connecting people,opportunities and ideas

As we kick off the New Year, I wanted to personally invite you to join and/or connect more deeply with your peers in the sponsorship and marketing community. We are the largest online social media community for sponsorship professionals and have grown so quickly because we provide value and are dedicated to helping people like you.
Our group of 4,500+ members comes from the top positions at such agencies as IEG, IMG, WMG, AEG and more. They come from leagues – NFL, NBA, NHL, CFL, MLB, AVP, MLS, NASCAR, MMA and more. The brands represented come from a who’s who of Fortune 500 companies. Both physical and intellectual properties have representation and more than 30 countries have members who participate!
Members enhance their knowledge, further their careers and interact online via our discussion forums and blog. We are committed to being the best, free business networking site for sponsorship and marketing executives on the internet.
We also send a monthly, e-newsletter which includes exclusive discounts, enhancements tools and appropriate vendors.
All of this is provided free for you and appropriate associates.
To join, please click on the link below and forward to your associates.
http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/59380

About Sponsorship Insights Group (SIG)
We are a global networking group and sponsorship consulting/sales agency. We connect properties with brands. We help buyers and sellers increase efficiency and profitability. How can we help you?
We have a unique business model developed to maximize ROI/ROO.
For more information, please click on:
Sponsorship Insights Group

Dan Beeman, Founder – Sponsorship Insights Group
818.433.4239 – Office
Skype: danbeeman1
dan@sponsorshipinsights.com

Join/Connect and/or follow me on:LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter: @sponsorinsight

I am a proud Chicagoan by origin (well, River Forest to be exact).  Despite the loss in the Olympic competition for 2016, there are still many great things that make Chicago a unique destination for tourists.  Our city of broad shoulders will collectively shrug them and move on.  We have overcome adversity and loss before.  Can we blame it on Steve Bartman? Just kidding…
The Chicago fire destroyed the city in 1871, and also led to an amazing design revival led by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright.  Their design created the open space along the lakefront with flowing yet efficient integration of spaces and buildings.  Currently living in LA, I have seen the communal pride and lasting legacy it enjoys from the Olympics in 1984.  I was hopeful that Chicago could have enjoyed  the same.
I am confident that; the fire, second city status, the challenging winters and the working class mentality is what makes people from Chicago so special.  They are resilient, have a great sense of history and place.  They also have collective patience and humor – I mean, after all, they have the Cubs…
For being a big city, it is also a small town where ethnic diversity is celebrated through unique communities.  The summer festival season in the neighborhoods around the city provides the opportunity for Chicagoans to connect and celebrate.  The city is also evolving – I remember the post college days when I lived in a shoddy apartment in Wicker Park for $100 a month.  Now, I wish I bought that building!
I also remember when Millennium Park was abandoned railroad tracks and the adjacent Prudential Building (the old one) was the tallest building in Chicago.  Civic leaders came together and help fund a dream.  Now, they provide a seamless, authentic connectivity between the bustling downtown and serenity and beauty of the lakefront parks and museums – the old and new.  The Prudential Buildings demonstrate creative architectural design – celebrating the past while modernizing for the future.
Tourist tip to Chicago – Three things you must do:
1.  Take an architectural river cruise
2.  Go to the observatory room at the Chicago Board of Trade at the closing bell and watch the action – their version of the human zoo
3.  Go to a Cubs Game during the day at Wrigley, sit in the bleachers with friends; without necessarily watching the game, sing “take me out to the ballgame” in your finest Harry Carry impersonation, shout out, “how about another Falstaff” or Old Style -depending on your era and finish by doing a home run trot – visiting each of the sports bars which encircle the park and finish at the Wild Hare and Flying Armadillo Frog Sanctuary while dancing to reggae.
Other activities include the aforementioned Millennium Park, the band shell for concerts at night, Navy Pier – where you can rent a bike and ride along the lakefront path (25 or so miles), play volleyball at North Avenue Beach, visit the observation tower of what used to be Sears Tower (can we still call it that?  While we are at it, Marshall Fields will still be Marshall Fields in my mind), beat traffic by driving lower Wacker, walk through the connected underground tunnel from office buildings, check out the lakefront museums and watch a sunset from Adler Planetarium.
Last, but not least,  it is a phenomenal sports town.  The Jordan years were always fun and that old stadium rocked!  My memories ranged from sneaking in and sitting with Rory Sparrow’s wife and kids in front of Jerry “Crumbs” Krause.  I remember, halftimes in the President’s Club with the likes of Jesse Jackson, Belushi and Siskel acting important while claiming to be underground security for Reinsdorf when pressed.  I often exited with beverages for the Ladaudio brothers or other compatriots.  Da Bears ’85- who can forget Ditka, Sweetness, The Fridge and the Super Bowl Shuffle?  Topping it off was the division-street celebration after the Super Bowl victory.  The Sox – iconic of the South Side and The Cubbies – lovable losers.
So, hang in there Chicago.  You/we have overcome much before.  Remember, we are defined by how we respond to challenges and adversity.

