Sponsorship Strategist

10 Sponsorship Resolutions for the New Fiscal Year

As you’re plotting out how the rest of 2019 or fiscal year 2020 will be a fantastic year, don’t forget to take a look at your sponsorship-selling habits.  Here are ten to get you started. Read more →

Spark Sponsorship Joy: Tidying Up Your Sponsorship Program

Time for some sponsorship spring cleaning. Follow Marie Kondo's process, which I adapted, to spark joy in your sponsorship program. Read more →

The Value Gauge

Think back to this time last year and consider your sponsorship program. Have you created more value? Or have you lost value? Read more →

Don't become a sponsorship commodity

The single biggest mistake I see sponsorship sellers make is offering bland, generic sponsorship offerings that have no value. Every organization and event has something unique to offer each sponsor. I have never failed to recognize this truism in all the years I sold sponsorship and all the years I’ve advised thousands of sponsorship sellers. It is your job to draw out this uniqueness and highlight it in alignment with the sponsor’s measurable objectives. But too many people strip out of the offering the creativity, the spark, the uniqueness. That’s how they become a commodity. Read more →

Sponsorship fantasies

Last month Philadelphia Magazine published an article on the apparent demise of a beloved and significant bicycle race in Philadelphia that had been on international calendars. The story recounted in the magazine is problematic for several reasons, but here's the main one. Read more →

Don't wimp out on sponsorship pricing

Here’s some good news and bad news about how to price sponsorship. Bad news? You probably aren’t charging enough for your sponsorship opportunities. The good news? You can change this. Wimpy sponsorship pricing only hurts you. Read more →

3 ways to improve your sponsorship value

One of the 8 drivers of sponsorship success is the quality of your sponsorship program. When was the last time you took a good hard look at what you’re selling? If your sponsorship program lacks value, you’re propping up a façade, which ultimately undermines your confidence. It’s a new year and time to review and upgrade. Read more →

Sponsor logo clusters and other marketing problems

You know how some marathon t-shirts or nonprofit event emails or hard copy invitations have a big jumble of logos, most of which are so small you can’t even read them? Have you ever wondered whether this glob of logos is valuable? Read Gail Bower's response to Kivi Leroux Miller's "When Sponsor Promotion Consumes Your Communications Channels," who likens this display to a Times Square billboard. Read more →