articles posted with tag: event-marketing/sponsorship | See all tags

The New Rules of Event Marketing

This is a great article for those wishing to find new ideas on consumer engagement at events, and engagement is what it’s all about these days in marketing. There’s nowhere better to engage your customers than at events!

Posted Friday August 5, 2011
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Corporate Hospitality at Festivals Should Be Discreet

This article attests to the fine line walked by corporate sponsors at arts and music festivals when they want to create a branded experience without being too “in-your-face”. It’s a fine line indeed, but can be done well if the focus is on experience vs straight-up marketing. Of course, these experiences are intended to get the brand’s message to the consumer, but getting out of hand can happen easily and quickly if the consumer feels bombarded or marketed to. Rather, branding done in a less-is-more manner can end up having a much greater impact.

Posted Wednesday June 22, 2011
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How To Obtain Sponsorship

Questions arise all the time on various forums regarding the acquisition of sponsorship, which often take the form of “How do I get a sponsor for my (insert event/cause/tour/artist here)?” These questions are usually posed by those who have little to no experience in obtaining sponsorship and who are simply seeking the means to do so.

Although finding sponsorship is generally considered a sales job, those who sponsor events and such are marketers making a marketing decision. Therefore you need a thorough understanding of marketing and the marketing objectives of your potential sponsors. And so it follows that you need to know what sort of marketing vehicles your event can offer. They don’t care about how much money, products, or services you need, they care how they can best get a Return on their Investment (ROI).

It’s critical to understand your own market so that you can then target the best prospects whose products or services match your market. In other words, who will be attending your event? Are they male water sports enthusiasts over the age of 30? Charity supporters? Music lovers between the ages of 18-35? Know the demographics of your audience, because that’s what marketers are looking for.

It’s also key to develop elements within your event that a sponsor can leverage within their own marketing channels. Some sponsors are content with onsite branding, such as logo placement on your signage and some sort of other onsite presence like a sampling booth. Other sponsors require media inclusion, which means mentioning them or having their logo visible in/on all your advertising and marketing materials, or allocating dedicated advertising to their participation in your event. Can they offer ticket giveaways to their stakeholders? Will you create a VIP or other special experience for the sponsor and their consumers that they can then advertise? Will you let them use your marks and logos in their media? How extensively will you incorporate online/social media in your event, and how extensively will they be involved in that? Can you set up PR/photo opps that showcase the sponsor’s involvement? Will they have category exclusivity, meaning there will be none of their competitors also sponsoring your event? These and numerous other ideas could be what makes the difference between getting and not getting a sponsor. You should be as creative as possible in developing these opportunities.

In-kind sponsorships should not be overlooked. You will need advertising, t-shirts and food for staff and volunteers, tools and supplies, printing services, and on and on. So offer to do some sort of trade in which you receive goods and services in exchange for a certain level of sponsorship.

Level of sponsorship, you ask? Yes, you should definitely define various levels of financial or in-kind commitment and their associated benefits. Offer all your benefits to the highest level sponsor, and pare down from there to the lowest level. Be careful to avoid “logo soup”, in which too many sponsors (of all kinds) dilutes the branding and benefits they receive. This is best achieved by concentrating on higher-level sponsors and making sure your lowest level isn’t too low.

Understanding your target prospects, what and how they sponsor, and how they measure sponsorship will go a long way towards obtaining a buy-in, so do your research in advance and tailor your proposals accordingly before making calls and setting meetings.

After reading through this post hopefully you’ve come to the (correct) conclusion that you need to hire an experienced professional. Please check out other posts related to this topic for more info by using the tag below.

For resources on doing research, check out IEG, tons of conversations on LinkedIn, and these articles. Joining related LinkedIn groups is also recommended.

Posted Friday May 27, 2011
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Event Marketing Strategies for Small Business

Check out my interview here

Posted Friday April 15, 2011
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Thoughts on SXSW 2011

Purists will – and have – bemoan the overgrown blowout blast that has become SXSW. The level of corporate commercialism has certainly reached gargantuan levels, and perhaps even a tipping point. The attendance this year was up 40% over last year, greater than anyone anticipated. Could this be why there were some ugly moments?

