| ASK AN EXPERT 06.12.05 11:00 PM |
PRINT | SEND TO A FRIEND |
|
| Ask an Expert: Matching Sponsors With Events |
|
FROM NEW YORK Del Wilber is the president of MVP Group, a sports, entertainment, and event marketing firm. MVP brokered Olympus' sponsorship of the U.S. Open tennis tournament and Fashion Week, and the partnership between Office Depot and the Trump Organization's golf championship at the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles.
How do you match sponsors with events?
The bottom line is fit. A sponsorship is a delivery vehicle, and the real strategic issue is, what is the sponsor's objective? Given the objective, how do they want to measure the results compared to the objective? And into that goes a lot of issues: It could be a seasonality issue, a demographic issue, a prestige issue, a publicity issue. It could be a business-driving issue where you could actually track sales against a sponsorship opportunity.
How do you calculate the dollar amount a company gets out of sponsoring an event like the U.S. Open?
here are organizations that track the time that signage is on
television, and once you know how many minutes during a broadcast
there's been signage exposure, you can determine the value you want to
place against a 30-second ad. Obviously, 30 seconds of signage doesn't
have the same value as a 30-second TV commercial because there's no
product message. But it's worth more than zero, so you pick a place in
between.
How do you make sure that both the event and the sponsor get what they want out the partnership?
Ninety-nine percent of the time this issue gets ignored or overlooked.
[A sponsorship will be a success] if you accept that a mutually
beneficial relationship will produce the best cumulative result for
everyone. And that attitude dictates a working style that is
collaborative and collegial as opposed to confrontational or
dictatorial. More often than not, you find relationships that aren't
very collegial or collaborative.
Is that because it just wasn't a good fit?
It's a lack of sensitivity. Too often, the people with the money take
the position that they're putting the money up, so should get whatever
they want. And the people with the event sometimes take an attitude
that says, "This is about the event, not the sponsor." The ones that
meet in the middle are the ones that really work well. It's really a
marriage: Everybody has to give once in a while.
What are some other common pitfalls?
Underspending on the activation side is a common flaw. The easiest example is the Olympic Games.
Once you pay your $40 to $50 million to be a worldwide sponsor, so far
you've only gotten the use of the rings. So the question is: How much
are you going to spend to tell people [you're a sponsor]? If you
underspend in that area, you risk flushing the money you spent on the
[sponsorship rights] in the first place.
—Suzanne Ito
Posted 06.13.05
This story originally appeared in the April/May 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
MORE ASK AN EXPERT STORIES
Ask an Expert: Helping Blind Guests
Ask an Expert: Which Sponsors Are Spending Now
Ask an Expert: Building Buzz at an Industry Event
Ask an Expert: Auditing Event ROI
Ask an Expert: Creating a Successful Launch
MORE STORIES ABOUT
Second City Celebrates 50th Anniversary With Performances, Puma, and Late-Night Pizza Party
Chicago's Top Benefits 2009
| More Suppliers/Venues to Consider |
ADVERTISEMENT |
|
|
|
Navy Pier
With more than 250,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, Navy Pier can accommodate trade and public shows in its 170,100-square-foot Festival Hall (with an additional 36 meeting rooms representing 44,000 square feet), corporate meetings in its 15,000-square-foot Lakeview Terrace, or special events in its rooftop tent and 18,000-square-foot grand ballroom. All of these elements combine to make Navy Pier Chicago’s number-one tourist and leisure destination, drawing more than eight million visitors annually. More >>
EMAIL THIS RESOURCE |
|
MacKenzie Brown Design
MacKenzie Brown Design is a full-service graphic-design firm specializing in a wide range of visual communications, including corporate and event identity, marketing materials, media outreach, and specialty invitations. The agency brings more than 40 years of experience to the design and production of unique, memorable, and award-winning projects for its clients, including corporate, agency, and nonprofit organizations. More >>
EMAIL THIS RESOURCE |
|
E-vents Registration
E-vents Registration offers comprehensive solutions for meeting planners and conference and trade show organizers. Services include an advanced, customizable, secure online registration system; robust e-vite systems; a call center; full event housing; Web development; HTML email marketing; and professionally staffed on-site registration services. More >>
EMAIL THIS RESOURCE |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
