Another sector to keep your eyes on is municipalities. This sector astounds me. Municipalities own a great many buildings, programs, festivals, events, sports, recreation facilities, and parks. Until a few years ago, they were the sleeping giant. But now, they have clearly awakened with a large number of them investing in sponsorship inventories and valuations to determine what they have to sell, what it is worth, and the level of revenue they can bring to municipal coffers without raising taxes and user fees!
For many municipalities with which we have worked, small and large, this has truly been a successful undertaking. Our clients-the Cities of Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Kelowna, Swift Current, the Town of Kindersley, Resort Municipality of Whistler, and others-have all seen success as they have entered into, or become more professional with their sponsorship programs.
This week, I am in Niagara Fall attending two conferences-the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). The 2013 Consumer Sponsorship Rankings, Canada’s only annual research study and the largest study of its kind surveying average consumers about sponsorship, has shown repeatedly that over 65% of Canadians believe that municipalities should be seeking corporate sponsorship and over 85% feel that corporate brands should be able to sponsor public spaces such as hockey rinks, pools, ball parks, and recreational facilities. This Saturday, I have the honour of speaking at a breakout session of the FCM Conference to over 150 municipal leaders who are interested in learning how to make money from sponsorship, and deliver sponsorship marketing results and ROI for the brands that see the value of being associated with municipalities. The giant has awakened and there is truly a new player in the game.
These are just one person’s thoughts. Yours are welcomed as well. Please add your thoughts or comments below. Thank you for reading and your feedback.