Opinion
Assertions
6/11/07: In addition to bringing
existing properties and
activations into
Second Life, some marketers are eyeing another way to reach SL denizens: sponsorship of
events that exist solely within the virtual world.
C.C. Chapman, vice president of new marketing for multimedia agency
crayon, a pioneer in helping corporations such as
Coca-Cola become involved in Second Life, recommends
seeking out SL artists and performers who have developed loyal followings. “Coke sponsored an event hosted by one of the most popular DJs in Second Life,” Chapman told us. “People took pictures of their avatars and sent them to friends with the Coke logo in the background. The event gave Coke a chance to talk to consumers in a one-to-one environment. It’s
no different than why companies sponsor in the real world.”
Category exclusivity is a benefit of sponsorship that is highly valued by corporate partners. But that doesn’t mean it always is in the
best interests of a property to offer it. We have spoken with a number of properties lately that are trying to balance sponsors’ desire for exclusivity with the
realities of the marketplace. Many of those rightsholders are single-market properties located in areas where
one or two industries are dominant. Offering exclusivity to just one company in those categories would mean shutting the door on many other likely prospects.
NFL Canada’s
Dan Quinn faced such a situation in a previous position with the
NHL Ottawa Senators. Since the Canadian capital is home to many
high tech companies but not many other major corporations, the team created a sponsorship level that only tech firms could be a part of and offered it to
all of the major players in the segment. The Senators began by testing the concept with relevant trade associations to find out what benefits should be included. “It was a big
gamble,” Quinn noted. “If it didn’t pay off, it would have been difficult to go back to those companies with an exclusive deal.” He said it was a “tough fight” to persuade the first few partners to embrace the idea of sharing the same benefits as their competitors, but “once you get the first four or five in, everybody else realizes they need to be a part of it because they are
noticeable by their absence.” In the end, the team generated
$4.4 million in revenue from the category, much more than it would have gotten from one exclusive partner.
Starwood Hotels pioneered the concept of
triggering donations to a cause by
adding a charge to customer bills with its 12-year-old
Check Out for Children campaign. The international effort has thus far generated $16 million for beneficiary
UNICEF. A new partnership modeled on that program–TCL SpA’s
Charming Hotels & Resorts’ tie to the
Human Life Fund, an Italian foundation that supports the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s TeleFood-Food for All program–reminds us that
not all cause programs are created equal. Although the intention to support a worthy charitable effort is commendable, Charming’s program
falls short on two accounts. First, all mentions of the program indicate that the company’s contribution comes entirely from its guests; Charming itself
does not appear to be committing any of its own money to the effort, a definite red flag. Second, if you are going to automatically include a five-euro charge to a customer’s bill, the cause should be
instantly recognizable, which the
obscure HLF is not.
Jim Andrews