Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?
We have lots of veterans in the sponsorship and sport marketing industry, but I sometimes think they need to learn new tricks too.
In late January, I attended a two-day workshop in Toronto put on by the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada. It was called “Fundamentals of Sponsorship Marketing.” The class size was perfect for a fundamentals course-about 20 people, so there was lots of attention to detail. It was highly interactive, and people could feel involved and participatory. Of the 20, at least four people asked why I was attending. They implied that I had been in the industry for 20+ years and this event was a “fundamentals” course, not one for “veterans.” My answer was clear – I was there to learn.
These two days were not just a refresher course-I learned a great deal. My eyes were opened to new ways of thinking. I picked up new terminology such as BATNA, and was able to take away tools and ideas that I could implement immediately. Yes, it was a fundamentals course, but perhaps we all need to go back to the fundamentals and basics once in a while (if not more often).
In my opinion, our industry sometimes gets too rigid, too complicated and too stoic. Sometimes, I step back and think about what we do in sponsorship and sport marketing. It is not really complicated. It is pretty simple. We bring together brands and properties for mutual benefit. And when properties present great assets to brands and sponsors who can use these assets to move their mission or corporate goals forward, they are paid handsomely for it. When properties fail to do this, there is no success.
When a brand neither understands why it is investing nor measures outcomes or success, things don’t go so well. With presenters like Jo-Ann McArthur from fisheye, Ian Malcolm from Desperato Marketing, Hari Sihvo from Molson-Coors, Dan Hunter from IMI, Monique Giroux from CIBC and Martin Rydlo from Campbell’s, this program delivered information and fundamentals of success.
They brought me back to an understanding of the basics. They reminded me of how to negotiate, the importance of measurement, how critical it is to understand your corporate goals before investing, and how to remain vibrant over time. Sure, I knew some of this, but every once in a while I need to get that “two by four” over the head to bring me back to the basics. When my mind is open, I gain new information and learn about changing trends as well.
Here we are in the first quarter of the year. As I look over the landscape in the sponsorship professional development world, I see lots of learning opportunities in the next couple months alone. The SMCC will host its SMCC Annual Conference and Sponsorship Marketing Awards in Toronto on April 7. Also from April 7 to 9, the 2011 Alberta Sport and Recreation Leadership Summit will be held in Banff with a great early bird offer that ends March 11!
From April through June, the Partnership Group – Sponsorship Specialists™ will host One Day Workshops on inventory development, identification and valuation in Vancouver, Regina, Kelowna, Edmonton and Victoria.
On May 12, Marketing Magazine will host the Second Annual Canadian Sport Marketing Conference in Toronto. Over the next few months, there are lots of opportunities to “re-learn” or “learn for the first time” the fundamentals.
I am glad I attended these two days. It honed my skills, brought me back to reality, introduced me to new people and allowed me to grow as an industry professional. I urge all those in our industry to participate in such training on an ongoing basis. And to those who are “veterans” in our adolescent industry, think about going back to the basics and fundamentals every once in a while. It really grounds you.
These are just one person’s thoughts. Yours are welcomed as well comment below, and thank you for reading.
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