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Rights Negotiation

• Negotiating Value-In-Kind
• Tracking Hospitality Assets
• Benefits of Pass-through Rights
• Negotiating Performance Related Clauses
• Buying Ancillary Assets to Support Activation
• Gaining Support From Senior Executives
• Making the Decision to Renew
• Performing Due Diligence on Properties
• The Case For Variable Sponsorship Pricing

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Buying Ancillary Assets to Support Activation

A sponsorship package is analogous to an elegantly set dining room table. There's the ornate tablecloth, fine china, crystal, and the fancy silverware. Just as the dining room table looks appealing, so does the sponsorship. That's because you expertly negotiated a deal that allows you to fulfill your objectives. But just as the dinner attendee will walk away hungry without experiencing a meal at the finely appointed table, your target audiences may not receive a satisfying taste of your brand if you rely solely on the assets provided to you as part of the sponsorship agreement with the property.

Any smart sponsor will activate a sponsorship with support from advertising, public relations, promotions, and other marcom areas. But let's concentrate here on assets you should consider purchasing that might be very useful in complementing your sponsorship. Remember not to overpay for these ancillary assets and keep in mind that you still must budget for marcom support:

Athletes or Celebrities: Not only does signing an athlete provide some personality for the sponsorship, but it also gives you the ability to reach different audiences in different ways. The athlete can be used to schmooze business customers in your suite, or can be at the centerpiece of an ad campaign tied to a sponsorship, and can also interact with employees.

Facilities: Let's say you decide to sponsor the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team. Your next step might be to buy sponsorships at a handful of popular ski resorts across the U.S. to promote your relationship to your target audience on their turf. You can do the same with virtually any other sport or activity.

Lower-Level Organizations: Perhaps your goal is to create an ownership effect. In other words, you may want to be closely associated with a particular sport or activity to the point that people think of your company when they think of a sport. In order to reach such associative status, you must show a commitment from the highest level of the sport down to the lowest levels of grassroots activity. The key here is to take assets from your marquis sponsorship and use them with the grassroots deals.

Media Entities: Opportunities may exist to sponsor media entities tied to your primary sponsorship and allow you to reach a broader audience. For example, you can be a low-level associate sponsor of a climbing expedition that provides you with logo space on tents, jackets, helmets, etc., but logo ID is the extent of the deal. If you decide to purchase presenting sponsorship of the IMAX film of the expedition, you reach a broader audience and strengthen your connection to the expedition, even if you were only a low-level sponsor. However, viewers will see your logos throughout the film, furthering the perception that your commitment was more significant.