Author: Slingshot Team

Email List Growth: Reaching New Audiences through Sponsorship 7th June, 2011

I recently attended the DMA’s Email Customer Lifecycle Breakfast Briefing with sponsors Silverpop and came away with some refreshing ideas about how to grow email lists. Working in sponsorship, accessing a list/audience is one of the vital benefits within a sponsorship proposal. Most often, the audience has not opted in to receive 3^rd party communications; however, it is perfectly acceptable and the norm to incorporate sponsor branding within the sponsored event communications. Options on how to do this successfully were in my last blog Email Newsletter Sponsorship: Who is Getting it Right?

However, badging logos to an email is not always the best way to organically grow your list through sponsorship within eNewsletters. More integrated approaches can be taken if both parties are flexible, which can create a more engaging relationship with the customer you are trying to reach.

Case Study: A Small World & Boujis

A Small World is similar to a private members online network where the audience is fairly exclusive and difficult to access. By invite only, a Small World has generated a unique and large enough audience that can become an attractive partner for luxury brands. Typically this has been done through display advertising. However, more recently there has been an increase in jointly supported events that are supported by communications sent by both partners to their respective database. The most recent partner through A Small World’s email newsletter promoting an event with Boujis – a nightclub located in London.

This email was sent by A Small World to their London members. By avoiding looking overtly commercial and sending communications which the audience has not agreed to receiving, A Small World has promoted their own event showcasing Boujis in the format and copy of the email. When tickets are reserved, guests are then asked whether they’d like to receive communications and similar invitations to events held with Boujis. This provides benefit to both parties – enhancing both the A Small World member experience through an exclusive invite specific to their city of residence as well as providing an exclusive audience for Boujis to build brand awareness and showcase their venue to.

In terms of using sponsorship for list growth, this is a great example illustrating how to grow your list organically through a partner – avoiding purchase or rental of data lists. Instead of spending the money trying to jump start building a new list of customers, Boujis have wisely spent the money in a tailored sponsorship opportunity. This not only provides them organic list growth, but also alignment with a trusted brand and a tangible event attracting new customers.

I can’t wait for more inspiration and email marketing tips at the second session in the Email Customer Lifecycle sponsored Silverpop on Conversion, 12 July 2011. Free to all DMA members, book early to avoid disappointment by emailing Amelia.Bingham@dma.org.uk

To find out more about email marketing, make sure to check out the DMA Email Blog.

What Car? announces Mondial Assistance UK as sponsor of the Executive Category at UK motoring Oscars 2nd June, 2011

What Car? has signed Mondial Assistance in the UK, a leading provider of bespoke customer care solutions to the motor industry, , as the sponsor of the executive category at the What Car? Car of the Year Awards – regarded by many people as the UK motor industry’s equivalent of the Oscars – which are next due to be held in January 2012.

Andrew Golby, What Car? publishing director, said: “We are delighted to be working with Mondial Assistance here in the UK. It’s a great opportunity for both brands and we’ll be working very hard to make the 2012 event the best we have ever had. The event will enjoy an extensive publicity campaign, aimed at both the industry and the car buying public, and we will work closely with Mondial to ensure a truly successful partnership.”

Lee Taylor, automotive sales director for Mondial Assistance UK, said: “As a provider of premium after sales solutions for prestige manufacturers, supporting the executive car award gives us the opportunity to celebrate excellence in luxury motoring. The What Car? Awards evening is always a highlight in the motor industry calendar and 2012 will be no exception.”

The benefits of the sponsorship deal include alignment with the most authoritative and trusted brand in motoring and brand positioning and awareness to an audience of key influencers from the motoring industry.

The event is the automotive industry’s best-known and most influential awards ceremony and the awards are coveted by car makers both in the UK and overseas. The event is attended by more than 1200 leading industry figureheads alongside many of the most influential motoring correspondents in the UK.

The next event is to be held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on January 12, 2012, with top-class entertainment yet to be announced. Previous headline acts have included Jonathan Ross, Jimmy Carr, Al Murray and Jo Brand.

This sponsorship was secured by Slingshot Sponsorship.

ABOUT WHAT CAR?

The What Car? stable includes the long-established magazine, the award-winning website whatcar.com, What Car? TV, What Car? Mobile and What Car? Video – available online or as a video podcast.

Latest National Readership survey results indicate that 797,000 people read What Car? magazine every month, while two million consumers consult the What Car? website every month.

What Car? is owned by Haymarket Magazines, the UK’s largest independently owned publishing company with a portfolio of more than 150 titles, ranging from specialist consumer magazines to business titles and customer publications, published via wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and under licence worldwide.

