connecting people,opportunities and ideas

Kathleen Hessert @kathleenhessert is live blogging from SBJ’s Sponsorship Symposium today in NYC.

She has posted some juicy tidbits about sponsorship and social media. Here are some of my favorites:

“Sponsorship hasn’t changed. The world has changed.It’s been a sobering year”

AmEx Rich Learfield VP Global says Social Media allows them to gain scale & engage passionate fans so we look for best ideas

Soc media importance will grow more w/location based services @tpmcghee ie where fans congregate after game? share pic of experience

Anheuser Busch doubling spend on social media. Huge platform to access fan base- ask fans imp questions. Want to go where fans are

talked to several sports ppl w/influence last night in NY who still don’t have a clue- others part of the social media momentum

Not re: brand awareness must be activation according 2 Dan McHugh- Anheuser Busch. Partners must ans. How can U move more beer

Gatorade dropped TV spend from 87% of budget last year to 66% this year. Digital marketing moves from 0% to 6%

ROI is king BUT @tpmcghee AT&T says sponsors don’t have answers to what makes ROI which is 1 reason why sharing doesn’t happen

NFL CMO says must look at fans dfferently, sponsors differently. Dialogue must B deeper but partners won’t share metrics for ROI

Click here to read our latest newsletter To subscribe, please go to www.sponsorshipinsights.com/blog

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!

Featured Article by David Rachell of Pinpoint Marketing and Dan Beeman of Sponsorship Insights Group.

The global economic downturn has taken multiple shapes that adversely affect many industries. The wise sage, Benjamin Franklin, once said that out of adversity comes opportunity. Perhaps Ben’s statement could very well apply to the downturn being our opportunity to strengthen the North American sponsorship industry.

Most reports show that the industry is weathering the economic storm fairly well.  But, activity from a different type of storm has been brewing at the U.S. Capitol. This storm involves legislative regulation aimed at prohibiting some of the most prolific industry players from using sponsorship as a means to foster new business growth.

Imagine (more…)

Five days in Las Vegas – whew!  I am tired, but energized by what I saw, heard and learned.  I attended parts of a Club Med reunion, toured several Vegas Resorts, listened to a few presentations at ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) and met with many shopping center developers.

Here is my over-riding takeaway – people and organizations that continue to re-invent themselves, stay ahead of the game and look to the future are going to succeed.  People and organizations who hope and pray that things will not change will fail.  I guess it is the “who moved my cheese” blog from me today. (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…)

This offer comes from Kim Skidlum-Reid with Power Sponsorship.  Her critically acclaimed workshops are now coming to the US!  She is offering a $50 discount for the sponsorship seeker course and a $25 discount for the sponsor course for our members! – Thanks Kim!

The Sponsorship Insights Group member offer goes like this:

Current SIG members can subtract $50 from the price of Power Partnerships (for sponsorship seekers) or $25 from the price of Amazing Sponsorship Results

This discount MAY be combined with the other discounts on offer – early-bird pricing and the charity discount. This would give an SI member with charitable status who registers before 1 June a combined total of $175 discount on the $650 base price for Power Partnerships. Note: That is the biggest combined discount I have ever offered.

Registration must be by FAX. The US fax number is on the brochure’s registration form. This SIG offer will not be available for online registration

SIG members must use the code SI-50-25 in the promotional discount space

Delegates will receive confirmation and a receipt by e-mail within two working days of registration

Here is a link to the brochure:
http://www.powersponsorshipdownloads.com/powersponsorship/PowerSponsorshipWorkshops-July09.pdf

Here is a link to the workshops page. From there, you can register, see the course outlines, check out my delegate list and quotes, and download the brochure.

http://www.powersponsorship.com/workshop-registrations.html

Today, we have a guest post from Mathew Gunderson of Brown Bear Events

In this day and age, it is no longer acceptable to ignore the impact of special events on the environment.  From parties, meetings and weddings to sporting events, festivals and concerts, there are numerous events generating waste and creating huge impacts on the environment.  According to the Green Meeting Industry Council, a typical 5-day conference for 2,500 attendees will use 90,000 cans or bottles, 75,000 cups and 87,500 napkins, most of which ends up in landfill.  The 2007 US Green Building Council’s Greenbuild Conference generated 44 tons of waste.  That’s just one event!  During 2001, the US alone held approximately 11,800 major conventions attended by 12.5 million delegates.  When you do the math, it doesn’t take long to see (more…)