The Hidden Value of Sponsorships

Flash Report – December 08, 2003

This BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT information is for agencyfinder.com Certified Agencies, Agency New Business Executives and agency subscribers. We communicate with registered member-agencies using e-mail.

CONTENTS:

1. The Hidden Value of Sponsorships
2. Smaller Agencies Tackle Giant Accounts
3. New Spam Legislation – Mutual Compliance
4. Your Alternate New Business Contact
5. Client Search Criteria – A Definition
6. Recent RefNet Assignments
7. Other New Business Activity

THE HIDDEN VALUE OF SPONSORSHIPS

Can sponsorships be evaluated on the same basis as more traditional advertising expenditures like media? The short (and probably obvious) answer is “no.” But there are ways to evaluate the potential R.O.I. on a sponsorship that goes beyond simple reach and frequency. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1) Make sure the sponsorship is “on strategy” with your message against your target audience(s). Will
the event, team, exhibition, etc. make sense or look like an exercise in corporate vanity?

2) Is the sponsorship worth noting by the public or does it just make your client feel good? Some sponsorships are philanthropic while others are inventive ways to extend the marketing message. If you’re trying to get more bang for the marketing buck, you have to make sure your sponsorship partner is newsworthy.

3) Make sure you know how the sponsorship will play “inside” your client’s organization. Nothing ruins the value of a sponsorship faster than employees complaining about how their company wastes money. Customers pick up on that in a hurry.

4) Carefully evaluate opportunities to leverage the sponsorship against existing client relationships. Many sponsorship opportunities can be extended to include a more “intimate” setting with a select handful of clients, guests and employees. This is relationship building on a very high level.

5) Look at every sponsorship opportunity with an eye toward expanding the “business opportunities” surrounding the sponsorship. Failing to plan in this area will lead to ultimate failure of the sponsorship. A PERFECT EXAMPLE of leveraging a sponsorship opportunity is a little project we’ve been working on with Brand Central Station and The Hamilton Group (both out of New York City). Agencyfinder presented both firms with the chance to work with Anne Abernathy, a recently-fifty female Olympian known as “Grandma Luge.” Anne has a great story: Olympic competitor, highly-visible, positive role model, cancer survivor, recovered from a life-threatening head injury (story featured recently and repeatedly on The Discovery Channel) then to her return as a world-class athlete. Anne is internationally recognized as the oldest woman to ever compete in any Winter Olympic Sport (but olde she ain’t!).

For a company targeting 40+ women who could benefit from a story of perseverance and character, Anne is right “on strategy.” As the oldest competing female Winter Olympian in history, she’s already demonstrated her ability to gather national and international press like crazy (we’ve got all the evidence). She’s an inspiration to those around her and a “natural” when it comes to telling her story.

But here’s the best part …

Anne competes for the US Virgin Islands Women’s Luge Team – meaning sponsorship costs are a mere fraction of what they would be for an athlete on
the US Olympic Team. For a modest investment, a company can enjoy the same “backstage” privileges of the larger sponsors for other US athletes or visit the team’s training facilities, or hold corporate events in the US Virgin Islands in conjunction with their participation.

If you’re interested in learning more, let us know here at Agencyfinder (Toll-Free 1-877-XFINDER) and we’ll put you in touch.

SMALLER AGENCIES TACKLE GIANT ACCOUNTS

For years it’s been thought that an advertiser spending, for example $30 million, needs an ad agency with something like four (4) times that in annual client volume or greater than $100 million in “billings.” That meant these bigger accounts always went to bigger agencies.

However, with the advent of media buying agencies, clients began to see that when the media portion was split out (sometimes representing 80 – 85% of the total “spend”), that left a creative portion in this example of $4.5 million. Using the 4-time analogy, that leads to an agency of $15 – $20 million in billings, and there are many of those sprinkled around the country, and possibly in many client’s back yards. It looks like that’s exactly what happened when it was announced on Nov 12th that Delta Air Lines had named Atlanta-based Brighthouse as the lead agency for its $30 million account.

The lesson? There are MANY worthy agencies if the client is willing to look creatively at how their money can be spent. We help clients find those agencies.

NEW SPAM LEGISLATION – MUTUAL COMPLIANCE

We haven’t seen the specifics of the national legislation apparently ready for passage, but it’s a welcome alternative to the California rush-to-judgment. Admittedly, spam is a major annoyance and business interruption, but most of us in the business-to-business sector DEPEND on e-mail to get things done – quickly and efficiently. For business purposes, filters are still an inefficient and dangerous way to avoid spam. In our case, and in fact, when we send you that important new business invitation you patiently wait for – if that gets intercepted and deleted, you could lose substantial agency income.

If you’re getting this newsletter, it’s because your agency is registered here and you or someone else at your agency asked that you be included. I hope you found time to read this latest message.

YOUR ALTERNATE NEW BUSINESS CONTACT

Our database allows for a Primary new business contact and an ALTERNATE new business contact. Please check to see that you have both. Don’t list yourself twice – in case you are not available, we can at least connect with your agency’s alternate or CEO. That alternate contact is your “insurance” policy.

CLIENT SEARCH CRITERIA – A DEFINITION

When your agency is invited and receives our Formal Agency New Business Invitation, you get a fax package (generally 6-8 pages) that includes a detailed description of the client’s requirements under the heading “Client Search Criteria.” One sub-section is entitled SEARCH QUERY and it’s marked as “desired agency attributes.”

It’s those “attributes” that got your agency selected in the preliminary round, and the combination of your essays, a look at your web site and those attributes that gets you invited. BUT, it isn’t necessarily true that the client expects ALL those attributes (Fields served; Services Desired; Media Experience; Market Specialization; Acceptable Billing Arrangements; Numbers of Employees; Minimum Capitalized Billings; Minimum Years in Business; Geographic Location) and more for the budget indicated. This is their “Wish List” describing the ideal agency and meant more for your guidance. Your mandatory due-diligence telephone interview is where you shake out any questions and clarify precisely what they expect for the spend.

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA