Servicing
Sponsorship Reporting Software Introduced By Turnkey
Turnkey’s new Activator system allow properties to track sponsor objectives and activations while letting corporate partners keep an eye on deliverables and metrics from third-party sources.
: Looking to tap into the market for electronic solutions to servicing sponsorship relationships, Turnkey Sports & Entertainment’s Turnkey Intelligence unit is launching Activator, an online system “for the management, measurement and reporting of multi-faceted, cross-media partnerships.”
The service, which will be marketed to both properties and sponsors, seeks to differentiate itself from other sponsor servicing tools by contracting with information providers such as Arbitron, TNS/ESPN Sports Poll and RazorGator to supply data through Activator’s online dashboard.
In addition to radio measurement, syndicated sports fan research and ticket utilization from the above providers, Activator also has relationships with Critical Media and Repucom for media clippings and on-screen brand exposure data, respectively. Turnkey is finalizing an agreement with Nielsen to supply TV ratings as well.
“There’s a lot of fragmentation in the reporting world, with different pieces of sponsorship needing to be measured with different systems,” said Turnkey president & CEO Len Perna. “Activator brings all those systems together in a single place.”
Turnkey created Activator based on the growing need for accountability, Perna added. “Accountability is way up, and people want to get their arms around return on investment.”
In addition to third-party data, Activator can be used to monitor sponsor objectives, track deliverables and access information on activation programs. Other functions include widgets that allow properties to gain feedback from sponsors, and to create online presentations in a cloud-computing format that tracks how many users view the presentations, how often, and how much time is spent on each slide.
Properties and sponsors can use the product to access and track information internally, as well as to share information they deem appropriate.
Turnkey has struck beta client relationships with the NBA and one team in each of five leagues, all of whom will test Activator over the next six months. The teams—all existing Turnkey clients—are the MLB Boston Red Sox; MLS Seattle Sounders FC; NBA Phoenix Suns; NFL Chicago Bears and NHL Colorado Avalanche.
The Bears were the first team to partner with Turnkey for the service, signing a 10-year deal last year and also providing seed money to help develop the product, said Chris Hibbs, the team’s senior director of sales & marketing.
The Bears see Activator as a way to streamline sponsor reporting and servicing, including the time-consuming process of creating post-event fulfillment reports.
“My partnership activation staff spends two or three months creating giant PowerPoint decks that show everything we gave to a sponsor,” Hibbs said.
“Most sponsors understand what they received, but they don’t understand the metrics or analytics associated with it or how it might help them achieve a return on objective. Activator will allow Bears partners to view everything from research related to media assets to video of an on-site consumer activation, all virtually in real time.”
Licenses to use the system start at a base price of $900 a month, with customers willing to sign for more than a one-year term receiving discounts, e.g., a five-year commitment lowers the base price to $500 a month.
Beyond the base price, properties must pay another $250 per month to share information with one sponsor, or $100 a month to share the information internally.
Turnkey expects to formally launch Activator by July 1, Perna said.
Sources
Chicago Bears, Tel: 847/295-6600
Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, Tel: 856/685-1450