Opinion
Assertions
11/17/08: In economic times like this, we are always pleased to see
creative partnerships that
don’t rely solely on a company digging into its pockets for
cash. Certainly putting
employees into the service of a sponsored property–such as
Wells Fargo did on Election Day in
Orange County–can be
mutually beneficial. But properties need to weigh their need for a
volunteer workforce against the
value of the
benefits the sponsor is receiving, just as they would if the sponsor were spending actual money. It doesn’t appear this was done in Orange County. While we applaud the registrar for coming up with a smart solution to the problem of a poll worker shortage, the county
gave up a lot for the
20 workers it received in return. The rights to use a county’s name for promotional purposes is a benefit that often is reserved for partners paying
six-figure fees or more. Having given Wells Fargo those rights for a
considerably smaller investment, Orange County will have a
hard time justifying charging more for them in the future, even though they are worth it.
Many have asked whether we are hearing about properties
discounting fees due to the
difficult sales climate. The answer is no. Instead, many properties are telling us they are
sweetening their deals with
extra benefits they typically wouldn’t provide at a given level. If used
judiciously, add-ons are a
much better tactic than reducing your price. For example, venerable
PBS station and program producer
WGBH struck a
sponsorship deal with Pactiv Corp.’s
Hefty Zoo Pals brand of disposable tableware for its Arthur kids show that includes the usual year’s worth of on-air credit, but also gave the company a
three-month licensing deal to put the program’s characters on a line of plates, as well as appearances by costumed characters and Web site ads. “It’s a very tough sponsorship market,”
Suzanne Zellner, vice president of corporate development for WGBH told Current.org. “We’re trying to be as
nimble and aggressive as we can.” She added the sponsorship deal
may not have happened without the licensing bonus, but not at the cost of incremental licensing revenue. “I don’t think the licensing dollars would have come in aside from the sponsorship.”
On the other side of the coin, corporations such as
American Express view the current
economy not as a reason to drop deals, but as a
new filter that promotional plans and other choices must be passed through, said
Jessica Igoe, director of sponsorship marketing at AmEx, speaking at IEG’s recent Advanced Sponsorship Sales seminar in New York City.
Activations may need to be
tweaked to fit the times, she said, citing a switch to cross-promotions with mass-market cosponsors instead of luxury brands as a potential example. “The bottom line is we will keep sponsoring; our consumers
expect us to be at the U.S. Open and other events to enhance their experience.”
Danskin is looking to hire an individual or agency to
sell national sponsorships for its
Danskin Women’s Triathlon Series. Interested parties should contact
Michael Riego, vice president of marketing at Danskin/Triumph Apparel Corp. Email: mriego@danskin.com; phone: 212/930-9114...The 20-year-old property faces new
competition in ’09, as
Maggie Sullivan, who led the series for the past 16 years, has formed a
new circuit of women-only events to be titled by
Trek Bicycle Corp.
Jim Andrews