As 2010 has unfolded the recession has fallen by the wayside. With an amazing host to the 2010 Olympics, Canada illustrated the strength of sponsorship and all it can do for sponsors, the recipient organizations and people and how it really is flourishing. What else has happened that is significant in 2010? What should we be looking for in 2011 and beyond?

Come understand the year in review from one of Canada's leading authorities in sponsorships. This opening annual keynote session by Brent Barootes, President of Partnership Group - Sponsorship Specialists™, a leading Canadian sponsorship consulting firm providing services to businesses and corporations as well as properties involved in the world of sponsorship, is a scene setter for two full days of great learning, networking and professional development at the Western Sponsorship Congress™.

This opening keynote will provide some insight to how sponsors and properties alike are thriving in 2010. Learn what made them successful. Understand the trends that are happening and how you can improve your bottom line from this trending knowledge. In forecasting for 2011, Brent will highlight hot topics, best practices, issues and opportunities including activation, ROI, valuation and more.

Through Brent's extensive network, in-depth understanding of today's sponsorship climate and his hands on approach with both corporate sponsor clients and property clients, he has the forecast for success. This session is always a highlight of the two days.

 

In this fast-moving one hour presentation, you'll learn 7 Strategies for integrating Sponsorships into your Guerrilla Marketing Attack, and how to use creative low-cost and no-cost marketing ideas to drive traffic to your event or property.

• How Guerrilla Marketing is DIFFERENT from Ambush Marketing
• How Guerrilla Marketing is different from traditional marketing
• How to deploy Time, Energy and Imagination in place of a massive marketing budget
• How to create maximum visibility and impact for your sponsors
• How to harness the power of Social Media in your marketing
• And much more

Deploy "unconventional weapons and tactics" to make your event a huge success!

 

This session is 2 hours of sellers pitching, sponsors spending AND audience/delegate participation. This unique format will create a mock "pitch and buy" session!

On one side, the sellers will be properties ranging from small non-profits to Arts, Health and Sporting Events. Each presenter will have "five minutes" to present their case and pitch why a sponsor should invest in their property. The properties have the flexibility to target all or any one of the prospective sponsors.

Once all of the sellers have pitched, the buyers will get involved. Each of these industry leading professionals will decide how they will spend the $100,000 mock budget they have to allocate!

Once all of the industry leaders (sellers and buyers) have had their say, the floor is open to delegates for an opportunity to ask any panel member questions, make comments or gain further details.

This session is not to be missed!

Properties/Sellers Sean Rodman, Royal BC Museum Shelly Smith-Hines, MS Society of Canada Seamus O'Keefe, SOK Associates Marc Carnes Edmonton Symphony Orchestra Gary Dewar, Community Services Department, City of Edmonton

Sponsors/Buyers Dale Hooper, PepsiCo Beverages Canada John Windwick, ATB Financial Chris Pollen, Homes by Avi Lucy Railton, Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada) Chrystal Robert, Manitoba Lotteries Corporation

 

The key to success in building any partnership is open communication. This begins with a "discovery session". Before any property presents a proposal they must undertake to learn about the potential sponsor. They should sit face to face with the prospect and learn and understand about that prospect and garner knowledge in order to build the "right proposal".

This panel session will demonstrate how to proceed with a discovery session in a mock situation. Moderated by Brent Barootes, President of the Partnership Group - Sponsorship Specialists™, a series of sponsors will be asked the necessary questions to form a proposal correctly. Brent will simultaneously interview these sponsors and learn about their business, their goals, their reasons for investing in sponsorship and more.

As a brand and sponsor, come understand what other leading Canadian sponsors are looking for and how they evaluate opportunities. As a property come and learn what questions should be asked of any prospect prior to proposal writing and garner knowledge of these specific brands and sponsors.

Panellists
Podbielski, Ron - Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, SaskEnergy
Windwick, John - Vice President, Community & Government Relations, ATB Financial
Hooper, Dale - Vice President Marketing, PepsiCo Beverages Canada
Gartner, Kristi - Marketing & Communications Lead, geoLOGIC systems ltd.

 

There is a buzz in the sponsorship marketing community that brands are required to spend a fixed allotment of funds on activation relative to the cost of gaining the access rights to the property. Ranges from one to one, and up to six to one, have been heard in boardrooms and conferences across North America. The challenge, now and always, is that there is a fixed amount of money required to gain access to properties and their audience. Often with tight budgets, the activation budget gets slashed in order to fund rights fees. This should be scary for marketers and properties alike. In this presentation, you will learn the state of the sponsorship nation and what you can do starting tomorrow to maximize your sponsorship ROI.

This session is targeted to: Sponsors

 

Having sat on both sides of the table...and now as a facilitator between property and sponsor, Mark has a unique vantage point and approach. Providing first hand examples as well as key learnings from industry colleagues, Mark's goal for this session is for each participant to leave with some tangible questions and answers (but more questions) that they can apply to their own property/sponsorship.

Attendee's session goal should be ...how can we bring out the Big Ideas and leverage collective resources for mutual benefit within budget...in other words, how can we create a unique brand experience that doesn't suck!

A fun and interactive session to collectively identify common pieces that fit the puzzle.

"I look forward to meeting you in Calgary...and sharing some stories so we can learn from our mistakes (I've made lots!)...and going deeper within the hallway chats and event socials where the real conversation takes place"

This session is targeted to: Properties and Sponsors

 

It is a question every charity and non profit must ask itself. What is the difference between the two? Does it really matter which avenue you follow and what are the consequences if you get it wrong? Can you do both together or must you make a choice? Canada Revenue Agency clearly differentiates between these types of support, but do you know the difference and do you know when to use which, or both? The answer could make an important difference to your bottom line!

Back by popular demand, Ross Marsh will lead this all important workshop. It is a must for sponsors, charities, properties and companies to understand fully. Ross will explain the differences, how they impact properties, sponsors, donors and charities and how choose or balance both opportunities for maximum return on investment. Be sure to attend this session with Ross.

This session is targeted to: Properties and Sponsors

 

Come and learn the ins and outs of closing the deal. This session by Judy Haber of Performance Sponsorship Group, one of Canada's leading sponsorship sales gurus will enlighten you with the stories about the ones that got away. Have you had a deal that you thought was closed and went sideways? What are the red flags to watch for? What do you do when the big one gets unhooked? It happens to us all, but let's learn from it! Judy will allow you to go away understanding how some big fish got away and what the lesson learned was. While others tout about success, come back to reality with the Queen of Sponsorship Sales and the true world, the one that has wins and losses. You will go away with the knowledge you need to be successful!

This session is targeted to: Properties

 

Driving sponsorship revenue starts with two questions:
What are you known for? And what is your story?

A brand has tremendous power to create a positive experience that will resonate with your fans/ consumers. So why do so many salespeople make the common mistake of focusing on selling their product or service versus selling their brand?

In this session, Paolo will focus on the importance of identifying your brand attributes while effectively creating and telling your brand's story to your intended audience (a.k.a. sponsors). The goal for attendees of this session is to walk away with an appreciation of the "magic" that takes place during the sponsorship sales process.

This session is targeted to: Properties and Sponsors

 

Everyone is talking about social media. Perhaps you've set up a twitter account, Facebook page or online community for your organization. But there are tons of other opportunities and some key things you should be thinking about, especially as it relates to your sponsorships and overall business goals.

This session will explore how sponsors and properties can fully leverage social media to create new activation opportunities and extend the reach of traditional sponsorships. We'll also talk about how you can measure the results of your social media initiatives and go through some real-world examples of unique things that sponsors/properties have done with social media.

This session is targeted to: Properties and Sponsors

 

At WestJet, we take fun seriously - which is why we have decided to pursue festivals as sponsorship properties. The WestJet Fun ‘n Festival Series is a national sponsorship program that supports 25 festivals in WestJet destinations across Canada. Festivals have provided an excellent opportunity for us to engage and connect with guests and share the infamous ‘world class guest experience’ associated with our caring brand. The presentation will focus on the development and evolution of the series, the decision making process around pursing festivals, and also provide some insight into the idea’s and execution around the development of a national campaign and the data collection tools required to make it sustainable.

This session is targeted to: Properties and Sponsors

 

A strong relationship with a corporate partner can result in a whole range of positive benefits - and not always that ones you anticipated! Exploration and innovation are two important aspects of the effective activation and delivery of sponsorships. This session will use examples from the Royal BC Museum to explore how you can make the most of corporate and non-profit partnerships. Learn the key principles that they have developed to make the most of their partnerships, and uncover hidden possibilities of their partnerships.

This session is targeted to: Properties

 

If sponsorships pay big "bottom line" benefits for Nike, Tim Horton's and RBC, can they do the same for utilities, municipalities, and non-retail based organizations? In the new world of sponsorship, the answer is a resounding "yes". Find out how to align your investment program with your strategic business plan, delivering $ensible benefits in building corporate image, reducing operating costs, helping retain and recruit employees, and engaging stakeholders. Ron Podbielski will lead a discussion on the role of community investment in SaskEnergy's emergence as a Canadian leader in customer service in the power and natural gas industry and a Top 100 employer in Canada.

