Last Friday I had the chance to attend the 2011 Ivy Sports Symposium, which every year offers an impressive array of speakers, informative panel discussions and wonderful networking opportunities. If you haven’t already, search for the Twitter hashtag #ISS2011 to see some of the updates that were shared during the event. During the breaks between sessions, I tried to grab a couple of video interviews to share with you this week, along with a larger event recap post coming soon.

My final interview was with Brandi Connolly, Director of Sports and Experiential at hawkeye. Brandi and I talked about experiential marketing and how it can be a valuable component in a brand’s overall sports marketing and sponsorship strategy.

You can connect with Brandi on Twitter at @brandiconnolly or by email at bconnolly@hawkeyeww.com.

(Please pardon the slightly unusual shape of the video box – I took the video vertically on my iPhone. I’ll stick to landscape for future clips!)

I received an email last week from the St. Louis Rams about a new program called “Football University” that I thought was a great idea, so I wanted to share it with you here:

Teams are always looking for new packages and experiences to sell, and this package has a lot of unique benefits outside of just revenue:

• It’s a great integration with existing health care partners, creating more value for their sponsorship (and a nice mention for the team’s catering provider as well)
• The pink color scheme is consistent with all of the NFL’s breast cancer awareness messaging
• The package itself, with inside access to the team’s staff and facilities appeals to casual and hardcore fans alike
• Offering it with and without a game ticket creates flexibility for the consumers, while also hopefully providing a lift for ticket sales
• The inclusion of a charitable component (the United Way) is a great way to give back, and can also encourage more purchases
• Finally, I really like the name of the event – “Football University”

Of all the leagues that I receive email from, I have to say that MLS does some of the best work in providing sponsor value via this important communication channel (and this is an area that I’ve criticized other organizations about in the past). Take a look at some of the examples below that I think you can learn from:

Home Depot – Drives participation in their Community MVP program, which is a key component in how Home Depot activates around MLS, and rewards entrants with a chance to win.

American Airlines – Great integration between the idea of being a soccer fan and traveling the world (look at the names on the departure board), driving valuable opt-ins for both organizations.

Castol – Back to the basics with an email that directly encourages Castol product sales and rewards MLS fans with a valuable incentive.

I also love the simple, clean and effective footers they use in their emails to drive more engagement via social media outlets. These are great examples to follow when driving sponsor value with your email communications.

In the past, I’ve written about some poor email-based sponsorship solicitation tactics that I’ve seen, and how they can do better (see “How NOT to Solicit a Sponsorship”). However, this email takes the cake – I don’t think there’s any saving this one. Hope this brightens up your Friday!

Hello we have two monster trucks that run for monster jam . And many other shows as well as over seas . As u know times r harder now we have new stuff as well as a new semi . We would love to letter that trailer up with ur name or any kind of sponcer help we do 25-30 shows a year as well as over seas . We would love to work with you thank you for ur time or info
Mk-motorsports.net website

Wow…

In honor of today being opening day for MLB (and with the Yankees/Tigers game on in the background), I wanted to share one of my favorite local sports sponsor commercials. Watch this Avis ad that runs in the New York market on the YES network:

Avis is a national brand that has sponsorships with many sports organizations, so they could easily stick to their overall brand message in their Yankees in-broadcast commercials. However, that would not maximize the value of their sponsorship. They recognized that connecting with a fun, local tradition in Yankee Stadium while simultaneously poking a little fun at Boston will let their advertisement resonate more with the local viewership.

In addition, on their closing screen, they feature the statement, “Not Just Corporate Sponsors. Fans.” This seals in the notion that Avis really knows what it means to be a Yankees fan. This helps break down the barrier that can exist between a standard corporate message and the fans that the sponsor is trying to reach.

Avis has several of these ads, which you can find on YouTube, and I’m sure other local sponsors in different markets use similar tactics. If you have a particular example that you really like, share the link in the comments. Thanks!

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Mike Mahoney.

