throughout L.A. Live, as well as an 8,000-square-foot screen that AEG says is the largest in North America.
The companies plan to use L.A. Live to unveil and showcase Panasonic products and solicit consumer feedback on them, said J.M. Allain, president of Panasonic System Solutions.
"We want this campus to not just equal Times Square but be ahead of Times Square in its technology," AEG President Timothy J. Lieweke said.
Advertising and sponsorship dollars are getting tougher to attract. IEG Sponsorship Report, a trade magazine, predicts North America growth in that industry of just 2.2% from 2008 to 2009, which would be the smallest increase in the forecast's history.
Entertainment sponsorship, which L.A. Live would fall under, is projected to rise just 1.9% overall.
What do you want to be - Aspirational or Inspirational? I worked for a real estate developer who provided "aspirational luxury" stores at his retail properties for consumers who "aspired" for a luxury lifestyle.
It worked in retail as consumers shop to feel better, using consumption as therapy. We sold sponsorships leveraging access to the consumers and their diminished psychological wall against innundation of invasive brand messages.
I found an interesting organization that is offering partnerships by rewarding future behavior - and inspiring that behavior.
An X PRIZE is a $10 million+ award given to the first team to achieve a specific goal, set by the X PRIZE Foundation, which has the potential to benefit humanity. Rather than awarding money to honor past achievements or directly funding research, an X PRIZE incites innovation by tapping into our competitive and entrepreneurial spirits.
How enlightened. Why be aspirational if you can be inspirational?
I recently spent some time on The LA County Fair website and was most impressed with their comprehensive integration of testimonials from sponsors, factual representation of sponsorship benefits and examples of integration.
The site provides an excellent marketing tool for the La County Fair and was easy to navigate and find information.
Clearly, their marketing and sponsorship folks are on the same page and they will continue to grow their program by understanding the audience loyalty and ability to offer direct interface with consumers.
The following article was written in partnership with Tara D. Coomans, Akamai Marketing, and Brian Levine, Sponsorship Insights Group.
Economies are like gardens, the seeds you plant today will reap rewards in the future. With the right seeds, the right amount of light (your positive attitude) and some TLC (creativity) your garden can do more than survive, it can thrive.
Even in the current economic downturn, the wide variety of sponsorships and the trend toward better activations makes it a good industry in which to be.Although the current economic drought presents a challenging environment, with these six tools under your belt, you’ll be well on your way to creating a thriving sponsorship garden in 2009 and beyond:
The Seeds:
1)New Clients
Although it may not feel like it, now is a great time to attract new clients.Yes, marketers will be doing a lot of reevaluation on how/where they’re investing their budgets over the next 24 months. However, because properties have the potential to provide sponsors with significant value (i.e. the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts) spending on ROI driven sponsorships could in fact increase. Savvy marketers will be more open to reviewing your proposals than ever before.Now is the best time to start building new relationships with potential clients as they are reevaluating their options and considering alternatives.The seeds you plant now may grow into stronger or more lucrative partnerships down the road.
For sponsors looking for opportunities to do more with less, smaller properties may offer the best potential . Smaller properties often have the flexibility to be more creative with their sponsors and will be very excited to work with you in creating a partnership that works for you. Your business will likely stand out more with a smaller property than with properties overcrowded with other sponsors.
2)Trade
It’s not enough to know you have something to offer, you need to know what and how much.If there was ever a time to know the value of your property, it is now. The next 24 months should see a spike in requests for “trade sponsorships” as firms try to minimize cash outflow.By knowing the value of your property and its segments you can ensure that you receive full value in any sponsorship agreement, which increases the possibility that you can negotiate a trade and cash component.It will also help to be proactive in developing a compensation plan for these types of programs now so that you are prepared for this growing trend. Note that contra benefits are often valued at between 50% and 75% of cash.
If you are a sponsor looking for trade opportunities, on the other hand, you should be prepared to negotiate trade/cash opportunities.But remember that unless you are offering something the property cannot live without (i.e. alleviating a budgeted line item), noncash sponsorships may be overlooked because properties still need cold hard cash to stage and market their event.
The TLC:
3)Your Homework
Before you approach a potential sponsor, make sure you know their business objectives and that your proposal provides solutions to those strategic objectives.You should be reading everything you can find about your client before you ever present them with a proposal, then customize it to fit their specific needs.Sponsors need to know that you ‘get it’, that you are offering them solutions instead of a generic sales pitch.
As sponsors in this business environment, you need to find out what unearthed gems may exist within every property.You don’t get what you don’t ask for, so do your homework first so you don’t miss out on valuable sponsorship opportunities.
