Like Ad, Dislike Ad

I love Hulu.com (no, I don't have a TV) and I just noticed that they have a "like ad" and "dislike ad" button on the side of the screen. Kind of smart.

Super Bowl and Pepsi

Change is good...

"According to the Associated Press, Pepsi will not be advertising its beverages in next year's Super Bowl, effectively ending a streak that began in 1987. The soft drink giant will instead shift its focus to marketing efforts that will mostly appear online.

Starting next month, the brand will unveil the "Pepsi Refresh Project," which will pay out at least $20 million for projects people create to "refresh" communities. A web site for the initiative goes live on January 13th where people can list their projects, which will then be put up for public vote on Feb. 1."

BlogHer Conference and Sponsorship

BizBash has a Q&A with the events manager at BlogHer. I like how the conference sponsors understood that they needed to add value to the conference experience and engage the attendees. Here is the full article on BizBash.

Guggenheim's New Restaurant, Wright Opens on Friday

The Guggenheim's Wright Restaurant opens to the public on Friday for lunch!

"A modern American menu created by David Bouley protégé, Rodolfo Contreras, emphasizes seasonal, local, and sustainable ingredients, appealing to savvy palates of New Yorkers and discerning travelers from around the globe."

Dinner service will begin in mid-January.

All About Marketing: Simplicity vs Minimalism

Last week I attended an interesting symposium at the Museum at F.I.T. The presentation by Kohle Yohannan was excellent and really hit home in a marketing sense. Kohle's topic was The Small Town Girl and the Femme Fatale: Claire McCardell & Vanentina. I don't expect you to know about these two designers, but the point I want to make is that they had different marketing styles. Claire McCardell was all about mass marketing (affordable) and simplicity. Valentina on the other hand was about exclusivity (expensive), "cult of the celebrity" and dressing the best of the best.

The take away: It's all about the marketing. You may have the same dress, same material, same cut but your message and attitude is what matters. McCardell sold dresses for a very reasonable price at the time (simplicity) and Valentina inflated the price point because she could (minimalist)...she was dressing celebrities such as Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, Katharine Hepburn, Millicent Rogers, and Audrey Hepburn.

So, where are you in the spectrum of marketing? A McCardell on the cover of Time Magazine, or Valentina, a carefully constructed persona and lore of your subject?

DIY at Museum of Arts and Design

The Museum of Arts and Design has a fun interactive event this Thursday called DIY Salon.

"Join MAD in the Open Studios for a night of hands-on art making, music, food, and drink in celebration of the Museum's current exhibition Slash: Paper Under the Knife. Local do-it-yourself artists will demonstrate their personal skills and help guide you in creating your own paper-based projects. Techniques will range from book-making to jewelry-making, among other cut paper projects. In addition to do-it-yourself workshops, the DIY Salon will include drinks, snacks, and a live DJ. Guided tours of Slash will be available. Over 200 people did-it-themselves at this event last year, so don't miss out this time around!"

DIY Salon III: Cut Paper
Thursday, December 10, 6:00 PM
$10/$7 members (tickets at the door)

Daily Candy, Oh My

I used to live by Daily Candy to tell me where the "new" things were. Now, uh, not so much since they posted the same PR stuff as Urban Daddy on the same day.

I actually believed in Daily Candy's biz model but I guess things aren't going so well for them lately:

"DailyCandy is eliminating the special editions for seven of its twelve cities, according to an internal memo we've obtained, resulting in almost as many layoffs. NBC Universal, take heed: Even inside Comcast's profitable umbrella, no one is safe from cutbacks."

They used to be insiders but the growth of interactive, community and social media kind of killed them. Food for thought. News is instant, no longer print, no longer scheduled or controlled.

It's in our hands.

Events, The Well-known Secret

I was sitting in a planning meeting about an event to be held this May. Someone said, "If we could only get a celebrity to attend the event." I then said, "You can! If you have $10,000, you could get a celebrity to show." The group looked at me in shock. Gosh, I thought everyone knew about well known secret of celebrity wranglers.

From a BizBash article in 2005: "Wranglers may charge a per-celebrity rate or a flat fee based on an estimate of their time, the number of celebrities needed, the difficulty of securing positive RSVPs, whether the client is corporate or nonprofit, the event's location, the amount of motivating perks and gifts, and the complexity of logistics. While the cost can range greatly, one professional wrangler says getting a dozen or so celebrities to attend an event will run $10,000 to $20,000 on average, plus any expenses."

Too Small for Sponsorship? Nope

I had a conversation with a small arts organization today. They told me that they were too small to have a sponsorship strategy in place.

Too small to have a sponsorship strategy? I don't think so. I think the issue is lack of knowledge around sponsorship opportunities.

Don't Compete on Price and Benefits

One problem with the Platinum-Gold-Silver sponsorship lists that many nonprofits use, is that the model is about What, not WHY.

Unfortunately the What becomes a commodity - a product that is the same no matter who produces it - and nonprofits end up competing on price and benefits alone.

With the WHY, you will be better equipped to have a more successful conversation with a corporate sponsor.

Delta Calls New York Home

I stumbled upon The Crew Report Blog and read this piece about Delta aggressively moving into New York City via sponsorships, advertising and media buys. Here a a few quotes from the blog:

"This year, Delta has taken some of its biggest steps yet in New York —- including spending almost 90 percent of its advertising and media buying budget on the area, according to Gail Grimmett, Delta’s senior vice president-New York."

“We’re sponsoring all of the iconic things of New York,” said Grimmett, who moved to New York from Atlanta. She added, “I have never seen such fierce baseball fans.”

In January Crain's New York reported that Ms. Grimmett would be "seeking philanthropic opportunities and hosting events for corporate customers. She'll also be reaching out to New York's ethnic communities, now that Delta flies from JFK to China, Japan, India and Eastern Europe."

They made a big splash with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Lets see what they do next.

American Express OPEN forum and Twitter

I think the American Express OPEN forum is so well done. To add value to the user's experience, they introduced new tool to allow small businesses owners to share Twitter posts through the site.

According to mediapost.com, "American Express OPEN, the financial giant's small business unit, found nearly 60% of entrepreneurs feel challenged in finding innovative ways to market their business, but only 10% are turning to online social networking, based on a recent survey.

To help educate small businesses owners on the topic, OPEN Forum has also started a dedicated social media section, featuring a group of expert contributors including John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing; entrepreneur Rafe Totengco of Rafe New York; and Adam Ostrow, editor-in-chief of social media blog Mashable. The new section features both articles and podcasts of interviews with the assembled experts."

The Allstate Foundation, $635,000 In New Economic Empowerment Grants

The Allstate Foundation is aiding domestic violence survivors with $635,000 in new economic empowerment grants for statewide coalitions against domestic violence in eleven states.

