What is surprising is the apparent lack of expectations many sponsors have for these smaller investments.  It seems the relatively low investment levels means there is less emphasis on getting value for the funds allocated to these events. In my experience the decision to sponsor is ad hoc and often doesn’t include an activation program.  For example, tickets to a gala event are handed out to anyone who can attend, rather than who best represent the organization.   At best these sponsorships are viewed as feel good events or used as employee “rewards”.  At worst, they are undertaken because “the boss” said so and there is no clear objective for the company sponsorship.

Why the double standard?

If a property submits a proposal for a $1000 or $5000 to be funded by community investment or marketing, it is highly scrutinized to ensure it meets the corporate sponsorship or community investment goals, aligns with organizational objectives and provides for activation opportunities.  Yet when a proposal to sponsor an event like a golf tournament for $2500, $5000 or more is received, the evaluation process is often less rigorous.   Participation is justified under the generic “brand awareness” blanket  or  as ”a great “networking” opportunity.  There is little or no activation component and the strategic value is questionable.

As a result, there is more hope than reality these sponsorships will produce a business benefit.  It is like a having a sales person make lots of random cold calls hoping they will eventually run into someone who will buy.  Sure there is a possibility a valuable contact will be made, a major customer will be engaged , or your company brand will be enhanced because you there.  It might happen.  But without taking some simple steps to increase the likelihood of this happening you are counting on serendipity and good luck.

I’ll outline some ideas on taking a proactive approach to any sponsorship event in my next posting.  While focusing on golf sponsorships, the ideas are easily transferrable to any event sponsorship you become engaged in.  It’s time to stop hoping positive results are obtained and to start planning for them.

CF Marketing Group offers activation concepts and advice to help corporate sponsors leverage their sponsorship investments or provide properties insight on how to win in the competitive sponsorship arena.  Contact us at 403.452.2699 or info@cfmarketinginc.com to review your requirements.

The advantage to the advertiser is repeated exposure to a captive audience where consumers and business decision makers work or shop.  Whether it is a downtown underground parking structure or retail mall, the opportunity to generate creative, high impact ads is immense.  And with new graphic products, there is more flexibility than ever to deliver your message.

Pillar Ads Get Noticed

The advantage for property managers is obvious – increased cashflow from a previously underutilized asset.  ParkadeAds can generate thousands of new revenue dollars for commercial or mall property managers.  Just importantly, they can add a new visual element to enhance the appearance of parking areas without creating  advertising clutter.

Two new locations ParkadeAds are available in Western Canada – West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta and Eau Claire Market in downtown Calgary.  More information on both opportunities is  available by downloading the media kits for each location listed below.

CF Marketing Group is a Canadian specialty out of home promotion and advertising provider. We create unique and custom solutions for brand marketers and sponsors to get your message noticed, engage the interest of your audience and generate results.  Contact us at info@cfmarketinginc.com to explore new ideas in out of home promotions and advertising for Canadian marketers.

West Edmonton Mall Expanded Media Kit

ParkadeAds Media Kit EauClaire Market, Calgary

Golf cart path ads get noticed

Up to now, not much has changed at golf tournaments.  Sponsor or supplier recognition remains pretty traditional – a few signs or banners around the club house,  a sign at the hole you sponsor and maybe some golf promotional items like golf balls.  These meet basic needs but don’t offer anything new to the sponsor.

But there is a new option worth considering – both for courses selling tournament packages and for sponsors of small or large tournaments.  Advances in graphic decal materials make it very practical to place decals on paved cart paths at a very low cost.   Placement options are numerous including:

• Directional signage placed on cart paths directing golfers to starting locations such as the 1^st or 10^th hole or between holes.  A course we spoke with has a hole that takes a five minute drive to reach.  This situation offers an opportunity to use cart path graphics to highlight points of interest,  offer sponsors unique recognition or promote features of their adjacent recreation property development.  Cart path graphics provide major sponsors the opportunity to have both brand and product images located in strategic locations on the course.
• Unique hole signage to provide detailed graphics for  hole descriptions or sponsor branding.  As well, easily can add interactive elements including scan to win or text to win contests for tournament participants.
• Visible entrance signage into the course parking area, around the club house or cart areas.

Flexible size or shape options

Cart path signage offers many advantages over traditional signage or banners including:

• Guarantee content will be seen;
• It won’t blow away – important with the strong winds we experience;
• It doesn’t obstruct views  on the course
• It offers a wider range of size and shape options
• Increased graphic creative options.

