Fresh Insights from IEG

Diary of a Yes Woman

Perhaps inspired by Julie & Julia (book and movie) and “Yes Man” (movie - well, really I just saw the trailer over and over on TV), I decided earlier this week that I would say "yes" to all the sponsorship offers/requests that came my way. Unlike J & J or Jim Carrey's Yes Man character's year-long experiments, however, I only committed to 24 hours.

Monday, 9:30 PM: Called up the Westin/National Sleep Foundation hotline I've read so much about in the past week. I asked if there were different minimum recommended hours of sleep dependent on age, etc. Evidently, not really. I answered a series of questions and the hotline rep gave me a few answers. It felt a bit like searching the internet, only slower. Result: I would have liked a more consultative experience but it was free after all. I slept as well as I usually do.

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Filed under: cause marketing, marathon, nonprofit, research, activation

Sponsors Can Park It Right There

A reporter contacted us last week for comments on the California State Parks' decision to work with corporate sponsors to keep open as many as 100 parks threatened with closing due to budget cuts. For more information on the program, click here.

It can be tricky to attract and recognize sponsors appropriately in any venue, and green spaces like parks are especially tough to do well. Tough, but by no means impossible. The CA State Parks are not selling naming rights to their green spaces, but will recognize sponsors with “tasteful” signage crediting them with helping to keep the park open. (Source: The Los Angeles Times.) Provided that signage doesn't block any vistas, it should be seen as appropriate acknowledgment of the sponsor's contribution, much like a philanthropic gift would be recognized. That sort of strategic philanthropy may be just the thing for sponsors seeking a low-profile community connection in these sensitive times.

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Filed under: destination/tourism, government/municipal, how to get sponsorship, packaging, selling, sponsorship ROI, strategic philanthropy, activation

The Cure for the Common Loyalty Program

The Wise Marketer published an article yesterday summarizing findings of a study, conducted by customer loyalty agency Direct Antidote, on how well loyalty programs (e.g., frequent flier miles, points cards, and frequent shopper clubs) are resonating with U.S. consumers. We have come a heck of a long way since the sandwich shop punch card, yet the data shows companies are still not doing enough, as “only 32% of US consumers rated reward programme communications at 8 or higher (on a scale of 1 to 10) in terms of relevance to their personal needs.”

The article and study suggest three solutions:

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Filed under: destination/tourism, evaluation, how to get sponsorship, packaging, selling, sponsorship ROI, activation

Four Reasons Your Sponsorships Aren't Selling

The economy. You have a built-in explanation for any drop in performance. So put that net of excuses to good use—go deliver a death-defying high-wire act. You won't die, and you just might be the star.

Self-orientation. I'm an only child. And I married an only child. I know all about self-orientation. (See? I’ve used “I” way too many times in this paragraph already.) The good news is that being self-oriented is not the same thing as being self-absorbed or self-centered. The bad news is it's a distinction without a difference in sales. Whether it's trying to sell a program just because you need to fund it, or telling prospects information about your property that they don't need to know to buy the deal, it's not doing you any favors. Don't be an only child at the sales table; be a Gosselin or a Duggar. Those kids know it's not about one of them, the payout is in the assemblage.

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Filed under: IEG, IEG conference, selling, how to get sponsorship

Do Performance-related Rebates or Make-goods Make Sense for Sponsorships?

You probably saw the news reports about the 24 thrill seekers who got stuck on the Invertigo roller coaster at California’s Great America Theme Park in Santa Clara on Monday. After I watched some coverage and let the wave of sympathetic nausea wash over me, I started to think about how situations like this impact sponsors. According to cagreatamerica.com, Coca-Cola and Almaden Press are currently Official Partners of the theme park.

Most partnership contracts have the minimum liability clauses to protect sponsors from any forthcoming lawsuits. But in a pay-for-performance world, at what point should a performance-related rebate or make-goods take effect? This may be an unpopular question, as it is certainly not something properties want to think about. How does one anticipate, let alone prevent, such things from happening? As California Division of Occupational Safety and Health spokeswoman Erika Monterroza said of the coaster, “These are machines and they do break down” (Source: Contra Costa Times).

