Author: Nick Anderson

Mencap Announces ASUS as Headline Sponsor of Little Noise Sessions 2011 6th October, 2011


Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions curated by Mencap ambassador Jo Whiley, will see its first year partnering with new headline sponsor, ASUS – a deal which was secured by Slingshot Sponsorship.

Having been dubbed some of the most ‘sought-after tickets in London’ by Clash magazine, the sponsorship is an exciting prospect for Asus customers, with promotions set to include an impressive range of exclusive prizes.

Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions 2011

Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions are back with a bang for the 6th year running – and there’s definitely nothing little about 2011’s lineup!  Taking residency in their new home, the iconic church St John-at-Hackney, this is going to be an unmissable set of shows!  Kicking off the opening night with an almighty headline performance are Mercury and BRIT award winners Elbow.  Join Mencap from 22 – 27 November to celebrate a week of simply stunning gigs in aid of learning disability charity Mencap. Tickets go on general release from 10 October with an exclusive presale for subscribers from 7 October. Sure to sell out fast so subscribe NOW at www.littlenoisesessions.org.uk.

Elbow front-man Guy Garvey said:

We are dead proud to be added to the list of amazing bands that have done the Little Noise Sessions for Jo Whiley and Mencap. In fact we have organised a warm up tour of Europe before the show to make sure we are in tip top condition when we play!

Additional headliners throughout the week will include Marina & The Diamonds, Goldfrapp, Example and Sinéad O’Connor plus a whole host of established and up and coming supporting acts.

Mencap ambassador Jo Whiley said:

Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions are back for the 6th successful year and we’re excited to be moving to St John-at Hackney – a venue that in its 700 year history has never played host to a music gig like this! Each year we aim to surprise and inspire the audience, with a week of unbelievable shows coupled with a simply stunning backdrop. See you there!

Ellie Gray, Mencap’s Director of Fundraising said:

We are delighted to have such a great line up for Mencap’s 6th Little Noise Sessions and we are really grateful for all of the artists who have given their free time for this really important cause.  The money raised will help Mencap support people with a learning disability, who are amongst the most marginalised in our society.

Subscribers to the Little Noise Sessions website have exclusive access to a host of great content including; priority ticketing, backstage footage, audio, photos and all the latest news from the Little Noise backstage blog, for just £6 for six months. Subscription fees will go directly to Mencap – helping raise vital funds for the 1.5 million people in UK with a learning disability.

To keep up to date with all the latest information on Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions follow them on Twitter @Little_Noise or check them out on Facebook.

The Line-Up So Far

  • OPENING NIGHT – Elbow, Maverick Sabre solo performance
  • WEDNESDAY 23 NOVEMBER – Marina & The Diamonds, Icona Pop, Spark
  • THURSDAY 24 NOVEMBER – TBA
  • FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER – Goldfrapp, Alpines + more
  • SATURDAY 26 NOVEMBER – Example, Ed Sheeran, Birdy, Fenech Soler
  • SUNDAY 27 NOVEMBER – Sinead O’Connor, King Creosote + more

About Mencap

Mencap supports the 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK and their families and carers. Mencap fights to change laws and improve services and access to education, employment and leisure facilities, supporting thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want.  We are also one of the largest providers of services, information and advice for people with a learning disability across England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

See www.mencap.org.uk for more information.

About ASUS

ASUS, the world’s top 3 consumer notebook vendor and the maker of the world’s best-selling and most award winning motherboards, is a leading enterprise in the new digital era. ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet the needs of today’s digital home, office and person, with a broad portfolio that includes motherboards, graphics cards, displays, desktop PCs, notebooks, netbooks, servers, multimedia, wireless solutions, networking devices and mobile phones. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS won 3398 awards in 2010, and is widely credited with revolutionizing the PC industry with the Eee PC™. With a global staff of more than 10,000 and a world-class R&D team of 3000 engineers, the company’s revenue for 2010 was around US$10.1 billion.

uk.asus.com

Price Follows Prestige: Brand Asset Valuations 22nd September, 2011

Do you know how much your sponsorship proposal is truly worth?  We do.

One of the key causes of poor sponsorship sales is over-priced fees. This is often down to a methodology which focuses on covering the production costs of a property, rather than looking into the actual market value of the assets offered. Although making a property available for sponsorship can be a lucrative revenue stream, key factors such as the quality and quantity of rights and benefits, establishment of the property and brand exposure are all highly influential in determining the degree of investment a sponsor will be willing to make for association.