Chicago was once again host to IEG’s Annual Sponsorship Conference but this time at a new venue, the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. For many years the venerable Hilton Chicago was the host hotel for this gathering of sponsorship sellers, agencies and brands. This will become important later on in this conference review. I also attended this conference last year and looking back on my notes there are several similarities.

First, let’s look at the setup. About 1200 sponsorship professionals attended this year, up slightly from last year. About 80% are from properties or agencies. (This is a guess but 80-20 rule feels right). As far as the agenda, the conference sessions are organized into four basic types; sponsor panels, keynote addresses, workshops and interactive roundtables. Last year I loved the roundtables which are small group meetings designed for interaction and an exchange of ideas around a topic. This year, in the new hotel, you could not hear anything at the roundtables as the acoustics in the cavernous room were horrible. But this was the only complaint I had about the new hotel.  It was extremely convenient to Michigan Ave. and a number of great restaurants which were great to hit after the evening networking receptions.

On to the content! Return on Engagement was this year’s theme. The buzzwords again were “measurement”, an IEG core product and consulting topic and “activation.” Both were used extensively last year throughout the conference.  Cause marketing and social media were a larger focus based on the number of session around these topics.  I always leave with great activation ideas and examples and they came from a large number of sessions. Let’s review a few of them and what I learned from each.

• Scotts Miracle-Gro partnered with the head groundskeepers of several baseball teams to develop local seed and fertilizer blends based on local growing conditions. What a brilliant way of using experts (and trademarks) from both companies to offer a tangible benefit to fans.
• Frito-Lay’s Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” promotion where fans actually created the ad for SB45 took something that usually lasts 2 days into an 8 month conversation with fans about the brand and the NFL. The lesson here is to lengthen promotion impact time by using social media and having a two-way conversation with consumers.
• The NHL solved a major problem the league had been trying to solve for a number of years. Apparently only 10% of league revenues came from national sources. They created a series of unique events with national impact across the calendar, from the draft to the Winter Classic, to an All-Star fantasy draft.  This had a significant impact on sponsorship revenue by incorporating traditional media, hospitality, digital and on-site activation into custom packages, including a larger multi-year partnership with Cisco as a result.
• AT&T’s Keynote presentation featured integrated cause or non-traditional marketing including a campaign to keep all of us from texting while driving. This YouTube video is a must watch if you ever entertain the idea of texting while driving and certainly great for your teen drivers to see before getting their learner’s permit. See the YouTube video for “It Can Wait” here.
• The NFL and Gatorade joint presentation was a true highlight, though I might be biased. The NFL conducts a thorough brand positioning and matching analysis with potential partners to highlight similarities. Can you and your sponsor both claim to be innovators? Develop a shared campaign around those values. The NFL clearly stated they know and focus on how many bottles of Gatorade need to be sold to make the NFL partnership work.

The last few tidbits are some I really want to make sure to use this year. I know they’ll help me close a deal before 2011 ends. Frito-Lay’s Rudy Wilson implored sponsorship sales professionals to sell a story, not a sign, or a program. He mentioned that Susan G. Komen sells hope, not an activation opportunity. We can do that as well. Tagging along with that directive was a great suggestion by IEG’s Lesa Ukman to change your sponsor’s “Official Category” to the “Official Emotion”. Rather than your Official Security Company maybe it becomes the Official Supplier of Peace of Mind. I’m sure I’ll think of a better one before I put it in a proposal.

Lastly, IEG’s dashboard on www.sponsorship.com was a great resource before, during and after the conference and worked very well on mobile devices when the room(s) were equipped with IEG’s free Wi-Fi . Now that the conference is over I am enjoying being able to go back and watch video of sessions I missed and review the handouts.

Recommendations for those thinking about going to IEG next year will echo last year’s suggestion. Please don’t swarm sponsorship buyers while at the conference by handing them unsolicited stock proposals. I met reps from brands that actually disguised their true company on their badges to avoid over-zealous sales people. Do learn and network from other salespeople. Let your ROI from the conference come later when you are back in your territory putting to use what you learned from the week. This will also put less pressure on you during the conference and allow you to meet more colleagues.

