Programming aimed at new audiences, niche marketing opportunities and smaller packages are among the ways rightsholders are getting deals done.

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1 May 23, / ARTS Successful Arts Properties Share Sales Best Practices Programming aimed at new audiences, niche marketing opportunities and smaller packages are among the ways rightsholders are getting deals done. While the rebound in spending by automotive and financial services companies has gone a long way in helping to refill sponsorship coffers (see sidebar), most arts and cultural organizations still have a long way to go to fully maximize their sponsorship potential. The major challenge according to many who work in the sector: Many rightsholders still position themselves as charitable opportunities, not marketing partners. As a result, their packages of tickets, program ads and other standard benefits don t offer sponsors a legitimate shot at generating quantifiable return on investment. IEG SR asked leading arts and cultural organizations about their approach to attracting marketing dollars and delivering for sponsors. Below is a summary of their insights. Create new programming. Some properties are finding success by developing programming that draws new audiences and new sponsors. That strategy has been embraced by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, which has put more focus over the past several years on creating non-traditional programming. We maintained most of our sponsors during the economic downturn, but we didn t bring on anyone new, said Jennifer Polsi, the symphony s director of corporate major gifts. We wanted to do something different that will bring new audiences and sponsors into the fold. Who Sponsors The Arts? The figures below represent the number of arts properties reporting a sponsor in the category. Bank Financial Services (credit card, brokerage, etc.) Nonalcoholic Beverages Airline Hotel Insurance Beer Auto Food Consumer Electronics 10% 10% 16% 15% 18% 2011, IEG, LLC. Source: IEG Research 4% 6% 9% 8% 43% An example was the December 2010 performance of Play! A Video Game Symphony. The program featured music from Halo, Super Mario Bros. and other video games accompanied by graphics on large screens that highlighted memorable moments from each game. 1

2 The programming attracted a partnership with an unlikely supporter: online gambling company PlayNow.com. Provide access to niche audiences. Some rightsholders have found success by creating platforms that provide access to small but influential audiences. Carnegie Hall has placed more focus on packages that provide access to targeted donor groups. The nonprofit last year brought on Jaguar Cars North America ( Jaguar Sets Stage For Performing Arts Sponsorships, 5/14/10) as the sponsor of an annual dinner and performance for top donors. Jaguar used the tie to promote its redesigned XJ luxury sedan. Instead of tying a sponsor to a particular artist, we are aligning them with donor events, said Dori Fisher, the venue s director of corporate relations and sponsorship. They are a targeted, captive group that is passionate about Carnegie Hall. Carnegie Hall can segment its donors depending on the audience a sponsor wants to reach, she added, pointing to the organization s Notables membership group for patrons in their 20s and 30s as an example. Other properties have found success offering access to specific ethnic groups. For example, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will sponsor performances by Chinese pianist Lang Lang at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in part to reach out to Asians living in Canada. The concerts take place in November in Toronto and Vancouver, and May 2012 in Montreal. SIDEBAR Arts Sponsorship To Total $885 Million In 2011 Benefiting from the rebound in the automotive and financial services categories, spending by North American-based companies on sponsorship of arts and cultural events and venues will reach an estimated $885 million this year, up 5.1 percent from the $842 million spent in While the increase slightly lags the 5.9 percent increase in spending for the overall sponsorship industry ( Sponsorship Spending: 2010 Proves Better Than Expected; Bigger Gains Set for 2011, 12/22/10), it is positive news following a 2.7 percent rise in arts sponsorship last year. The automotive and financial services categories have bounced back with the economy, said Glenn Hill, vice president of corporate partnerships with Broadway Across America, which renewed a handful of partners in both categories over the past year. Active players include Jaguar Cars North America, which last year partnered with the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall and other performing arts organizations to promote the redesigned XJ luxury sedan, and General Motors Co. s Cadillac ( Cadillac Continues Acquisition Mode: Signs With Vail Resort, Local Properties, 3/14/11), which returned to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark after a twoyear absence. On the financial services front, the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas recently brought on FMR, LLC s Fidelity Investments as a sponsor of the TITAS dance and music series. It also aligned ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc. s ViewPoint Bank with a jazz concert. Source Broadway Across America, Tel: 917/ Offer starter packages. With many companies still hesitant to sign major deals as the economy recovers, some properties have focused on selling sponsorship to individual performances rather than larger season or series partnerships. That is a tactic employed by the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas. For example, it brought in Fiesta Mart, Inc.; Goya Foods, Inc; Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Tecate last year to sponsor a performance by Mariachi Vargas, while Kikkoman Corp. and real estate developer Harwood Int l sponsored a performance by Kodo Drummers of Japan. In addition, the venue recruited Guinness beer and Tourism Ireland as sponsors of a concert by Irish group The Chieftains. The center began selling individual shows after finding reluctance among companies to sign larger deals, said Steven Lange, the venue s sponsorship manager. Dropping the investment threshold has allowed us to create relationships that have helped us get to our goal. 2