Purists also hate that SXSW has become a celebrity mecca, overshadowing the plethora of emerging acts that the fest originally started in order to showcase. In attendance this year were such superstar acts as the Foo Fighers, Duran Duran, Kanye West, Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Jack White, actor Jake Gyllenhaal, TV personalities Rachel Ray and Jimmy Kimmel, and many more.

Regardless, I had a blast! The upside to all the sponsors at the fest is the number of free parties, which usually also means free beer and free swag. Not to mention getting to discover new acts! Favorite discoveries this year include Man Man and Noah and the Whale. Favorite piece of swag is the flash drive with the entire catalog of listings by the Texas Music Office. Favorite deal at the Trade Show is an iPhone case that doubles as a charger – a virtual necessity to augment the shameful battery life of iPhones – for half price. Favorite panel : well, unfortunately I missed the few panels I wanted to attend. But that’s the nature of SXSW – there’s always too much to do. Something else purists might bemoan.

Of special note is the explosive success in recent years of the Interactive portion of the fest, which now surpasses Music as the most widely attended, at least in terms of badge sales.

What were your highlights (and/or lowlights)?

Posted Saturday April 2, 2011
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Another Reason to Sponsor Music Fests & Artists

My mission this year is to get brands to see value in sponsoring emerging talent in the creative fields of music and art. This article gives yet further insight into why joining in partnership with music – be it festivals and/or with artists and/or indie labels – is something all brands should consider. For more reasons why, go here, here, and here.

Think your brand is ready to explore the possibilities? Contact Combo Platter now!

Posted Monday January 10, 2011
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How Artists Will Find Success in the New Music Business

This article by OK Go’s lead singer is an excellent dissertation on the new music business, one in which major recording contracts are being supplanted by corporate sponsorship and creative marketing, all while allowing the artist to maintain more control and thereby have more creative freedom. For more on this subject, read this recent post.

Thoughts?

Posted Sunday December 19, 2010
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Brands at Music Festivals

Good article on how brands are amping up their activation at music fests here

Posted Monday November 22, 2010
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Newest News!

Updated sponsorship opportunities are now on the Newest News page!

Posted Wednesday May 5, 2010
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Thoughts on SXSW 2010 Marketing

The biggest takeaway for me was temporary branded venues. Temporary in the sense that they were only for the duration of the festival but many were in actual brick-and-mortar buildings vs. tents. This is an idea that began at least a few years ago and seems to have really taken off. No surprise there, as it offers a great opportunity for brands to create and control an entire experience for consumers over the span of several days.

Many venues featured free day parties with comp food & beer (a sure way to attract a crowd) and of course live music. Zone Bar’s Live Create Lounge featured laptop stations, wall art that attendees could contribute to, an interactive word-magnet wall (a bigger version of what’s likely on your fridge), a cell-phone charging station and of course plenty of free Zone Bars. Added value fun and convenient stuff is a smart idea.

Other examples include Canada House, British Embassy, and Levi’s Fader Fort, the latter of which partnered with local music charity Health Alliance for Austin Musicians who helped spread the word and benefited from sales of Levi’s apparel. This kind of partnership between national brands and local music-related entities is something I am a big advocate of and would love to help other brands get involved in.

Canada did a nice job of cross-promotion between their venue, a hosted day party open to badge-holders and invited guests (in a different, outdoor location), and a booth at the trade show. Well done. And most importantly they offered great music from bands like Plants and Animals, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Born Ruffians, and Radio Radio. For Canada’s wrap up and a free download of their Canadian Blast SXSW 2010 Sampler, go here.

Should you sponsor SXSW? Yes, IF you have the budget and plan to do something big, cool, exciting. The standard rules of sponsorship have changed, and what’s needed by sponsors are plenty of creative ways to get noticed so that you can engage the audience. With the cacophony of companies vying for attention during this massive fest, only a “go big or go home” approach will work.

Posted Tuesday March 30, 2010
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Gear Alley at SXSW

Dear SXSW Music Fest Producers,

What a cool idea you came up with in Gear Alley! A dedicated trade-show-within-the-trade-show with the sole focus on musicians’ gear.

Suggestion for next year: open it up to the general public for a cover charge.

And wouldn’t it be great if a company or two would then buy a block of tickets to give away to their customers and business partners, and host their own private gathering in Gear Alley for them. With free beer and barbecue, natch.

