My Notepad from Think!Sponsorship 2010 8th November, 2010

I have attended Think!Sponsorship for the past three years and always enjoy the insight. This year’s theme was digitalisation in the sponsorship industry, which is always a favourite discussion of mine, so I thought I would share my notepad in case you missed out!

Digital Statistics in the UK

38.5 milion people are online and are spending 22hrs/month
video games outsell cinema and videos viewing hours combined
on average individuals receive 3-5,000 marketing messages a day
online content needs to be interesting in the first 15sec otherwise people won’t view it
26 million users on Yahoo/month
the key benefit of digitalisation in sponsorship is measurement – you can easily track how many people are engaged

Online Brand Communication in Sponsorship

needs to be current and brands need to listen to what people are saying about them and respond accordingly
people want to create interaction, so interactive comments and discussions are how brands should be engaging with their customers

How to Make Sponsorship Content Successful Online

turn content into a game with rewards
use lists and rankings to encourage sharing
use a controversial title for guides and best practice documents
be personable and individual
content that is genuinely funny is usually shared

Sponsorship & Digital Tips

agencies don’t create virals, audiences do
traditional sponsorship rights are outdated
digital is about challenging perceptions about the brand
digital sponsorship activation influences long term purchase and emotional behaviour
sponsorship is not about immediate sales, it is about changing brand perceptions, which in turn changes purchasing behaviour

Hope my notepad has provided some insight into what was discussed. Be sure to keep following the Slingshot Sponsorship Blog as we discuss some of these topics in greater detail!

Email in Motion 14th September, 2010

Usually the last person picked for school teams, I jumped at the opportunity when asked to join the Pure360 team for their upcoming Scally Rally. Perhaps it was because of my experience of driving on the other side of the road or my love of road trip snacks, either way, I have made the cut!

The team includes email marketing specialists from Pure360 along with their partners and friends, myself included With a range of specialities in email, search and social media from product development and commercial management, you can be sure that the top email tips that we share will be worth following. Not to mention keeping informed on who crashes the car first!

Our race through Europe starts in Calais, France and ends in Rimini, Italy. Throughout those four days (based on the car not breaking down), the whole team will be sharing email marketing tips along the way through videos, blogs and tweets. We will be spreading the word of email marketing across Europe, so be sure to follow our adventure.

The Pure360 Scally Rally Team is also raising money for a group of charities including Barnardo’s, The British Heart Foundation, The Woodlands Trust and many others. We would love to swap your sterling for email tips – donations can be made here.

To find more information on the Pure360 Scally Rally team, their drivers, the route, or the charities, as well as following us on our blog, please check out: http://www.pure360emailmarketing.co.uk/scallyrally