Sponsorship Strategist

Another sponsorship nightmare

No matter whether we are sponsoring an event or initiative or working with the sponsors of our events or initiatives, we want things to go well. Really well. Yet some things are out of our control. . . or are they?

The other day a group of protestors led a demonstration against PNC Bank, the presenting sponsor of the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society's Philadelphia International Flower Show, which runs through this weekend. Besides the event being an exceptional one, The Flower Show is one of the best examples of event sponsorship in Philadelphia. Check it out if you're in town.

PNC Bank has been a sponsor for many years and, from what I can see, enjoys the brand equity they've invested in this long partnership. You can see a few photos of their participation in my post from 2010.

Having a protest break out at its slice of an event has got to be a corporation's worst fear, and on the event side, I can tell you, it's also nausea-triggering. But, lucky for we Americans that we have the right to free speech and assembly.

It's difficult to understand what's what about the issues the protestors, the Earth Quaker Action Team, have with PNC and what PNC's position is. EQAT's goal was to raise awareness for and have PNC claim responsibility for their investment in mountaintop removal (MTR) practices for coal mining, which you can read more about and see images of at their site. 

According to a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer, a PNC representative declined comment. I found nothing about the protest at PNC's web site, nor anything about its MTR practices, except a very brief comment in their corporate social responsibility report (see the bottom of page 4). A wider search online pulled up an Associated Press story from November 2010 in which PNC said they would stop financing mountaintop removal projects. AP was unable to determine whether PNC "was moving to dissolve its current investments in mountaintop removal companies or applying the policy only to future projects." A PNC spokesperson at the time declined further comment.

So here's the thing. I am looking for a statement, for information, and cannot find anything that balances out the picture. What are consumers supposed to think and wonder, especially in our sound bite culture?

Corporations benefit enormously from aligning their branding, CSR, community relations, and other initiatives with organizations and events that will enhance it, and that affiliation provides tremendous credibility. However that credibility is gone in an instant when cognitive dissonance occurs. 

Our shifting values as a culture coupled with technology's openness require – impose – transparency and integrity on our business practices. I don't know what the truth is in this PNC Bank story, but I do know they invest a lot in education and the arts and do a lot of good in Philadelphia and beyond. I also know that if businesses want to be trusted they must act in trustworthy manners. Similarly, sponsorship seekers must use integrity about the businesses with which they align.

In Pennsylvania natural gas drilling in Marcellus Shale areas is the new gold rush. Energy and gas companies are eager to earn the good graces of legislators, community leaders, and residents, and Pennsylvania is eager to have these companies. Gov. Corbett announced Tuesday that he was slicing and dicing the budget, but not taxing natural gas extraction, even though he says he wants Pennsylvania to be "more like Texas." Actually this is exactly the opposite of what Texas did. Congress there set aside land in West Texas where they eventually found oil that endowed the state university system as well as elementary and secondary public schools.

Natural gas drilling companies may seem likely prospects for sponsorship. "The People of America's Oil and Natural Gas Industries" ran a full-page ad in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer touting jobs. But meanwhile, environmentalists and legislators continue to debate the environmental impact to both the air and water of fracking, the technique used for extracting natural gas. A big gap exists between the two sides.

So, corporations, as you develop guidelines and policies to support your strategies and business operations, they must be aligned with the values you pledge are at the heart of your practices. Sponsorship seekers, you, too, must use discretion about the businesses you select as partners. When situations – or protests – crop up, as they sometimes do, your responses can more easily and truthfully be delivered.

Think like a starving artist, and you won't starve

One day last week, I left a meeting with someone who is under a great deal of pressure because of current budget squeezes that impact her nonprofit organization's funding. The physical sensations of stress she described were indelible, and I felt a great deal of empathy as I walked through the City towards my office.

I passed the Merriam Theatre in Philadelphia, and a crowd spilling out onto the sidewalk, hours before showtime, piqued my curiousity. Then I heard drumming. Stomp was in town, and at this very moment, they were conducting a masterclass for high school-aged – and very enthusiastic – kids. 

