A NEW PARADIGM FOR ASSOCIATION SPONSORSHIPS

A NEW PARADIGM FOR
ASSOCIATION SPONSORSHIPS
Stacey Goldberg
Vice President, Client Leadership
IEG Consulting Group
Jennifer Infantino
Manager, Marketing, Communications and Corporate
Partnerships
International Society of Automation (ISA)
Introductions
Who We Are and What We Do
IEG: Measuring, Valuing, and
Optimizing Partnerships
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IEG leads the way in sponsorship intelligence
and measurement
Specialists in embedding accountability
and measurability in every sponsorship
Global reputation for providing
independent evaluation and guidance
Trusted counsel for leading corporate
brands, properties, and agencies
Founded in 1982. Acquired by
WPP in 2006
Active in associations, sports,
entertainment, arts and causes
ISA: The International
Society of Automation
• Founded in 1945
• Global, nonprofit membership organization
– 30,000 members
– 300,000 customers
• Based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
• ISA develops standards, certifies industry professionals,
provides education and training, publishes books and
technical articles, and hosts conferences and exhibitions
for automation professionals.
TIMELINE
IEG Methodology
CONDUCT
ASSESSMENT OF
ORGANIZATION
ACTIONS
WEEKS 1—7
• Analyze assets and
corporate relationships
• Interview key
stakeholders
• Conduct competitive
analysis on other like
properties
• Identify additional
inventory to create
or borrow
5
CREATE PACKAGES
& ESTABLISH VALUE
WEEKS 8—11
• Assemble assets into
discrete corporate
partner packages
• Identify which benefits
can and cannot be sold
separately
• Determine value of
each package —
accounting for tangible
and intangible value
• Match sponsor
prospects to packages
CREATE
OFFER LETTER
WEEKS 11—14
• Determine value
proposition
for the most
targeted business
categories
• Use value proposition as
the cornerstone to
create compelling,
solution-oriented
proposal for highest
level package
• Tailor value proposition
and activation menu
DEVELOP IDEAL
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE
WEEKS 15—16
• Assess and define
sales and servicing
staffing requirements
• Develop strategy
for internal
communications
and implementation
strategy
• Create guidelines
and contract terms
DEVELOP &
IMPLEMENT ONGOING
SUPPORT PLAN
WEEKS 17-52
• Conduct executive
briefing
• Conduct customized
staff training session
• Utilize IEG support
training products and
services
• Utilize IEG ongoing
counsel to optimize
deliverables and roll
out strategy
STATE OF THE SPONSORSHIP
INDUSTRY
Projected 2014 Shares Of North
American Sponsorship Market
ENTERTAINMENT
10%
9%
CAUSES
ARTS
SPORTS
70%
7
Source: IEG Sponsorship Report
4%
4%
3%
FESTIVALS/FAIRS AND
ANNUAL EVENTS
ASSOCIATIONS
AND MEMBERSHIP
ORGANIZATIONS
N. American Sponsorship Spending:
Associations/Membership Orgs
$600 MILLION
$576
$568
$550
MILLION
MILLION
MILLION
$500 MILLION
$400 MILLION
$300 MILLION
1.4%
3.3%
$200 MILLION
$100 MILLION
2012
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* Projected
Source: IEG Sponsorship Report
2013
2014*
The Before & After of Successful
Sponsorship Programs: ISA’s “Before”
• 76% of the companies ISA has a relationship with are spending
in only one category
– Of these, 85% are only exhibiting at annual event
– Of the total 498 ISA corporate deals in 2008, 400
companies spent $10,000 or less; 283 spent $5,000 or less
• Current practice of offering multiple small sponsorships in
various areas is ambushing larger sales opportunities
• Too many offerings confuse the marketplace
• Too many disjointed sales efforts throughout the organization
results in losses for all
Success: ISA’s New Model
2009 STRATEGY
2009 RESULTS
Offer 35 different sponsorships
Revenue = $216,220
Price Range = $250 - $12,500
2014 STRATEGY
2014 RESULTS
Offer 3 levels of partnership
Revenue = $637,000
Price Range =
$25,000 - $150,000
–Eliminate small sponsorships
–Limit the number of offerings
–Price should be value-based, not cost-based
10#
Success: ISA’s New Model
2009 STRATEGY
2009 RESULTS
Sell everything a la carte, utilizing
many different sales arms
Current Partner Companies spent
a combined total of $69,140
2014 STRATEGY
2014 RESULTS
Leverage ISA resources and
streamline sales efforts
821% increase in partner
spending!
