Sponsorship VS.

Partnership

Life Education NSW

The purses

Sponsorship -Tied funds

Life Education NSW

What is it?• In Sport or Arts it’s usually an ‘event’• In cause area it can be an event, campaign, program, research study,

phone service, a person....much broader!• Industry calls the thing that is sponsorable the ‘property’• Is your event, campaign or program actually ‘sponsorable’ – e.g. is it

really something that has tangible, marketing measurable benefits for the investor?

• Or is it just a feel good investment – e.g. you are after a donation/philanthropy?

• You cannot sell a sponsorship on feel-good!

“EXCHANGING TANGIBLE BENEFITS”

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Why do sponsors, sponsor?

• New brand – create awareness & relevance with customers• Challenger brand – to cut out the big guys• Mature brand – remain relevant, build on relationships but not about logo

exposure• Positioning – being seen in the right crowd• Build trust – show they care (with cause sponsorship)• Sample product or demonstrate technology use• Emotive stories to demonstrate corporate citizenship –messaging via

social media (merge with CSR)• Change customer perception – change behaviour• Staff engagement and internal brand building

Life Education NSW

So what do you want sponsored?

• Discussion and sharing • Readiness checklist– Tangible and measurable benefits– Buzz words– Target audience– Your Property: basic description– How much $ do you need?

Life Education NSW

Other considerations• Do you want one sponsor or more than one?• Do you need pro-bono/product as well as cash?• Do you need volunteers?• Do you have resources to manage more than one sponsor?• What are the consumer touch points of the event? Who

participates/sees it? Think of numbers as well as the PROFILE of those people (young fit people, older people who like dogs....) etc.

• Is the event brand new or has run before? Is it mature and in need of a refresh?

• Do you have footage/media files pertaining to it?• Do you have good images that capture the event?

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Other considerations• What is the BEST THING about your event (from an external

perspective)?• What is the thing you’d rather not admit about it (the worst thing?)• Do you believe in it? Are you excited by it? Or do you think its

daggy/tired/a waste of money?• What is the biggest opportunity you see for it?• What is the biggest threat? • Is the property unique or are there other things similar? What

makes yours so special?• Get acquainted with your event, campaign, program – write

everything down you can think of – you cannot sell something you are not familiar with

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Working out the Benefits • What people do you have involved ?• What marketing & fundraising elements are

involved?• What physical things are involved? Cars, banners,

podiums...• What staff engagement opportunities are there for

a sponsor?• What organisational benefits can you offer – e.g.

story in your donor newsletter, logo on website etc.

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Cost VS. Value Cost• Work out what it costs you to run the

event/program/campaign, add 10% for sponsorship costs (your time to secure sponsor) then add 10% for relationship management – not the ideal way to go about it – why?

Value• Work out the tangible benefits and get them valued by an

external media buyer, so the investment is what its worth NOT what it costs

Naming rights• Avoid at ALL COSTS

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How to Price it?• Avoid the ‘gold, silver bronze’ packaging – it’s too

prescriptive and it’s meaningless – what does a gold sponsor of a cancer charity mean anyway?

• Corporates think it’s old hat and unsophisticated• Avoid ‘major’ and ‘minor’• Be more creative – the ‘listening sponsor’ (Optus)• Avoid jargon – no-one knows what a GIK sponsor is!• Better to get 1 or 2 sponsors and just call them...sponsors!• An event with 5 ‘major sponsors’ and 3 ‘in kind’ sponsors

and 50 ‘supporters’ just looks like....

Life Education NSW

Life Education NSW

Don’t Do’s Why it fails?

• Go in at wrong time, don’t do research, use board connections, use wrong language

• In addition they don’t provide specifics about benefits• The investment is all about your needs – hard to justify it internally! Or

worse, no investment info at all!• There is no business case – it’s all about YOUR needs• There is no relevance, it’s not been tailored to the prospect• Guilt tactics (not only will this scare the sponsor off but really........go

tell someone who cares)• They send out hundreds of unsolicited and untailored proposals... Then

wait for the phone to ring

Life Education NSW

Don’t Do’s Why it fails?

• Proposals lack professionalism – yes we still see 18-odd typos in submissions

• Given no thought to how the sponsor might leverage it, use it, to benefit them and their customers (eg its all about you again!)