The grants will be used to support a variety of programs focused on developing strategies to move survivors of abuse toward financial independence. The grantees’ work will center on:

· Financial literacy

· Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)

· Job readiness activities

In addition, FICO, a leading proponent of consumer credit empowerment, is donating 500 free FICO scores for survivors involved with the Economic Empowerment Grant Program.

Mary Lou Quinlan at AWNY: Reinvention in a Recession

Last Tuesday night I had the pleasure of hearing Mary Lou Quinlan, the author of What She's Not Telling You, speak at the AWNY (Advertising Women of New York) workshop.

The title of this AWNY workshop was Reinvention in a Recession. The event began at 6:00pm and most people were in their seats by 6:15pm. Normally 6:00pm is a bit early to start an event but this group was ready to go.

Mary Lou asked the audience how many were in transition- which meant they were unemployed, looking for jobs, exploring new careers or scared to death that they would lose their current job - and nearly half of the audience raised their hands.

Mary Lou then asked the audience to answer a series of questions called GAMES:

Good Intentions: One of these days I will...

Approval Seeking: Who are are you pleasing by staying put?

Martyrdom: How do you describe a typical day's trials? Who do you vent to?

Ego Protection: What keeps you in your job? What self image am I trying to preserve?

Secret keeping: Is there something that you want--a reinvention you dream of--that you haven't told anyone about?

After each question, she asked for volunteers to share their responses. Little did I know how emotional this would be. There were women who were out of work and lost hope, drive and self esteem. Some were afraid to get back into the workforce. One 40ish year-old was terrified that she would lose her creative ad job to a young 20-something. A magazine editor who lost her job a year ago (and didn't understand "digital") had an interview scheduled with a shelter magazine the day they announced its closing. The atmosphere of doubt, fear, and empathy permeated the beige room of the 21st floor in the Time Warner Building.

As I left the workshop and entered into the empty shops at Columbus Circle, I realized that in order to survive, we need to push ourselves and ask what we can do differently to navigate this new economy.

Power of Online Brand Interaction, eMarketer

There is a good article on eMarketer about online brand interaction.

"The power of online brand interaction is not to be denied: A solid majority of connected consumers have had their opinion of a brand swayed, either positively or negatively, by an online experience."

My Anniversary at Bank of America

Congratulations!

"You have successfully registered for your $10 Starbucks Card. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

Thank you for being a loyal customer and making your Bank of America® credit card your card of choice."

Today I received a mailer from Bank of America informing me that it's my anniversary as a credit cardholder. To show their appreciation, they are sending me a $10 Starbucks Card (um, in 6-8 weeks!).

Credit Suisse Sponsors Roger Federer

According to the AP, Credit Suisse signed a 10-year sponsorship deal with Roger Federer.

Credit Suisse said that they will make a "significant annual contribution" to the Roger Federer Foundation. They declined to say how much the sponsorship is worth or how much will go to the foundation.

Made To Stick, The Real Thing

If you haven't read the Made To Stick October 1 posting on Fast Company about marketers selling emotion, you should check it out.

It really hit home after attending the ad:tech conference and hearing agencies and marketers speak about their constant quest to build emotional connections with audiences. Many speakers used words such as:
- engagement
- community
- relationships
- passion
- value
- interaction
- trust
- emotion

Everyone is striving to better understand their audience and find ways to interact with them. Unfortunately many marketers and their agencies are creating short-term campaigns, not valuable relationships.

Marketers need to stop creating artificial environments and short-term campaigns where they must keep "feeding the beast" with more content. I suggest that they look more closely at nonprofits that have established, passionate and engaged audiences. Once this happens, then together they can form innovative partnerships that add value and produce mutually beneficial outcomes.

Fujifilm's SeeHere.com Sponsors Homes For Our Troops

Fujifilm's SeeHere.com entered into a sponsorship of Homes For Our Troops. The partnership includes an initial $25,000 donation and a minimum donation of $100,000 over the next 12 months. The details are below in the news release.

"SeeHere.com, the year-old photo sharing site created by FujiFilm, is branding itself as the "Home of the Free" with a new cause-marketing effort that helps an organization that builds homes for severely injured veterans.

"When we were looking at our brander marketing campaign, we hit upon the idea that SeeHere.com is the 'Home of the Free,'" Joan Rutherford, vice president of marketing Web businesses for Fujifilm, tells Marketing Daily. "We felt [injured veterans] were an under-served population that we could help out."

As a corporate sponsor of Homes For Our Troops, SeeHere.com will make an initial $25,000 donation to the nonprofit and has committed to a minimum donation of $100,000 over the next 12 months. As part of its sponsorship, SeeHere.com will donate $2 from the sale of certain products -- stainless steel travel mugs, hooded sweatshirts and tote bags -- on its site.

"We were looking for an organization that served families in the United States," Rutherford says of the sponsorship. "We thought this would be a good way to spread these messages across the U.S."

On Thursday, SeeHere.com kicked off an ad campaign touting the initiative with a print ad in The New York Times. The ad shows a disabled veteran and his family alongside a house. "They've helped protect our way of life. Now it's time to improve theirs," reads the headline. Body copy reads: "We created a new kind of photo-sharing site with SeeHere.com from Fujifilm. Now we're going to be sharing in a different way," before explaining the details of the initiative.

Later this month, the company will break TV ads promoting the partnership, as well as extensive online and search-engine marketing, Rutherford says. The company will also participate in the building of about 20 new, accessible homes for veterans and will provide the new owners with digital cameras and photo gifts to chronicle the first year in their homes.

Fujifilm will also support Kids for Our Troops, a student-run organization that activates schools and student groups to support the local Homes for Our Troops "Build Brigades" in their communities"

Etisalat Three-Year Sponsorship

In Etisalat’s aim to become one of the top-10 telecoms service providers in the world, the Abu Dhabi based company signed a three-year sponsorship MOU with Manchester City.

"Etisalat’s agreement with Manchester City reflects our passionate commitment to football, in the UAE and internationally, and to our growing global customer base,” said Etisalat Group Chief Marketing Officer Essa Al Haddad.

Check out the announcement here and always remember to think global.

David Beckham's Sponsorship Deals

I guess there is money out there. According to this article, David Beckham earned nearly $16.5 million from personal sponsorship deals during his first full season with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Wow!

Shelly Palmer's Digital Power User Boot Camp at ad:tech

Today was the final day of ad:tech New York and it ended with a bang!

I attended Shelly Palmer's Digital Power User Boot Camp sessions and he rocked! If you don't know about Mr. Palmer, check him out here.

ad:tech New York, Comments

Day two of ad:tech and I must say that the workshops that I attended were very lame. The case studies (Secondlife!?!) were weak and showed lack of innovation. In fact, during Q&A, one audience member told the panel that he was disappointed in the case studies. Bold indeed.