Mondial Assistance UK – A member of Allianz Global Assistance

In 2010, Mondial Assistance began its transition to become Allianz Global Assistance, which is the international leader in assistance, travel insurance and health, life & home care services. Today, Allianz Global Assistance counts more than 10 783 employees who speak 40 different languages and work throughout the world with a network of 400,000 service providers and 180 correspondents. 250 million people, or 4% of the world’s total population, benefit from its services, which are provided on all five continents. Mondial Assistance in the UK is to become Allianz Global Assistance by the end of 2012.

For further press information please contact:

Margot Tomkinson-Smith, Justine Hoadley or Jen Staniforth

HSL

Tel: 020 8977 9132 or email mondialteam@harrisonsadler.com

Slingshot Sponsorship agency shortlisted for the highly respected Corporate Engagement Awards 2011 26th May, 2011

Slingshot Sponsorship has been shortlisted for 4 categories at the Corporate Engagement Awards.

London-based sponsorship agency Slingshot has been shortlisted by judges for four categories at the Corporate Engagement Awards for their innovative approach with the Equifax and the Direct Marketing Association UK sponsorship campaign. Categories shortlisted include Best Communication of Corporate Sponsorship Activity, Best Execution of Sponsorship Activity, Best Brand Awareness, and Best Collaborative Approach.

Four nominations in such highly competitive categories, alongside industry heavyweights including The Royal Bank of Scotland with The Prince’s Trust, BT, Jaguar, the Young Vic with Markit, The Big Issue Foundation and Turner Broadcasting is sound acknowledgement of Slingshot’s growing market position in the sponsorship industry.

The Slingshot Sponsorship agency delivers and develops long-term brand strategies that engage targeted audiences through sponsorship rights. Integrated and tailored in each approach, Slingshot diversifies across a range of industries with clients based in publishing, events, trade associations, and charities.

Jackie Fast, Managing Director of Slingshot Sponsorship, is thrilled to be shortlisted. “It is such an achievement to be nominated for four categories alongside some very high profile campaigns. Since launching the agency in 2010, nomination of our work is real recognition of the growing strength of our agency and underlines the measurable positive impact that our work and insight had on both the sponsor’s and the rights owner’s businesses.”

The strict criteria set out for the Corporate Engagement Awards indicated that only the strongest candidates within the industry would be shortlisted for the award. Slingshot’s successful nominations illustrate its capabilities in creating successful partnerships that generate ROI through sponsorship.

The winners of the Corporate Engagement Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony in London on 19July 2011.

What Car? announces TRACKER as Associate Sponsor & Security Category sponsor at UK motoring Oscars 23rd May, 2011

What Car? has announced details of a new strategic partnership with TRACKER, the UK’s leading supplier of vehicle tracking systems. TRACKER is to become the associate sponsor of the What Car? Car of the Year Awards – regarded as the UK motor industry’s equivalent of the Oscars – which will next be held in January 2012. In addition TRACKER will also sponsor the security category.

Andrew Golby, What Car? publishing director, said: “We are delighted to announce TRACKER as associate sponsor of the 2012 awards. Plans for next year’s event are well underway, and with the support of one of the industry’s most trusted brands, we are certain of putting on a great night. The Awards are the centre piece of our year and we will have a comprehensive publicity campaign aimed at both the industry and the nation’s car buyers.”

Clive Girling, marketing and technology director for TRACKER, said: “TRACKER is thrilled to be part of the motor industry’s most celebrated event of the year, both as an associate sponsor and backer of the security award. As a champion of stolen vehicle recovery and the fight against vehicle theft, this is an excellent opportunity for us to formally recognise and reward the manufacturer that is at the forefront of vehicle security”.

The benefits of associate sponsorship include alignment with the most authoritative and trusted brand in motoring, VIP attendance at the awards, print and online advertising within What Car? and on whatcar.com, extensive public relations opportunities, exclusive networking and involvement throughout a multi-channel promotional campaign lasting more than eight months.

The What Car? Car of the Year Awards are acknowledged by many as the UK motoring Oscars. The event is the automotive industry’s best-known and most influential awards ceremony and the awards are coveted by car makers both in the UK and overseas. The event is attended by more than 1200 leading industry figureheads alongside many of the most influential motoring correspondents in the UK.

The sponsorship deal was secured by London-based agency Slingshot Sponsorship.

ABOUT WHAT CAR?

The What Car? stable includes the long-established magazine, the award-winning website whatcar.com, What Car? TV, What Car? Mobile and What Car? Video – available online or as a video podcast.

Latest National Readership survey results indicate that 797,000 people read What Car? magazine every month, while two million consumers consult the What Car? website every month.

ABOUT TRACKER

TRACKER is the UK market leader with nearly one million systems installed

Using VHF and GPS technology, TRACKER’s SVR system enables the police to pin-point a stolen vehicle, even if it is hidden in a container or lock-up.

The underlying VHF technology is in use in 30 countries throughout the world and to date is responsible for over 250,000 recoveries of stolen vehicles worth $5billion (USD).

