What does a Sponsor have to say about Sponsorship

This one is a long one but boy is it worth it!

A while ago I did a post called “Sponsorships are not just banners and logos.”  It was born from the frustration I felt when exhibitor clients came to me with questions about the value of sponsoring certain events.  More recently I did a post on “What exactly is corporate sponsorship?”  This was born from my frustration I experienced as I was targeting companies for sponsorship of events I was producing.  I kept getting bounced from the marketing department to corporate philanthropy.  It seemed as though there was a misunderstanding of what a marketing sponsorship actually was.  Through that discussion I was introduced to Andrew Smith (follow Andrew on Twitter @andrewsmith127).

Andrew has been in the events industry for just over six years, working on the corporate side of events at a Fortune 1000 company in the technology industry.  He’s been involved in event coordination, sports sponsorship and marketing partnerships during that time, serving as the primary point of contact for new marketing partnership opportunities. Prior to his events life, he worked for three and a half years in B2B sales for the same organization.

Turns out Andrew also saw a sponsorship problem in the way they were being presented to him as a sponsor.  I thought it would be great if Andrew would share his perspective with us as a person who evaluates marketing sponsorships for his company and eventually decides which is a good fit.  If you are at all involved with the creation of sponsorship opportunities for your organization and the sales of those opportunities this information is gold…so read on.

Traci:  One of the complaints I hear most often from corporate sponsors is that they are inundated with many sponsorship requests.  Assuming that I’ve done my homework and truly think your company might be a good match for my event–what is the best way to stand out from all those requests?  How can I get your attention?

Andrew: The best way to stand out and get my attention is to show me that you’ve done your homework and really feel my company is a good fit for your event.  Tell me why.  Also, I want you to show me how I’m going to benefit outside of just the deliverables. Too often, organizations just focus on the deliverables and forget to explain to the potential sponsor exactly how those deliverables are going to drive ROI.  Showing me where my sign is going to be placed, where my booth/tent is going to be placed, etc is nice, but it doesn’t show me how that’s going to help me achieve my goals.

Another way to get my attention is to offer me a package that is unique to me and my business needs.  Offering me a standard package doesn’t really appeal to me.  I can get those anywhere.  An event that is willing to work with me, going outside the standard stuff and make sure that my needs are met is going to get more of my attention than an event offering me the “Corporate Package”.

Traci:  So many organizations are using the term sponsorship when they really mean donation.  When I pick up the phone to request a meeting with a potential sponsor for a legitimate marketing sponsorship/partnership opportunity whom should I be calling?  Is there a secret handshake or magic word I should use so that I don’t get referred to your corporate philanthropy department?

Andrew: One way to do this is to use the term “marketing partnership” instead of “sponsorship”.  You’re right that some organizations use sponsorship and donation interchangeably, and that’s not to mention the organizations that consider a banner with a logo on it to be some kind of sponsorship.  Partnership might be a better term to use to make sure you don’t get sent to the charitable donations team.

Also, be sure to communicate that you want to help the potential sponsor’s organization achieve their business goals though the partnership.  Once you start talking about business goals (sales, marketing, recruiting, etc), there’s no way they’re going to send you to the charitable donations team.

Traci:  When do we start talking numbers?  If it is a true partnership I’m looking for I won’t know how to price the sponsorship until we’ve sat down and talked about your goals and objectives.  Do you want a ballpark number up front, before we meet, during the initial meeting or when we come back with the initial proposal?

Andrew: This is a great question and I don’t think there’s really a “right” way to do this.  If the potential sponsor hasn’t brought up cost before the initial proposal that means they’re engaged; they’re listening to you and they’re interested in what you’re telling them.  Don’t break that momentum.  Also, throughout the course of the conversation, you should be asking questions about past partnerships, budgets, objectives, etc. that should provide you with some information about whether or not the cost of the partnership is going to be in the right ballpark. Then, show the price with the initial proposal.

Another thing to consider here is that you need to stay flexible with the cost.  Just because the cost might be out of the sponsor’s budget range, keep in mind that there might be ways to still partner.  If the potential sponsor has a product or service that they can donate that helps you save money, that’s as good as pure sponsorship revenue.  And, if it’s truly a partnership that you’re looking for, you should be willing to consider cost savings just as equally as sponsorship revenue.

One of our better partnerships was a partnership with a local technology conference for small business.  They had a need for an on-site registration solution, but didn’t have the technical expertise or equipment.  We provided both of those, at no cost to the event organizers, in exchange for some exposure at the conference.  It was a win for both organizations and no money changed hands at all.  Things like that are invaluable and are real partnerships in the truest sense of the word.  This is often how the best partnerships are started.

Traci:  Ah, flexibility…that truly is the key.  But if I’m reaching out to you for a title sponsorship I have a pretty good idea what the number is going to be.  Given the fact that I want to be flexible should I even be as specific about asking for title sponsorship or should I keep it more open?

Andrew: Title sponsorship can be tricky.  First off, make sure that you are targeting an organization for which title sponsorship is actually going to be beneficial.  My organization rarely considers it, even if it’s within our price range.  We don’t feel that title sponsorship provides the same benefit to us as other deliverables at the same cost.