SXSW, you guys really need to start thinking about how you can let folks access certain parts of the fest without having to go all-in with one of those badges. (Kinda ‘spensive.) Ditto for smaller or more niche sponsors. A company that manufacturers drum cymbals, for example, might not consider the truckload of cash it takes for a real sponsorship presence at the entire fest – and I’ve been there, I know those numbers – but they would be a perfect match for Gear Alley.

Just sayin’.

See you in March!

Posted Wednesday February 24, 2010
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Marketing with Music and Almost No Money

Original Post 2/1/08:

Got $10 to spare for a marketing effort?

Sell A Band may represent the new paradigm for emerging acts in music, given the slow implosion that major labels are currently experiencing, not to mention the coma that music-centered retailers are in.

On Sell A Band, you can search around for acts that your customers like and if you find some, you can sign up for free as a Believer and invest in increments of $10. And of course artists can sign up for free and invite friends and fans to invest.

An especially good idea for small businesses with a strong online / e-commerce aspect, and those who want to build their web presence.

UPDATE 2/24/10: Sell A Band has declared bankruptcy and may continue under the auspices of new ownership, but that remains to be seen. Full story here

Posted Wednesday February 24, 2010
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At Least It's Not "Battle of the Bands"

I’m not a musician but this looks like a pretty cool thing to try and win. I absolutely HATE the tired, worn-out cliched “Battle of the Bands” formula. So much so that I just fell asleep while typing the phrase.

A big part of what’s wrong with the concept is that they typically do very little for the “winner”. But this one, sponsored by Guitar Center, gives the winner studio time to “record a 3-song EP with the legendary producer behind Guns N’ Roses – Mike Clink and have Slash write, record and perform on the winning artists’ single”, plus a bunch of other cool stuff like gear, gigs, and promotion. Now I suppose writing and recording with Slash might sound better to musicians of some genres more than others, but wow, what a great opportunity for any artist to learn, create, brain-pick, and hobnob with some genuine stars in music.

If you’re a musician, what do you think? Have you had a good experience with a “Battle of the Bands” contest? Like I said, I’m not a musician, but it sounds like this one’s worth entering. (I swear, one of these days very soon, I will learn to play my guitar!)

Posted Wednesday February 3, 2010
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Some of the Latest Examples of Marketing With Music

Rock legend Eric Clapton has joined forces with Fender Guitars and a cell phone company to create a limited edition 3G Smartphone that comes pre-loaded with some Clapton classics as well as tunes by Wyclef Jean, Avril Lavigne and Brad Paisley. (I refuse to give the cell phone company mention here due to my horrible no-customer-service experience with them tho’ you’ll figure it out easily enough.) There is also an enter-to-win contest for a free one of these gadgets. Info here

Here’s an interesting concept partnering music-recognition app Shazam with the Dockers apparel brand. Curious to see how it, ahem, flies.

Billboard.biz reports on a slew of partnerships here

I would love to see more of these brands bring smaller, emerging acts into these campaigns! The reach is of course not as great, but with the right combination of artist & brand, the ROI of a great campaign have enormous potential. Imagine discovering a great talent, financing a tour and all that goes along with that – the promotions, the merch, the online & social networking, connecting with artists and true music fans (read: tastemakers) who are into the bands before they hit big. Imagine being part of making them big.*

And was that U2’s “Bad” heard on a TV spot for…NASCAR???

(*If you’re a brand or company interested in exploring the possibilities, contact Combo Platter.)

Posted Tuesday January 26, 2010
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Festival Season is Fast Approaching...

If you need expertise for the event(s) you are – or want to be – producing or sponsoring, contact Combo Platter. Go here for an overview of experience.

Posted Thursday January 21, 2010
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No Depression's Virtual Open Mic

There are about a squillion-million-jillion websites for acts to upload and “promote” their music, but you gotta figure that if it’s being offered by the venerable roots-music champions at No Depression, it’s one worth checking out. Here.

Marketers, take note: you should consider paying for, distributing, and promoting a compilation cd of participants; and sponsoring a tour. Or all kinds of other ways to partner with such folk. Great way to connect with the musicians, loyalists, and enthusiasts. Emerging acts need help with promotion and touring and you can be a hero if it’s done the right way with the right artist(s). Matter of fact, that pretty much applies to just about any act that’s not a superstar.

