Latest Thinking from IEG

Apple and iPad Take Over the World One App at a Time
It is just one of those things that you can’t really explain. It isn’t based on product specs, logic, reason or really any other describable tangible benefits. Sure it has features and benefits that are enticing, but to me, “it just feels right.” I’ve read a lot of reviews both positive and negative about the iPad and I could create my own review and support my opinion with thoughts like the iPad is super portable, responsive and has a nice display. I could add that I love the picture frame feature. I could also point out that a lot of the apps haven’t caught up to the technology (including the Facebook app), the eBook reader has a pretty limited selection of books and the iPad definitely has the potential to be a big money pit. Honestly, none of that matters anymore (until I get my iTunes/app store invoice), I just like it.

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Filed under: research

Jack Johnson’s “To The Sea Tour” – 100 Percent of Profits go to Charity – This is What We Mean When We Talk about Authenticity
After his successful 2008 “Sleep Through The Static” tour that raised $845,000 for 184 environmental nonprofit organizations, Jack Johnson will once again donate 100 percent of his 2010 “To The Sea” tour profits to over 150 chosen community groups.

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Filed under: nonprofit, music

The Limited Variety of On-Site Alcoholic Beverage Options Seemingly Hurts the Beale Street Music Festival
The performance lineup for the Beale Street Music Festival, a three-day music festival held as part of Memphis in May, was recently announced. The Festival will be held April 30th - May 2nd, 2010 at Tom Lee Park, on the Mississippi River, in Downtown Memphis. The Festival will feature performances on four stages by a wide range of artists including Alison Krauss & Union Station, 3 Doors Down, 30 Seconds to Mars and Colbie Caillat. The Festival draws approximately 125,000 people over three days. 2010 sponsors include Bud Lite, Cellular South, Coca-Cola, Best Buy and Nationwide Insurance.

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Filed under: music, beer

Sponsor Survey Outlines Steps Rightsholders Must Take
In case you missed it, IEG has released the finding from the 12th annual IEG/Performance Research Sponsorship Decision-makers Survey.

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Filed under: IEG, research, selling, servicing, social media, spending, sponsorship evaluation, sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, sponsorship strategy, trends, activation

The Time to Adopt a New Approach to Sponsorship Measurement Is Now
IEG has done a lot of comparing and contrasting of sponsorship to advertising in our 30 year history. And most often sponsorship came out as the more engaging, more relevant, more meaningful way of connecting with audiences.

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Filed under: sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, trends, evaluation

Kodak Sponsorships: What’s The Real Story?
After getting judicial permission to drop its Kodak Theatre partnership a few weeks ago, Eastman Kodak Co. filed court papers last Tuesday to also dump its PGA Tour sponsorship.

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Filed under: sponsorship ROI, sports, pro sports

Measuring TV Exposure Does Not Capture Sponsorship ROI
There is much more to measuring the ROI of a sponsorship than accounting for the value of brand exposure during TV broadcasts, yet I continue to hear stories of sponsors that put nearly all of their measurement emphasis on that

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Filed under: sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, international

Heineken’s Smart Approach To Sponsorship Activation
While in Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago, I dropped in on Hans Erik Tuijt, global manager of activation for Heineken and a speaker at IEG’s 2012 sponsorship conference.

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Filed under: beer, branded content, digital media, events, festivals, IEG conference, international, music, new media, research, sponsored content, sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, activation

Sponsorship Makes The Cut
Observations, learnings and provocations from October’s ANA Masters of Marketing conference.

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Filed under: research, sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, telecommunications, trends, endorsements

Big Shift: IEG Paper Explores New and Better Way to Think About Sponsorship
Looking across all of the brands that IEG would define as “leaders” in sponsorship—companies such as IBM, Gatorade, Aon, Xerox, GE and others—we see a major trend: an alignment of  sponsorships and partnerships with the larger goals of the business, to ensure they are driving growth and having an impact across the entire enterprise.

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Filed under: evaluation, sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, trends, what is sponsorship, activation

Perspective on IEG Consulting’s Work With Roush Fenway
One of the tricky things about posting to a corporate blog such as IEG’s is that you don’t want to hijack this—or any other social media—and use it as a platform to promote what the company does. This is a forum for sharing ideas, insights, and observations that people interested in sponsorship will find useful.

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Filed under: evaluation, IEG, motorsports, NASCAR, servicing, sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, trends, agency

Three Cups of Tea or Three Card Monte? Our Continuing Need for Nonprofit Metrics
This past week, I’ve watched and read the Greg Mortenson/Central Asia Institute investigation coverage with a frown on my face. (For the CBS 60 Minutes piece, click here.) Sure, I enjoyed and admired Mortenson’s stories and work described in Three Cups of Tea and it is always uncomfortable to have the integrity of someone you admire come into sharp and pointed question. But such is life, and we will have to wait and see what comes of the ongoing investigation and debate.

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Filed under: cause marketing, nonprofit, sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, backlash

Critical Elements of a Smart Sponsorship
I recently had the pleasure of leading a panel of industry colleagues at PCMA’s Convening Leaders Annual Conference. The group consisted of representatives from PCMA, FedEx Services, the National School Boards Assn. and Gaylord Entertainment/Gaylord Hotels—all of whom have developed deep and meaningful sponsorships that brought in more value and revenue for the associations and their meetings, and provided the sponsors with access and benefits they were seeking.

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Filed under: how to get sponsorship, negotiating, selling, sponsorship ROI, associations