3 Convert vendors into sponsors. Like their counterparts in pro sports ( Properties Convert Other Vendors into Partners, 4/25/11), a growing number of arts organizations are upselling vendors on sponsorship packages. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has tasked its information technology and other internal departments with scouting sponsorship opportunities from product and service suppliers that call on the organization. Those efforts have paid off: The nonprofit earlier this month announced a partnership with Logicworks, a technology company that now hosts the venue s Web site on a private cloud. Our head of IT is as aware as the next person of the need for funding, said Polly Rua, the organization s senior director of corporate relations. When companies call on him, he is terrific in bringing them to me to talk about a sponsorship opportunity. Although most vendor deals for Lincoln Center are in-kind rather than cash, they help reduce necessary expenses, Rua noted. Money not going out is as good as money coming in. Leverage board of directors and donors. Where possible, properties should try to leverage senior executives, trustees, key donors and other marquee stakeholders for sponsorship leads. Lincoln Center attributes much of its sponsorship success to the willingness of its senior leadership to scout opportunities and make introductions. Not all organizations are as fortunate to have a dedicated board and leadership that are willing to get in the trenches to make a connection, Rua said. In addition, when targeting B2C and B2B prospects, rightsholders should be armed with research that identifies products and services used by senior leadership and top volunteers. We determine what autos they drive, the luxury goods companies they shop, and their relationships in the market, said Jon Holman, president of The Holman Group, a sponsorship sales agency that represents the J. Paul Getty Museum and other arts organizations. Approach national and local offices at the same time. When pitching a national company, Holman takes a dual sales approach by simultaneously approaching corporate and local offices. Citing the auto category as an example, he noted that the national office needs to work with local dealers to drive sales, and we try to anticipate that conversation. It s a dual sales effort from top down and bottom up, and somewhere in the middle they meet. The strategy avoids the local entity feeling slighted or perceiving that a sponsorship is being imposed on them by corporate, Holman said. If we don t reach out to the local person, we have the potential to offend them because they believe the arts organization has gone over their head. Provide money-can t-buy opportunities and support with top-notch service. With increased competition from other arts organizations, as well as sports teams and other entertainment platforms, rightsholders need to offer more than tickets to a show when selling their performance experiences. Properties can accomplish that objective by offering packages that include receptions, talent meet-and-greets and other memorable occasions. 3

4 Rightsholders also should try to raise the servicing bar. Lincoln Center sponsors not only can use the organization s patron services desk to access hard-to-get tickets for employees, customers and prospects, but also have access to an internal special events team that can help create unique, one-of-a-kind events. We are a public institution and anyone can rent space, but if you are not a sponsor you don t have access to our programming and special events expertise, Rua said. Some properties also have carved out new inventory for hosting corporate functions. For example, the Dallas Museum of Art recently reconfigured an on-site restaurant into an all-purpose conference center to accommodate increased demand for corporate event space. I have noticed an uptick in corporate requests for client entertaining and employee engagement opportunities, said E. Jeff Serrano, the museum s director of corporate relations. Gain internal and external buy-in with independent valuation. In addition to demonstrating fair market value to potential and current partners, Carnegie Hall uses a third-party valuation of its sponsorship packages to educate employees and other internal stakeholders about the importance of sponsorship and the value of benefits. (Editor s note: Carnegie Hall s sponsorship packages were valued by IEG Consulting Group). It s hard for divisions of Carnegie Hall that don t work on sponsorship every day to understand why the data we are asking for is valuable to sponsors, Fisher said. The valuation demonstrates the significance of our program, marketing plan and audience share, and the results help them understand their participation is essential in determining sponsorship levels. Sources AT&T Performing Arts Center, Tel: 214/ Carnegie Hall, Tel: 212/ Dallas Museum of Art, Tel: 214/ Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Tel: 212/ Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Tel: 604/ The Holman Group, Tel: 323/