With nothing more than plastic buckets, wooden sticks, and passion, this drumming circle crackled with energy. If you've ever seen Stomp, you can imagine.

It reminded me of a few things:

• The human spirit is a live wire of creativity, passion, and inspiration. Accessing that energy requires no budget.
• Anyone feeling stressed or pressured can find instant relief through the arts – music, visual art, performance, wonderful writing, beauty in some form. Our own internal creative energies can help us through a challenge.
• Shouldn't arts funding be as critical as human services funding? (Yes, that's rhetorical.)
• We have a mythology about the starving artist. The most creative and artistic people revel in the constraints of their craft. Sure, they spend lots of time fantasizing about what they'd do with piles of money. The best and most innovative push on, transcending the constraints and making the most of their resources.

And that's where you might be inspired. Rather than focus on what you don't have, perhaps you might think more creatively and bigger about what you do have. Perhaps you have more to offer than you might imagine, or can focus your sponsorship effort in a new way that yields bolder results.

Today I received a press release about the Blue Cranes, jazz artists from Portland, OR, about to launch a cross country/East Coast tour by train. They rallied their friends and friends' friends on a Kickstart fundraising effort, raising nearly $7,000 to cover their costs. They also sought a rail sponsor and found a promotional partner in the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) which so far has written a blog post about the tour.

Blue Cranes' print publicist Matt Merewitz and the band members developed some great ideas for a rail partner. Blogging along the way. Performances by the quintet at station stops. Mentions to the group's audiences all along the tour. They're all great ideas which hopefully will come to life with a committed partner on the next tour. NARP, for now, is simply a promotional partner, and my hope is that they recognize the value of having an innovative band exemplify NARP's ideals, encouraging people to travel by train, and commit at more appropriate levels in the future. My hunch is that Blue Cranes' fans and audiences share the values of America's railroad passengers but who may not have considered train travel as an option.

"I believe in their mission," alto sax player Reed Wallsmith said about NARP. He looks forward to the collaboration. 

While I wanted to hear reports of a great partnership between the two and cash and/or inkind fees commensurate with the exchange of value, I remain hopeful that that will happen in time. What I am excited about seeing, which is exactly my point, is that the Blue Cranes are making things happen. They set out to accomplish a revenue goal and through lots of ingenuity on their part, they accomplished it. Next time, they'll have stronger ideas and new skills that they can use to secure a substantial sponsor or two. (NARP, you have a great opportunity, so I hope you're thinking big, too!)

If you're struggling with making your fiscal year-end or event budget goals, do what you need to do to shake the anxiety and stress. Shift your energy and reconnect with your own creativity. You need new ideas, fresh thinking, and a way to see your work, your event, your sponsorship offering from a new angle. That's when you'll think big and pursue big partners to leverage big results.

To check out the Blue Cranes and  learn more about their tour, watch their video below or visit their web site for dates near you. Blue Cranes photo credit: Jen Downer

 

Business Support for the Arts Dropped From 2006 to 2009, Survey Finds. Find out why.

While the economic downturn has resulted in fewer companies making philanthropic contributions to the arts, those companies that have continued their support actually gave a slightly greater share of their charitable dollars, a new survey from the Business Committee for the Arts finds.

via foundationcenter.org

Thanks to Margie Salvante, Executive Director of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, for forwarding this story and the key message, found at the end of the third paragraph:

"The survey also found that 63 percent of respondents would boost their giving to the arts if the contributions had a direct impact on their bottom line, while 74 percent said that arts giving could provide networking opportunities and contribute to the development of new business."

One of my predictions for 2010 was that corporate foundation leaders would need to more closely tie philanthropic investments with corporate strategic goals. Additionally, as I've written about in my book, here, and elsewhere (and others have written as well), corporate giving has changed from a decade ago and looks more like marketing-driven corporate sponsorship. Since the economic turbulence kicked in, ROI is most important.