TRACKER’s recovery statistics speak for themselves. To date TRACKER has recovered more than 20,300 stolen vehicles – worth a staggering £443 million – since 1993. Each month TRACKER helps to recover an average £2million worth of stolen vehicles. It has also led the police to arrest over 2,060 car thieves.

For further press information on TRACKER please contact Justine Hoadley, Dominic Dennis or Cecile Stearn at HSL, Churcham House, 1 Bridgeman Road, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 9AJ. Telephone: 020 8977 9132. Fax: 020 8 977 5200. email: cecile@harrisonsadler.com

Social Media and Sponsorship: Can Facebook & YouTube Ever Become Co-brandable Assets for Brands? 19th May, 2011

I recently was asked to write a guest blog for Content & Motion – a fantastic social PR agency with some great clients. They wanted some insight into whether or not their area of expertise could be used to create sponsorship opportunities for brands. It is a question I get posed often and it was a great opportunity to put some thoughts together. The blog looks at developing online audiences and how access to these audience could be turned into sponsorship rights. It also looks into specific opportunities that could be built within Facebook and You Tube.

And in the nature of social media – we’ve just launched our Facebook page where you can get a backstage pass (photos, quotes, vox pops, and competitions) for all of the events we are involved with!

Excerpt from the Content & Motion blog:

With brands utilising and recognising the power of Social Media to drive revenue, such as @DellOutlet attributing $3million in sales to its Twitter account, it’s no surprise to learn that brands are trying to monetise the audiences they have built.Although the majority of social platforms already have built in advertising functionality (i.e. the Video Targeting Tool powered by Google Ads on YouTube), there are additional opportunities to create new media assets within your content as long as it is not intrusive to the audience experience…

Check out the full sponsorship & social media blog post here.

Building Brand Awareness Through Sponsorship: Equifax & DMA Case Study 16th May, 2011

We recently put together our case study page on our website, but while we are collating all of our case study material, we thought we share the Equifax one on our blog!

For more case studies, be sure to check out the page here.

Sponsorship Objective

Equifax wanted to target prime users and suppliers of data, where data was the most important factor in the success of the business. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) was approached as having a highly niche audience of senior marketing professionals. Further research showed that 69% of DMA members quoted data as core to their business (see below).

Importance of data within DMA membership

0 = Not important 10= Data is the most important part of my business

Sponsorship Programmes Initiated

Data events/conferences
Youth marketing initiatives including Young Spark and Young Direct Marketing Awards
Online display throughout DMA website
Industry leading research
DMA Awards
BSi Standard DataSeal

Results

Overall brand awareness amongst DMA members increased 29% in 2 years
72% of DMA members are now aware of Equifax
DMA members who have never heard of Equifax decreased by 19% in 2 years

Our Overall DMA Sponsorship had impressive results. It was crucial that we saw a genuine return on our investment in this activity and a 29% increase in brand awareness certainly met that objective. By aligning ourselves with the DMA we also put Equifax in a credible ‘thought leadership’ position on the key issue of marketing data which, undoubtedly, will reap rewards for us going forward.

– Chris Sherlock, Head of Equifax Marketing Service, Equifax

For more information:

www.dma.org.uk

www.equifax.co.uk

Slingshot Offers Sponsorship Boot Camp! 9th May, 2011

We are approached almost every day with fantastic ideas that need funding to get off the ground. However, not all projects require or have the investment available for the full sponsorship agency services that we offer – which include sponsorship valuation, brand media asset creation, sponsorship sales, and account management.

To help meet the need, we’ve come up with a great solution!

We are now offering bespoke full day consultancy sessions in the form of Boot Camp – a quick, intense day that will leave you both exhausted and exhilerated. During the session, we will thoroughly uncover your opportunity and provide insight in order to develop your media assets into viable sponsorship platforms which attract brands. We will provide practical advice from how to structure your sponsorship proposal all the way down to what kind of copy to include to explain your benefits. You will leave our office with a sponsorship strategy as well as great sales tips on how to sell it.

The best part is that it is completely tailored to your event, publication and/or brand – therefore, whether you have been doing sponsorship for years, but have had trouble recently securing sponsors or if you are a completely sponsorship beginner, we can make sure you walk away with a sponsorship strategy that works for you.

If you are interested in finding out more information, make sure to get in touch with our sponsorship team today info@slingshotsponsorship.com

Email Newsletter Sponsorship: Who is getting it right? 3rd May, 2011

If you have an engaging email newsletter, it may provide a perfect platform to build a new revenue stream for your business. However, it is important to understand all the options in order to fully optimise these opportunities for your potential sponsors.

In my last post ‘Email Newsletter Sponsorship: How to do it and why’ I identified three key questions to determining whether an email newsletter could provide a sponsorship platform:

Does the email newsletter have a niche audience?