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Filed under: negotiating, sponsorship ROI, theme parks, contracts

[Return on] Investment Strategy: Balancing Long- and Short-Term Goals

I was in my early 20s when I first sat in on a financial seminar given by a company’s 401k provider. I remember being very relieved that I had 40+ years to work to build up the amazing retirement I was sure to have–I have to admit I was almost gloating as I looked around the room at some of the folks who were my parents’ age. I wondered if they had been as smart as I was going to be.

But then as I started to really look at the different investment strategies they spoke of (conservative, moderate, aggressive), I realized what made sense to me intellectually (be aggressive, be-e aggressive!) was in direct conflict with what I felt like on an emotional level (savings bonds? hide it in the mattress?!). Thankfully after talking to my parents—trust me, I wasn’t gloating anymore—I found the right balance for me.

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Filed under: arts, associations, evaluation, negotiating, packaging, selling, sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, activation

Central Intelligence: Cultural Considerations for Sponsorship Buyers

In my last post, I shared my observations on how culture impacts—and should impact—the way sponsorship sellers create their strategies. In this post, I’m taking a look at the buyers, for whom culture is a much different thing.

Buyers
To once again oversimplify, a company’s sponsorship selection (to buy or not to buy) and sponsorship evaluation (to renew or not to renew) strategy is a process that screens each opportunity against a set of criteria. Those criteria are built to measure a given opportunity’s likelihood to help the company meet its objectives. This includes opportunities where the company instigates the conversation and/or the property cold calls.

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Filed under: contracts, evaluation, guidelines, how to get sponsorship, negotiating, packaging, research, selling, spending, sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, activation

Big Leaps, Big Returns: Watchmaker Hublot’s Approach To Sponsorship
I was in Switzerland last week meeting with Jean-Claude Biver about his keynote at Leap, IEG’s 2012 Sponsorship Conference next month.

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Filed under: cause marketing, endorsements, IEG conference, international, motorsports, sports, activation

Komen Controversy's Lessons For Sponsors
Having enjoyed many years of a productive partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the organization’s corporate partners are no doubt feeling blindsided by this week’s firestorm over SGK’s decision to no longer provide funding to Planned Parenthood.

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Filed under: cause marketing, nonprofit, social media, backlash

Sponsorship and Return on Innovation
Speakers at IEG’s 2012 Sponsorship Conference are bringing unprecedented levels of innovation to the sponsorship space.

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Filed under: arts, events, festivals, IEG conference, non-traditional categories, activation

Paterno’s Legacy And The Big Question For Sports And Sports Marketers
My family and I moved to the suburbs of Pittsburgh when I was nine and Joe Paterno was already many years into becoming a football and Pennsylvania legend.

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Filed under: college sports, pro sports, sports, backlash

Despite Many Questions, Tebow Is A Prime Sponsorship Candidate
It may seem odd that I wrote the headline to this post during the third quarter of Saturday’s night playoff game, at the exact moment Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow was getting sacked with his team down 42-7 to Tom Brady and the Patriots.

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Filed under: pro sports, endorsements

Procter & Gamble Understands The Value Of Cause Marketing Better Than Anyone
Jerry Welsh introduced the term cause related marketing—a strategy he created while EVP of worldwide marketing at American Express—at the second annual IEG Sponsorship Conference in 1985.

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Filed under: IEG conference, trends, cause marketing

Will Short-term And Shared Deals Be The Death Of Sponsorship?
In the beginning, stadium naming rights agreements were largely 20-year commitments, with a few 10-year exceptions. The bulk of NASCAR team sponsorships were for a full season, and marketers signed on to sponsor every stop of a concert tour.

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Filed under: what is sponsorship, sponsorship measurement

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

What Does Pujols Deal Mean For L.A. Angels’ Sponsorship Revenue?
While Angels fans start planning World Series celebrations and Cardinals fans assess their club’s fortunes in the wake of Albert Pujols’ departing St. Louis for Anaheim, others are looking at the impact the slugger’s arrival will have on his new team’s bottom line.

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Filed under: pro sports, selling, endorsements