5 May 23, / SPONSOR PROFILE RadioShack Tunes In New Sponsorship Campaign Sponsors with signature partnerships still have capacity to add new deals to showcase diverse products to different audiences. As it goes head to head with big-box electronics chains and looks to build visibility for its expanding offering of mobile technology products, RadioShack Corp. is growing its sponsorship portfolio and stepping up activation around its largest partnership. The retailer has signed first-time deals with two music festivals and has increased leveraging activities around its two-year-old title sponsorship of Lance Armstrong s Team RadioShack pro cycling team. The company s new ties are with the Lollapalooza fest in Chicago and the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The deals mark RadioShack s first large-scale music initiative since its presenting sponsorship of The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang U.S. tour in The festival deals build on RadioShack s existing partnership with Austin, Texas-based Capital Sports & Entertainment, a multifaceted consulting, business management and event production company that represents Armstrong and manages and owns Team RadioShack. CES created the Austin fest and re-invented Lollapalooza through its C3 Presents live events division, which now operates as a standalone entity. RadioShack is expected to use the new ties to promote the mobile technology products it carries, including phones, tablets and e-readers. The company last month added three new tablet devices to its shelves, including the Blackberry Playbook and Motorola Xoom. James Gooch, who last week became RadioShack s CEO, told the The Dallas Morning News that the company s growth will come from mobile technology. The company s smart phone sales rose 36 percent in 2010 and are seeing double-digit growth again this year, according to the newspaper. The challenge, Gooch said, is to educate consumers about RadioShack s robust multi-brand product line-up, which includes blockbuster products such as Apple Inc. s massively popular iphone. Perception lags reality, he said. We need to improve our mobile branding and marketing. 5

6 The company activated Team RadioShack s appearance in the just-concluded Amgen Tour of California with technology designed to enhance the spectator experience. That included the Fan Feed Zone, an online content portal, and an on-site scavenger hunt that dangled digital content, the chance to attend a post-race concert and other prizes to attendees who located Quick Response codes. Kelly Feilke, RadioShack s director of partnership marketing, spearheads the retailer s sponsorship activity. RadioShack operates roughly 4,675 company-owned stores in the U.S. and Mexico, more than 1,300 wireless phone kiosks in the U.S., and approximately 1,175 dealer outlets worldwide. Source RadioShack Corp., Tel: 817/

7 May 23, / CATEGORY UPDATE Moving And Storage Companies Load More Sponsorships The gradual rebound in employment and housing markets is expected to prompt new sponsorship activity on behalf of moving and storage companies. Similar to the rebound in spending by recruiting and staffing companies ( Improving Job Market Prompts New Sponsorships From Employment Firms, 4/11/11), the slowly improving job market may lead to new sponsorship activity on behalf of moving and storage companies. The category is starting to show some signs of life. Case in point: Gentle Giant Moving Co. this year has signed three new deals: Boston s Head of the Charles Regatta, Seattle s Windermere Cup Regatta and Women s Professional Soccer s Boston Breakers. The company is in its second year sponsoring Major League Lacrosse s Boston Cannons. In addition, Allied Van Lines Canada Inc. earlier this year renewed its two-year-old sponsorship of Tree Canada, around which it plants a tree for every 3,000 miles driven. The moving category struggled in the past few years, but as companies start hiring again and with housing prices so low, people are starting to move again, said Andrea Starkey, director of business development with the LPGA, which has a 17-year-old partnership with Arpin Van Lines. For its part, Gentle Giant is using sponsorship to build visibility as part of its national growth strategy. The Massachusettsbased company recently opened an office in San Francisco, adding to its operations in North Carolina, Seattle, Washington, D.C. and other markets. Gentle Giant also uses sponsorship to interact with consumers and recruit new employees. A large percentage of the company s employees are rowers or athletes in other sports. Most moving companies compete on price and the quality of labor is less than desired, said Larry O Toole, Gentle Giant s president and founder. Rowers make great movers; they are honest, well spoken and have a strong work ethic. O Toole himself is a competitive rower. Gentle Giant hosts an on-site physical fitness competition to talk up employment opportunities and raise money for local charities. 7

