By Jacques Adam

Is it true that sponsors are spending less and are more demanding? Is the U.S. market different from the Canadian market? What effects will the Olympic Games have on the sponsorship programs of medium-sized businesses? We have to find answers to these questions if we want to plan our solicitation activities effectively. At the Selling Sponsorships conference, Mark Sabourin, the editor of the Sponsorship Report, mentioned that there are several differences between the objectives of Canadian and American companies, particularly when it comes to the sports and social programs field. An increase in sponsorships for government and municipal programs has also been noted. Several companies would like to get into the Olympic adventure. Large budgets will be set aside for secondary sponsorships. Companies will want to take advantage of this huge gathering to stand out.

Sponsorship activities will have to include turnkey events because the sponsors will have increasingly less logistical capability to support their participation in events. One must bear in mind that associating with too large a number of sponsors only dilutes the value of the message. This is one example where “less” can mean more money. The standard is to have 6-8 active sponsors from whom you can obtain more funding.

One must also avoid evaluating a sponsorship mainly based on the number of exposures. Even though small businesses go for Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsorship packages, larger businesses intent on committing themselves to a longer term will be attracted more by sponsorship proposals tailored to their marketing situation. For example, a paper issued by BCE (Bell Canada Entreprises) http://www.bce.ca/data/documents/BCE_2004_Social_Report.pdf, shows that you can gain an understanding of the orientations of a business and tailor the sponsorship to the company’s specific needs. These changes will make it possible for the right programs to be adjusted in a short time to respond quickly to the varied needs of sponsors.