Props To Proprietary Programs
Posted: 7/17/2009 11:39:06 AM by
William Chipps | with 0 comments
Properties looking for a good way to whet the interest of potential sponsors should consider offering proprietary platforms that give companies “ownership” of part of an event.
That ownership can come in many forms, ranging from title of a cooking area at a food festival to naming rights to an entrance at a sports complex, state fair, or community festival.
The strategy makes sense: Rather than being lost in a sea of sponsors, proprietary programs let companies rise about the marketing noise and connect with their target audience in a relevant manner.
I’ve got to give props to Armand Milanesi, president of sponsorship sales agency Precision Sports Entertainment, who uses that strategy to secure sponsors for the Nautica New York City Triathlon, Washington, D.C.’s Nation’s Triathlon and other events the agency reps.
According to Armand, securing new sponsors isn’t so much a matter of chasing companies that are spending money, but providing targeted marketing platforms that make it hard for a sponsor to say “no.”
PSE used that strategy to secure Spongetech as a new sponsor of next week’s Nautica NYC Tri, around which it will title the race’s first annual Toddler Trot. The company will use the event to promote its new SpongeBob SquarePants sponge to children and their parents.
Spongetech also will link its Uncle Norman’s pet sponge to the triathlon’s Iams Doggie Dash (another proprietary program).
In addition, PSE has secured Kimberly-Clark’s Huggies Little Movers as title of the triathlon’s first annual Baby Diaper sub-race. The diaper brand will receive strategic ID placement on all on-site signage, product display, television exposure and other benefits.
While proprietary platforms are nothing new, it’s a strategy that not enough properties take advantage off. Proprietary programs can go a long way in securing the interest of potential sponsors. And in today’s economy, properties need to do all they can to add value to their offers.
What do you think?
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Filed under: events, how to get sponsorship, packaging, sports, activation