Countdown to Derby- Tips on Sponsorship

"Don't price any sponsors out of the market."
-Mike Berry, Kentucky Derby Festival CEO and President

The Kentucky Derby is one of the most prestigious and classy sporting events of the year. Nearly every celebrity has made an appearance and the event has the perception of exclusivity.

However, they actually do a pretty good job of including the general public. On Oaks Day and Derby Day tickets are only $25 and $40 respectively for general admission. Now granted you won't be hob-knobbing with the celebs, but you'll still get a chance to experience all of the excitement. And this year they even added the "infield club" for $150 which gives a little more of an exclusive experience at an affordable price. So with tickets ranging on Derby Day from $40 to thousands, the Derby has given a nice range of options and price points to offer everyone an opportunity to attend at their comfort level.

No wonder they take the same approach with their sponsors. They have packages that are in the six figures to sponsor the largest events, but then also have $600 packages for patrons that could include a few tickets and the rights to say they are an official sponsor of the Derby.

Mike Berry is a big believer in nickels making dollars. Doesn't that sound familiar? Obama created the most successful fundraising strategy in the history of politics through his efforts in concentrating just as much on small donations ($656 Million in individual contributions) as large donations.

Some would argue that smaller sponsorship packages dilute a brand and provide less exclusivity to the marquee sponsors. To some extent that is true, however, that is why sponsorship packages need to be clear in what a brand can get via the package they purchase. So a title sponsor gets all licensing, naming rights and category exclusivity, but a smaller patron sponsor may only get ticket pckages.

BRAND PARTNERSHIP IDEA:
Many brands in the Louisville area have thir biggest day of sales on Thunder Over Louisville Day. Knowing this the Derby has approached a variety of brands for their Thunder Funder program to raise money and fund the show.

One sponsor is McDonald's. For a sales period of about five weeks, a portion of every 32-ounce soft drink sold at McDonald's goes to Thunder Over Louisville. The drinks come in special cups, and they have a Thunder Meal with tray liners and promo materials. On an average year, they'll get about $90,000 [from the promotion].

Integrating your sponsorship into stadiums

Home runs raining free Big Mac® Sandwiches, visits by Ronald McDonald, free McDonald's food cards and monthly special events have made Big Mac Land an important part of the Cardinals baseball experience. Beginning in 1998 and continuing into the new Busch Stadium, 181 left field seats have been transformed into Big Mac Land. McDonald's Big Mac Land has given consumers the opportunity to redeem their tickets for more than one million FREE Big Mac® Sandwiches and will hopefully continue to do so for many Cardinals Seasons to come.

USE CHARITY AFFILIATIONS AS A REASON TO CREATE LIMITED EDITION PRODUCTS

Since this type of promotion allows both the manufacturer and the charity to directly see results through sales, brands have been using this as an effective way to activate their charity affiliations:

Lindt & Autism Speaks- for every Lindt Gold Bunny sold 10 cents was donated to Austism Speaks

Starbucks & (RED) Campaign- for every special edition Christmas beverage 5 cents was donated to (RED) for HIV/AIDS research

M&M's & Susan G. Komen- for every package sold 10% will benefit Breast Cancer Awareness

Partner with High Profile Events to Capitalize on their PR

PSA's ARE A GREAT WAY TO GET FREE PRESS, BUT MANY TIMES BRANDS NEED TO TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER

Keep a Child Alive, a children's HIV/AIDS charity had a shockingly low number to spend on PR-- $600. Creativity was key to take this $600 and turn it into $100,000 in fundraising and millions of dollars worth of media impressions. So what did they do?

Well in June 2007, the iPhone was launching, so they decided to take advantage of the press opportunity that was already going to be built in to cover this event.

Johnny Vulkan of the PR team got to the front of the line of a NYC Apple store. He held his place for 4 days until the store opened its doors to sell its first iPhone. This simple approach resulted in:

• more than 100 reporters interviewing Vulkan
• KCA supporter, Spike Lee, joining him as the doors opened
• Selling the phone on eBay for $100,000
• Exposure on YouTube capturing the scene

Partner with the Community to bring your Cause Marketing Strategies to Life

National brands can have a difficult time resonating emotionally with consumers. Using promotions to empower consumers to do it on their own not only helps the brand but the nation at large.

