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Still looking for ROI? Meet ROO.

YOU’RE MY HERO!

Let me put it simply. If you manage a Sponsorship portfolio, you’re my Hero!

I cannot think of a tougher job than managing a Sponsorship portfolio. When you took this job, you had dreams. And you may have had to abandon some of them along the way. It happens. Typically, people’s dreams stall when they have to face one or more of the following challenges

Maybe you were inundated by unsolicited proposals. They came from all directions, all the time.

  • Some could have been ‘parachuted’ from Top Management. The nephew is in tennis, we support tennis, the CEO likes golf, so we go into golf. And so on and so forth.
  • Maybe you felt you were understaffed at times.
  • Or, during a merger/acquisition, everything was unstable. Nobody knew what would come next.
  • Or the new CEO started earning his bonuses by cutting jobs and budgets. The company was ‘restructuring’.
  • Maybe management wanted reports in short delays, forcing you into overtime.
  • And, what a drama, perhaps were you asked to tie-in Sponsorship with sales because of misinformed Top Management. They only knew about ROI.
  • At times, you may have felt that you lacked market intelligence.
  • Perhaps you had to fight to keep your budget. I don’t know about you, but it happens that other Departments want your budget because they can prove return, better than you can.

So, the fun was gone. But you stood strong, facing adversity with courage and tenacity. Not knowing if you would have the budget to fulfill your mandate, nor if you would still have a job the very next day, you protected the corporate image, continued negotiating with rights holders, and did your job diligently as usual. You’re my Hero!

And then, as if this was not enough, you had additional challenges. After a major event, for example, you had all your reports on your desk:

 

Brand tracking :

  • Media valuation
  • Customer satisfaction
  • Spectator survey
  • Valuation of assets
  • Hospitality effectiveness
  • Employee engagement
  • And all kinds of other reports perhaps

But you still didn’t have a full grasp of your Return On Objectives. And perhaps did you ask yourself: What have I done wrong?

Have you become a bean counter?

Well, if you followed the ROI path, you did nothing wrong. You were forced to become a bean counter, trying to justify your Sponsorship investments against sales impact.

If all that matters is SALES, why don’t we leave that to Sales Promotions? Why call it Sponsorship anyways? It’s always great to show some sales impact in any Sponsorship, but as you know, there is much more of a Brand Story to share with the communities you do business with.

Even if we get a good return on our money,

Are we targeting the right audience?

Are we positioning or enhancing our brand in the community?

Are we backed by our employees and stakeholders?

Are we making a difference?

Are we giving our customers an experience?

Are we blocking competition?

Are we using sponsorship to introduce a new product in a specific market?

Are we entertaining special guests in a highly positive atmosphere?

Are we promoting customer retention?

Are we sharing our story?

Those are worthy measurable objectives, and not just the sometimes-illusive return on the amount invested.

 

ROI isn’t it

You very well know that sponsorship is not a commercial interruption, like advertising is; that sponsorship is perceived as enhancing the quality of life in the community. Because life would be dull without all the sponsored sports, cultural, and community events. You are perceived as a partner in our lifestyle. So, everything cannot be subject to ROI.

 

Trust yourself

Sponsorship is a good team player with advertising, promotions and public relations, but sponsorship is a medium of its own. And has been the fastest growing medium over the past decades. We should be PROUD to be part of it. Ultimately, as a sponsorship professional, you want to be on top of your trade. You’d love to stop reacting, start taking control and create value. Not only do you want to keep your budget year on year, but you need more money to activate your portfolio.

Trust your intuition

Yes trust your intuition. Your gut feeling is important because it summarizes the sum of your experiences, while your ability to test the chemistry between your team and the ‘partner’ may set your future relationship with this group.

 

Trust your creativity

Your ability to negotiate winning deals and develop tie-ins will determine the quality of your future partnerships. So, trust your creativity.

 

Trust your special skills

Using comparables will help you in the valuation of each proposal and set your own benchmarks. And since activation is key for getting a good return on your objectives, including sales impact when applicable, your skills here could make the difference.

Add some science

A disciplined approach will add some science to your art. Setting your weighted objectives is not rocket science. Give it a small effort. And then evaluating your Return On Objectives can be done in a snap.

Now, do you know why you are not getting the funds you need to give your portfolio a spectacular impact? WHY? Because you may have been relying too much on traditional ways to justify your good work. Listen to us. Add some science to your art. We want you to get the money you need to fulfill your mandate.

 

Here is a simple 3-step plan to success

You have a portfolio of sponsored projects. It could be sports, arts or community perhaps. But by the time you have signed agreements with rights holders and put your plans in motion, you realize you need more money to activate your sponsorship programs. 

 

Would you own a farm without cultivating the land? Would Paul McCartney record a new song for no one to hear? Would you find a miracle cure for cancer and tell no one about it? It wouldn’t make sense, of course.

Top Management needs to be convinced on the merits of your activities before giving you more money. So, here is a simple 3-step plan to get all the money you need.

 

1. Know why you do Sponsorship in the first place. Set your weighted Objectives (or KPIs). Why? Because you will measure success against weighted objectives. Write them down and evaluate your portfolio against those. It’s an easy way to develop your own benchmarks. It will then be easy for you to measure all unsolicited proposals against such benchmarks.

2. Get consensus internally, including Top Management. Experience the magic of getting consensus. Do not keep this for yourself. Show your new evaluation formula to your team, including Top Management. Use the exercise to make necessary adjustments. Then, get consensus around your project. We guarantee that ROI demands will disappear from your life like magic. Because of your new ability to show return, you will get MORE activation budget. You won’t lose jobs within your team anymore. Now that you know what you want out of sponsorship, start creating value.

3. Show your strategic acumen and create value with your sponsorship investments. You will be in a position to balance your portfolio for maximum ROO, weigh new proposals against your benchmarks and even renegotiate agreements based on this demonstrated value. The results can be remarkable. On average, sponsors are able to increase the value of their portfolio in the order of 10%-40% after only one year of using such a simple plan.

 

Be the Champion. The consequence of putting together your intuition, your creativity, your special skills, combined to your science, will make you the Champion. Let the ROO movement change your business life.

 

Fun business

We all know that Sponsorship is serious business, but nothing prevents you from bringing the fun back into your working life.

Have fun activating your portfolio.

Have fun bringing quality of life in the community.

Have fun pushing your brand to new heights.

And if you now agree that the shortest route to ROI is ROO, THEN YOU’RE MY HEROO.

 

Paul Pednault

President and Founder
Sponsorium International Inc.

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