If you're peddling Gold-Silver-Bronze or other equally generic sponsorship offerings, you're missing numerous opportunities to engage your corporate partners and to grow your organization. To read more, I invite you to check out a recent article I wrote: The Gold-Silver-Bronze Package is Out. Find Out What's In. Please feel free to share it with nonprofit and corporate leaders.

 

Spring & Corporate Sponsorship at the Flower Show

 After a couple blizzards, trudging around in snow, pretty at first, gets tiresome. This week, I headed to the famed Philadelphia International Flower Show to remind myself that spring indeed will arrive. 

The beautiful show did not disappoint, even if some of the displays reminded visitors of the cold.  Walking into a fantasy land of flowers, I can't wait  for warm weather.

 Another reason I attended the show was to check out the sponsorship activation. The Flower Show is one of the best sponsorship developers in Philadelphia, and I always appreciate the obvious guidance and hard work of their staff.

If you're in Philadelphia or plan to be here for this closing weekend of the show, I'd love to hear your thoughts about how the show's sponsors took advantage of their opportunity to partner with one of the top flower shows in the U.S. Here are some thoughts I had.

PNC gets a round of applause from me for their dedication to Philadelphia's arts & cultural scene. The financial institution whole-heartedly supports important arts organizations and invests philanthropic dollars to nurture the passions of future arts and culture lovers. At the Flower Show, they benefitted from a strong association through their presenting status and did a good job tying philanthropic messages and business goals. 

At PNC Park, you could stock up on green. PNC tied a different green message into a floral and waterfall display, next to which event-goers could enter their votes for the People's Choice Award, plus get a free tote-bag.

  

 

Knowing banks, I imagine (and hope) PNC is hosting customers with tickets to the show. Their display may have benefitted by more of a human touch, besides two young women handing out tote bags. The banking and financial industry still faces a cynical, distrustful consumer world out there. Banks would benefit from a human-centric approach to their marketing these days. However, all in all, a nice effort from PNC.

Subaru, also a major sponsor, was right in the middle of all the action and used the opportunity to promote another flower angle: their sponsorship of the Cherry Blossoms Festival here.

I overheard a snippet of this Subaru representative's conversation with this woman, telling her about Subaru's VIP program. Wise car salespeople love sponsorship because customers want to talk to them.

I've long admired Discover Ireland's sponsorship strategy – to support golf and gardening events, to attract lovers of key attractions in Ireland – having worked with them at a PGA Merchandise Show where they sponsored an international travel area by PGA Magazine. I was disappointed at the Flower Show, however, to see what a missed opportunity their investment was.

Discover Ireland sponsors a garden display, to promote their gardens and has a large booth, with vast real estate. But what do you notice?

Need a closer look? 

Where's their staff? Why is no one taking advantage of this great opportunity to tell International Flower Show enthusiasts about a country with great gardens?

Corporate readers of Sponsorship Strategist, take note. Corporate sponsorship is all about the experience, the face-to-face opportunity your brand, your product, your staff, your service gets to have with audiences of the event or opportunity you partner with. 

Why spend all the money to invest in the sponsorship, to build a booth, create promotional value, and then not follow through? It would be like an Olympic skier getting all the way down the 2-mile run and slowing down at the finish line. Seize every moment of the sponsorship opportunity. Make it work for you. Don't waste your money. And definitely don't complain that your sponsorship investment "didn't work."

The surprising Best of Show to me was Acme. I haven't visited Acme's retail locations yet to see how they activated in-store. At the Show, Acme had a simple but attractive booth where they sold flowers. Simple, right? But wait. There's more.

 

Among the bouquets Acme sold was the Official Flower Show Bouquet, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Philadelphia Horticulture Society and its programs – which, by the way, benefit all Philadelphians.

