planning
and scheduling around a sponsorship
Planning And Scheduling Around A Sponsorship
Companies new to the sponsorship space feel as if they have overcome a significant hurdle once negotiations are complete and contracts are signed. Actually, the real challenge begins once the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed. That's when marketers must sit down and develop a sponsorship management and activation plan, which should at minimum cover the following points:
Staffing needs, responsibilities, reporting structures
specific to the sponsorship
Budget requirements that were overlooked during selection/consideration
process
Support needs from event management, research, ad agencies
and product vendors
Expectations regarding channel and retail partners and/or
field sales personnel
As far as scheduling of activities is concerned, you can be flexible in
your planning based on the size and length of the sponsored event, as
well your sponsorship level and the breadth and depth of your activation
commitment. Sponsorship of a team with a six-month season may actually
require less pre-planning than a one-week event. For example, your title
sponsorship of a PGA Tour stop will likely mean considerably more (and
earlier) planning than your mid-level sponsorship of a Major League Baseball
team that plays a 162-game season.
Take the case of an information technology company title sponsoring a marathon and integrating complicated technological features into race-day activities. That company will need considerable lead time to plan logistics, test equipment and select essential outside vendors, whereas a financial services sponsor of a basketball team may not be faced with same demands.
If you're preparing to orchestrate a detailed, demanding activation program, a good suggestion is to start planning a year before the sponsored event takes place. Some may think that 12 months of lead time is longer than necessary. However, unforeseen events, glitches and delays outside your control are bound to take place, and when they do, you and your staff will be thankful that you have the time to recover.
However you decide to plan your sponsorship program, frequent and unambiguous communication with and among internal staff/constituents, outside agencies, and the property is imperative to a smooth planning process and successful event sponsorship.