New materials available make installation and removal easy.  As well, some new products are fully recyclable.   It is an option worth pursuing with tournament organizers or golf courses.  Contact us to explore more ideas on how to incorporate into your tournament sponsorships.

CF Marketing Group delivers OOH media for promotion and advertising applications to capture the attention of your audience, engage their interest and generate results at events, golf tournaments, sports venues or any venue your target audience congregates.

Our specialty OOH advertising medium – ParkadeAds provides advertising space where consumers work and shop including West Edmonton Mall which generates over 30 million visits annually.

Contact  me at 403.452.2699 or by email volker@cfmarketinginc.com to explore ideas or request a quote.

How?

Signs in the morass of sponsor signs?

PA announcements?

Volunteers or staff on site?

More promotional giveaways?

Maybe some of these can work. A better way is get in front of participants – literally.  A new generation of outdoor decal products makes it possible to really own a space.  Using visually striking graphics or placing these decals where it is least expected  will garner the attention needed to break through the clutter.

Some ideas for consideration include:

1. Own the staging area,  entrances or parking areas at events like runs, sports stadium, shopping malls or fairgrounds where you can be first to  greet participants, fans, or consumers..
2. Own the starting line or finishing point for charity runs or walks.. Be dramatic and bold.
3. Own the first or last kilometer of a race or walk.  Provide words of encouragement , distance markers or directional  information in the middle of the street or pathway.
4. Own complete sections of a stadium seating area – walls, stairs, entrance ways, concourse areas.
5. Create interesting and unusual directional signage that leads to your display or exhibit. Ideal for fairs, festivals, zoos, amusement parks, golf tournamens or other events covering a large area.

Does it cost extra?  Some but to really leverage the investment in sponsorship fees and onsite activation, the cost is marginal.

Here are some examples to help you think about how you can dominate  the next  event you are sponsoring.  And properties might want to think about how to incorporate this into your proposals to provide a creative activation plan for sponsors.

Click here to view the embedded video.

CF Marketing Group  helps Canadian marketers be bold and dominate sponsored events using unique products to increase the stickiness of promotional messages for auto, sports sponsors, events or sponsorship activation programs.  Stickiness means your promotion will be noticed, have interactive elements and deliver measurable results.

Email  me at volker@cfmarketinginc.com to explore new ideas in sponsorship activation, retail promotions and unique OOH concepts.

And the major categories for OOH advertising in 2010 according to Out-of-Home Marketing Association of Canada include:

• Telecommunications
• Financial Services & Insurance Services
• Retail
• Entertainment
• Media
• Restaurants, Catering Services, Night Clubs
• Travel & Transportation
• Food
• Automotive
• Alcohol & Related Beverages

Continued growth in this sector is being fueled by new opportunities to place advertising in locations not previously considered.  The impact of technology is providing new specialty OOH formats including digital and new wide format substrates.

One of the new greenfield advertising opportunities are underground or covered parking structures.  The breakthroughs in wide format graphic materials allow high impact, full colour graphic advertising to be placed on concrete, asphalt or brick surfaces with easier installation and removal. This advancement turns non-revenue assets such as parking structure pillars, walls or floor areas into new advertising sales opportunities.

To capitalize on these new locations, requires a change in thinking by advertisers to take advantage of this new canvas.  Big, bold and dramatic visuals can be used to create your powerful brand or promotional message. Whether it’s launching a new luxury vehicle, tempting consumers with a new winter vacation hotspot or  tempting employees of a competitor with reasons to join your team,  parkade advertising offers a fresh, new approach to reaching a captive audience with targeted brand and promotional advertising.

The opportunities for property managers are equally exciting.  It allows an underutilized asset to be leveraged to generate significant new income streams. And  the concept of turning parking structures into an advertising medium is completely scalable and adaptable to virtually any physical structure or layout.

If there is a concern with this OOH format it is avoiding the creation of a visual nightmare with every possible area is covered with poorly designed and executed advertising.  Not only will this reduce the value of the advertising space, it will reduce its impact on consumers.  Property managers contemplating adding this new revenue stream should undertake an assessment of the space available and the value to advertisers.

