Sponsorship Strategist

Sheetz and the Greatest Movie Ever Sold

On my drive out to work with a client in Central Pennsylvania, I popped into this Sheetz gas station/convenience store in Carlisle, Pa., to see if and how they took advantage of their movie sponsorship for POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. See what you think. At the self-serve soda and beverage dispenser counter, you'll find the famous collectors' cups ("first time ever in a documentary," director Morgan Spurlock notes in the film) that Sheetz President and CEO Stan Sheetz enthusiastically snapped up. ("We're going to be on that like a wet t-shirt," he says in the film... 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 →

Saluting Dunkin' Donuts and the Troops

My friend and colleague Joe Brooks, president & COO of the USO of Pennsylvania & Southern New Jersey, writes in with details of a great partnership his organization has with Dunkin' Donuts. If you're in Philadelphia, tune in to Fox tomorrow morning, Veteran's Day, at 7:15 to see Joe in action. In the meantime, here's what Joe has to say: Today and tomorrow the USO of Pennsylvania & Southern New Jersey (Liberty USO) and Dunkin Donuts (DD) call attention to their “November is USO Month” promotion. With 6 ABC covering the event this morning, DD’s Louis Conte, left, presented [Joe... Read more →

Sponsorship nightmare

More than 1.5 million people around the world will Race for the Cure this month and into the fall to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer. The 27-year effort has been a tremendous success, rallying communities everywhere to think pink. As I've noted previously, however, over-saturation and overkill of the color pink with seemingly every business jumping on the band wagon cause no business to really stand out. With so much pink, consumers become numb to corporate involvement. Until now. KFC has launched Buckets for the Cure(TM), attempting "to make the single largest donation in the history of Susan... 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 →

Coffee talk: Nescafé takes on Starbucks

Yesterday, navigating my way through the snowy, slushy streets, I got some free instant coffee. Across the street from Starbucks. Nescafé is taking on Starbucks and its new instant coffee. Starbucks' instant coffee took on Nescafé when it introduced its instant product, causing Nescafé to modernize its product. Interesting. Inside these envelopes from the Nescafé Team (as they preferred to be identified) are six different blends and flavors, making a substantial sample. Guerilla marketing for guerilla product development? Maybe. Or maybe just healthy competition. Either way, Nescafé and Starbucks (perhaps undergoing a midlife crisis?) might benefit from your corporate sponsorship... Read more →

Yo, Philly: Supercharge your sales

If you need a back-to-business break from all the holiday fun next week, join Lyn Kremer, publisher of the Philadelphia Business Journal, and me on Thursday, December 17, for a dynamic breakfast event: Supercharge Your Sales: Jump-start Your Nonprofit's Sponsorship Strategy. Why you should attend: Lyn will share with you recommendations on how to make reading the Philadelphia Business Journal a richer experience that truly will supercharge your business development efforts. I will share ideas about ways you can improve your relationships with existing sponsors, find new ones, and enhance your sponsorship program and operation to improve your sponsorship results... Read more →

Greetings from China

I accepted an invitation to speak in China this week, working with the Beijing Association for Science and Technology to develop ideas for their sponsorship program. The organization plans to build a science center, along with a satellite location in a shopping area attractive to young people, both of which will expand their mobile museum programming. It's been an exhileratimg week! Here I am having my first taste of Peking Duck with my hosts: Suli Zhong, center, BAST Chief Director; Wang Shuo to his right, who is overseeing the new Center; and Li Hong Xu, left, of DKVSponsorship International, and... Read more →

Short-attention span culture

I just overheard a 30-something guy say that he prefers a seafood gumbo over a steak. Why? Because by the end he realizes, "the last 24 bites tasted just the same." Maybe he has an adventuresome culinary spirit. On the other hand, maybe he has a short attention span. Electronic media has altered the way we consume information. Watch a movie trailer and count the number of cuts. Then, rent a film by Orson Wells or Alfred Hitchcock, masters of long uninterrupted takes. How are your events, conferences, meetings, festivals, and sponsorship programs adapting to this change? How are your... Read more →

What are you reading when you read the news?

One simple jolt to your corporate sponsorship selling efforts is to read the news more creatively than you used to. Look for opportunities. That's just one suggestion I offered participants of my workshop last week at the Texas Festival & Event Association conference (and to readers of my new guidebook). Here are a couple examples of what I mean. Today I came across this news item about how McCormick & Co., the new owners of Lawry's, is spicing up (sorry, couldn't resist!) its marketing efforts for the brand's marinades and spices. If I produced an event or festival with a... Read more →