–Minimize “a la carte” offerings
–Streamline sales efforts; continue these trends
–Leverage all of ISA’s resources to find the
right solution for the customer
11#
What’s Really Changed
12#
DAYS OF THE PAST
PARTNERSHIPS OF TODAY
Focus on association need/gratitude
Focus on corporate business objectives
Transactional, a la carte relationships
Delivery of organization-wide solutions
Off-the-shelf (e.g., Gold, Silver, Bronze)
opportunities
Customized, flexible approach based on
partner needs
Price based on need
Price based on value of marketing rights
and benefits
Partner is responsible for sponsorship
activation
Association is responsible for helping
partners resonate with their audience
Many contacts for many opportunities
Dedicated team with one point person
Measurement = sponsor is accountable
Measurement = association helps
deliver pre-determined metrics
5 KEY STRATEGIES TO
TAKE YOUR PARTNERSHIPS TO
THE NEXT LEVEL
5 KEY STRATEGIES TO TAKE YOUR
PARTNERSHIPS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
1
UNDERSTAND WHAT DRIVES
VALUE FOR YOUR PARTNER
Corporate Objectives for
Sponsorship
COMPANIES SPONSOR MEMBER-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO:
• Be positioned as an industry leader/solution provider
• Engage with members in a way they can’t do on their own
• Differentiate themselves from the competition and Increase their
brand loyalty
• Educate prospective customers about their products and services
• Stimulate sales/trial/usage
• Increase company/brand awareness & visibility
• Showcase industry commitment/responsibility
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Thought Leadership
Anatomy of an ISA Partnership
TARGET
MARKET
Most Popular Benefits for ISA’s
Partners
• Opportunities to co-create /contribute to thought leadership content
(e.g. whitepapers, blogs, webinars)
• Positioning as a strategic partner
• Positioning partner’s logo with ISA’s logo in our collateral and theirs
• Access to proprietary organization content, like book chapters and
articles that they can use for lead generation efforts
• Opportunities to network with the right target audience (more
important than event exhibition opportunities)
• Benefits that reach across the organization through multiple channels
(e.g. web, publications, social media, events, etc.) but focus on their
competitive advantage or key message
High Performing Benefits in
Partner Packages
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Top Partner Webinar:
– Registered: 651
– Recording Views: 725
Top Tech-Topic Consumable
Content:
– Total Clicks on Whitepaper:
1,385
Top Partner Blog Post: 1,101
Visits
Visuals: Benefits in Action
5 KEY STRATEGIES TO TAKE YOUR
PARTNERSHIPS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
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KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Know Your Audience
• Scope of audience:
– Who is your audience (really)
– How interested and loyal are they to the organization
– Who are the key stakeholders
• Association involvement
– What do your members value most about the organization
– How do they engage with the organization and each other
• Audience composition
– Demographics, psychographics
– Purchasing habits
• Awareness and attitudes towards sponsors
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Map Your Sphere of Influence
Members
(defined member
segments)
Members as
Professionals
Members as
Consumers
General Consumer
Creating and Utilizing Personas
• Persona development (even rudimentary) is extremely helpful to make
sure you’re on the same page with your partner about their audience
• 3-5 key personas made up of job functions, titles, industries (partner
selects) and purchase history, committee involvement (association
selects)
• Have some fun: name your personas!
• Help your partners choose their target audiences for their benefits
based on these persona groups
– Example benefit: Send a safety-related white paper email to a
segment of ISA’s database
– Persona select: Safety Sue
• Expectations set early = greater chance of perceived success!