CF Marketing Group has launched a new OOH concept – ParkadeAds.  Initially available in select Western Canadian markets, it offers property managers a single source for valuing the revenue potential of a parking structure and creating an independent sales channel.  For advertisers, the concept offers a new venue to deliver their messages that will get noticed and drive new impressions.  More details available by contacting us at 403.452.2699 or info@cfmarketinginc.com.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Despite being a traditional promotional format, the old fashion magnet still has plenty of staying power.  New product innovation makes it a viable, inexpensive retention piece for use as a coupon or calendar  tipped onto a direct mail piece.  Consumers hang onto these little brand reminders for weeks, months or even years.  I was amazed to discover that millions of promotional magnets are still produced every year for use in retail, fast food, real estate, and consumer services markets.

With new technology, the applications vary widely including  couponing, calendars, business cards, and dry erasable boards in just about any shape or size.  Add a QR code to turn the old fashion magnet into a measurable promotion piece.

We have joined forces with Norprint due to the high quality products they manufacture while being one of the lowest cost suppliers in the country. But just importantly is their responsiveness to customer needs and ability to create custom products.

If you are an agency, printer or promotional product distributor looking for a new source of ideas and products, check out the capabilities of Norprint today or contact me directly at volker@norprint.com.

I know she is not alone in feeling overwhelmed and ill prepared to approach potential donors or to create sponsorship opportunities.  Most not-for-profit Executive Directors I have met reach their position because of their skills and passion for the cause or purpose their organization is involved in.  Many don’t have the fund development training or a good understanding of sponsorships even though raising money is the life blood of their organization.

If this situation sounds familiar, it becomes even more important to attend conferences and workshops to understand the shift in private sector business approach in sponsorships and community investments.  Simply having a good cause isn’t sufficient in the world of business decision making focused on measuring return on investments.

For this reason, I seriously recommend looking at the value of attending this year’s Western Sponsorship Congress in Calgary in late October.  Based on my past experience at the conference,  I know there will be a wealth of knowledge shared, understanding of the current sponsorship landscape  offered and an opportunity to learn from organizations who have been successful in securing  sponsorships.  Just as importantly, you will have the opportunity to network with sponsors and gain an understanding what is important in their investment strategy.

This is a high value two day conference which will provide direct benefits to your organization including:

• Networking with professionals who can help define the sponsorship value offered by your organization ;
• Education sessions that will help you understand what works in sponsorship and explore the expectations of sponsors;
• Offering new ways to look at your organization to create new funding opportunities.

I’ll be there again this year and hope to meet you.  Feel free to stop and chat at anytime throughout the two days. As well connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter at any time.

Volker Mendritzki is President of CF Marketing Group Inc. My focus is to provide clients the tools and advice to ensure their promotional programs and sponsorship investments engage the target audience and generate results.  I search out cost effective print promotional products including promotional magnet products, engaging Interactive Print solutions, and engaging event signage options.  Through our consulting service, we aid organizations in finding new winning sponsorship opportunities.

I can be reached at 403.452.2699 or volker@cfmarketinginc.com.

The idea of the sponsorship scout has been borrowed from the sports industry and software industry.  Both hire individuals to search out talent not discovered through traditional recruitment processes.  The idea is to find undiscovered gems that can make a difference to a team or organization.

The difference of course is the sponsorship scout isn’t searching for new employee talent.  Rather the purpose is to find new sponsorship opportunities that sponsors don’t usually see through the inbound sponsorship process. These can be small events or properties who don’t have the resources to engage sponsors or are hidden gems that haven’t realized the potential sponsorship opportunities they can offer.

The sponsorship scout can be an existing member of the sponsorship team or an external resource contracted specifically to source new sponsorships opportunities.

The sponsorship scout has two roles:

1. uncover the gem opportunities not identified through the normal sponsorship process
2. work with properties to create a winning sponsorship opportunity.  Many of these properties need help to develop the right type of opportunity or help the property understand how the sponsorship can benefit them.

This proactive approach benefits sponsors by discovering new channels to reach target audiences at a lower cost than prepackaged or high profile opportunities.  As well, many of these will provide virtual exclusivity to the sponsor without the need to pay for this.

CF Marketing Group delivers retail and sponsorship promotions using unique, interactive  products that integrate print with digital apps to increase the stickiness of promotional messages for auto, sports sponsors or consumer contests, events or sponsorship activation programs.  Stickiness means your promotion will be noticed, have interactive elements and deliver measurable results.

Call 1.888.215.8315 or email volker@cfmarketinginc.com to discuss some ideas on how we can help create a customized multi- media solution that is both unique and generates better results for your next promotion or sponsorship activation program.

To encourage more creative and higher quality proposals it is necessary to add some  steps to the proposal process.  The goal is to encourage properties to refine their proposal and discourage those with a “throw it against the wall to see if it sticks” approach.