Mike Mahoney is a sponsorship sales executive based out of Charlotte, NC with 5+ years of sponsorship sales experience. Prior to selling in the sports world he worked in major account sales at FedEx and SAP. Mike believes in the power of CRM and loves social media. You can follow him on Twitter (@mahoney) or on LinkedIn or find him on Sponsorpitch.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Ron Turner, Director of Gensler’s Sports and Entertainment practice.

In today’s competitive environment, sports sponsors are more attentive than ever to ROI.  And with many owners planning stadium and arena upgrades, the industry has a unique opportunity: by integrating the needs of sponsors and advertisers into the design process, we can create dynamic, transformational arenas and stadia that enhance the fan experience, increase sponsorship revenue, and create operational efficiencies for property owners.

With this in mind, we recently convened a panel of sports industry professionals representing brands, sponsorship agencies, sports teams and sports venues to get a better understanding of the needs of the industry.  My colleague and founder of MRA International, Michael Rubin, helped lead the discussion with a distinguished panel that included:

• Shervin Mirhashemi – Chief Operating Officer, AEG Global Partnerships
• Woody Thompson – Executive Vice President, Octagon
• Michael Robichaud – Vice President of Global Sponsorships, MasterCard
• Robert Jordan – Managing Partner, Venue Research and Design LLC
• Lisa Delpy Neirotti – Associate Professor, George Washington University
• Tim McGhee – Senior Vice President, IMG Consulting
• Seth Rabinowitz – Founder, Rabinowitz Consulting

We learned that the biggest concerns for the industry are related to technology, fan experience, ROI and sponsor integration.  Here is some of the advice we heard:

Involve sponsors early in the design process. Ideally, the venue owner should have sponsorship deals in place during the design process. This allows sponsors to customize their presence at the venue and maximize the fan experience, leading to an optimal ROI. Giving sponsors the ability to help design their own experience will also allow the property owner to provide added value in exchange for the price for the sponsorship as well as create a revenue stream prior to the completed construction of the venue.

Embrace technology and build it into infrastructure. The game day experience is becoming more interactive.  Fans are using digital signage and handheld devices more than ever. In response, venues need to incorporate enough bandwidth to satisfy this demand. This will allow fans to access information as they like, and also allow the venue to reach the fan during the game. Technology systems created by providers like Cisco and Harris allow operators to individually control every video display screen within a venue and target the unique audience watching each of those screens. The use of customer databases – with information gathered from the internet, handheld devices, credit cards, or ticket scans – will allow this technology to segment fans precisely. The technology holds great promise and will not reach its true potential until those involved with its operations are fully informed about its applications.

Make attending the event easier and more convenient than ever. Today, with what it costs to take a family of four to a sporting event, fans can buy a big screen HD TV to watch with friends and family in the comfort of their own homes. To get fans in the seats, venues need to minimize both monetary and non-monetary costs (such as time) by maximizing value and convenience. By integrating both automatic technology and reassuring human contact throughout the venue’s customer service strategy – from initial web inquiries and ticketing all the way through event parking, concession purchases, concourse navigation and post-event communication – venues can make both the fan and the sponsor feel like they are a valued part of the overall experience.

This event allowed us to gain insight from sports industry professionals, but we want to take it a step further and hear from the fans. What do you think? What elements in a stadium create such a fun, exciting, game day experience? Take a quick online survey here so we can find out about your fan experiences.

Ron Turner is Gensler’s Director of Sports and Entertainment and a principal in the Los Angeles office. Ron has over thirty years of experience dedicated to creating iconic event center designs that generate increased revenue, build civic brands, and employ innovative technologies. As a founder of sports design practices for Ellerbe Becket, NBBJ, RTKL and now Gensler, Ron has led design teams for numerous venues and sports-anchored entertainment districts around the world. You can reach him at ron_turner@gensler.com.