Posted Wednesday January 20, 2010
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Better Than The Van

With South by Southwest a mere two months away, hopefully musicians playing the music portion of the fest (and those coming in the hopes of landing some guerrilla gigs) are touring their way to Austin rather than just going round-trip from their home base. If so, then Better Than The Van, a touring-band-support-system-cum-social-network, is very much worth looking into.

Marketers have a great opportunity here as well, not just for acts on the way to SXSW, but all year ‘round. BTTV offers dirt-cheap advertising, and I for one see all kinds of opportunities for great campaigns.

Posted Tuesday January 19, 2010
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Science Shows That Fun Equals Enhanced Relationships

The PBS Series This Emotional Life, airing this week, offers an interesting array of scientific experiments and real life situations that shed light on the nature of human interaction.

This is great food for thought for marketers.

I was especially struck by Dr. Art Aron’s demonstration with married couples. He tied one arm and one leg each to the other’s and then had them attempt to navigate an object through a simple obstacle course together. The game was rigged so that each time a couple finished, they did so before time ran out. The purpose of the exercise was not to test their physical ability to work together. Rather, it was to gauge the couple’s feelings towards each other before and then after successfully completing a frivolous activity together. Results showed that “participation in such novel and fun activities can enhance relationship quality.”

When folks are in a fun, relaxed situation where they are interacting with their peer group in a positive way, this provides companies with an unparalleled opportunity to enhance the quality of their relationships with current and potential new customers.

This is exactly what event marketers have understood for years but are often confounded when trying to convince the bean counters because the metrics are not so cut and dried. So bean counters, check your local PBS listings!

Posted Tuesday January 5, 2010
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Mobile Record Stores?

This is a brilliant idea. Imagine a local record shop (always the best ones) that is almost inevitably struggling to keep its doors open, being able to save rent by closing down it’s brick-and-mortar location in favor of a regional “truck store tour” that would visit your town once or twice a month? Throw in a live in-store (“in-truck”?) performance and voila!

Or how about a thriving store creating a mobile counterpart that supports local artists as they tour. Also a great opportunity for businesses to sponsor, say a local eatery that brings the truck to your town and includes free grub as part of the fun. And if a deep-pockets company were to get involved – WOW.

Naturally such a truck could be branded all kinds of ways thereby offering a mobile billboard for the store and any sponsors. Great grass-roots marketing.

Love it!

Posted Wednesday December 9, 2009
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What the '10 SXSW Music Panels Reveal to Marketers

Naturally Combo Platter loves event marketing and, by extension, marketing with music. After all, who doesn’t love music? When brands can partner with artists in smart and creative ways to reach and expand a consumer- and fan-base, it can result in a big win-win for all.

Folks in the advertising and marketing worlds seem to think so too – go here for yet another article crowing about some successes – but that doesn’t seem to be translating to the topics that will be on deck for the South by Southwest Music panel discussions, announced a few days ago. Lots of very interesting and relevant stuff to be sure, and it’s nice to see that they involved their audience in deciding what these topics would be. And clearly that makes a difference, as evidenced by the wide variety and yet some common themes, including lots on the digital and social realms. (Yes, of course those are marketing tools too, but I’m specifically referring here to companies partnering with artists.)

Frenzied and ubiquitous marketing at SXSW has become the norm, so there will be plenty of opportunities for resourceful artists at every level of success and who are open to such a partnership to rub elbows with potential sponsors and endorsers, and vice versa. But because this event is so huge it follows that the companies who tend to be marketing there are themselves huge – companies like Miller Brewing, Microsoft, Verizon and Levi’s come to mind from years past.

So where does that leave the “little guy”?

All too often these conglomerates overlook emerging artists in favor of the superstars, and there seem to be as many star acts at SXSW any more as there are not-so-famous. Certainly it makes sense to partner with big stars for their vast reach and appeal, but just imagine the “angel effect” it can have on a Big Corporation that offers financial and marketing support to a non-superstar act, the vast majority of whom desperately need it. A little can go a very long way towards creating a lifelong relationship. (The concept of a corporate-sponsored Battle of the Bands doesn’t count because it’s the most over-worked cliché. Ever. Boo.)