More snippets from the day:

- Hulu came up in several sessions. People are really watching that space and video.
- China, China, China. Enough said.
- "I buy ideas. I don't buy ads."
- Someone on a panel said this was worth a read.

New York ad:tech Day II: The Pictures Continue

Sitting in ad:tech New York, day two. The audience continued to take pictures of panelist's power point presentations even after the moderator announced that deck would be available for download. Is this a new phenomenon?

Taking Pictures of Power Point Presentations at ad:tech

Flash! Flash! Beep! Flash! Is Madonna in the house? Oh no, it's just a deck.

I've been to plenty of conferences, but never have I seen so many people take pictures of a presenter's power point presentation while he was speaking!

Esco Strong of Microsoft Advertising Institute packed the room with his "The New Consumer Funnel: Engagement Mapping and the Death of the Last Click Reporting Standard" session this afternoon at ad:tech.

Why did this frenzy of flash occur? My guesses include:
1) ad:tech doesn't provide attendees with copies of presenter's decks
2) it was the best looking deck attendees have seen in a long time (look out Madonna)
3) attendees needed to prove to the higher-ups that they attended the conference
4) attendees have blogs that need images (darn, why didn't I take pictures?)

Social Media at ad:tech

Not much talk around social media today (although I didn't attend the Facebook sponsored workshop). Melva Benoit of Fox Broadcasting Company said that it only helps as a branding element. Other than that, it's useless. Others said they aren't focusing on it because they don't make money on it.

Sizzle Video

Why do presenters go on panels and run their brand's "sizzle" videos? Do they really need to prove that they are that cool? I just think it's annoying.

Technology du jour

A common question that ad:tech moderators had for panelists today was around predicting the next "new" technology. Surprisingly most panelists said it's about achieving goals, not the technology du jour.

Elephant Traffic at ad:tech New York

After a long day at ad:tech New York, we walked out to get the shuttle to Times Square but to our surprise, there were reps from Elephant Traffic offering to drive us anywhere in Manhattan. So we walked (OK, ran) out to their branded car and they said that they had stopped service but gave us a brochure and an invite to their party at 1 Oak.

Great idea to tie in the "traffic" piece by driving people around. Not so great when they couldn't deliver. One man from Spain said that they lost his trust but he would give them a second chance by going to their party!

Measurement

From a company that was founded in 1850: "If you can't measure it, don't do it." Old school thinking?

Copy This: Facebook is Good for Cupcakes

The Los Angeles Times writes about a small cupcake business that leverages Facebook to communicate with their fans.

"Each day on the website, Sprinkles announces a secret word, such as "ganache," or "bunny," or "tropical," or "love," and the first 25 or 50 people to show up at any of its five stores and whisper that word get a free cupcake.

"On Facebook, we can ask our customers what's the next location they want," Nelson said. "What do they think of our next flavor? It's an amazing way to communicate with our fans."

Facebook is not just for friends anymore. The free social networking site -- blocked in many workplaces as a potential time-waster -- is increasingly becoming an inexpensive marketing tool for small businesses."

Think about innovative ways to replicate this to communicate with your customers and gain insight into new products and services.

P.S.
Be sure to look at the comments on the Sprinkles FB page such as:

"Got mine this afternoon in Newport beach! It was sooo GOOD! You need to make this a daily flavor. :-D

p.s. DO NOT ever go to Three Dog Bakery a few doors down. The only customer service I received was from the dog."

*image taken from Sprinkles FB photos page

Social Networks, Raising Money and Awareness for Charities

Still not sure about Facebook or Twitter? Check out this article from the San Francisco Chronicle to see real examples of charities raising money and awareness through social networking.

Are You All on the Same Page?

In my experience, one of the most crucial steps in selling sponsorship is to get internal buy-in. If your team (marketing, licensing, project management, interactive, creative, sales) doesn't believe in your approach, it could be damaging to your ability to reign in and activate a successful sponsorship.

Step One: Make sure you are all on the same page. This will pave the way for success and even innovation.

ING's Sponsorship

Sports Business Journal ran a very insightful story about ING and their sponsorship of the New York City Marathon. Although the sponsorship has been a success on both sides, that may not really matter. Why? Because one of the economic buyers, in this case the new CMO, prefers media purchases to sponsorship and events. In addition, Ewald Kist is no longer the ING Group chairman. Kist was a big marathoner who obviously had a passion for the sport.

This is a classic example of change being constant and the importance of developing as many relationships as possible to create a solid network.

ING to shift strategy for marathons?
"ING has finalized an extension to continue as title sponsor of the New York City Marathon through 2013, but the company’s long-term commitment to its full marathon program is less than certain.

At the conclusion of its new deal with the New York Road Runners, ING, the sport’s largest non-endemic sponsor, will have sponsored the world’s most renowned marathon for a decade, expanding brand awareness and building U.S. business for the Dutch financial services conglomerate.

However, ING’s sponsorship support of the other marathons and half-marathons in the U.S. is less clear. In addition to New York, ING also title sponsors the Miami, Georgia , Bay to Breakers (San Francisco), Philadelphia and Hartford races, and it sponsors Denver and Twin Cities marathons at lower levels. All those sponsorship deals run through next year. Officials at several of those races said that over the past three weeks they have been told that ING will not renew their deals and that organizers are free to recruit a replacement. Additionally, ING has been negotiating with the Competitor Group Inc. about its Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, which currently represents 13 races, for an omnibus title sponsorship deal, but that, too, is on hold.

“We are committed to all our marathons through 2010,” said Scott Rolf, ING vice president of brand sponsorship. Beyond that, Rolf acknowledged “we had a first right of refusal, and by certain deadlines we had to tell them whether we are in or out. We did not commit either way, which does give them the right to shop their marathons if they wish to. However, we have not said to any of our marathons that we are not renewing.”

But sources within the running and sponsorship community said ING’s exit from its number of American marathons, except New York, was fait accompli and they pointed to several catalysts.

The company’s CMO, Ann Glover, hired in April of 2008, prefers media purchases to sponsorship and event marketing. Support of the marathon sponsorships at the highest levels of the company is also not what it was when ING signed on as the New York City Marathon’s first title sponsor in 2003, and then launched its supporting marathon marketing platform across the U.S. and globally, including races in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Brussels, Belgium. At that time, the ING Group chairman was Ewald Kist, a former Dutch Olympic athlete and avid marathoner, who ran in a number of New York City Marathons, including the first one sponsored by his company. Additionally, at a time of distress across many financial services companies, ING is no exception. Last year, the Dutch government gave ING a $13 billion bailout after it suffered its first loss.

Sources said there is also some thinking within ING that given the reach and breadth of the New York City Marathon, that perhaps that deal alone might suffice. Rolf said brand awareness had increased by double digits annually in New York since the sponsorship was signed. However, he said that ING is more recently moving toward using the sponsorship “to make the whole experience better for runners and the running community.”

ING is completing its marathon marketing for this year’s event by building a Runners Nation platform that will be rolled out over the next two years, with social media extensions planned for this year and a greater experiential presence and Runners Nation lounge next year at the Runners Expo during the marathon. Of course, these executions could be used with or without a network of supporting races.

“Runners are planners, and there is a great correlation before planning for a distance run and those inclined to plan their financial future carefully,” Rolf said. “But some objectives we are looking at may change, and until we get our national plans together for 2011, I can’t commit to anything. Running has been a great platform for us and our conversations on running continue on a daily basis.”

ING signed its original deal to sponsor the New York City Marathon in 2003 and had two renewals since. It is believed to be paying $2 million to $3 million per year.

On the property side, ING’s sponsorship has produced benefits beyond revenue.

“Having a title sponsor was a great legitimizer for us,” said Ann Wells Crandall, senior vice president of business development and marketing for New York Road Runners, which owns the event. “ING’s made our sport more relevant to a broader audience, so we are happy to get this finished at time when it isn’t easy to get sponsorships done.”

Pew, 47% of Adult U.S. Internet Users Use Online Social Networks

ClickZ has a piece about the Pew research on social networking:

"Forty-seven percent of adult U.S. Internet users use online social networks, and 19 percent now use Twitter or other status update services, according to research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project." continued here

VIP Event and the Nanny

A few years ago we were hosting an ultra VIP event to cultivate new prospects and retain existing sponsors. This was an event where people had to RSVP and only the person who was invited could attend. The purpose was to prevent the VIP from passing the invitation on to their assistant, which occurred way too often.

The day of the event I received a call from a major prospect telling me that she couldn't attend, but wanted to give the invitation to her nanny and her husband (!). I had to tell her that I was sorry but we just couldn't do that. She had a hard time accepting this and I told her that this was a very intimate event for selected C-Level guests. I then suggested that she give her invitation to someone else in her organization that would benefit from networking with the high-level guests. Well, she just couldn't think of anyone.

I have a feeling that several factors were involved in this decision: 1) She was disconnected with the VIPs and couldn't identify the right person 2) She would have been humiliated to ask a VIP to attend the event at last minute, and 3) She wasn't a strategic thinker and didn't understand how to fully leverage this asset.

Ad Age, Marketers Go for Squeeze Play

There is a great column by Rance Crain in Ad Age that brings more light to Bank of America's thinking around sponsorship. Here is a snip of the column:

"One thing we have learned is that avidity is so critical when it comes to how well a sponsorship works," said Ray Bednar, senior VP-global sponsorship executive at Bank of America, in a discussion with Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. "So that's leading to great conversions with properties about the fact that winning matters for marketers, too. ... So if winning does matter, properties should be paid more when they win. Conversely, when they don't win, they should get paid less."

He said BofA has started inking variable compensation deals -- pay-for-performance models based not only on winning, but also on the property delivering business. "The bankers I have to go to for budget approval don't really care if we have a suite or a sign. They want to know how much money they're going to make."

Mr. Bednar also said the bank tells sponsorship properties that, for instance, it's going to put their brands inside 1,000 banking centers. "Then they will have X many impressions, which would cost them $2.5 million to buy, so we're going to factor that in as part of the sponsorship price."

The most telling quote is, "The bankers I have to go to for budget approval don't really care if we have a suite or a sign. They want to know how much money they're going to make."

In my conversations with major financial institutions, this has always been the case. Marketing, Advertising, Sponsorship is there to help drive the bottom line so the bankers ask: how will I make money, how will I get new clients, how can I leverage this to interact with my current clients?

It is crucial to think about ways to help your contact sell the opportunity internally. An open conversation with your prospect is the best way to do this.

Your Gala, Their Goals

So you have this huge gala coming up and your CEO wants you to get a sponsor...NOW!

Because companies are looking more closely at their marketing investments and how they are impacting business goals, you may want to (or you may have to) change your strategy.

Think about making the gala a piece of a larger, more innovative package. Extend the opportunity arc of sponsorship out to three years rather than a one time event.

Remember to look at the opportunities through the eyes of your corporate partner. What are their business goals and how can you work together to form a cohesive partnership?

Keep it New

I've spoken with several organizations that seem to be in a rut in terms of new ideas to offer corporate partners. For example, an arts organization hosted a workshop series (that was not very well attended) sponsored by a major financial institution. That sponsor pulled out a few months ago. They said it was because they needed something new and fresh.

Unfortunately the arts organization hasn't come up with a fresh idea so they are now trying to sell the old workshop model to other financial institutions.

Take away: Constantly keep in touch with your corporate sponsors. Be prepared to develop innovative promotional elements to keep the partnership fresh.

BAMbill

This evening I attended Songs of Ascension at BAM. Going through the BAMbill, I noticed how different the messages were from the BAM supporters who had a one-page ad. Most were self serving but some were actually pretty good. Here are a few examples with my grading:

Continental Airlines: D-
Get a meal, not a song and dance.
Still serving free meals at mealtime.
The competition has nothing to show but cutbacks. That's not the case with Continental. We're still providing you with free meals at mealtime. For us, it's all about giving you good service, not dancing around it. For reservations and information go to..."

R/GA: C
A proud supporter of the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Bank of America: B-
"Performing does more than entertain - it enriches us all.
Those who march to a different drummer share our passion for creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. That's why Bank of America is proud to sponsor BAM and be the presenting sponsor of The Bridge Project."

CRUNCH: A
CRUNCH is a proud partner and neighbor of BAM. We salute the thriving urban arts center for cultivating and celebrating the leading creative voices that shape our community and culture.

Sovereign Bank: A+
Sovereign is proud to support BAM. And, we salute all those involved in keeping the performing and cinema arts alive in this community. Thank you for your hard work and dedication.

Quiz

Listen to people as though you'll be quizzed on it later.

Permanent Pop-up?

Crain's New York reports that The Limited's SoHo pop-up store has done so well that they are considering making it permanent.

I just don't think they will see the same results if they make the pop-up permanent. People are attracted the the pop-up because of the limited (no pun intended) editions, different experiences, buzz and merchandise that can't be found at the "permanent" locations.

Live to Virtual

Last week, Event Marketer wrote about bringing live event attendees into the realm of virtual events. It's a good read and helpful when thinking about the 360 experience.