Duncan Hines & Cancer Care for Kids- "Cupcakes for a Cause" encourages consumers to throw bake sales and donate proceeds to the cause

7up, Dell, Kroger & Computers for Kids- with 7up knowing Kroger's support of local schools with computer equipment, they partnered with Dell to create a robust in-store program which sold more cases and created greater PR for all involved

Rally for the Cure & Susan G. Komen- Since 1996, Rally for the Cure has reached 1.5 MM and raised over $45 MM for Breast Cancer Awareness by creating grassroots programs where people get to host their own charity events tied to golf and tennis

Importance of Continuing to give to Charities... BUT use it in your marketing efforts to increase sales and loyalty

"As businesses, we have a responsibility to society. Let me be clear about this point. There is no conflict between delivering value to shareholders and helping solve bigger societal problems."

-H. Lee Scott Jr., Wal-Mart Chairman and Former CEO, January 12, 2009

But we all need to cut costs... shouldn't charitable giving be one of the first things to go? Definitely not-- 80% of the time consumers are more likely to buy a brand with a charitable affiliation over one that does not. You lose your affiliation you lose a strong value proposition (Cone Research 2009).

In fact some brands like P&G are even increasing their charity programs to deliver greater value to their consumers to buy their brands. In their latest BrandSaver (monthly coupon booklet distributed to 50 Million households), P&G promoted its highest number of charities (BrandWeek March 2009).

The challenging part is partnering with the right charity that aligns with your brand objectives and resonates with your target audience.

Whether it is Yoplait's "Save Lids to Save Lives" campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness or T-Mobile's "Huddle Up" outreach via its NBA sponsorship to connect children in urban communities with positive people and places; every brand can incorporate a charity affiliation seamlessly into its marketing. This investment is not only positive for the brand image, but can directly influence sales and loyalty.

When considering a charitable affiliation consider the various ways to leverage the partnership in your brand's sales and marketing:

• Co-branding/logo creation
  
• Spokespeople/endorsers
• Workplace participation
• Co-branded consumer promotions
• Retailer participation and outreach
• Community or school programs to localize the campaign
• Exclusive, limited time or special packages dedicated to charity
• PR for your commitment to corporate social responsibility
• Annual Fundraisers, Events, National Campaigns

If you need help in finding the right partnership with a charitable organization to meet your brand objectives and goals, please contact Diane Nicoletti at dnicoletti@rubikmarketing.com.

Partnership Marketing-An Effective tool for TradeShows to generate leads!

Show producers most commonly use online advertising (77%) and partnership marketing (75%) to generate leads, followed by online-subscription products (e.g., newsletters), with 58%, paid search via major search engines (37%), and paid search via vertical search engines (26%). The study was conducted by The Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO), the Jordan Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI) and Tradeshow Week, writes JEGI’s “Client Briefing” newsletter.

For the full study visit http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/tradeshows-rely-on-online-advertising-partnership-marketing-1008/tsw-tradeshow-exhibitor-online-usagejpg/

Partnering with Technology to Streamline Business- VIRTUAL

I first saw the Microsoft Surface Technology at the Visitor Center in NYC. It was a fabulous tool to be able to map out walking tours, know what places were around a particular area and just get a chance to interact quickly with a map.



This technology which was demoed last year is quickly expanding, providing companies like Sheraton an easier way to provide concierge services to its customers.

Sheraton has installed Microsoft Surface Virtual Concierge 30-inch tables in the lobbies of five locations: Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco. Applications include CityTips with attractions, eateries, shopping, maps, and transportation; a digital jukebox; and SheratonSnapshots, a library of photos of Sheraton resorts.

Not that we want to be eliminating jobs right now, but partnering with high tech companies can help you streamline your business-providing a better customer experience in a more efficient manner.