Still, lots of artists shudder to think of such a thing which is why it’s important for all involved to not only be smart and creative, but also to understand what they’re getting and giving when they enter into such an arrangement.

Smaller companies on tight budgets need not feel left out of the marketing opportunities presented by events like SXSW. In fact, those artists who would never dream of getting into bed with a conglomerate might on the other hand be very open to talking to a local mom & pop outfit about some support and cross-promotion on a smaller scale. The possibilities are virtually unlimited.

Posted Tuesday December 8, 2009
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Never Assume

It’s real easy to come up with a list of potential sponsors for an event. After all, if you just identify your target market and then figure out which companies would be a good fit, you have filled your sponsor bucket, right?

Wrong.

On the surface maybe it looks like a great match. But have you done your homework? Do the companies you’re targeting even engage in sponsorship marketing? (Note that “they should” does not count.) Do they sponsor events similar to yours? (Are you a folk festival targeting a company that mostly sponsors sports events?) If they do sponsorship, is your market one that they target? Does your event offer something different that they can’t find elsewhere, such as greater reach, a highly targeted demographic, or a unique way to engage that demographic? Do you even know what your demographics are?

Many events do not know their demos, and if that’s you then do a survey. You can do that onsite or online or both. Having some demo data on hand will do wonders for increasing your viability to draw sponsors, because for them it’s all about numbers, or “metrics” as they say these days. The more info you can offer, the better.

The moral of the story is: when it comes to sponsorship, never assume.

Posted Tuesday May 27, 2008
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Marketing Opps

Go here for current excellent sponsorship opportunities. The page is updated continuously, so bookmark it or fill out the opt-in form to stay abreast of new developments.

Posted Friday May 23, 2008
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Head's Up for Event Producers

Now more than ever it’s imperative for event and festival producers to be on top of their game in creating unique, interactive ways for sponsors to get involved. More money is being spent in this marketing category, but it’s being allocated to fewer events overall. Meaning, sponsors are eschewing the shotgun approach and instead looking for ways they can really dig into an event and be an active participant. The days of throwing up some signage and calling it a day are behind us for the most savvy marketers, and savvy event producers know this. This means it’s harder to compete for sponsorship dollars, an already highly competitive arena. So if you’re not in the game, then get in now or you’re out.

I could outline an exhaustive list of things you should already be doing to attract sponsors, starting with mobile media and online social networks. But instead I would suggest you research events that are similar to yours but perhaps bigger and see how they pull it off. Some music events that do an excellent job are Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival (same producers); Coachella and Stagecoach (ditto); and South by Southwest. Even if your event is not music-related, you can still use these examples to get great ideas.

Posted Sunday March 30, 2008
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Thoughts on South by Southwest '08

No surprise, SXSW was replete with way too much to do to squeeze it all in. Crazy! My musical highlights included punk veterans X and I finally got around to seeing Tom Freund, for whom a friend plays drums. I’d say his music is a cross between Lucinda Williams and Leonard Cohen. WOW.

And of course it was a marketing explosion. Very well done in most cases, I’d say, although there was so much of it that it’s easy to get lost in the chaos. Dell did a killer lounge in the convention center, with a fake fireplace, plush carpet, and acoustic acts playing during the day. Probably something they do all the time at trade shows, but not really the kind of thing you see at events like South-by, where the marketing is as much B(usiness) to C(onsumer) as it is B to B.

Several companies had their own venues, be it an actual existing brick and mortar space or a big tent they popped up just for the occasion. Either way, it’s an effective way for a brand to take ownership of the goings-on and then share that with consumers. A nice version of the pop-up store concept.

There was a good bit of “ambush marketing” as well – non-sponsoring companies (who are often competitors with the official sponsors) just showing up and giving away product and swag – which sucks for sponsors but it happens all the time at events. It would be nice if event organizers would police that more effectively but sometimes they can’t and then sometimes they just don’t.

Posted Thursday March 20, 2008
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Marketing without Music

Several recent posts have been preaching the gospel of SXSW as an example of how prolific and successful marketing with music can be when done well. But if your business doesn’t really cater to that market, then consider taking the ideas found in this blog and elsewhere on the site and modifying them to suit your target consumer. Event marketing avenues to consider could include sporting events, IT/IS gatherings, film festivals, foodie events, zoos, museums, business networks, and charitable functions.

