A few months ago in New York, the famous Westminster Dog Show took place. Janet Gadeski, president of Hilborn and editor of Hilborn E-News and Canadian Fundraising & Philanthropy, forwarded an article to me about a sponsorship of the dog show. Basically, it spoke to the fact that the event operators changed sponsors. They did not like the fact that the old sponsor used sad-looking shelter dog adoption ads. The event organizers wanted happy dogs in the ads. They opted for a sponsor that had dogs running on beaches and celebrated the lives of dogs. The goal of the ads and the Westminster Dog Show was to support the dog shelter and get more dogs adopted. We know that sad looking homeless dogs drive emotion to help those dogs (or whatever). Adoptions dropped. Goals were not reached. And why? Because someone let their personal feelings influence what they wanted to see in an ad, not what would work. If the goal is to get more dogs adopted, do what it takes to accomplish that objective. Don’t let the personal desire to have ads with happy and fun energetic dogs get in the picture instead.
I see it all the time. Organizations seeking sponsorship fail to generate revenue because they place personal expectations above reality. They may not like one quick service restaurant over another, so they won’t do a sponsorship with them, even if it fits their audience. Once I saw a board member of an organization lead her property into disarray. She felt that they should have Holt Renfrew as their department store sponsor because she shopped there. However, the selling organization could deliver an audience (and do it damn well) for a department store such as Wal-Mart. Guess what? She prohibited the Wal-Mart type agreement. Guess what else? Holt Renfrew never became a sponsor. Do you blame Holt Renfrew for not being a sponsor? I don’t. The selling organization could not deliver their target audience… other than the one board member who already shopped there.
If you are a charity or a cause, when it comes to the business of sponsorship, park your emotions at the door. The same goes for sport. Understand who your audience is and what motivates them. Then follow that road to deliver success for you and your partner.
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.