Today, I have the pleasure of speaking at the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance – Sports Event Conference. With the lineup and agenda items, great speakers, social activities, and networking, it is a great conference. So far, the delegates with whom I have interacted are amazing. It is all about how destination marketing groups, along with provincial and national sport organizations, can work together and deliver amazing experiences.
I have been asked to speak on the subject of inventories and valuations. This is the foundation of any successful sponsorship program. When you are creating an event or a destination, you need to know what you have to sell (brand, image, action, excitement, signage, sampling, online interaction, fan engagement, audience, kids, seniors, etc.) and what it is worth. From there, you build a successful program.
One of the new additions to the Sports Event Conference this year is similar to the new feature at the SMCC Western Sponsorship Congress. It is called PitchFest©, and matches sponsors with rights holders in a form of speed dating. Here at the Sports Event Conference, it is called The Sport Event Exchange. It provides an opportunity for events and property rights holders to meet one-on-one with sport event hosting opportunities for 5-10 minutes. We are seeing these types of interactive networking develop at the best sponsorship and sport marketing conferences. The most successful conferences provide tangible outcomes and opportunities for one-on-one dialogue and business-to-business interaction. The days of multiple cocktail receptions and lots of late night organized booze-ups at local bars and nightclubs charading as “networking events” are passé. Conference attendees (at least the decision makers) are seeking meaningful dialogue, professional development, one-on-one interaction in a business environment, and ROI from their investment in the conference. Social activities are essential but they need to be accepted for what they are. This conference in Edmonton truly illustrates that. It identifies social activities as such and ensures that there are plenty of professional development and business-to-business opportunities, and recognition of membership award winners from the past year. The conferences that focus mainly on promoting networking and experiential opportunities, and deliver the organized bar tours and late night centurion club (my days from the Ceeps while attending UWO in London) activities as a focal point are seeing dwindling registrations and a shift from senior decision makers to a much younger party demographic.
The Sports Event Conference here in Edmonton (scheduled for Toronto in 2015) is truly a great event. It delivers a strong professional development program, opportunities for socializing, fantastic recognition of its deserving membership, and lots of business-to-business networking and one-on-one opportunities prior to the late night escapades that will happen and be great fun… just not B2B networking! The times are changing. The most professional properties are doing inventories and valuations, and custom building proposals as they toss out the stock gold, silver, and bronze printed packages. The most successful brands are activating more, buying sponsorships strategically with pre-determined goals and metrics in place to measure success or failure (or in-between). The agencies are providing their clients with better results, and are focused on mentoring and support programs along with tools versus smoke, mirrors, and glossy packages. As all that changes, so do the conferences we attend, from sponsorship events to sport conferences, tourism and festivals and events conferences, municipalities and recreational centers conferences, healthcare industry conferences, and childcare workers conferences, where the shift is happening as well. They are becoming more professional, with better professional development, more showcasing of success, more one-on-one and business-to-business opportunities, and less mimicking of networking events through late nigh bar fun. I am glad I am in Edmonton to attend this event. It is a true learning experience with lots of fun on the side, including a trip to West Edmonton Mall, which has so much to offer to tourists, local shoppers, and brands looking for great sponsorship investment and activation opportunities.
And that is no April Fool’s joke-nor is the content of this commentary!
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.