connecting people,opportunities and ideas

I re-listened to the IEG 2009 Trends webinar and got a few more nuggets that I wanted to share and some insights/analysis:

• Sponsorship spending grew by 11.4% in 2008 but is projected to only grow by 2.2% in 2009
• Of the nearly 17 Billion sponsorship dollars spent by North American Companies, most will continue to be spent on sports (68%), however, they project to only grow by 1.8%
• Of all sectors, sports is projected to be the slowest growing at 1.8%
• Sectors with biggest growth opportunities are festivals, fairs and annual events, associations and member organizations (4.4%).

Given these numbers, what are some suggestions for sellers?  Sports have always been considered a safe bet for sponsors.  No longer.  Sports need to provide new extensions for partners and tie-in cause -related marketing to their sponsorship deals and should tap into social media for activation to be effective.

• Focus on retention and fulfilment.  I will be blogging about how to provide sponsors better fulfilment reports and where to find vendors with specific software to help ensure a comprehensive, yet, easy to read report.
• Sellers need to have proper valuation for their packages that reflect fair market value instead of selling (or trying to sell) the package for what it costs to run the program, event, team or property.
• Sponsorship has gone beyond the traditional marketing measurement scope of reach and frequency.  It is about servicing, enhancing and enabling peoples lives.  That is the ROO which can be delivered not found in traditional advertising.
• Sellers need to enhance their research and prospecting and offer solutions to challenged marketers that will provide transformational effect on consumers and engender loyalty.
• Differentiate yourself from your competitors and build extensions through other programming (social media) or partners (non-profit, cause-related)
• Don’t rely on the well that has already been tapped and is clearly running dry – automotive, banking and financial services are all hurting.  Go for new categories, especially Green, if you can make it an authentic opportunity to showcase them.

There is more.  So much more.  I’ll continue to share these insights and provide case studies and examples in upcoming blogs.  I encourage you to sign up for my blog subscription by filling out the box on your left with your e-mail address. 

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These are a few of my insights.  What do you think?  Was this helpful?  I look forward to your feedback.