IEG’s Sponsorship Blogs

Sponsoring a Rivalry

Posted: 11/13/2009 1:44:23 PM by Rob Campbell | with 0 comments

This weekend’s rivalry matchup between my alma mater, Northwestern University, and their in-state rivals, the University of Illinois, reminded my sponsorship-geared brain of an interesting deal signed by another Illinois institution, State Farm Insurance.

Last month, State Farm signed a multi-year deal to present a rivalry series between Arizona State University and the University of Arizona.

Although seemingly unremarkable (sponsors already present football and basketball rivalry games and weeks on television networks), this relationship is deceptive in its breadth and depth.

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Filed under: college sports, naming rights, packaging, activation

What Twitter Lists Mean for Properties

Posted: 11/11/2009 9:03:56 AM by Rob Campbell | with 0 comments

Last week Twitter fully opened up its Lists function, adding yet another wrinkle to the social media site.

Lists containing any number of Twitter users can be created and followed, offering a great way to tailor the Twitter experience.

For properties using Twitter, there are a few immediate takeaways from this new feature that will allow you to both build the loyalty of your following and give your sponsors incremental value.

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Filed under: trends, social media

An Interesting Approach to Jersey Sponsorship

Posted: 11/4/2009 9:39:54 AM by Rob Campbell | with 0 comments

The Darlington Quakers, a British soccer club in the Coca-Cola Football League 2, is taking a different tack in selling sponsorship rights to the team’s jersey.

The club announced last week that it will raffle off the right to affix a corporate logo to its jersey in a £5,000-per-entry lottery.

Although the low entrance fee promises to be a boon for the winner, those who do not come out the shirt sponsor do not leave empty-handed. According to the Northern Echo, all bidders will receive stadium signage and one match sponsorship, among other recognition.

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Filed under: packaging, pro sports, selling, trends, assets

Stephen Colbert Sponsors for America

Posted: 11/3/2009 1:24:24 PM by Rob Campbell | with 2 comments

Stephen Colbert, anchor of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, is sponsoring the U.S. Speedskating team.

Colbert stepped in to sponsor the U.S. team after current sponsor Dutch bank DSB declared bankruptcy. The sponsorship is in the name of the show’s fans, dubbed the “Colbert Nation.”

Colbert signed a sponsorship deal with Bob Crowley, Executive Director of U.S. Speedskating on camera during an interview with Olympic speedskating great Dan Jansen on November 2.

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Filed under: media sponsorship, non-traditional categories, olympics, selling, entertainment

Formula 1: A Sponsorship Example Not To Be Followed

Posted: 9/2/2010 9:30:45 AM by Jim Andrews | with 1 comments

Much has been written and said about Bernie Ecclestone, the brilliant, mercurial puppet master who pulls the strings of the Formula 1 international racing circuit. While I am not expert enough in the details of F1’s business to join the polarized debate over whether he is the best or worst thing to happen to the sport—although I’m sure the answer as it always is in these cases is somewhere in the middle—I do believe he has made a major misstep in the sponsorship arena.

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Filed under: international, motorsports, packaging, venues, assets

Steal These Rules and Tools: TED Provides Guidelines for Affiliate Sponsorships

Posted: 9/1/2010 8:50:42 AM by Diane Knoepke | with 1 comments

In its characteristically simple and get-to-the-point way, TED has created a springy little jumping-off point for any property that has a need or want to provide sponsorship guidelines to affiliate events or properties. Every single week I talk to organizations trying to reconcile the sponsorship priorities of a “big” or “core” property with the activities of satellite or component properties.

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Filed under: cause marketing, events, guidelines, local, sports, associations

Platform Exclusivity: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Posted: 8/31/2010 9:59:54 AM by Jim Andrews | with 0 comments

One concept that I’ve seen properties begin to adopt lately, and which could become a larger sponsorship sales trend, is platform exclusivity. The idea is that only one corporate partner is permitted to activate in a specified channel or manner, e.g., mobile-device marketing, in-store retail promotions, use of video content, ticket giveaways, etc.

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Filed under: assets, negotiating, packaging, selling, trends, activation

The WTA Argument: Do Title Sponsors Really Scare Off Other Partners?

Posted: 8/25/2010 1:56:29 PM by Jim Andrews | with 0 comments

As my colleague Bill Chipps reveals in IEG Sponsorship Report this week, the WTA Tour has decided not to market the title sponsorship position about to be given up by Sony Ericsson. (Subscribers can read the full story here.)

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Filed under: packaging, pro sports, selling, sports, trends, naming rights

Corporate Sponsorship Lessons From Allstate And Bank Of America

Posted: 8/19/2010 11:08:27 AM by Lesa Ukman | with 0 comments

This is the fifth year I have taught in Northwestern University’s graduate program in sports management, but the first year I have integrated guests into the syllabus throughout the course, and it has been great.

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Filed under: financial services, marathon, college sports

Brita’s FilterForGood Partners with Jack Johnson

Posted: 8/17/2010 2:55:02 PM by Carrie Urban Kapraun | with 1 comments

In April, I wrote a blog post about Jack Johnson’s “To The Sea Tour” and I gushed about the fact that 100 percent of the proceeds from that Tour would be given to 150 nonprofit community groups.

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Filed under: music, nonprofit, entertainment

Should Sponsored Properties Follow The Example of JetBlue Flight Attendant Steven Slater?

Posted: 8/11/2010 3:49:08 PM by Jim Andrews | with 0 comments

As the real-life Mr. Slater joins Peter Finch’s Howard Beale (Network) and Michael Douglas’s Bill Foster (Falling Down) as heroes to those who are fed up with being put upon, taken advantage of, etc., does he offer a lesson for sponsorship rightsholders?

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Filed under: negotiating

A Print Media Sponsorship That Actually Qualifies As A Sponsorship

Posted: 8/3/2010 4:56:33 PM by Jim Andrews | with 1 comments

When I receive word of a “sponsorship” or “marketing partnership” that has at its core a relationship between a corporation and a magazine publisher, I tend to disregard it as nothing more than a media buy that’s been given a gussied up name to try to generate some additional buzz.

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Filed under: assets, automotive, media sponsorship, retail, what is sponsorship, activation

Signs of Good Sponsorship: Old Style Shows Us How to Use the Most Old School of Sponsor Benefits

Posted: 8/2/2010 4:44:08 PM by Diane Knoepke | with 1 comments

With family guests in town and Chicago’s perennial summer uptick in my and everyone else’s social calendar, the past couple weeks have been chock full of city fun: Cubs and Sox games (full disclosure: I bleed Cubby blue), symphony at Millennium Park, The Field Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Science & Industry. . .

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Filed under: beer, how to get sponsorship, local, sports, what is sponsorship, activation

P&G Example Shows Activation Leads To Bigger and Better Deals

Posted: 7/29/2010 12:59:15 PM by Lesa Ukman | with 0 comments

Procter & Gamble's success at the Vancouver Olympic Games—which prompted its new TOP deal with the IOC—was a result of great activation of its USOC sponsorship.

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Filed under: international, olympics, activation