• THROWING DARTS VS. CATCHING DARTS

• (April, 2007)

   

  If you had your choice between toeing the line in front of a dart board, carefully eyeing the target, taking measured aim and shooting at the bullseye OR having multiple darts thrown at you, leaving you with only the option of dodging the razor sharp projectiles to avoid painful injury or worse, which would you choose?

   

  It seems simple, of course.  You want to be in a position to throw the darts instead of taking a chance on any unwanted pain or discomfort.  Then why don’t Sponsors take the same approach when it comes to allocating their annual sponsorship budgets?

   

  All too often, sponsor companies are “fielding” sponsorship requests instead of going out and finding the appropriate opportunities.  And like the analogy of catching darts, they are often stuck by the darts of ill-fitting properties and/or proposals.  If you are choosing from only options that are presented to you, how do you know if you are getting the best fit and value for your sponsorship investment?

   

  Sure, sponsorship buyers are extremely busy in this exploding industry that has grown exponentially.  Several industry surveys have noted that decision makers at companies that participate in sponsorship are often fielding dozens of proposals each month, and in some cases, hundreds of proposals.  How then can they be expected to find the right vehicles for their brands from this field of opportunities?

   

  Companies need to plan their marketing strategically and make an honest assessment of their strengths and weaknesses.  Then they can go about the business of looking for properties and opportunities that align most closely with their strategic goals and objectives, instead of choosing from only what they have sitting on their desk.

   

  Once you have undertaken these steps, companies can start looking for properties, events and causes that closely align with their company’s goals and objectives.  Many of these sponsorship sellers just haven’t found your company, or they don’t know what your company goals and objectives are and don’t realize that there may be a good fit with their property. 

   

  And they may not always be the obvious choices.  In some cases, a company may have to take the lead in guiding an under-developed property to achieve their potential, and in turn helping the company capitalize on the sponsorship, often at a very favorable rights fee.

   

  Outside agencies can also offer assistance in looking for opportunities if the company can’t afford the time or personnel to effectively manage the task.

   

  The bottom line is that you can be the dart thrower, in control, dissecting the board with surgical precision, or you can contort yourself like a circus performer trying to avoid taking a hit on a bad sponsorship, and ultimately find yourself at the mercy of the dart throwers.  The choice is yours.

   

   

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• A SPONSORSHIP PRIMER

• (November, 2006)

   

• The Sponsorship industry has exploded in the last decade, with by far the greatest spending growth when compared with traditional media.  Most large consumer oriented companies have participated in sponsorship on some level.  But there are some large companies that have not fully utilized sponsorship in their marketing plan, as well as many smaller companies that have not participated in sponsorship or are just starting to fully explore the tool.

   

  In any case, we have developed a Sponsorship Primer to break down this sometimes mysterious marketing vehicle and provide a basic road map to help you reach your sponsorship destination.  These four easy steps will help any company, large or small, get started in the field of sponsorship.

   

  Define

  Step one consists of defining your company’s identity and your goals and objectives.  Who are you and what are your strengths and weaknesses?  Use these to define your mission statement and set your goals and objectives for the coming year or quarter.  You have to know where you are at and where you want to go before you can determine what vehicle will best get you there.

   

• Align

  Once you have defined who you are as a company, you can look to align yourself with properties, events and causes that have the same qualities, goals and objectives.  This will often give your brand the best fit, the easiest potential tie-ins to develop and execute and will minimize risk in your sponsorship investment.

   

• Design

• Now that you have determined which property(s) to work with, you can begin the process of developing a cohesive, focused relationship.  Remember, the best relationships are ones that achieve both parties’ goals.  The only limits in sponsorship are your imagination (and budget!).  Get creative and do some serious brainstorming.  Even properties that have established sponsorship packages need to be pushed to help put a twist on your program that will help set you apart from your competition as well as other property partners.

   

• Refine

  After you have executed your sponsorship, it is incumbent upon both parties to measure the results vs. very specific goals set forth in advance.  Didn’t hit your goals?  Don’t give up!  It often takes time to establish equity with a property and some sponsors tend to jump around between sponsorship opportunities if they don’t hit a “grand slam” in year 1.  It’s tempting, but stay the course.  If you have done your due diligence finding the best fitting property, you should plan to stay with that property for 2-3 years so that you can refine your sponsorship and tweak parts that were not effective in Year 1.  Even sponsorships that work need to be refined to maintain freshness.

   

• These four simple steps will allow any brand to participate in sponsorship for the first time or re-focus on what is really important in their existing partnerships.