Opinion
Assertions
12/21/09: Choose your favorite seasonal villain:
Scrooge, the
Grinch (
Burgermeister Meisterburger for you fellow children of the ’60s and ’70s for whom Rankin and Bass are iconic names whose program-ending audio tag still rings in our ears). That’s how we feel delivering the
historic, if
unwelcome news that sponsorship spending by North American companies declined in ’09. Not that it comes as a huge shock to
properties who have had to
work much harder to close deals at
fair market value, nor to
sponsors who have been directed to make
budget cuts. As we reported on new deals and success stories within these pages this year–success defined mostly by the oft-repeated phrase “flat is the new up”–we also heard many tales that could not be published about
discounting and sponsors who were going back and
revisiting existing agreements intent on
decreasing their commitments. The news was not all bad, of course, but there was enough, and it
continued straight through the
last quarter, wiping out the possibility of
significant new spending that would have given the industry the slight increase we optimistically forecast in our mid-year report in June.
Behind the
overall numbers, some
insights on what went on in sponsorship this year
within the major
property sectors:
Sports: Given its generally higher price tags, this was the segment that came under the most pressure from current sponsors looking to renegotiate, and which faced prospects unwilling to entertain new deals because of the perception they could not afford them.
Entertainment: Spending figures here were helped by new branded entertainment deals with TV programming that crossed the sponsorship threshold, i.e. they qualified as sponsorships based on their ability to be exploited off the screen and measured qualitatively.
Causes: A mixed year, with many larger organizations struggling to maintain existing partnership revenue levels, while a number of smaller charities and nonprofits were able to “market the downturn” and make the case why support was more important than ever.
Festivals, Fairs and Annual Events: Came through the year in relatively good shape thanks to positioning as affordable and consumer-appropriate alternatives to higher-priced opportunities.
Arts: With the category’s heavy reliance on financial services and automakers, ’09 did not offer much good news. However the long-term effects of diversifying their corporate support base should serve arts properties in good stead for the long term.
Associations: A year of contrasts, with those organizations that had year-round, holistic approaches to sponsorship managing to grow revenue–in some cases substantially–while those that still sell events and other inventory piecemeal took it on the chin.
As we get ready to bid good-bye to ’09, we of course want to
thank each of you for being loyal subscribers to IEG SR and wish you
happy holidays and a
wonderful new year. This year, we also have
something for you, although you are going to have to wait a few weeks to receive it: a
brand new,
all-digital IEG Sponsorship Report. Everything you have come to rely on us for will still be there, plus much more, and all delivered to you in a more timely fashion. You will see it all on
January 11.
Jim Andrews