I recently attended a “sponsor pick up party,” one of our clients throws every year about a month before their big annual event.  The purpose of the party is to provide the sponsors with their VIP/hospitality goodie bags full of tickets, extra VIP passes, or whatever else has been uniquely promised to them for pick up.  All the while they are being offered appetizers, drinks, and the opportunity to network with other sponsors. 

I love events like this.  I honestly think it is brilliant for properties to add “perks” like this to the sponsorship experience – it does everyone a lot of good.  As I perused the table of snacks (provided by one of their sponsors) I heard numerous sponsors chatting over cocktails (also provided by one of their sponsors), handing out cards, discussing their enjoyment of the upcoming event, etc.  To step it up, I can also think of 2 conversations I was a part of where two of the sponsors ended up discussing how they might work together in the future for a “bigger bang for their buck.”  I was inwardly grinning at the value the property had provided – and they were also benefiting from the interactions they encouraged. The fact that these sponsors were talking about next year’s efforts was significant in the implication that they would be around for it – I think if I were the property representative I would have been tempted to bring out the renewal contract and asked them to sign on the dotted line right then and there.  The property wanted their sponsors to feel loyal to the effort, wanted the activation efforts to improve, and wanted the sponsors to benefit from cross partnerships, and possibly even grow their own bottom line or meet other business needs by networking with other professionals.  It cost the property very little because of all the in kind support, and it was a truly worthwhile effort. 

Now, there are ways that you can ensure this time is valuable – not all sponsors are as proactive and effective with their time as these seemed to be; and by adding a little structure / direction to your sponsor parties can maximize the potential for return.  Here are some ideas:

1. Pump up the jam!  Are you trying to draw out excitement over your efforts, stir the endorphins or the loyalty of your partners?  Pause halfway through the event and show a brief video/slide show of past events, or the sponsor logos of those partners involved – whatever message you want to leave them with, give them a visual with some appropriate musical support, and feel the mood elevator go up and the energy level climb.  This appeals to a mood – and sponsors are people, they like to “feel good” about an effort too.
2. Intentional presenters.  Ask a couple of your partners who did an excellent job at activating their partnership to give  an appropriately timed presentation about what they did, why it worked, and why they’re returning, or what they would like to see next year. I say appropriately timed because if this is a mixer, no one wants to sit down for a sermon or a long presentation, they want to eat and drink and mix it up.  2-5 minutes is all you can offer without sending them packing. Be intentional about who you ask to present instead of opening up the floor because let’s face it, there is a Nancy Negativity in every crowd and the last thing you want to do is put a damper on the day and make a sponsor question their involvement. Put the spotlight on the positive. 
3. Direct conversations:  Maybe after you present your slide show or you introduce staff for the year, you offer a suggestion to network and discuss what’s working for you – get them interested in how they are participating.  You might also consider the fact that you have them there for a reason, there are things you know about each one of them that they might not know about each other.  Facilitate quality networking by introducing Joe to Ted; bring your vendors (if you have any) leads from other business partners – the fact that I attended the party was strictly so that we might gain new business – they didn’t have to invite us, but they did. It scored points with me. 
4. Offer an incentive or surprise for attending.  Perhaps this is as simple as giving out a Wii as a door prize, or maybe you close the party by reminding them they have a month to renew at a discounted rate, etc.

There are literally hundreds of ways you can keep this effort unique and valuable.  But as always, I’m a fan of being intentional – think it through to maximize benefit.  Perks are exciting because they are above and beyond, “extra,” the icing on the cake – are you going above and beyond?  Do it!  You’ll benefit as much as your partners do.  If anything, you’ll be the facilitator of good things and be remembered for that in your partnership experience.  Other tips for adding value?  Please, feel free to share!