Posted Friday March 7, 2008
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South by Southwest Taste on a MyTown Budget

SXSW has become such a high-profile music industry event that marketers clamor to it and then try to rise above the fray to create a killer buzz campaign. And that gets pricey.

(Click here to better understand why music is such a powerful marketing tool.)

So your product or service is perfect for a music industry showcase & festival, but what’s a small business to do? Well, check around for a SXSW knock-off in your city or region. The tremendous success of SXSW has spawned tons of copy-cat events all over the country. Of course they may not offer the same prestigious association, but they do offer a heck of a lot else that any savvy marketer can and should take advantage of. They also offer the chance for a more meaningful interaction with potential consumers – an opportunity that marketing-campaign-saturation renders less relevant every year at SXSW .

So here’s a partial list of similar events in other cities that might be more budget- and marketing-friendly to you:
DFest in Tulsa, Ok.
MusicFest Northwest in Portland, Or.
Atlantis Music Festival in Atlanta, Ga.
NoisePop in San Francisco, Ca.
MOBFest in Chicago, Il.

In addition to the above, most major markets have a local alt-weekly paper that hosts an annual music awards event. Some markets that come to mind are Dallas, Houston, St. Louis, Kansas City, Phoenix, L.A. / Orange County, Seattle, and Portland.

These events are lists that come to mind with no research (as I’ve been to most of them). So it’s just a matter of a little research.

OR…

Combo Platter specializes in this kind of thing. To find out why you should consider music events to market at, go here and here

To determine if this is a viable marketing avenue for your business – and it’s not for everyone – contact Combo Platter at info(at)ComboPlatter(dot)net.

UPDATE 4/7/11:
Sadly some of the aforementioned fests are no longer. Here are some others that might be in your neck of the woods:
Florida Music Conference
Mid By Midwest in Minneapolis
And the powerhouse CMJ Music Marathon in NYC

Posted Friday February 29, 2008
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Study: Marketing (at) Events Increases Purchase Intent

A recent study by the Advertising Research Foundation gives some hard data on the benefits of marketing at events. Primary in the results is the impact of the interaction. (What I’ve referred to as Engagement Marketing.)

The study shows that customers who had some face time with a brand expressed a higher intent to buy, and then goes on to say that at least 50% of consumers who express intent to buy actually follow through on that intent.

Notoriously difficult to measure and prove to the number-crunchers, the impact of engaging your customers nevertheless cannot be underestimated.

Read the full article here.

Posted Sunday February 3, 2008
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What a Sponsor Wants

I often hear or read questions that go something like this: “How can I find a sponsor that values my (cause, industry, etc.)?”

Like individuals, sponsors want to know what’s in it for them. If they “like” your cause, it’s because your cause lines up with what the sponsor’s customers like, and sponsoring your cause will help them to reach those customers. So to find a sponsor, you have to create value that will give them great ROI – “Return on Investment”. Sponsorship is strictly a marketing decision, and they want marketing benefits in exchange for their money.

Go here for more information to give you some ideas about what to offer a potential sponsor.

I strongly advise you, if you are seeking a sponsor, to hire a professional such as Combo Platter that understands your industry, the sponsor procuring process, and how to speak the language of marketing decision-makers.

Posted Wednesday January 2, 2008
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Tips for First-Time Festival/Event Producers

This advice also comes from personal experience of having known lots of very nice, cool people who were producing various types of events and who made critical errors that can kill an event’s success and hopes for the future. And that would be bad. Your event should be a success!

Start early.

It will take MUCH longer than you think to round up all the necessary elements, especially financing/sponsorship, and that goes double for events that are new and therefore have no track record of proven success and viability. Sponsors, and other partners as well (staff, security, venues, ticket agencies, performers, exhibitors, permitting agencies, etc.) will likely require some vetting of your event, and that takes time. Those folks have their own internal systems for budgeting, decision making, and timelines. Not to mention lives of their own. So if you expect to pick up the phone and hear Joe Major Sponsor tell you he’s putting a 4- or 5-figure check in the mail tomorrow – you’re dreaming. And he’s probably thinking you’re an amateur and a schmuck for even asking. And he would be right.

It will cost probably five to ten times what you think it will. So again, start early.