I would also add American Express, OPEN Forum as a great model to replicate. They created a platform that fosters communication, scales live events, engages users and hosts valuable content. In addition, they have great resources just for AmEx card members. Which, by the way allows them to collect data, gain and retain customers and differentiate themselves in a crowded environment.

Cause Marketing and Self Magazine

WWD ran this blurb today about the Self magazine study on cause marketing.

"Self magazine commissioned a study on cause marketing several years ago as a response to the dozens of calls it was fielding from marketers, asking how they could get involved in philanthropy. Vice president and publisher Kim Kelleher visited more than 100 marketers after that first study was released and now she’s on the road again, with more research to share on the subject. “This space has exploded in the past 10 years,” Kelleher said. “I’ve already talked to over 40 companies on the next wave of research.” Kelleher said firms leading the way in the space include Procter & Gamble, Burt’s Bees, Estée Lauder, Avon, Paul Mitchell and Neutrogena. “Consumers are very afraid that companies will walk away now [because of the downturn],” she said. “Consumers don’t have enough money so they are looking for companies to fill that void. Engage with your customers and let them know you’re still involved. They will come back in full when things get better.”

According to the study, the causes that attract the widest followings are related to medical research and diseases, child welfare, education and literacy, animal welfare and poverty. Kelleher noted the new findings are also opening doors for the magazine, and she is meeting with advertisers now that had previously said no to a traditional meeting."

Several interesting points to think about:

- Marketers were calling the magazine to get involved in philanthropy.

- Philanthropy is a vehicle for customer engagement.

- This study is helping Self magazine to land more meetings with advertisers. It was brilliant of Self to 1) see this opportunity, and 2) use the study to differentiate themselves with advertisers.

Brooklyn Museum Deal of the Day

Check out this interesting promotion that the Brooklyn Museum has going for one day only.

Living Hand to Mouth

An executive at a major New York institution said that arts organizations "have been living hand to mouth. This is the way it has been and this is the way it will always be."

Hmmm, I don't call that a good business model at all.

ad:tech New York

Going to ad:tech New York this year. Looks like a great agenda.

Luxury and China

Keep an eye on China. The WSJ Wealth Report blog posted a summary of the Bain & Co luxury forecast here and then WSJ wrote a piece about the report here.

Toolkits and Tricks

I know that the word sponsorship ranges in meaning from events, activities, products and online ads to partnerships, long-term relationships and so on. For years we've had access to toolkits, out-of-box packages and tricks to win sponsors.

What our industry needs now is to start more conversations around what we should be doing differently to navigate the new economy. We need to listen to what prospects are looking for today: more bang for the buck, ownership, deep emotional connections, return on business objectives, ways to differentiate, interactive platforms for thought leadership, money can't buy experiences and interesting ways to leverage social-media.

SBJ’s Sports Sponsorship Symposium

In September, Promomagazine.com reported on the Sports Business Journal's symposium and this quote from Bank of America caught my eye:

“The biggest mandate we have right now is ‘We have a lot of stuff, let’s get more out of it’,” said Ray Bednar, senior vice president and global sponsorship marketing executive for Bank of America.

Bank of America currently maintains sponsorships with MLB, the National Football League and the Olympics."

Sounds about right, as they did ask the USOC to come up with ways to provide more bang for their $12 million dollar sponsorship and then pulled out because of "the inability to generate sufficient business results."

Focus

When talking about your sponsorship opportunity, it's important to be clear and focused. People don't have time to read a long letter or proposal to try to figure out what you are offering.

When I wrote about The Allstate Foundation's Click to Empower Campaign, I asked the organizations to sum up in ten words why people should vote for them. One of the best responses was from Charity Cars (who also won the $100,000 grant): "Cars save lives by enabling survivors to escape their abusers." The response is clear, focused and compelling. In addition, it's easy to remember and easy for people to spread the message.

Teacher, Boss or Empowerer

Are you a teacher, boss or empowerer? Do you get the right idea across to others? Think about it.

Copy This: Live Video Webcast with Vanguard CEO

As a customer of Vanguard, I just received an invitation to participate in a live video webcast with Bill NcNabb, the CEO. The webcast is in the evening and you must register in advance, which is fair.

Why not copy this and facilitate a conversation between your CEO and your customers? It could be quite a valuable learning experience.

Role Play

Before you go on a call or into a sales meeting, do you role play? If not, you should. It's an excellent way to get your team prepared and on the same page.

Clear Understanding

It's great to be flexible in your thinking when meeting with prospective sponsors. However, don't go into a meeting without clear ideas. Because you know your property inside and out, it is up to you to paint a vivid picture of what the partnership could look like.

Always remember, if the prospect doesn't understand what you are offering, they won't buy.

Daily Candy and Urban Daddy

Daily Candy and Urban Daddy pride themselves on delivering the "latest and greatest" and the "latest piece of need-to-know" around town. I subscribe to both. Today, they both posted a piece on the Highlands, with the same promo picture. Good for the Highlands PR, bad for Daily Candy and Urban Daddy. In my opinion, this just diluted both of their "insider" cred.

Break Out

Sometimes it's good to get out of your known industry (shell) and learn what other industries are doing. It just may spark some great thinking.

Conversations First

Never start with a fixed proposal. You will surely end the conversation.

When approaching prospective sponsors, start with a conversation. Then, if all goes well, you will craft an innovative and mutually beneficial proposal together.

Big Ad Gig Winner

So, they announced the winner of the Big Ad Gig. What do you think?

Art & Innovation, New Revenue Stream

I was thinking more about what George Lucas said about art driving innovation. Could this be an opportunity for arts organizations to form exchange programs or create "innovation" courses, exchange programs or tours for corporations?

It just may be a new source of revenue for arts organizations, both large and small. I would start with agencies since we know that they are always looking for new and fresh ideas.

Art Drives Innovation

There is a great posting on Business Week about what George Lucas said about art and innovation at the World Business Forum in New York:

"George Lucas, the film-maker behind such hits as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, shared some uplifting thoughts on artistic passion and technological invention at the World Business Forum in New York on October 6. Tracing his career to its beginnings, he modestly said that it was the pursuit of art, not profit or invention, which fueled the many innovations he can be credited for, from early movie-merchandise strategies to the realistic computer-generated effects pioneered by Lucasfilm and featured in movies such as Jurassic Park.

Art is about communicating emotion via technology, he said. So it fuels creative thinking not only in terms of content, but also execution. It’s been the case since early cave paintings and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes. To achieve stunning effects, an artist often needs to push the boundaries of current technologies, and then discover a new way of doing things. And that very artistic process can lead to tech that can be highly monetized; in other words, innovation.