Wine gets better as it ages.  Marriages deepen as a couple grows old together.  Sponsorship partnerships are more powerful with time.  There are so many reasons why this is true, and so many benefits to establishing a long term partnership. Consider this – when you got married, did you know everything about your spouse the day after you said “I do?”  Isn’t it true that it takes years to peel back the onion and really know the different layers of a person?  When you have a sponsorship partner it’s the same deal – your partnership the first year might be really good, but the longer you make your mark on one another, the more cemented the message is that you are sending together.  Everyone wins.  Why?  Clearly it’s easier for sponsorship sales professionals not to have to start over year after year, and it’s in the best interest for a brand to generate the perception of an authentic and genuine message when they commit.  Now, some if you are thinking, “ummm, you don’t have to convince me a long term partnership is a good idea, but it’s easier said than done.”  So let’s go through a few questions that once answered might help you to strategize and pitch strategically.

1. What brands come to mind who are in alignment with your mission/vision?  Consider your target message and find a partner who complements this message with their own.  These are the brands that will benefit most from partnering with you.  They just make sense.
2. Research these brand’s previous sponsorship efforts – is there anything they have participated in that would pose a conflict of interest?  I’ll give an example.  I spoke with a client recently about their target list of sponsors.  There was one particular sponsor that came to mind as we were chatting that I thought might be a good fit.  As it turned out, this particular sponsor had produced a traveling event similar to the one our client was seeking sponsorship for.  They’re obviously not going to sponsor someone else’s competitive event when they’re producing their own. 
3. Do you have the ability to offer an incentive to your sponsor to sign a long term contract?  Perhaps you offer discounted partnership price for every year they commit to beyond the first if they’ll commit in the present.

Maybe you’ve done all of these things and you’re still struggling – have patience.  Continue to brainstorm long term messages you want to drill home to your audience, continue getting creative about how you might do this with a partner in a genuine way. Sometimes it’s not as easy as your first pitch, but then again… sometimes it is.  I also think that as powerful as a long term partnership has the potential to be; it also takes a different level of creativity, activation and overall effort than that which you have the time and energy to offer a short term partner.  If you’re offering the “same old” benefits to a partner and then asking for a long term commitment, they’ll likely laugh you out of their office – there’s not good enough incentive.  But if your messages will only build one another as a more relevant, likeable, positively characterized brand, then take the plunge and pitch an idea that they have to pay attention to. 

Another quick suggestion – let’s say you’ve taken all of the above steps, identified the perfect partner, deliberated on a top notch activation effort, pitched to the right decision maker, and you’re still turned down (we all know this happens).  Remember to maintain your report, your connections, and continue to foster the relationship.   Perhaps in the future the original reasons they had for not moving forward with you will dissipate, and you want to make it easy for them to recall your opportunity and connect with you to hear more.

Let’s quickly consider the alternative to long term.  When a brand embraces a message for a short stint, or affiliates with a cause for a season, then changes their affiliation quickly, it leaves a negative impression on their target audience. It appears that their commitment was marginal, weak, trendy, and selfish. Not an attractive message for a brand to send out. 

So prepare your pitch for a long term sponsor and watch as your efforts become more powerful with time!

I’m a big fan of nectarines.  They have this sweet, juicy, soft, mouthwatering flavor that is just so satisfying and refreshing on any day of the week… OK, I might have to go find one now.  But if you’ve ever taken a bite out of your favorite fruit and it was not quite ripe, the experience is NOT the same.  The flavor has not matured, the texture is all wrong, and your craving is just not quenched.  It definitely doesn’t draw you into picking up another!  Sponsorship partnerships are the same way.  There are some partners that are ripe and ready to work with, and there are other sponsors (and even properties) that are still maturing, still transforming, still growing, and they aren’t ready to be the ideal partner. 