This session is targeted to: Sponsors

 

Have no fear. As sponsors move towards automated sponsorship intake and assessment programs, transparency and objectivity increases.

Sponsors can learn more about the associated analysis and measurement benefits while properties can understand some of the background weighting and importance of providing full, accurate information.

This session is targeted to: Properties and Sponsors

 

What does it really take to have a successful sponsorship program? Think strategically. Get creative. Deliver the unexpected.

Sponsorship is a non-traditional marketing communication medium financially assessed against other available marketing options such as advertising for the delivery of bottom line results and ROI. The marketing landscape may have changed but the basic business principles haven't, perception is still the reality, key influencers are still king and shareholders still need equity. This session will take a critical look at the business of sponsorship, distilling it down to common sense principles and evaluating the common and uncommon sponsorship practices being used in today's marketplace.

This session is targeted to: Properties and Sponsors

 

Corporations are approached daily with different proposals from charities, sports groups, community initiatives and all manner of entities. What makes a proposal stand out for a corporation? How do we determine if a proposal has legs? What criteria do groups use to determine a sponsorship?

In this presentation John will take you through the pros and cons of making a proposal to a large corporation. Having experience with corporate sponsorship and with community events, John will provide insights into what partners look for in a presentation. How to approach, who to approach, and probably more important, when to approach.

This session is targeted to: Properties

 

This workshop will focus on the connection between the sponsor's and the property's objectives, with an emphasis on developing plans that fulfill both national and local requirements, and address the integration of sponsorship with community investment strategies.

How can both the sponsor and the property leverage their results through the partnership? Where does employee engagement fit in? What issues pose the greatest challenges in ensuring seamless results 'on the ground'? How can past experience be turned to advantage in creating a recipe for future success? With the use of concrete case examples and practical approaches, the workshop will leave you with tangible ideas and actions in answer to these (and other!) questions that can be applied in your own context. We hope you'll come with your own examples and suggestions to contribute to a lively discussion.

This session is targeted to: Properties and Sponsors

 

This session is a must attend for all properties, big or small. Come learn from Steven what you need to have in a sponsor agreement, what you don't need to have and what to be cautious of. All of this content is backed up with real life examples and stories to drive home the reality of the need for professional legal agreements. Come learn from case studies that mimic actuality and be able to take away tools to be more effective in your legal agreements and use them the next day in contracts.

This session is targeted to: Properties

 

Are you wondering what consumers think about sponsorship? According to general Canadian consumers, who are Canada's most recognized sponsors and why? What sponsorships make consumers buy products from sponsoring brands? Perhaps it is time to ask consumers these questions, the people sponsors and properties are targeting.

In 2011, the Partnership Group - Sponsorship Specialists and Enigma Research Corporation will launch an all-new syndicated consumer sponsorship study, The Canadian Sponsorship Monitor. Thousands of Canadian consumers will be interviewed from coast to coast and questioned regarding affinity towards sponsors, sponsorship recall, reaction to popular activation techniques, and other topics. This shared body of work will be extremely valuable for sponsors, properties, and agencies in our industry. At this workshop session see what the plans are for this study. Come provide your input and ideas for the survey and research study. Help our industry design a study that meets your needs and learn how you can be part of this historic Canadian research project.

This session is targeted to: Properties and Sponsors

 

Your property needs to grow revenue. You've completed an inventory of assets. You've targeted a sponsor. You've completed in-depth research on the company/brand. You've even had a discovery session. Now you've got to create a compelling sponsorship proposal that will close the deal. Join Seamus O'Keefe of the Partnership Group - Sponsorship Specialists as he utilizes his decade of industry experience to identify sales strategies that will help your property achieve its objectives.

This session is targeted to: Properties

 

Come and learn the success to a long term partnership. Dale Hooper from PepsiCo will present an enlightening session on how to keep a partnership fresh and ensure long term viability is met. Learn about the key to relationship building and "win-win" partnerships that deliver results for both the sponsor and the property. Go away with tools and concepts that you can put into practice in your own property or corporate brand. No matter if you are a small or large corporate sponsor, a small independent property or a national property, the concepts and ideas you will glean from this exciting and entertaining session will allow you to go out and prosper. Be sure to attend this session on building long term relationships.

This session is targeted to: Properties and Sponsors

 

The art and the science of getting your prospect to give you all their family secrets!

How many times have you heard "Failure to plan is a plan to fail"? In this instance truer words have never been spoken. A well executed Discovery Session is key to determining the needs, goals and objectives of your prospect. Your objective is to get them talking not to "sell" them anything. If done correctly, once you have them talking, they will give you all the information you need to deliver a proposal to them that they simply cannot say no to.

This session is targeted to: Properties