Therefore despite an event potentially carrying high production and running costs, rights holders need to be realistic ensuring that sponsorship fees rise in correlation with the calibre of the assets offered. The concept of price following prestige can also be seen by other rights holders within their respective industries, such as a start-up magazine, with the initial focus on publishing quality content and building circulation figures in order to then attract advertising revenue.

In order to create a fair and realistically priced sponsorship proposal, each of the following factors need to be taken into account:

Tangible Assets

These are benefits of a sponsorship package that can be measured and in turn given a specific monetary value, including such factors as signage, media collateral and tickets. Tangible assets are useful in giving the sponsor a direct insight into where a percentage of their investment will be spent.

Intangible Assets

These are qualitative factors that cannot be given an exact value but are also of significant benefit to the sponsor, such as audience engagement, branding prominence, property establishment etc. Intangible assets can only be measured by the opinion of the audience and therefore their value will alter from person to person, depending on perception. However, by conducting research such as surveys, which offer structured and quantitative feedback, a qualitative benefit can be given an estimated market worth.

Exposure and Reach

Whether a brand is looking to reinforce or alter its image via association with a sponsorship platform, this will only be worthwhile if a sizeable audience is going to be reached. Therefore the PR reach and geographical exposure of a brand’s association is a key factor in determining the overall value of a sponsorship package.

Lead-time

Approaching prospective sponsorship leads can be a time intensive process and therefore properties with short lead times (from commencing of sales approaches to execution) should be prepared to lower their fees if wanting to secure any sponsor investment at all. Corporate sponsorship responsibles have a strong knowledge of the properties within their market along with the value of the assets offered. Therefore by reducing fees, companies will be much more likely to invest when presented with a good deal, much more so than paying full price for something that they know the rights holder is in fact desperate to sell.

How can a sponsorship agency help?

Hiring an agency will bring experience and expertise in the area of optimising and valuating existing brand assets as well as discovering new beneficial aspects of a property that the rights holder may not have even thought of. With unjustifiable valuations being one of the key reasons behind unsuccessful sponsorship sales, an agency will help improve a rights holder’s understanding of the assets they are selling plus create additional benefits to offer, instilling confidence in the salesperson whilst providing a significantly more attractive proposition for prospective sponsors to invest in.

For further information on how Slingshot can provide professional advice on brand asset valuations, plus additional insight into your sponsorship potential, see the Slingshot Sponsorship Boot Camp.

Sony Ericsson Harness Social Media for UEFA 12th September, 2011

The 2010/11 UEFA Champions League final proved to be the event of the football season, featuring a showdown between two European giants, Manchester United and Barcelona. Having both won their domestic leagues earlier in the month, the game was undoubtedly the spectacle to be watched closely by millions around the world.

As the Official Mobile Handset Provider of the UEFA Champions League, Sony Ericsson chose to reach this engaged audience through the power of social media – specifically an innovative approach using Foursquare. Showcasing the capabilities of the Xperia mobile handset range, Sony Ericsson launched two promotions the day before the final.

The first saw fans build their own football team through Foursquare by finding a player in eleven locations around London, each revealing a prize on the inside of their jersey. Prizes included Sony Ericsson PLAY handsets, official UEFA merchandise and a pair of tickets to the 2011 UEFA Champions League final. The second promotion engaged fans attending the final to unlock the Sony Ericsson Xperia Footy Final Badge at the Sony Ericsson Football Hotspot located at Wembley Stadium, in an effort to win tickets to the UEFA Super Cup in Monaco, 2011.

With over 6 million fans on Facebook, Sony Ericsson not only knew their target audience, but created promotions that resonated with UEFA fans in a unique way.  Future plans will see a focus through their social networks throughout the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League season offering Facebook-exclusive competitions, new mobile applications, and further Foursquare promotions.

Stephan Croix, Head of Global Marketing Partnerships and Sponsorship at Sony Ericsson, informed Marketing Week that:

Social media will now become an additional investment in our Champions League sponsorship, we will dial up the volume to help build the brand and continue to drive commercial success.

Sony Ericsson is now the  40th biggest brand on Facebook providing regular engagement with the ever-changing mass mobile handset market.  This platform not only allows the brand to gain valuable insight into consumer trends and demands, but also continues to strengthen the brand further proving the importance of harnessing new media channels within sponsorship activations.

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