Are there analytics to measure results of sponsor campaigns?
Is there sufficient resource to manage?

With all criteria satisfied, we can begin to look at how to build your sponsorship assets. As emails are flexible rights, email newsletters offer a unique opportunity to highly tailor your sponsorship offering providing unlimited ways of branding and association. Two of the most common types of sponsorship inclusions within email newsletters are banner advertising and integrated placement.

Figaro Digital – the basics of banner advertising

Figaro Digital is a magazine targeting digital marketers. Their weekly email newsletter is mailed to a database of over 16,000 marketing professionals – a prime target audience for suppliers.

Their most recent email newsletter sponsor, ContentVox, was featured last week (full email here).

ContentVox’s sponsorship provided placement at a prime position (top left) as well as a banner advertisement on the bottom promoting a reader offer. By providing space both above and below the fold, Figaro Digital has ensured their sponsors will be seen regardless of click thru rates. However, the format and visual representation of the sponsorship and reader offer is not in line with Figaro Digital’s overall email newsletter branding, making it a very obvious advertisement. Furthermore, the capitalisation of FREE within the content position devalues the other messages within the rest of the communication.
On the positive side, the reader offer is in line with the context of the newsletter, providing readers free content in order to improve paid and natural search – their next event.

Internet World: Facebook enhancement

Facebook has recently sponsored marketing conference Internet World’s email newsletter (full email here) that was sent to over 85,000 registered users.

As the sponsor, Facebook took the prime location of the newsletter (top right), promotion within the main copy linking through to their speaking synopsis at the event, and are branded throughout.

This type of sponsorship illustrates a more integrated approach to email newsletter sponsorship and provides benefit to both parties. The promotion of Facebook’s involvement at the conference is a drive for new registrants, while Facebook gains further exposure, enhancing their purchased exhibitor rights.

The only downfall with this sponsorship is that it does not highlight the Facebook page that Internet World has created to promote their event, ironically promoting their Twitter account instead.

If you are looking to fully integrate sponsorship offerings within your email communications, you should include all available potential opportunities. In this case, the advocacy that Internet World could build through their own promotion of their Facebook page would build a stronger association between the two organisations, which is what they set out to do at the outset.

“We Have a Great Cause, Why Aren’t We Securing Sponsors?” 4th April, 2011

Charity Sponsorship: Top 3 Reasons Why You Aren’t Selling

I am often asked to provide consultancy to charities on how they can make their sponsorship propositions more attractive to brands. The charities are often well known and have great causes – with well-planned and well-attended events. Understandably, it’s difficult to understand why more brands aren’t getting involved.

After experience and investigation with a number of our charity clients, I’ve discovered that there are some very simple tips to help make charity sponsorship proposals more attractive to secure sales.

1. Is your sponsorship package worth what you are asking?

Just because you need a certain amount, that doesn’t mean that your package is worth that amount. Far too often I see sponsorship proposals that are clearly not valued based on their tangible benefits. Of course there is a certain amount of association with the charity that is ‘priceless’, but this is not the sole (or even usually the key) reason marketing directors will align their brand to your cause. However, the weight of sponsorship investment is assumed to be the majority of the charity association with media assets such as PR and print ads ‘thrown in’. This is definitely not the approach to take when putting together your sponsorship proposition. Marketing directors are a savvy bunch and they want to see tangible benefits to prove effectiveness. Which brings me to my second point…

2. Marketing directors are busy

Marketing directors receive thousands of proposals, opportunities, and ideas that they can choose from to promote their brand. Your sponsorship proposal is not only competing with other charity proposals, but also all the other available marketing platforms that the brand can align themself to. It is a cluttered market and you have to be clear and transparent. Although beautiful powerpoint presentations with great pictures tend to look great – they make for impractical sponsorship proposals.

Of course the sponsorship proposal will depend on your programme as this format can be effective for selling emotive campaigns. However, more often than not, it is rarely the most suitable option.

3. Make more time

Charities tend to work with limited resources and find it difficult to put all the plans in place well in advance. As such, they don’t start approaching sponsors until they have all of the event information confirmed – typically 3 months before the event takes place. This is typically the time they think it is appropriate to approach sponsors.

Although the event could be absolutely ideal for a brand’s positioning and objectives, very few brands have spare funds within their marketing budget or the additional resource to make use of the opportunity. Marketing budgets are typically planned at least 1 year in advance. Regardless of how much they may want to get involved, they will not have the budget to do so.

As such, charities need to either:

a) start working on the events plan earlier,

b) start approaching brands earlier, or

c) aim to only secure sponsorship for the annual events that have a clear direction and plan in place.

We have recently signed some great charity clients (such as Mencap) and will be blogging more charity sponsorship tips throughout the year. Make sure to check back often or subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss anything!

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