4)Be Creative
Properties and sponsors alike, challenge yourselves to create excitement and energy around your product. How can you make the good, great? How can you do more with what you have?One reason event marketing works so well is because of the potential for creating memorable experiences. This recession may just provide a catalyst for great ideas as everyone starts to reevaluate and try different ways to weather the economic downturn. Come up with something ground breaking that will be poised for explosive growth once the economy begins to recover from the market correction.
The Sunshine:
5)Free Community Events
Events, such as nonprofit ‘walks’ or large art fairs, that are free to the public will be hot over the next 24 months. This is great news for sponsors and mobile marketers, as these types of events are often very open to creating additional energy and excitement through activation of a product. Sponsors, seriously consider community events that align with your needs. Although it may not be any less costly than traditional sponsorships, more people will be in attendance that are open to experiencing interesting new products out of curiosity.
Community event properties, you should capitalize on the fact that your attendance is likely to be strong and actively look for creative ways for your sponsors to engage and excite your attendees. If you have never courted mobile marketers before, this recession is the time to see if you’ve been missing an incredible opportunity.
6)Be the Partner
It’s always important to approach your relationships as partnerships, but it is more important than ever in these tough economic conditions. Property and sponsors alike look for people who are willing to brainstorm, willing to work with together, willing to help the relationship grow. If you are a sponsor that has treated your properties with respect and professionalism, they are much more likely to work harder with you to stretch your marketing dollar.As properties that go above and beyond to create solutions for sponsors, you will find more loyal sponsors that will work with you to find innovative ways to create more value together.
Although the market is undeniably difficult right now, with a little creativity and flexibility, you can still grow through the recession in new and exciting ways.
Visa recently unveiled their new tagline, "Life Takes Visa," during the 2008 Summer Olympics. The timing demonstrated a well-coordinated marketing effort in which the advertising campaign and Visa's sponsorship of the Olympics augmented each other and enhanced the overall effectiveness. The sponsorship agreement involves an exclusivity arrangement which establishes Visa as "the only card accepted at all Olympic Games venues for any official Olympic Games-related transactions." (http://www.corporate.visa.com/md/fs/olympics/olympic_facts.jsp) There were 6.52 million tourist arrivals in Beijing during the Olympics and they soon found that, for the next 16 days and 17 nights, life only took Visa.
Let's consider how this played out for Visa. The benefits that Visa sought from the sponsorship agreement most likely include heightened brand visibility, increased sales, and enhanced brand image.
Brand visibility: Pre-Olympic promotional programs were implemented in conjunction with partnering financial institutions in 46 different countries. Visa definitely gained exposure during the actual two and a half week period, and the new Visa card accounts that were opened during this timeframe further extended the visibility factor post-Olympics.
Increased sales: Visa not only increased its sales volume during the Games, it also had an opportunity to more effectively showcase products other than its credit cards. During the Torino Winter Olympics Visa issued 650,000 prepaid cards in direct relation to Olympic transactions, and similar results can be expected of the recent Summer Games.
Enhanced brand image: This is where the value of exclusivity becomes ambiguous. Consumers tend to use credit cards for the convenience factor. Ironically, Visa created an inconvenient situation for anyone who did not already use a Visa credit card or would have preferred to use another card for whatever reason (corporate card, reward points, etc.). Furthermore, consumers have generally come to expect the freedom of paying for their purchases with their major credit card of choice so the Visa-only policy has resulted in many an unpleasant purchasing experience and has generated a certain degree of backlash. On the other hand, their exclusivity on such a prestigious event may have caused some purchasers to wish they had a Visa!
Brand visibility is fundamentally valuable when it translates into increased business, so the value of heightened brand visibility for Visa is diminished if negative consumer perceptions develop. Also, it is unclear whether higher sales figures resulted from an actual increase in consumer preference for Visa or if the increase in sales was primarily a one-time deal rather than a sustainable improvement.
Clearly, brand visibility, sales, and brand image are inextricably interdependent. While there are measurable short-term improvements, it remains uncertain whether the derived benefits are sustainable and worth the costs of implementing Visa's Olympic marketing strategies. So the question Visa needs to ask itself is: Is the Halo effect from the Olympics worth the risk of turning off customers with the lack of alternative payment options?
I am the founding partner of Sponsorship Insights Group. We are a sponsorship agency dedicated to being a centralized resource for all things sponsorship - a website, blog and newsletters to industry professionals with trends, job opportunities, vendor recommendations and more. We are an agency dedicated to training and supporting properties in their quest for new revenue generation. We are also an advisor to buyers in valuing and securing efficient platforms for promotion of their products and services.
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