BowerPower Papers: 3 Sponsorship Trends and What they Mean for You

BowerPower Papers, a quarterly digital newsletter from Bower & Co. Consulting LLC, aims to inspire non-profit, business, and event/festival leaders to think creatively about marketing, corporate sponsorship, events, and strategy.

Volume 5 Issue 1

Winter 2010

Dear ,

Happy New Year!

I hope 2010 is off to a great start for you. I also hope that if 2009 was a challenge you gave yourself plenty of time to reflect on all that you accomplished and on what the difficulties taught you. Start fresh!

A highlight of 2009 for me was a trip to China. Here I am at the Great Wall.

Another accomplishment for me was developing several affordable ways for you to enhance your sponsorship skills - a guidebook, a teleseminar series, and a blog. I look forward to providing you with new value to support your 2010 organizational and professional goals.

Stay tuned. In the next couple weeks, I'll announce my 2010 teleseminar series.

In this issue of BowerPower Papers, I announce a new Mentoring Program, modeled after the tremendous support I experienced earlier in my career. Sponsorship Strategist Mentoring Program complements my situational Coaching program, and I invite you to read about it and consider whether Mentoring or Coaching support would make a difference in your life this year.

In the meantime, learn more about three trends in sponsorship and what they mean to the nonprofit sector.

Welcome to new subscribers and everyone I met through PACVB, IFEA, PANO, Hispanics in Philanthropy, MASAE, the Philadelphia Business Journal's Supercharge Your Sales event, ISES New Jersey South, Temple, and others.

If you find this issue of value, please share it with friends and colleagues using this forward button below (preserves formatting). Thanks!

Here's to your success in 2010!

Warm regards,

Gail S. Bower
President

3 TRENDS IN CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP AND WHAT THEY MEAN FOR YOU by Gail S. Bower
Undoubtedly, the last 18 to 24 months have been a challenge for your organization and events. Congratulations; you made it through. Now, it's a new year, and time for a new perspective. While the economic conditions are gradually improving - and let's choose to remain optimistic - I'd like to draw your attention to conditions in the marketplace you may have missed. If you represent an important cause with a strong corporate sponsorship program, now is an excellent time to partner with the corporate sector. Yes, you read me correctly; I said 'an excellent time.' Thanks to the recession, the bailouts, the bloodletting, and a barrage of other bad news, consumers have grown weary of the corporate sector. Trust has decreased, and reprioritizing has, well, become the priority. Consequently, corporations, especially in the financial sector, have their work cut out for them to rebuild trust and brand loyalty. Consumer research shows that sponsorship of a nonprofit organization or cause, vs. sports or even the arts and culture, would contribute positively to consumers' increased approval of corporations. Businesses are getting the message. Did you know that Pepsi pulled its Superbowl ad dollars and instead launched a cause and social marketing campaign? Disney's in on the action. So is Seventh Generation. And a blogger with Fast Company wonders whether philanthropy is the new marketing. So, are you taking advantage of this and other opportunities? Considering numerous economic and cultural conditions, I've spotted a few other corporate sponsorship trends, and here's what they mean for you: 1. Generic is out.So is superficial. If you're peddling a typical Gold/Silver/Bronze or other generic proposal as a form of marketing-driven corporate sponsorship, you're off the mark. Your sales pitch will sound increasingly irrelevant. You're doing a disservice to your organization by offering low value to your corporate partner and failing to build leverage for your cause. You're also losing out on significant dollars. Social media has changed the way we interact and engage with audiences. The proliferation of media over the last 35 years has had a broad effect, including contributing to increasingly niche audiences. We are not a monolithic mass audience. We don't market that way to consumers, and it doesn't work that way in a B2B setting either. Sending out generic proposals to people and businesses you don't know sends a signal that you and your organization are inexperienced and unsophisticated. It's the quickest way for your materials to wind up in the trash. Industries are all different, and businesses within those industries have unique needs. Your job is to learn more about them and develop your offerings specifically for that prospective partner. ACTION: Do your research. Learn more about your partners' and prospective partners' businesses and industries so you have something meaningful to them to talk about. Develop programs for your partners that provide value in support of their specific business goals. 2. Be clear: marketing or philanthropic support?Are you interested in partnering in support of business goals or are you asking for a donation? In the last 5 to 10 years, you've no doubt noticed shifts and changes in your work with the for-profit sector. More corporations have been asking for "benefits" in exchange for their "gifts," which changes the whole dynamic of the corporate giving model. You may have tried to respond to these sorts of requests but felt confused nonetheless. Philanthropy offices don't reduce that confusion. Here's some clarity. Marketing-driven corporate sponsorship is a different model than the corporate giving model. It's a marketing medium designed to address business or marketing goals of the corporation. If you are in a discussion about corporate sponsorship dollars, you need to be asking questions about the company's business goals, marketing goals, and the ROI the company seeks. The recession caused everyone - businesses, nonprofits, state and local governments, individuals - to question expenditures. (Everyone, it seems, but the federal government!) With uncertainty, we all want to know that how we spend our money will have a return and be meaningful in our businesses and lives. This trend is unlikely to stop in 2010. Your partners will want to know that an investment in your organization will move the needle for them. If you're really seeking a donation, consider whether you really need to offer the kind of marketing value your marketing partners want, but that corporate foundations may not need or be interested in. Find out what's important. Conversely, perhaps some combination of marketing and philanthropic dollars could be leveraged to meet multiple strategic interests. Think big. How can you really engage the corporation from both angles? How will that engagement propel your own strategic interests? ACTION: Develop a clear strategy with each prospective corporation you're working with. How do you envision your partnership? How are you trying to engage with them? What is the business case you need to make? What's in it for both of you? 3. Corporate philanthropy offices will face increased pressure to show a measurable return and support of corporate strategic goals. As mentioned above, budgets have been placed under microscopes, and ROI, return on investment, is of utmost importance. Corporate leaders want to know that their limited dollars are invested wisely. Philanthropic dollars may contribute to corporations' reputation management, community quality of life issues, workforce development goals, as well as to other corporate social responsibility initiatives, both short- and long-term. ACTiON: Make a business case about how the investment in your organization, perhaps coupled with dollars from other departments or initiatives, such as human resources, PR, marketing, corporate social responsibility, etc., can help fulfill broader strategic goals. The more departments you can integrate, the better. Why? Because your partner will be more engaged; you'll generate more dollars; and, together, your plans will yield a greater impact in the world. Most events and nonprofit organizations have a great deal to offer the right marketers. If you're not taking advantage of these trends, of heightened consciousness to support social causes, you're missing important opportunities to galvanize support for your mission, your cause, your passion, and your constituency. You're also leaving money on the table. To learn about other sponsorship trends and what they mean for you, check out the 1-hour long mp3 recording, 10 Trends in Sponsorship. Also, to learn more about the effects of the last year on sponsorship and what steps you can take now to improve your program, operation, and approach with new and existing sponsors, pick up a copy of Gail Bower's guidebook, How to Jump-start Your Sponsorship Strategy in Tough Times, called "the Bible for anyone securing sponsorships" by a reader who signed a five-figure title sponsorship for a new event by applying what she learned in the book.

