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Part
One:
By Sylvia Allen
When
the sponsorship field moves,
be ready to change with it
Sponsorship
is an ever-changing field. Just when you think you have mastered
everything, the field shifts. To continue being successful in
sponsorship sales, you have to be ready to shift with the times. In this
special two-part series, I’ll cover a number of topics contributing to
the current shift — and I’ll tell you how to adjust your sales
strategies accordingly.
Definition of
Sponsorship
Sponsorship is a term now used by so many people in so many instances
that it has come to mean any situation where a name is associated with a
specific activity, function or element. For example, radio station WABC,
which carries the New York Yankees games, has the “Foxwood turning point
in the game,” which is really a combo promotional/ commercial spot, and
they call it a sponsorship. Or the “Verizon moment;” again, just a
promotional/commercial spot. So let’s look at our definition:
Sponsorship is an investment, in cash and/or in kind, in return for
access to exploitable business potential associated with an event or
highly publicized entity.
Using that definition, you can see that the Yankees radio sponsorships
don’t fit the criteria. They are strictly on-air mentions. If, on the
other hand, they exploited their relationship with the Yankees with
other promotions, on-site exposure and inclusion in other media, they
would fit the true definition of sponsorship.
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Always use terminology
that is
comfortable for
your buyers. They control
the money, and you
want to communicate
with them comfortably
and easily. |
Current
Trends and Buzzwords
When selling sponsorships, there are words you should use that are in
the vocabulary of your buyer. Always use terminology that is comfortable
for your buyers. They control the money, and you want to communicate
with them comfortably and easily. The following are terms and ideas that
are familiar to your buyer and relate to his wants and needs.
Branding. You want your
sponsorship to fit their branding strategy — how their customers see
them. And you want your brand image to mesh with theirs. For example, if
you are producing an extreme sports event, AARP is not a good match!
Conversely, if you have a seniors’ event, don’t bring in Mountain Dew.
It doesn’t work for you or for your sponsors.
Cause-related. If you are a
501(c)(3) organization, you have an advantage because you are cause
related. According to Carol Cone of Cone Communications, “Today’s
consumer demands that big business give back.” Before going on a sales
call to a potential sponsor, find out if they have a cause-related
marketing philosophy and what it is. If there isn’t one, offer them a
terrific opportunity by involving them in community revitalization,
which demonstrates to their customers (and their employees) that they
are committed community partners.
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Know your customer's
branding strategy. Match an extreme
sporting event with the appropriate company (Mountain Dew
for instance, not the AARP!). |
Activation
and an experiential element. Offer your sponsors an
activation component and an experiential element to the sponsorship.
Activation is a way for sponsors sponsors to get involved with their
potential customers at an event; “register to win” is one simple way to
do this. The experiential component involves actual hands-on
experiences: test-drive this car, sit in this recliner, taste this
coffee, etc. It allows the consumer to actually “experience” the
product. Think back to how many times, once you test drove a car, you
were more likely to buy it. That was experiential marketing.
Grassroots marketing. Every
company has a grassroots marketing philosophy, which simply means
bringing the product down to the local level. With the many main street
and community events that are produced annually, fulfilling the
grassroots marketing component for your sponsors is a no-brainer.
Multiculturalism. Be
sensitive to the multiculturalism of your community. If you have a
mixture of cultures, include all of them. Keep in mind that there are
designated dollars in sponsor budgets for multicultural marketing.
ROI/ROE. Deliver a strong
return on investment (ROI) and return on equity (ROE) to your sponsors.
(A great ROI would be a minimum of three to one — that is, three times
the value of the investment.) ROI is easy to understand; ROE is a little
fuzzier. Simply stated, once a sponsor has been with you for a period of
time (two to three years) they have an equity position with your event
and have become an integrated part of that event (or events). That’s
ROE. It’s not necessarily measurable, but it is a valuable component of
demonstrating commitment to a community and its revitalization. (For
more information on ROI, see “Sponsor Expectations,” right.)
Current Climate
Here’s a look at the current selling climate:
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Deliver a minimum ROI of
three to one in measured marketing value. This refers to all the
materials that contain the sponsors’ names — posters, flyers, banners,
table tents, Internet hyperlink, radio, TV, print — that have a value
you can measure.
Next, have respect for that sponsor’s investment. Understand that this
is a partnership between you and the sponsor, that they have certain
expectations, and that if you meet those expectations, you have a
winning relationship. Be honest with your sponsors; if something goes
wrong, let them know right away. Always under promise and over deliver.
This pleases them and ensures a stronger renewal rate. Make sure you do
everything you have promised to do, particularly on-site where they are
highly visible. And lastly, provide them with a post-event report
outlining what you said you would do, and what you did. |
Less money,
more benefits. Money is tighter, and people are demanding
more for the same investment. When someone wants more benefits than are
allotted for that specific investment, agree with him and then ask him
what he’s willing to give up: quid pro quo. Remember, too, that all
sponsorships have to be fair and provide sponsors with equal value. You
don’t want one person paying $5,000 and another paying $2,000 for the
same benefits. They talk to each other and compare notes. Always be
equitable in benefits distribution.
More competition. Rotary,
Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce, Little League, Girl Scout/Boy Scout troops
and other charitable organizations are selling sponsorships. This means
you have to sell smarter: Understand your property, understand your
customer’s business and sell solutions to business problems. (You also
have to sell earlier. You should be talking to sponsors now about 2007).
More terms, slower pay. Be
flexible when establishing payment terms, but remember: Never accept
payment after the event is over. Make sure all payments are in before
your event. Collecting afterwards gets very difficult, because the party
is over, and they don’t have the same interest or sense of urgency.
Next issue: Finding the money and
selling the sponsorship.
Sylvia
Allen is president of Allen Consulting Inc., a sponsorship and event
marketing company located in Holmdel, N.J. (www.allenconsulting.com).
She is a well respected authority on sponsorship and is regularly
featured at National Main Street conferences. She is the author of How
to Be Successful at Sponsorship Sales and can be reached at 732/946-2711
or sylvia@
allenconsulting.com. |
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