The process starts by requiring properties to submit a short written summary to highlight their concept.  This can be online but should include:

1. The purpose of the sponsorship – both for the sponsor and the property.  A winning sponsorship agreement requires clear understanding of what both parties need.
2. A summary of how the sponsorship would meet one or more of sponsors’ business objectives.
3. Expected results for the sponsor. These would be high level but force properties to understand sponsorship is not charity but needs to deliver measurable results.
4. High level description of the opportunity – what, when, target audience, possible activation opportunities, and budget required.

The above requires more analysis on the part of the property and greater in-depth research of the sponsor’s business and objectives. It will discourage properties approaching sponsors where there isn’t a clear fit.

Based on the sponsorship team evaluation of this information, good ideas require a follow-up meeting to review key points, clarify elements of concept and provide feedback to the property.  This can be handled in person, over the phone or through video conferencing.

Properties with ideas that are worth pursuing are then provided the opportunity to submit a formal proposal based on the discussion and feedback provided.

The result?

Many properties will avoid this intensive commitment of resources without a clear understanding of the value they offer.  It would significantly increase the quality of their proposals and provide more insight on which sponsors are good candidates to approach.   Sponsors in turn can focus more of their resources on high quality opportunities and help shape high potential proposals to better meet their needs.

This suggested approach will require realignment of internal resources. But it will also positively change the sponsorship results as Pareto’s Law will come into effect.

CF Marketing Group delivers retail and sponsorship promotions using unique, interactive  products that integrate print with digital apps to increase the stickiness of promotional messages for auto, sports sponsors or consumer contests, events or sponsorship activation programs.  Stickiness means your promotion will be noticed, have interactive elements and deliver measurable results.

Call 1.888.215.8315 or email volker@cfmarketinginc.com to discuss some ideas on how we can help create a customized multi- media solution that is both unique and generates better results for your next promotion or sponsorship activation program.

While arguably a more “efficient” screening tool, what is lost with online, automated systems?

As someone who has had to endure the pain of submitting requests through online sponsorship  and community investment systems,  I believe these tools force properties to dumb down their proposals.  It is hard to demonstrate an imaginative, creative sponsorship concept when you have fill in the blanks or explain your idea in 50 words or less.

A consequence of the move to online screening systems is the impact they have on sponsors’ ability to attract new ideas or fresh sponsorship concepts.  The increased reliance on automated screening  tools, use of keyword searches and proposal scoring systems, can result in fewer, quality opportunities being identified.   Often properties offering out of the box thinking don’t score well within the rigid structure of these automated systems.  The result can be that sponsors get to chose from more proposals that are bland and innocuous based on their ability to fit the screening process criteria.

An additional unintended consequence of using an automated online screening tool is that it likely encourages more applications to be generated.  Why?

It is easy to create a template request as many of the online application systems are structured to request the same information.  It is easier than ever for properties to complete online request forms for more potential sponsors regardless of the alignment with sponsors’ goals.  The hope is that if enough sponsors are contacted, someone will respond favorably.

In a previous sponsor development role for a national not for profit, I avoided filling out these online requests wherever possible.   Instead, I worked diligently to target sponsors whose business goals aligned with what we could offer.  Most successful partnerships began by meeting with the sponsorship manager to identify unmet needs and funding criteria.  Based on these discussions, a proposal was submitted that addressed the objectives.

Sometimes I was forced to submit our proposal online. If I hadn’t a chance to meet with the sponsorship manager, my chances of being successful were slim to none.  Our program was unique and simply did not fare well in the harsh black and white automated screening process.

Is there a way to deal with the massive volume of requests that many companies receive while sourcing new, high value opportunities that won’t be found through an automated system?

There is but it requires a rethinking of what the proposal screening process is intended to deliver and adoption of a proactive approach to sponsorship.  It is possible to keep the automated system to manage the routine and small dollar requests.  But to find the high impact opportunities, a new approach is needed which  I’ll outline some ideas in my next post.

CF Marketing Group delivers retail and sponsorship promotions using unique, interactive  products that integrate print with digital apps to increase the stickiness of promotional messages for auto, sports sponsors or consumer contests, events or sponsorship activation programs.  Stickiness means your promotion will be noticed, have interactive elements and deliver measurable results.

Call 1.888.215.8315 or email volker@cfmarketinginc.com to discuss some ideas on how we can help create a customized multi- media solution that is both unique and generates better results for your next promotion or sponsorship activation program.