Sponsorship Strategist

On the Road to Experiential Marketing - NYTimes.com

MADISON AVENUE wants to get its act together this summer and take it on the road. via www.nytimes.com Sounds like new brands are experimenting with experiential marketing this summer. See if any align with your events. A couple interesting points worth noting: New York Times reporter calls experiential marketing a "popular trend," as if this idea were new. It's not, but it's still great to see one of the most powerful marketing media finally receive some positive recognition, particularly since 3 short years ago, politicians, consumers, and the media bemoaned the evils of sponsorship. Two interesting quotes in the article:... Read more →

3 ways Steve Jobs may inspire you

We now live in a world without Steve Jobs, and an enormous void exists. He leaves a legacy that will inspire millions of us for many reasons for generations. I offer three ways Mr. Jobs may inspire you: Experience of the brand. If you've never been in an Apple store, visit one soon. It's more like an attraction than a retail experience. The feel, the vibe, the overall experience of an Apple store should be your inspiration for your sponsorship program. For businesses that sponsor events, your onsite component should be so compelling that it becomes an attraction or an... Read more →

Resources for small businesses that sponsor and those who sell to them

If you're a small business owner looking for a way to build brand awareness, drive traffic to your store or web site, increase sales, entertain clients, or fulfill a host of other business objectives, consider corporate sponsorship. The ultimate social medium, corporate sponsorship is distinct from other marketing vehicles because it provides you with an experiential component to allow potential and existing customers to interact with your brand, product or service, face-to-face and heart-to-heart. Two resources to help you learn more are: a recent article on the Fox Small Business Center, entitled What Every Small Business Needs to Know About... Read more →

Experiencing your brand through communications and actions

Like you, I've got electronic gadgets. Sometimes they work great; other times, it's a big mystery why they don't. The other night our Netflix account was completely inaccessible. We were unable to access it through Apple TV, by phone (busy signal), online (web page wouldn't load), and through an iPad app. We were shut out. In the scheme of life, of course, this is a very minor inconvenience, and whenever technology fails to work, I think about Louis CK's observation that everything's amazing and nobody's happy. So, life rolled along. I put the technological hiccup out of my mind, until... Read more →

Learn from Irma's: A case for throwing away your menu

I've been in Houston this week, and actually, I just earned a Certificate in Strategic Foresight from the University of Houston's prestigious Futures Studies program. Much more to come on that topic; today's post is about Irma's. One day during the week, several of us headed over to Irma's Southwest Grill for lunch. As we pulled off heavy coats, gloves, and scarves, arranging them on the mobile, table-side coat racks the waiter provided (a great idea, by the way!), we nestled into our seats and prepared for what we anticipated would be a normal experience at a restaurant new to... Read more →

Ask the right questions when considering events

The accelerated pace at which we live coupled with the prevalence of "glowing rectangles" in our lives (90 percent of our time, according to The Onion, which sometimes seems pretty close, right?) occasionally can cause us to minimize the importance of human connections in our lives. As many of us gathered around dining room tables to give thanks and eat turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, perhaps circuitry shifted a bit. Time with family and friends allows us to reconnect with what's most important in life. To drop down to the human level. That connection to the human is what... Read more →

Experiencing a nonprofit brand

If you have about 6 minutes, check out this video, below, and an article about a flash mob the Opera Company of Philadelphia pulled together this weekend with about 600 singers from choirs and choral groups throughout the Philadelphia region. I appreciate that, while some performing arts organizations are fretting about the drastic drops in attendance, wringing their hands and complaining, the Opera Company of Philadelphia offers a contemporary, fun, and experiential way of engaging new and existing audience members. Bold, generous, inclusive, and uplifting. Wish I'd been there, but I'm grateful for the video. How's the experience of your... Read more →

What's the experience of your brand?

A key indicator and area of focus in my work with clients – and one way I process the world of business – is through my experience of brands: how the experiences relate to their business strategies; how those strategies are also conveyed through other marketing efforts, such as corporate sponsorship, the ultimate experiential medium; and taking a look at any gaps. You learn a lot through these experiences, and when those experiences are positive, they really stand out. Last month, for example, I traveled to Pittsburgh on business. The people with whom I was meeting took me to lunch... Read more →