I see a lot of sponsorship proposals, and most of them are terrible. Your property may be amazing, but if your proposal is awful, you’re not going to get a “yes”. The thing is that there are a number of red flags – proposal killers – that sponsors can spot… Read More
This is another total rewrite of a very popular blog from a few years ago, and while the advice from back then still holds, my top five priorities for sponsorship selection have changed over the years. So, for all of you sponsors still looking for bargains on same-old same-old benefits,… Read More
Most of my blogs address issues and opportunities presented by individual sponsorships or overall approaches. It isn’t often that I address sponsorship at the portfolio level in this blog, and it’s probably about time to address portfolio structures that work, and a few that don’t. When it comes right down… Read More
Sponsorship isn’t easy. It’s complex and sophisticated and it requires many very specific skills to do it well. But there is one skill that I have found to be the most consistently lacking across sponsorship professionals on both sides of the equation: They have forgotten what it’s like to be a… Read More
It’s still early in the year – the time when people wipe the slate, make resolutions, and dedicate themselves to doing better. It’s when people give themselves permission to start over. What if we applied that thinking to corporate sponsorship? What if sponsors took some time out from dealing with… Read More
I recently had an interesting question. A charitable organisation was advised by their lawyers that they were obliged to spend sponsorship income only on the event or program that was being sponsored, and it could not be used for general operating expenses. The question was whether this was true or… Read More
It’s been 18 years, and almost a million downloads, since I first wrote “Last Generation Sponsorship”. I’ve done minor updates and tweaks, over the years, but never a full overhaul… until now. Let me introduce you to “Last Generation Sponsorship Redux”. The basic framework of sponsorship has remained the same,… Read More
Back when I started in this industry, visibility ruled, and the most powerful thing any sponsor could get was lots of logo exposure – the bigger the logo, the better. Add a bit of hospitality, an athlete meet-and-greet, and if you were really forward-thinking, maybe a sales promotion, and that… Read More
This is a big rewrite of one of my most popular blogs for sponsors. It’s actually the second full rewrite, since I first wrote it years ago. Why? Because how much to budget for sponsorship leverage is a perennial question. And the thing is, that’s not the right question. I… Read More
This blog is for all the sponsors out there. And no, I don’t think you’re a bunch of jerks. Not at all. But there are some things that a lot sponsors do that unintentionally cause more strife for rightsholders than is really necessary. Below is a list, as well as… Read More
Some sponsors receive dozens of unsolicited proposals a month. Some receive hundreds. Others, thousands. It’s a relentless firehose of sponsorship requests that you’re supposed to somehow turn into a few recommended investments. It’s no wonder so many sponsors are overwhelmed by the process of sponsorship proposal assessment! Below, I’ve outlined… Read More
Looking at the title, I think I probably should have been more specific. I mean, there are dozens of ways to exit a sponsorship, including telling your partner to “get stuffed”, berating them for your own shortcomings, or simply not responding to any of their calls at renewal time. While… Read More