Latest Thinking from IEG
IEG’s sponsorship experts provide unique perspective on the latest industry developments, news and trends. These posts will make you think, challenge conventional wisdom, give you new ideas, and spark discussion.
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Sponsorship Blogs
Jim Andrews May 28
Was This Property Too Flexible?
We hear that a major sports property granted its longtime official airline partner a free sponsorship recently, when faced with the prospect of losing the sponsor. This news leaves us conflicted.
We have just heard from sponsor participants at an IEG round table that they don’t believe properties are being flexible in helping sponsors adjust to difficult times. We also have been reporting in IEG Sponsorship Report on ways for rightsholders to help their partners reduce cash commitments. So wasn’t the property in this case following the spirit of what we recommend? Perhaps.
Our concern is twofold: First, indications are the gratis deal was prompted mostly by the desire to save face and maintain a full sponsor roster for a property known as a smart seller—not a justifiable reason in our book. Second, a completely free sponsorship represents excessive “flexibility” that could impact other properties. Not that we anticipate giving away sponsorship to become the standard expected by sponsors, but having it out there puts further pressure on properties at a time when they are struggling mightily themselves.
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Filed under: selling, valuation, negotiating
Jim Andrews May 15
How Deeply Will Local Properties Feel The Loss of Almost 2,000 Car Dealers?
The vast majority of the nearly 2,000 Chrysler and GM dealerships set adrift this week by the automakers are expected to cease operations completely over the next year or so. (Some will stay in business selling other manufacturer’s cars.)
The effect of these closures will be felt by grassroots properties that once looked to auto dealers as reliable sources of local sponsorships. However, the impact will not be pronounced. Here’s why: 1) Many of these dealers were not in the best of shape and had already cut back on nontraditional marketing expenditures; and 2) many of them were in locations that are served by other dealers—often larger and more successful ones—who are more likely to already be on a local property’s sponsor roster.
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Filed under: local, selling, automotive
Jim Andrews Apr 20
What Will Pepsi’s Plans Mean for Local Sponsorships?
PepsiCo’s takeover bid for its two largest bottlers could have significant ramifications for sponsorship.
If the company is successful in acquiring Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas, it would bring more than $100 million in sponsorship spending by those two companies into the corporate fold. Those deals range from pro sports team ties to grassroots community events.
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Filed under: selling, soft drink, local
Lesa Ukman Apr 16
Fast Feeders Placing More Orders for Sponsorship
Properties looking for prospects not afraid to take on new or bigger sponsorships (and who isn’t?) should look to quick-service restaurants.
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Filed under: selling
Daniel I. Dorfman Mar 11
Wednesday Session Recap from the 2009 IEG Sponsorship Conference
Despite an intense schedule of meetings since Sunday, there was still a lot of energy at the final panels of the IEG Sponsorship Conference Wednesday morning.
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Filed under: IEG conference, pro sports, selling, sports, how to get sponsorship
William Chipps Mar 9
Insights from Chris Brahe, NBA New Jersey Nets
The NBA New Jersey Nets have taken some creative steps to land new corporate partners and boost ticket sales.
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Filed under: pro sports, selling, sports, IEG conference
William Chipps Mar 9
Insights from Emerging Categories Roundtable
This morning I led a roundtable on emerging and transforming sponsor categories, and a number of people that weren’t able to attend the session asked if I could post the categories on the blog.
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Filed under: IEG conference, media sponsorship, selling, how to get sponsorship
Daniel I. Dorfman Mar 8
Pre-Conference
Given that it was a six hour session, it should come as no surprise there was a lot of ground covered in the session that IEG’s Rebecca Joslin and Diane Knoepke led for a group anxious to get their feet wet on what is going in the sponsorship world.
It was interesting way to start the IEG 2009 Conference. Rebecca Joslin and Diane Knoepke took participants a litany of bullet points of what companies are looking for in this brutal economic era.
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Filed under: how to get sponsorship, IEG conference, nonprofit, selling, cause marketing