 
 The Unsung Hero of the Show is EB Henry. They, like many other businesses, could benefit from greater knowledge about how to really leverage sponsorship. 

EB Henry donated 3 truck-loads of hardscaping to the show, creating beautiful displays everywhere.

All around the show, you experienced their products and handiwork.

When I asked the EB Henry representative about their participation in the event, he quickly acknowledged valuing the partnership. All the materials are incorporated into gardens the Horticulture Society creates with partnering organizations throughout the city after the Flower Show. What a great story.

However, I wondered if EB Henry maximizes their participation. The young man said they "hope people will start thinking about their gardens." With all the snow we've had, surely people are thinking about their gardens, I thought. But he didn't seem to have a strategy to engage Flower Show attendees, to track related sales, to encourage them to visit their showroom. At least he was there, eager and enthusiastic to talk about their products and humbly share a great story.

Corporate sponsorship is a powerful medium. If your corporate brand is only using it to stick a logo on a banner or brochure, you're wasting your money. Take full advantage of every opportunity, and make sure you're doing your part in achieving a return on your investment. 

If you need assistance developing your brand's corporate sponsorship strategy, corporate sponsorship consultant Gail Bower can help.

Supporting the culture of China

Like in the U.S., historic sites, museums, and other nonprofit organizations in China also are contending with a decrease in government funding and exploring ways to increase revenue from other sources, including corporate sponsorship. 

 

My friend and colleague from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Carrie Hood, who traveled with me to China joined us for a meeting with representatives from both the China Great Wall Society and the overseer for the Badaling section of the Great Wall, closest to Beijing.

We learned so much about the creative ways the China Great Wall Society is building visibility, support, engagement, and financial commitment for the needs of the Wall's preservation in our conversation with Dong Yaohui (second from right), Standing Vice-Chairman of the Society and considered one of China's foremost experts on the Great Wall.

  Corporate underwriting is not uncommon; sponsorship is newer in China. American Express supported Forbidden City, which is interesting since it seemed nearly impossible to use the American Express card in China.

Moet Hennessy • Louis Vuitton supported this exhibition at UCCA in the 798 Arts District. 

And of course Coca-Cola and McDonald's are featured prominently at Olympic Park.

    

To me the options seem endless: Western companies are eager to expand into China. Chinese companies need brand building and recognition. Let the Games begin.

Strive to integrate

Strive to integrate your two brands into your sponsorship opportunities. Here's a great example of what I mean.

Lincoln Center has partnered with The Wall Street Journal to present 

Summer Scoops Live with The Wall Street Journal. It works extremely well because:

1. The name of the series relates to both brands' strengths. 
2. The visual identity of this series incorporates The Wall Street Journal's trademark use of line drawings, rather than photos, to illustrate the text.
3. Most importantly, the series enriches the audience members' experiences of either Lincoln Center's programming – several events preview upcoming events at Lincoln Center – or of The Wall Street Journal's writers and editors – through special opportunities to see and hear these individuals speak in a live forum. Presumably, this partnership makes possible these unique experiences for both entities' audiences. 

Sticking a logo on marketing materials does not constitute integration. A stronger strategy is to weave your two brands together.
  

Corporate Sponsorship is Not Dead

If you were in Philadelphia today and needed an inspirational experience to revive your sponsorship selling efforts or to inject some creativity into your own corporate program, the Arts & Business Council's annual luncheon and awards presentation was the place to be. Story after story about the super heros who make the business of the arts an art form inspired everyone. (It was also a fine example of elegant corporate sponsorship integration and activation.)

And for those of you disheartened by media reports about the state of our economy and what it means for sponsorship, take heart. Sponsorship is not dead. 

You can read more in this article in Time magazine. I had the opportunity to speak with the reporter about how corporations and communities benefit from corporate support of the arts, themes echoed at today's luncheon.

Even better, seek communities, like the Arts & Business Council's, that are talking about positive initiatives, programs, and collaborations. It will help you look for and think about opportunities in a fresh way.