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Implementation Planning

• Identifying Appropriate Athlete Endorsers
• Expecting Proper Levels of Sponsorship Service
• Implementing Effective Hospitality Strategies
• Integrating Community Relations into Sponsorship
• Planning And Scheduling Around A Sponsorship
• Rethinking The Effectiveness Of Promotional Giveaways
• Using Intangible Assets
• Using Sponsorship to Market Luxury Brands
• Activating Sponsorship through the Web
• Falling For Price Escalators
• Generating Direct Revenue From Sponsorships
• Activating Golf Sponsorship Successfully

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Planning And Scheduling Around A Sponsorship

Companies new to the sponsorship space feel as if they have overcome a significant hurdle once negotiations are complete and contracts are signed. Actually, the real challenge begins once the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed. That's when marketers must sit down and develop a sponsorship management and activation plan, which should at minimum cover the following points:

• Staffing needs, responsibilities, reporting structures specific to the sponsorship
• Budget requirements that were overlooked during selection/consideration process
• Support needs from event management, research, ad agencies and product vendors
• Expectations regarding channel and retail partners and/or field sales personnel

As far as scheduling of activities is concerned, you can be flexible in your planning based on the size and length of the sponsored event, as well your sponsorship level and the breadth and depth of your activation commitment. Sponsorship of a team with a six-month season may actually require less pre-planning than a one-week event. For example, your title sponsorship of a PGA Tour stop will likely mean considerably more (and earlier) planning than your mid-level sponsorship of a Major League Baseball team that plays a 162-game season.

Take the case of an information technology company title sponsoring a marathon and integrating complicated technological features into race-day activities. That company will need considerable lead time to plan logistics, test equipment and select essential outside vendors, whereas a financial services sponsor of a basketball team may not be faced with same demands.

If you're preparing to orchestrate a detailed, demanding activation program, a good suggestion is to start planning a year before the sponsored event takes place. Some may think that 12 months of lead time is longer than necessary. However, unforeseen events, glitches and delays outside your control are bound to take place, and when they do, you and your staff will be thankful that you have the time to recover.

However you decide to plan your sponsorship program, frequent and unambiguous communication with and among internal staff/constituents, outside agencies, and the property is imperative to a smooth planning process and successful event sponsorship.