The takeaway from Lucas’ talk at the World Business Forum? Let employees be creative first to appeal to your audience’s emotions (and “audience” can apply to customers, of course) when devising new products, then worry about how and if a potential invention will be profitable. It worked for Lucas, clearly. He said he was always thinking of the emotional impact of his work since the beginning of his career, and not how he was going to make millions or build an entertainment empire. Perhaps corporations could learn from artists like Lucas, just as they have been increasingly been learning from designers such as IDEO’s Tim Brown. Call it art-thinking."

I like what Mr. Lucas says here, "To achieve stunning effects, an artist often needs to push the boundaries of current technologies, and then discover a new way of doing things."

We can also apply the pushing of the boundaries of current technology to the art of marketing and sponsorship to find new ways to engage corporate partners and audiences.

At Estee Lauder, Makeovers and Social Media

According to Ad Age, Estee Lauder is kicking-off a social media campaign on October 16, 2009 where they will be "offering free makeovers and photo shoots at its department-store cosmetics counters coast-to-coast to produce shots women can use for their online profiles."

It seems to have all the components for a successful campaign!

"Discovery Skills" and Innovation

HBR has a good Q&A blog post about the way innovators think. Check it out here.

On a separate note, I noticed that the Creativity at Work package is sponsored by Cargill. If you click on the logo, it links to Cargill's home page. They missed a huge opportunity to engage the HBR readers.

Since this is a series, I would have thought that Cargill would have at least created a specific landing page for those who click on their logo. They have a lot of great content and it would have made for a better experience for the HBR reader.

Waiting for a Company to Realize an Opportunity?

Last week at the Crain's conference, I had the pleasure of listening to a wonderful panel (The Major Institutions: How Size Matters) that included: Peter Gold, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera; Sharon Gersten Luckman, Executive Director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation; Zarin Mehta, President and Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic and George Steel, General Manager of the New York City Opera.

After the panel answered questions from the moderator, they opened it up to the audience. One of the first questions was about corporate sponsorship. It was interesting to hear the different viewpoints and words used to describe corporate relationships. For example, one panelist used the word "underwriting" to talk about corporate relationships (which indicates to me that they are short sided and only thinking about events), and another mentioned that sponsors are asking for more "bang for the buck" but giving less money to make that happen.

The most insightful comment was made by Peter Gold of the Metropolitan Opera regarding the The Met: Live in HD series which is in its fourth season and now sponsored by Bloomberg. Basically, when HD launched, the Met knew it would be attractive to sponsors. However, they did not land a sponsor immediately so they were "waiting for a company to realize the opportunity" around the series.

I'm sure that the Met wasn't idly waiting for a company to come around, but this made me think about the sales strategies (or lack of) around sponsorship.

Often, sponsorship is treated like a commodity, especially when we think that sponsorship "sales" is about sending out a list of benefits/levels then waiting for a corporation to call.

The world has changed and it is no longer acceptable to list sponsorship benefits and wait for a company to realize the opportunity. We need to be proactive and understand that sponsorship deals (not underwriting, not an event, not an online "sponsorship" ad) are often very complex with long sales cycles and many decision makers.

Do you have the right pieces in place for success? How about the following:

- a system that helps you to set priorities
- an understanding of the sales cycle and when to let a prospect go
- a solid pipeline of prospects. Know the company's mission, size, locations, products, financial performance, customer segments, leadership, competitors, etc
- a knowledge of interactive marketing/marketing and sales with an emphasis on consultative selling
- a deep understanding of your offering
- an ability to come up innovative (mutually beneficial) solutions

PR Metrics

Ad Age has a good article about PR metrics and how they've evolved over the past year. Take a look at the article here and think of how it relates to your conversations around sponsorship offerings, measurement and ROI.

Key points:

- Success is more focused on demonstrating the impact on business, lead generation and sales.

- Integration is key. Companies are looking at ways in which all channels (print, online, social media, events) influence and impact outcomes.

- We must move away from measuring just impressions and look for innovative ways to deepen and extend engagement with customers.

Customer Acquisition and Retention in 2010

According to a survey by Unisfair, Marketers’ top priorities for 2010 will be customer acquisition and retention, followed by thought leadership.

Go to eMarketer to see how the survey respondents plan to use social media tools such as Facebook and LinkedIn to acquire/retain customers.

Games, awards, surveys and donations may help with acquisitions, but how can you help your corporate partners retain and engage those fans/customers?

Nike Back Your Block Campaign Winners Announced 10/10

Winners of the Nike Back Your Block Campaign will be announced on October 10, 2009 on Facebook. The voting closed on September 16, 2009 and Nike only posted twice on Facebook since that time. I think they could have done a better job to keep the momentum and communication going.

One of the most common flaws of brands who use this sort of platform to build buzz and a fan base is to not engage fans constantly. I would suggest that Nike communicate at least once a day until the final announcement.

It will be interesting to see if and how Nike extends this campaign to communicate with those who participated. They are an amazing brand so I'm hoping for some innovative things from them.

Hilton Head Spirit

As a youth, I spent many spring breaks on Hilton Head Island so I really like the spirit and tone of this piece about the Heritage tournament and sponsorship.

New York City Opera, Rufus Wainwright and LVMH

We hear that LVMH will be the sponsor of the New York City Opera's opening gala on Thursday, November 5, 2009 with Rufus Wainwright!

New York's Performing Arts at a Crossroads, Crain's

This morning I attended the Future of New York City: New York's Performing Arts at a Crossroads conference presented by Crain's and Columbia University School of the Arts. It was extremely interesting and I have several notes that I will share in the next few days. In the meantime, here is a snippet of a breakout session, The Major Institutions: How Size Matters.

My takeaway: There is a HUGE communication gap between performing arts organizations in New York and corporations.

Edible Garden Tour

I know that edible garden tours aren't new, but why not create an edible garden tour across the U.S. which would include botanical gardens, local schools, local chefs, and volunteers? Actually, the pieces are already in place. It's just a matter of organizing a smart platform for the tour. Hey, think of it as the traveling "Coachella" for foodies and gardeners! Oh, and don't forget to allocate a percentage of ticket sales to go back to a nonprofit.

Here are possible revenue streams:
- Ticket sales, including VIP tickets
- Sponsorship**: Food & beverage companies, plant/seed companies, financial industry, etc
- Advertising
- Book sales
- Workshops
- Vendor fees


**According to research, "Most food gardeners are women (54 percent); 45 years of age and older (68 percent); college graduates (43 percent); live in the South (29 percent), Midwest (26 percent), West (23 percent), and Northeast (22 percent); and live in households with annual incomes of $50,000 and over (38%), married households (64%), households with no
children at home (67%), and two-person households (40%)."

