Diary of a Sponsorship Loser

I hear a lot of stories from rightsholders. Stories filled with frustration, anguish, and sheer desperation. Most of the time, all of that could have been avoided, if they made some different choices along the way. This is a story inspired by the emails I’ve received from the industry. I’ve… Read More


Action Plan: What to Do when a Big Sponsor Exits

This is the nightmare for much of our industry. I’m guessing some of you may develop a facial tic just thinking about it! And yet, it happens. Sponsorships end, and if it’s unexpected, or done without a lot of lead-time, you need an action plan and you need one fast.… Read More


How to Create a “Balanced” Sponsorship Portfolio

The other day, I had someone ask me how to ensure a sponsor’s sponsorship portfolio was “balanced” across sponsorship categories. Her concern was how to ensure that there was an even spread of sponsorship across sports vs charities vs community events, etc, particularly given that sports sponsorship tends to be… Read More


Favourite Sponsorship Leverage Hack: Don’t Sponsor the Property, Sponsor the Fans

I’ve published a few sponsorship hacks over the years. Most of them have to do with a process shortcut – something to streamline or speed up a time-intensive part of your job. But this one is different. This is about a mindset shortcut – a way of thinking about sponsorship… Read More


4 Warning Signs that a Sponsor is Planning to Exit

Have you ever been blindsided by a sponsor exiting? Thought a renewal was a sure thing, or at least a strong probability, only to get a “no”? There were probably signs along the way, but as much as rightsholders read a myriad of motivations and probabilities into every stage of… Read More


Sponsorship Proposal Hack: The Invention Test

I love Masterchef, and one of my favourite challenges is the invention test. If you’re not a cooking nerd, like I am, the invention test is when all of the competitors get the same main ingredient and are challenged to come up with the most innovative and delicious dish. It… Read More


4 Warning Signs that Your Sponsorship Proposals Suck

I’ve lamented on a few occasions about the bad news I often have to give to rightsholders. A lot of it has to do with the quality of the sponsorship proposals they’re creating, so I’ve decided to do this little self-diagnostic to see if your sponsorship proposals suck. There are… Read More


Are Sponsors Worth the Headache?

This was a question I came across a while back. To be fair, the person who asked wasn’t that blunt, but had definitely seen a lot of headaches from sponsors who didn’t pay their fees, didn’t do what they had promised, and generally bullied the rightsholder. After a nightmare like… Read More


Five Reasons Sponsors Should Consider an Umbrella Sponsorship Portfolio

I love umbrella portfolios. I make no bones about it. They’re powerful, flexible, and super-efficient – what’s not to love?! They featured heavily in my previous post, “How to Structure a Sponsorship Portfolio”, but I think they’re an important enough element that it warranted addressing this portfolio management technique specifically.… Read More


The Dos and Don’ts of Sponsorship Research

While there are lots of ways to measure sponsorship, how to conduct sponsorship research is often the most vexing. The thing is, sponsorship research isn’t actually that complex, but the way it’s been done, for literally decades, is so entrenched that sponsors often can’t see past it. But to get… Read More


The Enemy of Effective Sponsorship Measurement

I’ve written at length about sponsorship measurement in books and blogs, but I’ve never really addressed why sponsorship measurement so often, and persistently, goes awry. It’s a little concept called “confirmation bias”. “Confirmation bias” is the tendency for people to seek out and interpret information in a way that confirms… Read More


It’s Not the Size of the Sponsorship, It’s What You Do with It

“We sponsor a great little organisation, but their reach is so small, how do we make this work for our brand?” “Our event is smallish and local, but we really need sponsorship. How do we get big sponsors interested?” “Our music festival is great, but it’s just one day. Sponsors… Read More