Great activation plans truly help sponsorship programs. A strong budget for investment in sponsorship can yield terrific ROI. Properties and rights holders with a strong understanding of their assets and their value, as well as the ability to tell their story, will reap rewards in the sponsorship marketplace as they align their audiences/fans with brands and their stories! But to me, none of this is of great value unless you have well-trained and well-educated staff.
It is so important to provide professional development for your sponsorship team, be they the folks buying or selling sponsorships, those who build activation programs, or those who implement them—the marketers, community investment folks, programming people, and the c-suite members of the team. Ensuring they have the tools to grow, and the support and peer relationships and collaboration to bond and thrive, is critical to the long-term success of any organization that plays in the sponsorship arena. I believe monthly education seminars and panel discussions are a terrific way to provide high level awareness and content, but it is truly the full-day and two-day conferences and events that provide in-depth interaction on case studies, delivery of tools and content, collaboration of ideas, and peer contact and networking beyond a morning cup of coffee before rushing off to the office after a presentation. It is the conferences and full-day workshops that will provide our staff with the tools, knowledge, and best practice discussions and learning they need to grow, develop, and plan for the future of our industry. This goes for our “newbies” as well as our experienced and our leadership staff!
In Canada, we are lucky. There are many sponsorship-related professional development conferences. There are regional events in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, the GTA, as well as western Canada. There are also nationally-focused events. The Western Sponsorship Congress® – Alberta Forum is one I would highly recommend. It takes place this November 23 & 24 in Edmonton at the new Renaissance Airport Hotel. This day and-a-half event powered by Timewise Event Management will provide all the essentials from newbie boot camp-type opportunities to high level sessions on strategy; it will offer focused breakout sessions with tools to take away and put into practice, as well as keynote addresses with vision and strategic concepts, round table discussions, dedicated networking opportunities, and a reception. The conference will culminate with the critically acclaimed 5 Minute Pitch® hosting five brands and five rights holders on a stage battling it out for over a half million mock dollars in sponsorship money as well as bragging rights of being the 2016 Five Minute Pitch® winner!
The speaker list is filling up and offers a cross section of brands, agencies, and properties/rights holders to share their stories, successes, and for some, their “not so successful” programs for the whole industry to learn from. Seating for the Western Sponsorship Congress® – Alberta Forum is limited so be sure to register today for this leading sponsorship conference now in its 12th consecutive year of delivering the best training, professional development, and understanding of industry best practices, tools, and networking that your staff can want or need.
Professional development is as critical to the future of your sponsorship program as the assets, the storytelling, activations, and ROI. But without qualified and educated staff, your program’s future will be limited. Look and see where you can invest in your organization’s future by registering for sponsorship training today! There are lots of options available across the country and now is the time.
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