Sponsorship Strategist

As a culture, have we gone mad?

The hype, hyperbole, and overly protective cautionary warnings (yes, that's purposely redundant) in our culture are over the top. If you're marketing your business, nonprofit, event, service, product, or program in a way that competes with these messages, I shudder to think about what we're going to be reading and seeing in the media in 10 and 20 years. Three examples: Grand Canyon. Three years ago, we went to the Grand Canyon on vacation, a place where we'd never hiked. If you've been there and you hike, you know you have two hiking options: an easy-breezy walk around the rim,... 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 →

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 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 →

You can be an Olympics Sponsor, too

When Dutch bank DBS went bankrupt and left the U.S. Speedskating team without a corporate sponsor, Stephen Colbert, the comedian-mock news anchor, and fans jumped in. You can get in on the action and be part of the Colbert Nation: click on Colbert Nation (bottom right) and donate. Read more →

Virtual invitation: Watch the Opening Ceremony with me

I have a little secret: I LOVE the Olympics Opening Ceremony. The spectacle. The culture. The ceremony. The athletes' anxiety. The celebration. Checking out the sponsor tie-ins. All of it. As you know, this Friday, February 12, is the Opening Ceremony for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. It also happens to be my birthday. And how will I spend it? You guessed it. Smack dab in front of my television watching the pomp and circumstance unfold. Why am I telling you this? Because if you're watching it, too, I invite you to join me virtually. I plan to post observations about... Read more →

Corporate sponsorship as trust-builder

When you enter Nancy Gilboy's office at the International Visitors Council of Philadelphia, a big poster reminds you of something that's easy to forget in our increasingly electronic universe: "Face-to-face is better than fax-to-fax." This operational value is an important element of IVC's work: to "welcome a stranger, send home a friend." Building trust is implicit in IVC's mission. When you think about ways to build trust for your brand, three best practices, among others, come to mind: Being reliable. Consumers want to know what to expect, to be able to count on your brand to deliver in a consistent... 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 →