• Go over the head of the sponsorship person to the CEO using your contacts (how do you think that goes down?)

• Offers a well known company their logo on everything to ‘build awareness’ when they are already well known

• Offers highly trusted company opportunity to ‘borrow our trusted brand to make yours more trusted’

• You go 3 months before the event!

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Partnership – Untied Funds

Life Education NSW

Latest Research• Gen X and Y switch for a cause when they buy – March 2014 • Consumers are sending a message to companies – support

a charity and we’ll support you. Almost 1/6 of consumers have switched from their usual product/service to another, in the last year, because of its support of a cause/charity. The survey of 1200 consumers, conducted by Di Marzio Research in March 2014, was exclusively for Cavill + Co.

Most appealing to marketers however is that cashed up and fickle Gen Y and the more prudent luxury addicts Gen X are most likely to switch.

Life Education NSW

Corporate Partners can provide…

1.New, untapped source of income = broaden your income stream

2.Untied, long term, significant income = spend it on what is critical

3.Funding for your critical events = so more donor money can go to services

4.Mass market promotion of your cause, message and work = increased awareness, more donations, new donors

5.Corporate expertise and resources = the kind you can only dream of!

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Risks1. Undervaluing your brand and assets = giving

away2. Approaching without preparation = burning

bridges3. Approaching at wrong time = demotivating,

culture of failure4. Securing the wrong partner = damage to

your brand, loss of donors

Life Education NSW

Key factors• Attitude of partnership, commercial savvy vs

philanthropy – Board, CEO and staff• Long term vision• Mission-focussed not $$ focused• Skilled people with time to negotiate• Investment in brand and people (appropriate

training)• Follow a tried + tested strategy

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Are you ready for the bigger fish?

• Brand & Marketing savvy – is your brand distinct, invested in, controlled, worth something?

• Is your purpose clear and enrolling? Can you articulate what you do in a compelling way?

• Do you have clearly articulated brand personality?• Is your brand well known nationally? Do you have stats?• Are you the leader in your sector or do you have a much

savvier or more established competitor?• Do you have a marketing plan to build awareness of your

brand and its vital work?

Life Education NSW

Are you ready for the bigger fish?

• Timing: is the key person who will be presenting AVAILABLE during the only 8 weeks that matter in corporate partnerships – Feb/March?

• Resources: do you have a dedicated resource to prepare for & seek out corporate partners – or someone with at LEAST a day a week? Is this person an employee or contractor?

• Is the person responsible dynamic, go-getter and full of abundance thinking?

Life Education NSW

Are you ready for the bigger fish?

• What experience does this person have negotiating high level deals?

• Does this person have the power and authority to negotiate national partnerships?

• Does this person have DIRECT access to the Board?• Do the Board UNDERSTAND partnerships and the

timeframe required to secure?• Benefits: do you have clearly articulated organisational

benefits to offer a corporate? Have these been valued?

Life Education NSW

Don’t Do’s Why it fails?

• They try to sell something (sponsorship) rather than create the partnership with the corporate

• They’re in a rush to have a one night stand, but a partnership is a long term marriage

• They go in at the wrong time • They don’t do their research• They try to use ‘board connections’ to get in when ‘who knows who’

doesn't work• They use the wrong language – don’t understand the ‘purses’• They go to the wrong person with the wrong offer• They make it all about their charity and not about the corporate benefit

Life Education NSW

Life Education NSW

Enrolment VS. Selling Enrolment • to engage, acceptance, invite – you are creating a

possibility that they choose to step into, to become involved in

Selling• To exchange or deliver for money or its

equivalent, to offer something in exchange for price or reward

Life Education NSW

Enrolment VS. Selling Enrolment - PARTNERSHIP• to engage, acceptance, invite – you are creating a

possibility that they choose to step into, to become involved in

Selling - SPONSORSHIP• To exchange or deliver for money or its

equivalent, to offer something in exchange for price or reward

Life Education NSW

Life Education NSW

Resources • Edelman Trust Barometer• Milward Brown Australian Charity Perception

Report• Repucom Sponsorship Outlook Report• ProBono Australia• Cavill & Co – lots of statistics and free

resources www.cavill.com.au

Life Education NSW

Lillian AdnanFundraising Manager – Life EducationLinked Inladnan@lifeeducation.org.au