Furthermore, "Households today are growing their own food for a number of reasons: for better-tasting food (58 percent), to save money on food bills (54 percent), for better quality food (51 percent), and to grow food they know is safe (48 percent). A total of 34 percent of food gardening households say that the current recession or economic downturn has motivated them to grow food this year. When asked how much it has motivated them to grow vegetables, fruit, berries, or herbs this year, they responded “very much” (14 percent) or “a fair amount” (20 percent)."

Disney Blogs

The Los Angeles Times reports that The Disney theme parks launched a new blog.

According to Craig Dezern who oversees the blog as vice president of public relations for Disney theme parks, readers are able to comment on posts. He is quoted as saying, “The comments section is not the cheering section.” Well said!

Tell a Gal PAL, The Allstate Foundation's Public Awareness Campaign on Domestic Violence

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and The Allstate Foundation just kicked-off another public awareness campaign called Tell a Gal P.A.L.®. PAL is an acronym for ‘Pass it on, Act, and Learn’. The campaign is designed to get the public speaking about domestic violence and economic abuse.

In addition, The Allstate Foundation is encouraging people to drop off nearly new women's business suits to benefit survivors from September 28 to October 9 at select Allstate locations across the country. Donated suits will be given to local domestic violence organizations and Dress for Success affiliates to outfit domestic violence survivors with confidence as they enter or re-enter the workforce.

Learn more about the campaign here on Facebook.

Momentum

A smart way to keep the momentum going for a series of events is to talk about them the next week. MoMA held their first MoMA Mixx dance series last Saturday and they posted about the experience here and here.

Based on the pictures, it looks like the first event was a success.

CIGNA Partners with Water for People

CIGNA recently launched the Why Water? Game, and online trivia game which prompts users to answer health-related questions. While players learn facts about health and healthcare as they answer questions, they also help bring clean drinking water to children in developing countries.

The Why Water? Game is part of a larger educational campaign, “Learn4YourHealth,” which works to help make complicated health care information easier to understand.

This is the second year of the the campaign. Last year, trivia game participants earned more than 52,000 days of clean water for children in India, as funded by CIGNA to Water for People.

Twitter and Fundraising for Nonprofits

Fast Company has a good piece on Twitter and how nonprofits are using it to raise money, create relationships and build awareness. Check it out here.

Copy This: Mornings with Monet

MoMA is offering their Corporate Members a guided one-hour tour to see Monet's Water Lilies on selected Sunday mornings. This is nothing new in the museum world however, I noticed that they are charging their Corporate Members a fee which is a smart move for several reasons. The most obvious is the money that they will bring in which may cover part of the cost of the event. The next is the perceived value of the event. When you charge a fee, it normally reduces the no-show rate, filters out the weak leads and increases attendance of those who are committed. Finally, MoMA is showing their Corporate Members that they appreciate them by offering this intimate tour and at the same time they understand the value of their offering.

Don't be afraid to charge your Corporate Members. They understand financial sustainability.

Arts in Crisis Tour, Michael Kaiser in Wisconsin Part II

I finally got around to watching the rest of the Arts in Crisis tour with Michael Kaiser.

Before I get into my comments, I must say that the reason why I was attracted to the arts and sponsorship is because I wanted to change the way museums developed business with corporations. As for museums, the exhibition sponsorship model is broken. This has been clear for several years. Corporations and museums speak different languages and it is my goal to bridge that gap by applying the consultative selling model and creating innovate packages to achieve mutually beneficial objectives. I hope that the economic crisis will force museums to come up with new revenue models, fresh marketing campaigns and new ways to tap into corporate budgets (Other than corporate foundations).

I am a mentor for Arts in Crisis because I want to make a difference. I am frustrated with Mr. Kaiser's tour because I don't see it "assisting organizations in need" other than getting people "excited" about short term fixes that just put a band-aid over the financial problem. People who are working in the arts must realize that it is a business and excitement is not a strategy.

Now, having said that, here are my comments that focus on sponsorship, marketing and new revenue models:

* Mr. Kaiser feels that arts organizations have priced people out of the market. Because of that, they must find new revenue to continue to support their growth.
Interestingly enough, I found that it costs less to go to the Opera in Chicago than to a Bears game.
- 2009 Chicago Bears price per-game $68.00 to $350.00
- 2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago price per performance $46.00 to $207.00
By the way, I agree that new revenue must be found but how and where? Excitement is not a new revenue stream.

* Corporate support is usually available to the larger organizations because corporations are generally looking for visibility. I do agree with this and I hope that corporations will shift their thinking away from visibility which is so behind the times (I like the word passe). Savvy sponsors know that it's about achieving objectives and building business.

* It doesn't matter if you are a large or small organization. What matters is prioritization. I absolutely agree with this!

* Mr. Kaiser gave solid advice: think of two things to change about your organization over the next year, and make it happen. I like that this is simple and concrete. So often we get in over our heads because we can't prioritize and focus on key projects.

* In Mr. Kaiser's opinion, most arts organizations spend too much of their time at board meetings talking about money. To curb this, he would stop in the middle of every board meeting an have a performance of some sort. The goal was to remind the board that they are there for the mission, not to visit income statements. And that, my friends, just may be the crux of the arts being in crisis.

The Museum of American Finance, How Did I Miss This?

I don't know how I missed this piece on The Museum of American Finance in The New York Times last month. Laugh, cry or sigh, it's a good read for all of us who have been impacted by the crisis. Check out “Tracking the Credit Crisis” at the museum on 48 Wall Street.

If you can't make it, order the set of five posters online from the "Tracking the Credit Crisis" exhibit.

Big Brands

Why is it when I hear examples or case studies of established, big brands such as Coca-Cola, P&G and GE I tune out?

Cool Job Opportunity

Oh, how awesome would it be to work with the X Prize Foundation? Just look at their board!

If you are interested, they have an opening for Senior Director, Sponsor Services in Playa Vista, CA. Forgive me if I'm late and this position has already been filled.

Woe Is Me

FastCompany still has an actual magazine? Oh boy, where have I been? I thought they were only online.

Start Small

Many organizations start small in order to develop larger opportunities. This is an excellent strategy if you can:
1. Execute flawlessly (over deliver)
2. Constantly nurture the relationship (communicate)
3. Build trust (over deliver + communicate)
4. Identify and articulate the growth opportunities (over deliver + communicate + innovate)

Miller Lite on eBay, Bid on a Legend to Watch Football in Your Home

Miller Lite has a cool auction on eBay where fans can bid to have football legends come to their homes and watch a game with them!  The best part is that all proceeds will benefit The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

According to the site, each winning bidder receives the following:

• Meet pro football legends! For each auction, a pair of players will show up at the winning bidder’s home to watch the game, talk football and help you taste greatness!
  
