Earlier this week an announcement was made for a call for entries for the 8th Annual Sponsorship Marketing Awards by the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada (SMCC). It was also announced that a new category has been added to this year’s competition to recognize excellence in Business-to-Business sponsorship marketing. The submissions deadline is Thursday, January 26, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Winners will be announced at the SMCC’s 9th Annual Conference on April 3, 2012 in Toronto.
A blue-ribbon panel of judges, chaired by Hari Sihvo, Director, Marketing Assets at Molson Coors Canada, will consider entries in eight categories:
- Sports
- Arts & Entertainment
- Cause (for not-for-profit programs)
- Special Interest (activation of sponsored programs in areas other than Sports, Arts & Entertainment, or Cause)
- Sustained Success (for programs that demonstrate delivery of business results over three consecutive years or longer)
- Small Budget (for programs budgeted at less than $100,000 annually, which includes rights fees and activation)
- Media Sponsorship (activation of sponsored programs experienced primarily via media such as broadcast, print, online, etc.)
- New category: Business-to-Business (primary target is business customer, not mainstream consumer)
“As we enter the eighth year of the SMAs, a new Business-to-Business category has been added to recognize the evolution of the awards and the varied submissions being made year-over-year,” Sihvo stated. “Since their inception, the total number and quality of cases being submitted has continued to grow, acting as a barometer for the health and maturity of the Canadian sponsorship community overall. In 2012, we expect this growth to continue as we look forward to crowning those who drove exceptional results against their objectives and strategies through sponsorship activation.”
Complete SMA entry rules and guidelines are posted on the SMCC’s website.