5 KEY STRATEGIES TO TAKE YOUR
PARTNERSHIPS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
3
TAP DIGITAL AND SOCIAL
MEDIA ASSETS
Digital Rights And Benefits To Offer
• Right to use organization’s images, video, content through sponsors
social channels
• Sponsor placement within organization’s web/mobile site
• Social posts with sponsor ID
• Product placement in Instagram photos
• Ad in timeline banner on Facebook
• Use of organization’s social media channels to promote sponsor
activities
• Sponsor offers placed in organization’s social media accounts
• Sponsor placement in organization’s official app
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Social Media and ISA’s Partners
• Blog posts, Twitter chats, Q&A sessions on our blog
• Surveys and polls are popular on social media
• Encourage partners to participate actively in ISA’s channels outside of
prescribed benefits… share non-commercial, interesting, cool “stuff” –
social, not sales
• Know your numbers: monitor averages to set the right expectations
from the beginning
• Position social as an “added bonus” if you’re not sure of engagement
levels
• Seed some responses where you can – board members, active
committee chairs, etc.
5 KEY STRATEGIES TO TAKE YOUR
PARTNERSHIPS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
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INTERNAL ALIGNMENT
Internal Alignment
• Does the organization’s structure impede partners who want a
holistic approach?
• Is there staff buy-in that understand that what is best for the
organization is the ultimate goal?
– Enlist support from the top
– Eliminate competition, encourage cooperation between business units
– Create a cross-department team to formalize communications, cross sell
and service
– Rebuild the partnership solicitation process behind a single point of
contact
– Communicate your core partnership strategy internally and externally
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ISA’s Approach
• Control what you can control
– Headquarters-led sponsorship program
– Combined sponsorships and marketing departments
• Recommend and educate on what you can’t control
– Divisions and Sections
– Baby Steps
5 KEY STRATEGIES TO TAKE YOUR
PARTNERSHIPS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
5
BECOME AN EXTENSION OF
YOUR SPONSOR’S MARKETING
DEPARTMENT
How important is it for your
partners to help measure results?
26%
VERY
IMPORTANT
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
34%
9%
SOMEWHAT
IMPORTANT
26%
NOT TOO IMPORTANT
NOT AT ALL IMPORTANT
NO ANSWER
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Source: ANA/IEG Sponsorship And Event Marketing Measurement Survey
How Valuable Are the Following
Property-Provided Services?
POST-EVENT REPORT/FULFILLMENT AUDIT
57%
AUDIENCE RESEARCH ON PROPENSITY TO PURCHASE
51%
AUDIENCE RESEARCH ON ATTITUDE/IMAGE
45%
ASSISTANCE MEASURING ROI/ROO
40%
LEVERAGING IDEAS
40%
AUDIENCE CONTACT INFORMATION
38%
AUDIENCE RESEARCH ON RECOGNITION/RECALL
35%
AUDIENCE RESEARCH ON BUYING HABITS
30%
THIRD-PARTY VALUATION STATEMENT
23%
TRACKING OF PROMOTIONAL OFFERS
23%
Percent of respondents who ranked the factor a 9 or a 10 on a 10-point scale, where 10 is extremely valuable
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Source: IEG/Performance Research 2013 Sponsorship Decision-Makers Survey
ISA’s Partner Dashboards
• Online, password-protected,
24/7 access to partnership
deliverables
• Calendar of action items,
resources list, demographics
breakdowns, event details,
and more
• Coupled with weekly
reminder emails and monthly
conference calls
• Partners.isa.org
• Username: IEG Password: ieg2013
ISA’s Fulfillment Reports
• Coffee table books that
showcase measurements,
visuals, and key findings
from partnership term
• Popular with the c-suite
• Easy to read, quickly
absorbed
• PDF: Sample Fulfillment
Report
Make it Easy for Partners to
Activate their Sponsorship
White Glove Service Matters
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Single Point of Contact
“Let’s figure out a way” frame of mind
Win-win approach
Honesty and integrity above all
Be a partner, not a vendor
Video
Questions and Answers
Contact
STACEY GOLDBERG
Vice President
Client Leadership
IEG Consulting Group
(312) 725 5106
[email protected]
JENNIFER INFANTINO
Manager
Marketing, Communications and Corporate
Partnerships
International Society of Automation
(919) 990-9287
[email protected]
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IEG, LLC
350 North Orleans Street
Suite 1200
Chicago, IL 60654-2105
www.sponsorship.com
ISA
67 TW Alexander Drive
Durham, NC 27709
www.isa.org
Sign In Sheet for
Materials from ISA
• Sign in with your name, organization, and
email address and we will send you:
– Sample fulfillment report PDF
– Instructions on accessing the sample
dashboard
– Sample partnership program at our corporate
partner level (Sample is priced at $69,500)

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