The Western Sponsorship Congress™ was an amazing success. For the seventh consecutive year, the conference was sold out. But more important was the professional development and learning that occurred. As I look forward to the final two months of 2011, I look back at how the year has been and what might be in store for us in 2012.
Of the 270 delegates attending the Western Sponsorship Congress™ last month, there were so many new faces—so many new people. This tells me that our industry is growing. The statistics and research also show it, but when you attend these Canadian events, you really see it. I am seeing more and more new entrants into the industry at different capacity levels. Some are seasoned PR or communications veterans; others are transferring sales or management skills, while still others are young vibrant new entrants to the job market. The numbers are astounding!
This year alone, we had eight students from the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary assisting at the conference by introducing speakers and participating in professional development. There were three industry professionals attending through the annual Enigma Research Bursary program. And of course, there was the Hilborn E-News – Canadian Fundraising and Philanthropy winner who not only received a full registration and travel to the Western Sponsorship Congress™, but also won a spot on the famous 5 Minute Pitch™ panel.
There were more municipalities and post secondary educational institutions present this year than ever before and that is to be expected. Municipalities, universities, colleges and agricultural societies tend to be the fastest growing property sectors in the industry. Thus, all three were well represented at the 2011 Western Sponsorship Congress™.
This year, we continued to see more brands and sponsors represented. Several financial institutions as well as several major retail brands showed the strength of these brand categories in the industry today and what to expect in the near future. Large and small sponsors are finding more and more value in professional development. They see the need to deliver quality training, professional development, and skill education to junior and middle management brand professionals. As a speaker, I am seeing the desire for more knowledge in this area with speaking engagements at brand- focused conferences and annual meetings.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t update you on what was probably one of the hottest activities and topics at the Congress this year. The social media and digital marketing focus was huge. The sponsorship industry’s integration into these media has been slow and we were excited to have such a focus on social media and digital marketing at this year’s Congress. Our speakers and the dedicated panellists enlightened many and helped all of us understand, as small and large organizations, how to leverage these media in our programs, both as sponsors and properties. It is way more than posting a FaceBook page and forgetting about it!
Based on the outcomes of the Western Sponsorship Congress™, I see five main areas to watch in 2012. First, continued growth in the industry. When the preliminary Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study is released at the April 3 2012 SMCC Conference in Toronto and the final 2012 results released at the Canadian Sponsorship Forum in Montreal on July 25-27 2012 at the Just for Laughs Festival, I think we will see double digit growth in our industry. There will be increased spending on rights fees; evaluation and activation as sponsors are becoming ever savvier and are being held more accountable.
Second, we will see greater growth in people. There will be more education, professional development, and workshop training. This will be needed as the industry grows in dollars and there is a need to “fill the funnel” with qualified industry professionals. Like the non-profit industry that has exploded as a profession in the past decade or so, we will see the sponsorship industry do the same and this growth will be exponential beginning in 2012.
Third, I believe we will continue to see growth in three main property sectors. These will be municipalities, which have begun to get a grasp on the potential revenue they can generate. Those who have entered the “game” in the last couple of years, or will do so in the next couple of years, will leave the others in the dust. The other major property growth areas will be the continued resurgence of agricultural societies across Canada and also post-secondary educational institutions. Another one to watch in 2012 that will probably explode in about three to five years will be the foundations and trusts associated with hospitals and health authorities across Canada and the shopping centre industry.
The brand side is the fourth area. Watch for stabilization of the investments by the big five banks in Canada as each settles into the ownership of sectors such as sport, causes, or the arts. But also keep an eye on the credit unions as they begin to emerge in the sponsorship world. As they re-align themselves to target the younger generation, they will find satisfaction in the results delivered by sponsorship. Also watch for non-retail brands to get deeper into the industry. As communications and PR become critical to positioning for these brands that do no B2C transactions, sponsorship will play a more important role in the overall mix.
And finally, an area to watch will be the failing of many events and properties. I know this is not nice, but it is reality. Though there will be more money and growth in the industry in dollars, we will see many properties fall by the wayside. Those that still cannot differentiate between sponsorship and philanthropy, those that are “looking for sponsors to help them” versus helping sponsors will find that their money is drying up. Those that cannot do it right will not survive.
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