That being said, it’s absolutely okay to ask for title sponsorship if you feel that it’s a fit for both organizations.  If the price doesn’t fit, there are a few things you can do to keep the attention of the potential sponsor.  The first thing is to look for cost savings as mentioned above.  If that’s not there, then let the potential sponsor know that you really feel that there’s a good fit between the two organizations, you would still like to have them involved, and let’s go back to the drawing board and find another solution that fits.

Potential sponsors are looking for valuable marketing opportunities just as much as you are looking for sponsors. As long as you’re willing to work with us, we’re most likely willing to work with you as well (provided that you’ve already convinced us as to the value of your event).

Traci:  What get’s you excited about partnering with an event?  Do you have examples of a partnership where you just really clicked with the event organizers?

Andrew: I’ll use an example about a partnership that we entered into that was pretty much a no-brainer.  I received a call from sponsorship sales at a pretty prominent hockey team.  In the process of presenting the opportunity to me, the sales director informed me that the team’s parent company was willing to move their entire technology spend to their new official technology partner, and that based on our work with other sports teams, they wanted that partner to be us.  The opportunity ended up being millions of dollars in brand new business for my company (taken directly from a competitor), a new sponsor for the hockey team and marketing opportunities for my company.  It was a no-brainer; we knew we had to jump at this opportunity.  This might be an extreme example, but it’s the opportunity that we’ve been most excited about.  Clearly, the sales director did his research, knew what our goals are, and was willing to work with us to achieve those goals through multiple avenues.

Now, an event may not have the ability to offer millions of dollars in reciprocal business, but there are things that you can offer that are outside the typical sponsorship roles that might get a sponsor excited.  The fact that those things are tailored specifically to fit the sponsor, and their goals, is what is really going to get them excited.

Traci:  What kind of reports are you looking for from the event organizers after the event?  How can they help show you your investment was worthwhile?

Andrew: I’ll take any reports you can offer.  Sponsors almost always have to request reports or create their own reports.  Throughout the sponsorship discussion, you should be having discussions with the sponsors as to what their business goals are and more specifically, what their sponsorship goals are.  Sponsorship goals can be different than business goals.

Any reports you offer your sponsors should be reports that fit their business and sponsorship goals.  So, every sponsor will be different.  The reports I’m interested in are going to be vastly different than the reports that another sponsor would be interested in.  It’s important to have an open dialogue with your sponsors about what kinds of reports you can provide and what kind of reports they are interested in.  Have these discussions up front so you know what your sponsors are expecting and they know what you can actually deliver.

Traci:  Since we learn best from our mistakes (and those of others) what is the worst sponsorship you’ve entered into?  What made it a bad partnership?

Andrew: The worst sponsorship I’ve ever entered into is a perfect example of a bad sponsorship on multiple counts.  We sponsored a community event in order to market another local event of which we are the title sponsor.  The deliverables we received were recognition as the title sponsor of an area at the community event and a small tent.

It was a bad sponsorship for a number of reasons.  First and foremost, we didn’t define our sponsorship goals before entering into the sponsorship, so we were off to a bad start.  After the first year, we explained our concerns to the event organizer.  They were not willing to be flexible and work with us on the deliverables to help make them more beneficial to us.  So, we were stuck in a bad situation and it ended up not being beneficial to either party for the next two years.

What we learned is that we have to define our goals before entering the sponsorship to make sure that we are choosing a sponsorship, and deliverables, that will be beneficial to us.  We hope the organizer learned the same thing.  They received no benefit, other than a small financial benefit, in having us as a sponsor.  And, their lack of flexibility didn’t help the situation at all.

Then Andrew added one more very important thing…

Andrew: Overall, and I know that this wasn’t a question that you asked specifically but I’m going to bring it up anyway, I think that sponsors and events need to communicate more.

Too often, communication is centered on two things, cost and deliverables.  Rarely do the sponsors and events communicate with each other outside of those two things.  But, what about improvements going forward, small tweaks to the sponsorship to make it better, reporting and ROI, how to get more exposure (both for the event as a whole and the sponsor), etc.  That’s why I really prefer to use the word “partnership”. If I’m partnering with you on an event, it is in my best interest to do everything I can to make the event as successful as possible.  And it’s also in the event’s best interest to make sure that my experience at the event is as successful as possible.  Collaboration is a key component to a successful partnership and it should be a key component to any sponsorship.

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I would like to thank Andrew (@andrewsmith127) for taking the time to share this great and insightful information with us.  So please, gather up all those Gold, Silver and Bronze pre-packaged sponsorships and toss them out the window.  Start researching the companies you want to target, then brainstorm ideas creative ideas with your team and those companies and come up with something that truly benefits your event, organization and the sponsoring organization.  Only then will we move beyond banners and logos.

If you have other ideas or opinions on sponsorship please share them with us in the comment section below.  We all learn from each other.

Hockey Picture Attribution:  Shamrock hockey team, Montreal, QC, 1899
Wm. Notman & Son
1900, 20th century