“But Sponsorship Leverage Costs Money!”

For years, I’ve had the same protest at sponsor workshops. I go through the benefits of sponsorship leverage and a bunch of case studies, and the creative juices are flowing. Then someone either complains that leverage is all well and good, but it costs money, or asks me how they… Read More


The Sponsorship Consistency Conundrum for CMOs

You’re the Chief Marketing Officer of a large multinational, or a Group Marketing Manager, overseeing multiple major brands. Whatever your title, you’re a senior executive looking at millions of dollars being invested in corporate sponsorship across your company, and you know there are problems. Some of the decisions appear to… Read More


Why You Should Never Use a Scorecard to Assess Sponsorships

If you read this blog with any frequency, it won’t come as any surprise that I have a few sponsorship-related pet peeves. One of my biggest issues on the sponsor side is using scorecards to assess sponsorship opportunities. The scorecard process generally looks something like this. You’ve got a scorecard… Read More


Why Associations Suck at Sponsorship, and How to Fix It

My normal approach is to write blogs and other materials that are centred on the various skills, strategies, and pitfalls around sponsorship – things that are shared across categories of rightsholders or sponsors. It’s not very often that I take aim at one category of business, but I’m making the… Read More


Rightsholder Sponsorship Strategies for a Great 2024

It’s early in the year, the time when we look at twelve months stretching out in front of us, and the sponsorship possibilities seem endless. You make ambitious plans and lists and put dates on your goals – we all do! But how many times do you get to the… Read More


Sponsor Strategies for a Great 2024

Here we are, at the beginning of 2024 – 366 days where you can stick with the status quo, for more of the same uninspired approach to sponsorship, the same frustrations, and the same mediocre (or diminishing) returns. Alternatively, you can make some changes early, and alter the entire trajectory… Read More


What Every CMO Needs to Know about Sponsorship (Redux)

I write a lot about sponsorship – books, blogs, white papers – and virtually all of it is aimed at the frontline sponsorship and brand management team. It’s all about how they can get better results, how they can leverage more cost-effectively, how to create measurement plans, and all the… Read More


Using Sponsorship to Support DEI and ESG Initiatives (and Not Just Pay Lip Service)

DEI and ESG have been percolating away in the corporate world for a while, but in the past few years, have exploded. The profile of these priorities has increased exponentially. Corporate commitments to them have been expanded. And consumer expectations around them have gone from almost non-existent to, for many… Read More


Why I’m Not the Right Sponsorship Consultant for You

I’m a sponsorship consultant, undertaking sponsorship reviews, developing strategies, and building organisational sponsorship capacity. I absolutely love my job. But over all the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve figured out which potential clients are going to make the most of working with me, and which won’t. I know the… Read More


No Excuses: It’s Time for Developing Sponsorship Markets to Grow Up

Sponsorship sophistication varies around the world. There are mature, sophisticated sponsorship markets, developing markets, and some in-between. There are even some pretenders, where the market appears to think they’re oh-so-sophisticated, because there’s a lot of money being thrown around, but the underlying approach is anything but. Developing sponsorship markets include… Read More


How to Ride Out a Bad Sponsorship (and Get Out Gracefully, when the Time is Right)

Just about every rightsholder in the world can run through their sponsorship portfolio, noting the great sponsors, the improving sponsors, and the sponsors that are just taking up space – the bad sponsors. You don’t hate them, and they may be lovely people, but you know they just aren’t right… Read More


Sponsorship and Emerging/Improving Technology: The Rules of Engagement

I’m a nerd, and I love technology. My office, home, and travel is peppered with ridiculously-specced gear, and I don’t know what I’d do without it. I’m the first to admit that the emerging/improving tech available to sponsors is staggering – and oh so tempting – but is it all… Read More