NEW ON

Check out these new posts on Gail's blog, SponsorshipStrategist.com:

Rogue Sponsorship
Posts from a recent trip to China
Corporations aren't Evil
10 Ways to Get your Sponsorship Program Ready for 2010
Congress in Jumpsuits?

I invite you to subscribe by email or RSS; to participate in a discussion by commenting; and to send me suggestions of topics you'd like to read more about.

HOW TO JUMP-START YOUR SPONSORSHIP STRATEGY IN TOUGH TIMES NOW AVAILABLE IN AMAZON

If you and your staff are walking around your offices in a daze, unsure what to do next with your corporate sponsorship program or scrambling because nothing is working, scramble no more. Check out my new guidebook, and you'll find plenty of tools and techniques to get you back on track.

"A godsend"
Visit Amazon to read Traci Browne's 5-star review and find out how using the book has helped her become "wildly successful in securing partnerships." She calls it "the Bible for anyone involved in securing sponsors."

You can pick up your own copy of Jump-start at Amazon or through the new store on my web site. If you're a member of the International Festival & Events Association (IFEA), visit the member bookstore and save $2 on your purchase.

How to Jump-start Your Sponsorship Strategy in Tough Times

by Gail S. Bower by Bower & Co. Consulting LLC

THE VALUE OF A MENTOR
New Service Offering from Bower & Co.

by Gail S. Bower

   When I was developing and executing sponsorship programs for various music festivals, I attributed much of my success to the important relationship I had with my mentor and eventually dear friend Anna.
    If not for Anna all those years ago, I would have been alone with my ideas, challenges, triumphs, and occasional disappointments. With Anna as a trusted sounding board, I dreamed bigger, fleshed out ideas that had greater impact for my clients and prospects, submitted stronger proposals, and avoided being blindsided or ill-prepared because Anna pointed something out that I overlooked in my enthusiasm. As a consequence, I generated more revenue for the events; I grew in my role; and I had way more fun. My learning curve was dramatic.
    This dynamic and the value it held for me are the inspiration for the new mentoring program I've just launched.
    Sponsorship development is challenging and not for everyone. In your role as sponsorship seller for your organization or event - whether you're the executive director of a smaller organization, producer of an event or festival, or the development, marketing, events, or sponsorship manager for a larger organization or event - you may long for the support, sounding board, and simpatico of someone who's been there.
    That's what the Sponsorship Strategist Mentor Program is all about.
    It's a six-month commitment to your growth and skills that will produce results for your organization's or your event/festival's sponsorship program. Self-directed and focused on your goals and needs, the program provides you with unlimited email and telephone access to me (during normal business hours, Mon. through Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST). We'll talk through your ideas, brainstorm through a challenge, review materials, determine the right approach for a situation with a potential client - whatever you need to foster your sponsorship success. I will challenge, provoke, and question, always with your best interests at heart.
     You'll easily recover the investment necessary for the Sponsorship Strategist Mentor Program because, if you apply what you learn, you'll undoubtedly acquire more sponsors and develop stronger proposals. However, if you're interested in a shorter-term investment, I also offer two situational coaching options that may be appropriate for your needs. Enrollment in both programs will be limited so that I may be responsive.
    Please visit the Coaching section of my web site to learn more. Or call or send me an email to discuss which program is right for you.
    Sponsorship development can be exciting and one of the most challenging experiences all at once. Why not make it more fun, easier, and more productive by allowing someone with nearly 25 years experience be part of your team and support network?

Gail Bower, President, Bower & Co. Consulting LLC, specializes in raising the visibility, revenue, and impact of non-profit organizations and festivals/events. She's a professional consultant, writer, and speaker, with more than 20 years of experience managing some of the country's most important events, festivals and sponsorships. Launched in 1987, today Bower & Co. improves the results of clients marketing strategies, events, and corporate sponsorship programs. She is the author of the guidebook entitled How to Jump-start Your Sponsorship Strategy in Tough Times.For more information, visither web site or contact her at 1-866/36-BOWER (1-866-362-6937).