Continuing with the video theme this week, I found a great sports business video on YouTube today courtesy of the Rice Sports Management program’s YouTube account. This clip shows several highlights of how Subway activated their sponsorship of the Subway Fresh Fit 500.

I particularly liked how they also involved Apolo Anton Ohno, a non-racing Subway endorser, and how found a fun way to show off the Subway Dunk Fresh game with Blake Griffin (you can read more about this campaign at the Blogs with Balls blog).

I was watching a hockey game the other night and the virtual signage on the glass at the ends of the rink made me think, “what others spaces are left to sponsor?”  So here is a quick list of physical and virtual inventory by sport that hasn’t been sponsored yet, but could be. I realize that several of these might not be allowed because of rules on having uniform court/rink/field elements, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen in time…

Hockey:

• The crease
• The blue lines
• The penalty box
• The goal netting (like with field goal nets?)
• The faceoff circles
• Center ice (if you ever dared to replace the team logo)

Basketball (after seeing Oregon’s new court, I believe anything is possible):

• The shot clock
• The paint
• The top of the key
• The mid-court, free throw or three-point lines
• The baselines (out of bounds)

Football:

• The endzones (combine the team name/logo with the presenting sponsor?)
• The virtual first down line (have seen this on some broadcasts I believe)
• Sections of the coaches box and players area on the sidelines (the way NBA benches are)
• The instant replay review booth

Baseball:

• The bases (remember the Spiderman controversy a few years ago?)
• The outfield (logos mowed in to the grass)
• The on-deck circles
• The first and third base lines (just along the grass)
• The warning track
• The bullpens

I know that some of these may seem ridiculous, but many of them don’t even need to be physical elements. The entire reason I started thinking about this was because of the virtual signage in hockey games. There’s no reason that the same technology can’t be applied to these types of locations.

Note: Check out the comments below. I tried to add a little more context to the idea behind this post. Thanks!

Last week, the Sacramento Kings announced that they signed a new naming rights deal. On March 1, the building’s name will officially change from Arco Arena to Power Balance Pavilion. It is a five year deal, and the financial details have not been released, although it supposed to be worth much more than the $750,000 per year they had been getting from Arco. You can read about the deal over at the Sports Business Daily.

For those of you that might not be familiar with Power Balance, they produce bracelets designed to, well, improve your balance.  Here is a quick description from their website:

What is Power Balance?
Power Balance is Performance Technology designed to work with your body’s natural energy field. Founded by athletes, Power Balance is a favorite among elite athletes for whom balance, strength and flexibility are important.

How Does the Hologram Work?
Power Balance is based on the idea of optimizing the body’s natural energy flow, similar to concepts behind many Eastern philosophies. The hologram in Power Balance is designed to resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body.

What makes this deal interesting to me is that Power Balance is quite a controversial brand right now. Because of complaints from Australian consumers, Power Balance has stated that there is no “credible scientific evidence” behind their product, and they are currently facing three false advertising lawsuits in the U.S (Sporting News, 1/14/11). Based on this information, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Power Balance doesn’t represent a particularly stable brand.

If you only look at the financial value of the deal over the five-year period, I’m sure that this is a profitable deal for the Kings, and probably does a lot for the credibility and visibility of the Power Balance brand. However, if the company faces further legal problems or consumers decide to abandon their product, what happens to the Kings and the value of their naming rights moving forward? If anything happens that leads to the deal ending prematurely, the market value for those rights could easily be diminished. Is that worth the risk of the short-term dollars that Power Balance was willing to pay over any second or third options (if there were other options, of course).

On the other hand, Sports Business Daily also highlighted that Sacramento is a small market, which has its own long-term challenges for stability of a professional sports franchise. If there’s a chance the Kings are unable to stay in Sacramento more than a few more years, this deal could end up making much more sense.

What do you think of the risk vs. reward of a deal like this?