connecting people,opportunities and ideas

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

Yikes – Remember my post the other day about sponsorship sales strategies.  Here is some news that supports and reinforces the philosophy of being the Bee!  Ya gotta give to get…

In response to an unprecedented economic situation not faced by the sponsorship industry in the past two decades, IEG is issuing the first-ever mid-year update of its annual spending forecast.

The revision projects North American companies will still spend more this year than they did in ’08, but only by a tiny margin of 1.1 percent.

That compares to 2.2 percent growth predicted in IEG’s 24th annual industry forecast issued at the end of ’08, which at the time was the smallest growth rate in the forecast’s history.

The new figure means (more…)

Top Retail News

Abercrombie books 1Q loss, warns of more red ink
(May 15, 2009), Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Friday reported a fiscal first-quarter loss Friday of nearly $27 million, a number that could jump by millions more after the retailer books a non-cash write-down tied to its struggling Ruehl chain.

The New Albany-based retailer said that for the first quarter ended May 2 it lost $26.8 million, or 31 cents a share. That compares with profit of $62.1 million, or 69 cents a share, a year ago

New steakhouse coming to Jacksonville
(May 14, 2009), An upscale steakhouse with only four other locations in the nation is coming to the Southside of Jacksonville.

The 9,300-square-foot III Forks Steakhouse is expected to open in Tapestry Park later this year.

North Carolina bans smoking in bars, restaurants
(May 14, 2009), Gov. Beverly Purdue says she will sign into law a bill passed by the North Carolina House of Representatives on Wednesday that bans smoking in bars and restaurants in a state where tobacco once was king.

The House approved by a 62-56 vote a version of the smoking ban that had been passed by the state Senate. The measure will make it illegal for restaurant and bar owners to allow smoking in their establishments. Patrons wanting to light up will have to do so outside.

Cigar bars and private clubs are exempt from the new law.

H&R Block restructures tax business
(May 14, 2009), H&R Block Inc. realigned the structure of its tax business into one corporate entity overseen directly by CEO Russ Smyth.

Previously, the company’s retail tax, digital tax, franchise operations, company field operations and corporate units in the tax sector operated under separate entities all under the umbrella of the holding company, Kansas City-based H&R Block Inc. (NYSE HRB).

Kohl’s Q1 profit drops 11%, still beats Street
Menomonee Falls, Wis. (May 14, 2009) Kohl’s Corp. said Thursday its first-quarter profit fell 11% on reduced consumer spending, but its results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Analysts expected revenue of $3.62 billion. Actual revenue for the quarter was $3.64 billion, a 0.4% increase. (more…)

If any of my readers/members/friends/associates are going to be in Las Vegas this weekend and the early part of next week and want to meet, please shoot me a note to dan@sponsorshipinsights.com.  I am also going to start scaling back my blog postings to about 3 times per week as my work schedule is getting pretty busy.

Since sponsorship and Real Estate are inextricably linked, here is some wonkish Real Estate News in advance of the conference for interested parties

I’ll start by saying – Thank you Jason Peck for always bailing me out of my technology vortex of darkness. It is Saturday and I am playing with my laptop and am considering using video on the front page to make it more dynamic.  I am thinking that not many people will be reading this, so I won’t embarrass myself too badly.  Here is the copy and the video. 

What do you think?

Sponsorship Insights Group is dedicated to connecting People, Opportunities and Ideas.

We help properties generate partnerships with appropriate brands.

We host the premier online sponsorship and marketing professionals group.

We partner with IEG, Marketing Sherpa, Teamwork Online, SponsorPitch and others to provide cutting-edge information, content job opportunities and more through our integrated website and blog.

We are pleased to offer an array of services through our alliance network, social media, OOH, marketing, specialty leasing, garage revenue enhancements, concierge options and more.

Our goal is to provide all properties and marketing professionals a one-stop location to gain efficiency and effectiveness in an unfiltered objective way.

How can we help you?

Last week I was invited by Scott Kaplan of CBRE to join a group of about 20 commercial property developers for an information exchange regarding the current state of retail development.  They brought together their clients to share issues and solutions on how to deal with the challenges they face.

It was a dynamic exchange and moderated wonderfully.  We spent some time listening to Scott and others present their perspectives on what is happening within their specific niche in the industry.

From my perspective (more…)

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!

Today I am blogging about a blog that is featuring my success story on LinkedIn.  It is by Russell Scibetti on the Business of Sports.  He liked my story and wanted to feature it.  So, click here to read the blog that I am blogging about, which is about me!

Today we have a guest blogger, Brian Levine with some inside perspective on the sponsorship industry.
The recent downfall of some of America’s largest financial institutions really didn’t surprise me very much. Not because I have knowledgeable insight into the world of economics and finance. No, rather it was my role as a sponsorship sales executive that provided me with an unsettling perspective on the greedy mismanagement which has rooted itself in American financial institutions, the same ones which were supposed to “have the strength to be there”.

The story I recount here really isn’t a new one for anyone that’s been in the sponsorship business for any amount of time and certainly isn’t unique to me at all. However, I think this story illustrates one of the challenges our industry has been plagued by for far too long. It goes something like this: (more…)