THE SPONSOR DOC

WITH BRUCE L. ERLET, APR, CFEE

WHERE THE DOC GOES WHEN HE NEEDS ADVICE WHERE THE DOC GOES

Dear Sponsor Doc:

My boss recently added finding sponsors for our city event to my job description. He said that I had shown initiative and some success for selling and thought I’d enjoy this new focus.

I guess the good news is that I’m pretty pumped about it! I was in retail sales earlier in my career and I’ve enjoyed the few parts of my current position that interacts with our event partners. But...I’ve got a lot to learn. I’d appreciate your suggestions for where to go to learn more about selling sponsorship. Where did you learn your skills?

Many thanks,

K.M., South Carolina

Dear K.M.:

Congratulations on your new responsibilities! I’m so glad that you are excited about it, as that is really the most important element to being successful. You need to enjoy what you do!

There are a number of resources and learning opportunities to develop sponsorship sales skills. Here are some that I rely upon!

International Festivals & Events Association

So, the fact that you read IFEA’s ie magazine is a great start! They are a professional association (www.ifea.com) with annual membership that starts at $340 annually, depending on your organization’s budget.

I can say, without reservation, that IFEA has been the most important organization in my professional development over the past 40 years. From conferences to webinars to professional certification, they share their industry knowledge to all their membership. Here are some specific places to look within IFEA.

• Join the IFEA Sponsor Affinity Group. This is a monthly video meeting of IFEA members who all sell sponsorship. We share issues, ideas, trends and encouragement. Learn More Here.

• Dig into IFEA’s Resource pages. You can look up past issues of ie Magazine, (including dozens of my Sponsor Doc column) or review IFEA Pinnacle award-winning submissions. They also have a treasure trove of examples, templates, agreements and other items you can use. Learn More Here.

• Attend the next IFEA Conference. There are usually at least a half dozen sessions just on sponsorship topics. Learn More Here. The 2024 date will be announced soon.

• While you are there, consider becoming certified as a festival & event executive by attend pre-conference CFEE classes. I wrote the curriculum and instruct the day-long session on Mastering Sponsor Sales. Learn More Here.

Sponsorship Marketing Association

After the sale, decline and virtual disappearance of IEG (www.sponsorship.com), the former sponsorship industry powerhouse, a new industry professional association, the Sponsorship Marketing Association (SMA) has emerged. Learn More Here.

Their mission is to grow the industry and provide inspiration and information to help sponsorship marketers thrive. A membership organization, ($1,200 annually) SMA has created a number of valuable sponsorship resources including:

• Sponsor Mastery Summit held each fall with more than 500 industry professionals. Learn More Here.

• Hosted webinars, providing real-world learning experiences to help sponsorship marketers master the art and science of sponsorship. Learn More Here.

• A video interview series with industry thought leaders, Learn More Here.

• Resource sponsorship materials free tools, guides, and templates Learn More Here.

I have really valued the industry research they are now providing and just attended their 2023 SMA Summit and feel the knowledge they are imparting is top notch.

Event Marketer

Event Marketer (www.eventmarketer.com) is an industry publication and conference producer to serve the information needs of strategic brand-side event marketers and agency executives across the spectrum of face-to-face marketing.

• They publish Event Marketer Magazine, a monthly subscription-based magazine ($299/year) filled with case studies, articles on the latest trends in promotions and leads on who’s doing what. Learn More Here.

• They also air The Event Peeps Podcast, in which they explore the experiential marketing discipline through the people, the playbooks, the ideas, and the strategies that are inspiring event campaigns. Learn More Here.

• Their annual conference is the Experiential Marketing Summit held each spring. From traditional breakout sessions to Q&As, to deep-dive workshops, to power panels and keynotes—you’ll get senior-level perspectives on the current experiential marketing landscape and what’s to come next. Learn More Here.

KM, I hope you find these resources useful in your quest to expand your knowledge of sponsorship. Certainly, you can find additional opportunities online, but these are the top resources I utilize.

I have enjoyed a long career in the field and hope you have the same experience.

The Sponsor Doc

Bruce L. Erley, CFEE, APR is the Founder and President of Creative Strategies Group, a consultancy based in Denver, Colorado which he founded in September, 1995. Creative Strategies Group (CSG) specializes in sponsorship and event marketing consultation for events, festivals, nonprofit organizations and other properties as well as municipalities and for-profit companies. With more than four decades experience, Erley is considered a master in the field. In 2012, Erley served as the World Board Chairman of the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA). He is a 2015 inductee into the IFEA Hall of Fame. He is Accredited in Public Relations (APR) by the Public Relations Society of America and a Certified Festival & Events Executive (CFEE) by the International Festivals and Events Association.

Contact Info:

Bruce L. Erley, APR, CFEE

President & CEO

Creative Strategies Group

Phone: +1-303-558-8181

Business Email: berley@csg-sponsorship.com

Column Enquiries Email: bruce@sponsordoc.com