So, what signs indicate a partner is “ripe” for your sponsorship?  Here’s just a few:

1. Their portfolio of partnerships aligns with your offering – if you’re a professional MMA fighter knocking on the door of a sponsor whose focus has always been in child hunger or “green” living, don’t waste your time.  If you are organizing a walk for diabetes in your city and you know of businesses who LOVE to participate in community specific efforts related to your audience – pick up the phone and call them!  Is your primary offering related to the marketing focus you’ve seen in a particular sponsor’s history?  Good sign!  The point is that the story of a sponsor’s portfolio should really resonate with and point to a partnership like what you have to offer.  If  your partnership opportunity sticks out like a sore thumb in their portfolio, the chances are they’re not going to be terribly interested, and you don’t want to take up precious time explaining your value around every curve vs. simply finding a partner that “get’s you.”

2. Their values and mission align with yours – basically the partnership should make sense.  We often ask our clients what kind of sponsor they would be interested in.  We can always tell from their response what kind of partner they would likely be.  It’s really important to find a partner whose brand identity resonates with or complements the image you are portraying.  This means that not only will your target audience likely align, but your messages to this audience will be underscored.  It doesn’t help a company, or you, to activate messages to your audience that deviate from the central message you typically send.  This won’t be leverage friendly in the sponsor’s other marketing efforts, nor will it flow with your own efforts.  You want to be able to be such a good fit to a sponsor’s marketing focuses that they’re truly excited to hear from you and the ideas flow for customized partnership activation.  The value is clear.

3. There’s no current drama in their industry – An example of this would be when just a short time ago when businesses were receiving TARP funds.  There were a lot of mixed feelings then from the consumer about what right a brand had to invest in “unnecessary” spending that portrayed them as frivolous or irresponsible with their dollars.  Whether or not you have a great way to partner with these individuals, my personal standpoint that NOT all publicity is good publicity; and you don’t want to be affiliated with a partner who has bigger fish to fry with a faltering brand image.  You probably won’t get the attention you deserve while they’re busy addressing other prioritized needs, and you won’t have a clear and strong message to send together other than your explanations for why you moved forward as partners at this time. 

4. There is time to leverage a customized partnership – this is personally where I tend to get on my soap box.  I think because of the surprising number of proposal listing representatives we get that that seem to be blindsided by the fact that we don’t think 2-4 weeks is long enough to activate a good partnership.  Even when you have the most incredible sponsorship opportunity ever,  it doesn’t make a difference in the world if your sponsor doesn’t have the ability to leverage it for all it’s worth simply because it’s too soon.  This is really one of those where you have to look in the mirror and decide if YOU are ripe fruit as a property rep.  From a sponsor’s perspective, don’t invest in a new partner when you don’t have time to fully take advantage of the benefits.  The only time I would even consider entertaining this idea is if there is a significant discount since the value of the partnership goes down with fewer days to activate it. 

5. There has been adequate planning for your program or event – you’re out of the idea phase and into the action/implementation phase.  At SponsorPark we make it a habit to connect with our brand new members about a week or so out from when they register with us.  We want to wrap our minds around what their sponsorship efforts and event/program look like from their perspective, that way when we’re campaigning to sponsors we might recall some good fits.  Every so often we run into a property that is really just not sure how to answer many of our questions.  They don’t know quite how much they’re looking for in funding, they haven’t considered the benefits they have to offer a sponsor, or perhaps they know what they are hoping for in an audience or venue but NOTHING has been set in stone to offer as a guarantee to a sponsor.  They are still writing their business plan and this is NOT the phase to reach out to a sponsor.  Sponsors don’t want to waste their time hearing what could happen, they want to hear about what you’re going to do based on intelligent data, commitments from venues or celebrity endorsers, etc (my favorite is when there are no answers to our detailed questions, but somehow this is all going to take off in 2 months).  Make sure to have your ducks in a row, and then start the hunt for a sponsor – how can you even know if you’re a good fit for them unless you have more of these details ironed out?

These are obviously just a handful of examples to start with.  Do you have any best practice “ripe fruit” identifiers to add?  By all means, we’d love to hear from you!