Selling
Twin Cities Marathon Finds Good Things Come From Small Packages
Bringing sponsors in at ground level and then upselling pays off in increased sponsorship revenue.
11/14/05: A sponsorship sales strategy that starts sponsors out at lower levels with the idea of upselling them in future years is paying off for the Twin Cities Marathon.
At last month’s event, Capella Education Co.’s Capella University; ING U.S. Financial Services; Brooks Sports, Inc.; Medtronic, Inc.; and Outback Steakhouse, Inc. had all increased their involvement from ’04. The additional commitments from those five companies accounted for 17 percent of the race’s total sponsorship revenue.
Overall, additional dollars from existing partners combined with first-time deals to boost sponsorship by 24 percent this year, on the heels of a 32 percent increase from ’03 to ’04, said John Aronson, the property’s sales director.
Growth From Within
The TCM’s philosophy is to avoid going after the highest amount of money possible from a sponsor in the first year.
“By taking a managed approach to sponsorship, and giving a sponsor a chance to sample our event at a lower level, we can bring them up and not only have them remain with us, but be active and want to be more involved,” said Aronson, citing the examples of Capella and ING, both of whom stepped up to join Supervalu Inc.’s Cub Foods at the marathon’s top sponsor level.
Capella, which operates the online Capella University, was a first-time sponsor last year with the rights to brand and staff a water station. “We have 900 employees in the Twin Cities,” said Capella spokeswoman Irene Silber. “We had over 110 volunteers at our water station last year.”
That employee enthusiasm helped lead the company to a larger commitment this year. “This wasn’t just awareness building for the school,” Silber said. “That type of spirit and camaraderie strengthens your organization.”
In addition to outfitting some of its race-day volunteers in caps and gowns this year, Capella also featured a blog on its Web site, written by a graduate student running in the marathon, about the similarities between training for a marathon with earning a graduate degree.
ING, which runs its U.S. life insurance business out of Minneapolis, signed on in ’04, seeing an opportunity to support its local employees and tie into ING Group N.V.’s use of marathons as its
global sponsorship platform.
It grew its commitment this year based on the servicing it received from the property, said Jim Gelder, president of ING’s Life Distribution group.
“The best thing you can do is sit with the sponsor and listen to how they want to make this work,” said Aronson. “ING is very focused and organized on how they want to activate, and they expect the same things from us.”
ING had more than 75 brand ambassadors working the event and distributing branded items to spectators.
Cultivation And Servicing Steps Secure And Maintain Partnerships
In addition to upselling, the TCM recruited a host of new partners this year, including Clif Bar, Inc.; FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Services, Inc.; Park Nicollet Heart & Vascular Center; Pfizer Consumer Healthcare’s Listerine and Target Corp.
Overall, the marathon’s success can be tied to a number of ideas Aronson and executive director Virginia Brophy Achman have implemented in solicitation and servicing. They include:
Strategic prospecting. In targeting likely candidates for sponsorship, Aronson begins with companies that have some affiliation or familiarity with the event, such as companies with teams entered in the marathon’s Corporate Team Challenge presented by Piper Jaffray. “If there is a senior executive running, that is a plus,” Aronson noted.
He also checks to see if a company or one of its departments signed on to help in a volunteer capacity. The property tracks all such corporate activity in a database, making it easier for Aronson to follow up.
Hosting prospects on site. Achman is a proponent of inviting prospects to the event to see the marketing opportunities for themselves, especially if they are companies that are not active sponsors.
The TCM invites prospects to the pre-race expo and hosts them in a VIP tent and on a trolley during the race, she said. ”By the time we get to the finish line and they see the people there, it’s a done deal.”
Providing materials to assist with activation. Achman noted that properties looking to grow the involvement of current sponsors need to keep the deal top-of-mind so that partners don’t let activation slide. The TCM distributes a sponsor packet to each partner, including a checklist detailing when ads, artwork, banners and other materials are due.
“It’s a helpful tool,” noted Capella’s Silber. “It gives us something that we can refer to so that we don’t miss opportunities.”
Coordinating sponsor interaction. The TCM hosts three sponsor breakfasts throughout the year as a value-added benefit giving partners networking opportunities. “You are putting people in direct contact with others who not only are excited about the event, but also make decisions” about joint promotions and marketing alliances, Achman said.
Sources
Capella Education Co., Tel: 612/977-5100
ING U.S. Financial Services, Minneapolis, Tel: 612/372-5432
Twin Cities Marathon, Tel: 763/287-3888