8 The company also uses sponsorship to gain business from cosponsors and other property stakeholders. Gentle Giant activated the May 7 Windermere Cup Regatta by hosting an event for title sponsor Windermere Real Estate s agents and their guests and will transport and set up on-site displays for sponsors of the Head of the Charles Regatta. Anytime you get in front of an audience like ours with CEOs and general managers, it puts you in a better spot for getting a call the next time they have to move, said Fred Schoch, the regatta s executive director. Gentle Giant replaces Olympic Moving & Storage as an HOCR sponsor. Other players in the category include Wm Meyers Movers Inc., the official moving and storage provider of the NFL Chicago Bears, and Excel Moving & Storage, Inc., a sponsor of the NHL Carolina Hurricanes. In addition to tapping into the passion of fans, moving companies typically sponsor pro sports teams to gain business from athletes. For example, JK Moving & Storage has used its partnership with the NHL Washington Capitals to transport the personal possessions of players acquired through trade or assignment to and from the team s AHL Hershey Bears affiliate. Sources Gentle Giant Moving Co., Tel: 617/ Head of the Charles Regatta, Tel: 617/ LPGA, Tel: 386/

May 23, 2011 800/834-4850 www.iegsr.com SELLING USA Water Polo Taps New Pool Of Sponsors Sales strategy includes positioning property as Californiafocused rather than national.

9 May 23, / SELLING USA Water Polo Taps New Pool Of Sponsors Sales strategy includes positioning property as Californiafocused rather than national. When Jennifer Rottenberg joined USA Water Polo as its chief marketing officer in October 2009, the national governing body s sponsorship portfolio was limited to six companies whose products were endemic to the sport. Part of the reason I was brought on was to recruit new sponsors and take us beyond that portfolio, said Rottenberg, a veteran sponsorship and sports marketer who previously worked for IMG and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. By taking a strategic approach to how the organization packages and sells sponsorship, Rottenberg has achieved success: USA Water Polo expects to post a roughly 60 percent year-over-year increase in cash and in-kind sponsorship by the end of Recent partner signings include a handful of endemic and non-endemic companies, including Capital One Financial Corp. ( Capital One Bank Reaps Sponsorship Rewards, 1/10/11), Jamba Juice Co., PowerBar Inc and Stemilt Growers, a privately owned producer of apples, cherries, pears and other fruits. Below, five steps the NGB has taken to achieve sponsorship success. Understand audience makeup. Instead of highlighting the world number-one ranking of USA Water Polo s women s national team and other performance attributes, Rottenberg credits much of her success to targeting companies based in or looking to expand their presence in the NGB s home state of California. The fact that roughly 75 percent of USA Water Polo s members live in The Golden State enables the property to market itself as a regional play. Rottenberg concentrates on companies with local headquarters or operations, believing it is easier for companies to activate sponsorships that are close to home. We took the local angle and it s paying dividends, she said. California-based partners include enhanced water maker Aquahydrate, Inc.; 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide, Inc.; and Renewed Group s Reuse apparel. Promote health and wellness positioning. Playing up the connection between physical activity and nutrition as equal parts of overall physical well-being, USA Water Polo has targeted healthy consumables. 9

10 Participating in a sport is part of a healthy lifestyle, and nutrition is the other component to fitness, Rottenberg noted. Partners in the nutrition category include Western Pistachio Assn., Aquahydrate and Stemilt. Rottenberg also is finalizing a deal with another company in the category. Offer turnkey activation platforms. Knowing that many sponsors don t have budgets or human resources to properly activate ties, USA Water Polo has put more focus on providing turnkey programs. For example, the NGB last year began to include information on sponsor offers as part of its member-benefit packages. Offers range from discounts on swimsuit purchases to special gifts with purchase. Building on that effort, USA Water Polo this spring rolled out March Member Madness, a daily that also touted sponsor offers. Provide more reach. The NGB has increased the value of sponsorship packages by providing exposure through an expanding portfolio of media outlets. That includes TV exposure on Versus broadcasts, as well as mention in Webcasts, podcasts and a quarterly print publication. The organization also promotes sponsors and their offers through its Facebook page and Twitter feed, Rottenberg said. More focus on value in-kind. USA Water Polo has emphasized in-kind deals as a way to entice companies that may not have the budget for cash-only partnerships. Given the economic climate over the past few years, it may be easier for some companies to provide product or human resources in exchange for a sponsorship, Rottenberg said. The strategy also helps the NGB reduce expenses, she added, pointing to the organization s partnership with Aquahydrate. We spend tens of thousands of dollars on water each year, and we have alleviated that expense. Source USA Water Polo, Tel: 714/

IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT THE LATEST ON SPORTS, ARTS, CAUSE AND ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING

IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT THE LATEST ON SPORTS, ARTS, CAUSE AND ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING SPONSOR PROFILE JOHN HANCOCK TAKES RUNNING ON THE ROAD Financial services company places more focus on using sponsorship to build relations with independent distributors. John Hancock Financial Services,