For a one or two-night club “festival”, give yourself at least 3 months. The bigger the shebang, the more money needed (probably, unless you have rich friends or a family member who owns, say, Target). And time is money, money time. So give yourself plenty of time to raise plenty of money to pay for the costs you know of plus all kinds of things that you haven’t thought of yet.

One thing your event should not live without is in-kind donations. These can range from pizza for the crew to gifts for participants or decor for the venue, all kinds of stuff. A great in-kind donation is credit or gift certificates for a hardware store. A strange event phenomenon is the constant lack of adequate amounts of duct tape, zipties, or tools. This is the event equivalent of losing one sock while doing the laundry.

Do everyone, most especially yourself, a major favor and get someone with experience to work with you, or at least advise you. You wouldn’t want a weekend tinkerer to rebuild the engine of your classic car would you? So get someone with some real experience, which will probably require at least some money, which will take time to raise.

This goes for all event interns, volunteers, and day-of staff who think they’ve gotten it down. That may be the case, but probably not. Being familiar with onsite execution is only one part of pulling off a great event or festival. Many events have full-time staff that work year-round.

Be advised that most festivals lose money the first 2-3 years or more, so be prepared for that. This holds true even for internationally known events like Coachella and Bonnaroo, which of course are in the black now but they didn’t start out that way.

A white paper that covers this topic much more in-depth is forthcoming. If you have anything you want to see addressed in that, lemme know.

Posted Tuesday December 18, 2007
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Give the People What They Want

Burger King is dropping their sponsorship of the NFL at the end of this season because they have been “dissatisfied with the lack of opportunities for local promotional activities resulting from its NFL role”, according to a report in Promo Magazine.

Seems like this should have been a great partnership all the way around, but sponsorship requires ongoing effort after the deal is sealed. Sponsors need to “activate” their sponsorship by creating unique promotions and tie-ins that leverage the relationship. Event properties need to give everything they can to make sure sponsors have the ability to do that.

Now, I have no idea why things didn’t work out in this particular case. Because this was a high level deal worth millions, I very seriously doubt that the individuals involved lacked the know-how to pull it off. Maybe they just didn’t like each other.

But it’s an important lesson in sponsor-event relations: there are always plenty of events for a sponsor to choose from and never enough budgeted to get into all of them. Finding a replacement sponsor to make up for the lost revenue takes a lot of effort which takes a lot of time, and time is money. Good event producers get that.

Posted Monday December 10, 2007
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Sponsorship is for Everyone

While this site is obviously skewed toward the benefits of sponsoring music events in particular, which is a huge category in itself, the biggest category for sponsorship is in fact sports. This ranges from the obvious ones such as American football, golf, and the Olympics to things like local 5k marathons and boating events.

This is especially great news for small businesses. It means that there are opportunities just about everywhere and you don’t need a budget of millions to get into the action. In fact, many smaller local events – whether they are sports, music, parades, community, holiday, charity, or whatever – have starting points at just a couple hundred dollars (much cheaper than advertising on radio or many print publications).

Whoever handles sponsorship for the event you’re considering should take the time to explain in detail all the available options for you that would best fit your budget and objectives. Try not to let preconceptions of pushy salespeople scare you away. Good sponsorship staff understand that honesty is the best policy and that creating a win-win situation is good business. When in doubt, do some research on the event and see if they’ve had consistent sponsors or if it changes drastically every year. (Some change is normal, but a big overhaul year after year is a red flag.)

Now brush off that hesitation and go for it!

Posted Tuesday November 27, 2007
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Emotions Mean Business

People make decisions based on emotion rather than facts or logic. That is not meant to criticize, after all I’m a people too; rather it’s a familiar observation borne out time and again. I have read actual poll summaries that say folks preferred one person’s position on the issues, but liked another person more and so that’s who they’d be voting for.

(But I’m not going THERE.)

Where I am going is that this is Reason Number One to use music and events as marketing tools. People, when they’re listening to a cd, or at a concert, or attending a festival, are having FUN. They LIKE being there. They CHOSE to be there doing that instead of somewhere else doing something else, and they most likely spent their hard-earned money to do it. And the best part is, at least at a concert or festival, there’s a bunch of other people who are there for the same reason.

Don’t you think you should be a part of that?

Posted Tuesday November 13, 2007
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