I developed a sponsorship program for a real estate developer who provided “aspirational luxury” stores at his retail properties for consumers who “aspired” to a luxury lifestyle.

It worked in retail as consumers shop to feel better, using consumption as therapy.  We sold sponsorships leveraging access to the consumers when their guard was down (while shopping) from being inundated by brand messages that were sent through traditional media channels.

I found an interesting organization that is offering partnerships by rewarding future behavior – and inspiring that behavior.

What is an X PRIZE?

An X PRIZE is a $10 million+ award given to the first team to achieve a specific goal, set by the X PRIZE Foundation, which has the potential to benefit humanity. Rather than awarding money to honor past achievements or directly funding research, an X PRIZE incites innovation by tapping into our competitive and entrepreneurial spirits.

How enlightened.  Why be aspirational if you can be inspirational?

Summertime = heat, swimming to keep cool, relaxation and reflection (at least the last two weeks of August).  I recently read a couple of books – The Waxman Report and The Alchemist, by Paul Coelho.  I won’t review the Waxman Report in this space as it is probably too political for some of my readers.

However, The Alchemist got me to thinking a bit and how it relates to sponsorship.  Okay, full disclosure, I am always thinking about sponsorship!

According to Paul, in order to fulfill your Personal Legend, one must be also connected to the Soul of the World and know The Language of The World.  To get connected in this deep way, one must be committed to the journey and the process and facing the inherint challenges.  Wow, pretty deep.

In sponsorship, this means being an evangelist of the medium, truly and authetically building integrated platforms for brand promotion, through creatively leveraging the asset or property.  In order to do this, one needs training and understanding and of course, being connected.

A couple of interesting ways to train and get connected are coming up soon.

• LA Office is hosting their annual conference in Hollywood, CA.  They are offering free movie passes for brand representatives who want to take advantage of the special rate for our readers.  Just click on this link and type in the word SPONSORSHIP, when booking.
• IEG has expanded their training and are offering a couple of unique courses and a combined course which brings together many of the necessary tools for sponsorship success. Their next one is on Sponsorship Activation.  Click here to register and find out more information.

Both of these institutions have helped me learn, grow and get more connected.  I hope this is helpful and look forward to your feedback!

We hope you like it and it helps you connect with others, find new ideas and become more effective in your job.

Click here to read it

Lesa Ukman recently blogged about the importance of activating sponsorships with meaning and delivering value for the consumer.  As usual, she has her pulse on the beat of the industry.  Here is a link to the blog

Lesa’s Blog

Sports Sponsorships in a Troubled Economy, By SIG Intern, Greg Borzerelli.
Sports sponsorships have always been a popular vehicle for advertising and building a brand. This has proved to be a mutually beneficial relationship with sports teams and leagues raking in millions of dollars and sponsors receiving ad space on one of the nation’s most popular platforms. In fact, certain companies have become so (more…)

From a personal experience and perspective, I am a big fan of sponsorship summits.  It is a great way to take some time out and get together in-person with sponsors.  The benefits are obvious in developing a more personal connection and the more connected they are the more likely they are to renew.  We all know renewal is usually preferable to getting out and pitching a category.

I attended a webinar hosted by IEG today and want to share a  few key takeaways.

Goals: (more…)

If you are not getting his e-mail newsletter, you are missing out. He is one of the great young minds in sports marketing and sponsorship. Click here to check out his site and sign up for his newsletter.

This blog is topical as many of us are looking for work,  Here is what I am doing:

1.  Networking online – Facebook is or can be a business tool, LinkedIn is fantastic, blogging

2.  Networking offline – I belong to MENG, Luxury Marketing Council and others to try to meet thought leaders and ask for mentorship

3.  Positioning myself as a thought-leader – by blogging and leading roundtables at conferences and hosting groups on social networking sites

4.  Subscribe to job search engine sites – Monster, CareerBuilder, etcetera, and specialty sites in your industry IEG, Marketing Sherpa

5.  Ask friends for personal introductions and do informational interviews and do the same for others

6.  Help others looking for work – karma works and the payback will come around

7.  Volunteer – show your willingness to work and capabilities

8.  Don’t let your ego get in the way – do whatever it takes to find connections and be helpful to others

9.  Deeply reflect on your interests and capabilities – don’t try to put a round peg in a square hole

10.  Keep you chin up – the serenity prayer is not just for people in AA.  Accept the things you cannot change, change the things you can and have the wisdom to know the difference.

As always, I welcome your feedback and input!