Last week’s TMC on “live means virtual” struck a chord and sparked a ton of great feedback. Many people wanted to know more about integrating digital and virtual into sponsorships. To achieve this, we need to start thinking differently about digital channels and sponsorship. We need to move beyond traditional proposals and go digital. We need to move beyond handing out samples to digitizing it. We need to shift from brochures and info sheets to digital products. In the long run, the costs are lower, the content is more accurate and up-to-date, and the tracking is hundreds of times better!
Let’s look at a few examples.
- Safety and less contact are critical when we return to events. How are you managing tickets? Many organizations switched to digital tickets years ago and eliminated hard copy. If you have not done so yet, now is the time! A product we hear great things about is Seat Geek Making sure your users can come to the gate and not have to touch anything—all on their phone—is perfect. The key here, though, is you now have detailed data on users that can be used for sponsor proposal statistics. You know exactly who is buying tickets and their details. Furthermore, you can run detailed surveys guised as integrated gaming opportunities to dig way more deeply into your audience profiles. If you don’t want to do that, postal codes alone and the proprietary software used by Partnership Group – Sponsorship Specialists® can deliver over 22,000 unique attributes and data information pieces about each audience member. But to be successful, you need to create the digital platform to gather the initial data. This option provides fun gaming for your audience, safety, and a feeling of security and comfort in these Covid times.
- Use of AR (augmented reality) to enhance experiences. Whether the experiences take place on-site, or pre- or post-event, the key is to provide a fun experience for the fan/consumer. Use of AR apps not only extends and enhances the experience, but also collects critical data (much like above) and buying habit information you need for existing sponsors and to acquire sponsors. These types of opportunities are a critical part of the future of sponsorship and events. The leader in this field is Vancouver, BC- based company Imagine AR
- Coming back to safety, what are you doing to make it easier for your fans and consumers to order product on site? Is it safe to wait in a lineup, which may stretch the length of the venue with two meters spacing for that hot dog? Do I really want to go into a shop or tent to look at merchandise? For some, the answer is yes, but for others, it will be no. So, what are you doing about it? You need to provide QR codes (lol… we promoted these back in about 2007 at the Western Sponsorship Congress – and by 2015, the word was that they were passe—not so!) for people to click through to your menu or merch! Let them order from a set location, then deliver it to them at their seat or at a pickup location. There are lots of options here, but use digital to make it safe, secure, and user friendly. Restaurants have been using this format for over a year to bypass old-fashioned handheld menus! Places like McDonalds have used it for years, so you can come in, sit down, order from your table through the QR code or their app, and have it delivered to your table. The same happens in Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges. In each of these places, there are assets and placements for sponsor integration or messaging. Wow! More inventory and inventory that reaches the consumer in an experience. What a great time to provide an enhancement opportunity. There are lots of great ideas here for our clients taking this approach!
As you can see, digital is the new world. It’s the real world—not just for the technologically advanced operations. It’s for everyone and you need it to survive. Beyond the safety and security it provides and showcases, digital provides more sponsor/consumer touchpoints and enhancement opportunities. Welcome to today!
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