Sponsorship Strategist

Self-deprecating humor saves the Olympic day

Most of us have forgotten about the annoying technical glitch that marred the symmetry and perfection of the Opening Ceremony lighting of the indoor Olympic cauldron on February 12. Four arms were supposed to rise from their own trap doors in the floor and meet in a criss-crossing pattern above the heads of 4 Canadian athletes poised with flames to light the Olympic symbol. One of the arms refused to emerge from the ground, leaving NBC announcers to speculate and an awkward moment for the audience. But the show must go on. And it did. Tonight, two weeks later, the... Read more →

More on P&G and the Olympics' "Thanks, Mom" sponsorship and campaign

As a follow up to my post the other day, you may find this interview with P&G CMO Marc Pritchard of interest, particularly the internal process when the campaign and sponsorship were in development. Nonprofit and other sponsorship seekers, take note. To really make the partnership of value, building support and integrating the promotion corporate-wide, requires a long lead time. P&G is already working on its tie with the London 2012 Olympics. Also, check out this video and blog post about Visa's strategy and focus on measurement and ROI. Read more →

Does my dry cleaner have a corporate sponsor?

Wondering why corporate sponsorship for your nonprofit is confusing?

Even if you can't, you'll have to get used to the new handle. City officials yesterday announced that Wawa Inc. is the new title sponsor of the July Fourth festival, replacing Sunoco Inc., which had been associated with the multi-day event since the mid-1990s. via www.philly.com Congratulations to Welcome America! and Wawa on a new partnership for Philadelphia's 4th of July festivities. You can read all about it at this link. Take particular note of Sunoco's comments. It's not unusual for corporations to take a different approach with their marketing dollars, especially in times of changing market conditions, which the... Read more →

Opening Ceremony, Part 2 #olympicsponsorship

Well, things got better after the athletes were all gathered, but no wow was achieved tonight. Not well executed, cliche images of Canada, poor choreography. We didn't really get to know our host for the next few weeks. And they seemed to be competing with Beijing's Opening Ceremony without the artistic vision and cohesiveness needed to pull it off. The sponsorship presence on NBC was minimal. Overall, a very lukewarm beginning. I wish the athletes all the best. I'd love to hear (er, read) your thoughts. What did you think about the ceremony? What did you like or dislike? Read more →

Opening Ceremony #olympicsponsorship

We're 30 minutes in to the Opening Ceremony, and so far, I'm not terribly impressed. And that disappoints me. No "wow." Very soft opening. All very tepid. Nice color schemes. The athletes look so very happy. And I'm so glad the native peoples have such an important role, which I hope was a sincere gesture. NBC's coverage is really tedious however. First of all, shut up, announcers. We can see what's happening. Stop the back stories. And stop cutting the camera work in MTV-fashion. It's like dance on televsion; you miss the big picture. I'll hold my overall judgement, but... Read more →

#Olympicsponsorship: A primer on the Olympics sponsorship

You may find this short primer on the TOP sponsors of value before we kick things off tonight. Half of the income for the Olympics comes from television broadcasting (thanks, NBC) and about a third from sponsorship, particularly those in the TOP program. So drink some Coca-Cola, and remember, only Visa. That said, Vancouver needed a bailout. Sponsorship was down this year. Read more →

#Olympicsponsorship and #OpeningCeremony Tweetchat tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST: going global

Are you as excited as I for tonight's Olympic Games Opening Ceremony? Judging from the chatter on the Twitter world, you're not alone! Just a reminder about the TweetChat and blog-in I'm hosting tonight, beginning at 7:30 EST when the television coverage begins. I hope you'll join in. I've heard from friends, colleagues, and clients in Baja, Mexico, London, China, and of course throughout the US that they may be tweeting and commenting and participating in the conversation, too. Welcome to all; invite your friends and followers! Here are the details and some insider scoop I found out about the... Read more →

Looking ahead: the CLOUD of London 2012 Olympics

Amazing technology being imagined for our next summer Olympics in London. Check it out. Read more →

The art-making of this year's Olympic medals and torch

Thanks to my friend and colleague Myriam Siftar, president of LinguaSoft, for sending me this article from Innovation Philadelphia's newsletter about design showcased at the Olympics. I encourage you to have a look. Here is a video that I also highly encourage you to watch (it's a great way to spend about 7 minutes) on the story behind the beautiful design and creation of this year's gold, silver, and bronze medals. Works of art with an incredible story. Read more →