  
• The players will bring all the complimentary food and beverages anyone could ask for!
  
  
• Invite friends and family to share in your “great moment.”

Check out the bidding now at ebay.com/MillerLite.

The Sponsor's Speech, Seven Alternatives

How many times have you attended a sponsored event where the sponsor attempts to make a speech and the crowd ignores them? Even worse, the sponsor gets angry at the crowd and insults them.

The next time a sponsor wants to read a speech at an event, suggest alternative ways to better connect with the audience and add value to the experience.

Here are seven ideas to consider:

1. Email the sponsor's message (and thank you) the next day to attendees and those who could not attend.

2. Post pictures of the event on your site/blog/Facebook/Flicker with a message from the sponsor.

3. Highlight the sponsor and the message for a day on your site/blog/Facebook.

4. Mention the sponsor in your next letter or e-newsletter to donors.

5. Suggest that they create a brief and entertaining video to show rather than making a speech. Yes, this is an additional cost but it will engage the audience.

6. If there are gift bags, include a letter from the sponsor.

7. Ask the sponsor to post a video on YouTube and highlight it on your blog.

Sponsorship Tools

We have a plethora of tools that help us build our knowledge of sponsorship. What I think is missing is a systematic way to apply those tools.

Arts in Crisis, Michael Kaiser in Wisconsin

Yes! I finally found a video from Michael Kaiser's Arts in Crisis tour. The reason that I'm so happy about this is because I am a mentor for Arts in Crisis and I missed his appearance in New York because it was sold out.

So, Michael spoke in Wisconsin back in August. Here it is for those of you who are interested.

I only got half way though the presentation, but here are my comments so far:

- As far as I heard, there isn't a concrete solution to the crisis for arts organizations who must raise more money. As far as I'm concerned, this was a "pep talk" to get everyone excited. This isn't a bad thing, but excitement can only take organizations so far.

- His best quote was, "We are in the business to do exciting things."

- Michael also said, "What creates revenue for arts organizations is great art communicated by great marketing." Hmmm, is that a new business model?! Would that fly if I had to report quarterly results to my share holders?

- Arts organizations should plan out 4-5 years in advance.
Oh, if only that were possible for so many large and small organizations, it would make business development so much easier!

I will listen to the rest of the presentation this week. In the meantime, here are nice comments from an attendee.

Also, check out this discussion on The Chronicle of Philanthropy about new ways for arts organizations to finance their operations.

McDonald's to Give Away Free Commuter Passes

Once they get the details ironed out, it sounds like McDonald's promotion of the new Angus Third Pounder burger will be a hit with their target audience:

"On Sept. 23, McDonald's is giving away free commuter passes and coupons for its new Angus Third Pounder burgers, a spokesman for the event told "Going Public."
Ben Lincoln of GolinHarris said McDonald's will be giving away about 4,000 coupons and 4,000 transit passes at 10 commuter stops in Chicagoland during the morning commute.

Lincoln didn't know the specific stops but said the giveaways will occur at CTA and Metra stations. McDonald's will give away one-way transit passes for CTA riders, and will pay for Metra riders to go into the city, Lincoln said, but the details on the Metra fares are unclear.

Lincoln couldn't say what time Wednesday's giveaway will start and end. Similar giveaways will be occurring in Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Denver and D.C.

The Angus Third Pounder is the first new burger introduction for McDonald's since 2001."

AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas

The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts closed a deal with AT&T for naming rights!

Earlier this week, The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts and AT&T "announced a naming agreement today for the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

“Our relationship with AT&T, the global leader in communications, will place us at the forefront of the performing arts world in utilizing cutting edge technology to enhance our patrons’ experiences at the Center," said Mark Nerenhausen, president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. “AT&T not only provides vital support that advances the Center’s educational, cultural and civic mission, but also frees us to focus our energies on programming, raising capital funds, building our endowment and raising funds toward programming and operations."

This comment (taken from The Dallas Morning News) by William Chipps of IEG made me laugh: "I don't see any negatives," he said. "It's not like they're aligning with Enron."

A Knife in My Wall Street Journal

I was reading The Wall Street Journal's DealBook section this evening and a knife fell out! My heart dropped. Did it get me? Who put this knife in there?

Well, it turns out that this was just a very clever ad insert to promote Quality Meats, Maloney & Porcelli and Smith & Wollensky.

I don't know who designed the knife insert, but it really is brilliant. It is a thick paper stock that is shaped exactly like a knife. The blade was pointed down so when it fell out of the paper, I thought I was going to get stabbed.

The words on the knife blade say: "Stealing business from your competitors requires killer instincts." I couldn't help but open the piece to see who was behind it. On the inside it reads: "Also, steaks. Giant steaks. The private dining rooms at Quality Meats, Maloney & Porcelli and Smith & Wollensky have seating for 3-300 guests; perfect for stealing any kind of business. Book now and you'll even get a set of steak knives to commemorate the occasion." The other side has the contact information for all three restaurants and a contact name to arrange private dining.

It's wonderful to see this sort of creativity!

Clinique, Whiter Teeth with Lipstick

I was reading the new issue of Vogue today and noticed the two-page spread from Clinique about their "specially designed lipstick colours" that "create a contrast that brightens your smile."

Wow, this is brilliant marketing. By taking shades that they already had in production, they spun the message to deliver value: a lipstick that provides color and whiter teeth.

Check out the site to see the before and after lipstick demonstration. Now, which shade to buy...

$100,000 Grant to Charity Cars

Charity Cars won the $100,000 grant as a result of the ClicktoEmpower campaign from The Allstate Foundation!

Connecting the Dots

My passion for sponsorship began when I was in San Francisco working for SeniorNet as the VP of Business Development and PR. In this capacity, I built innovative sponsorships marrying corporate and nonprofit goals for the benefit of of the end users. The model was so successful that it exceeded even the best case studies of brand loyalty such as NASCAR and the Olympics.

Why are we all still so resistant to leverage the Internet and social media to create mutual value?

Every sponsorship package should include a 360 degree experience that goes beyond the physical event, the physical exhibition, and the physical race.

EQ Not IQ

Are financial industries still designing for/focusing on EQ rather than IQ?

Sales, Pain

I've read plenty of sales books, but I always stall when it comes to pain. I can't wrap my head around the "pain" concept of sales when applying it to sponsorship.

What do you think of this statement:

"No pain-no change, no change-no sale."

Your Success is Our Success

The key to long-term partnerships is the mindset of "your success is our success."

Contracts are very important and necessary in establishing boundaries and deliverables. However, don't use contracts to "nickel and dime" your partner. Know why? They will move on and they will remember how you handled the relationship.

It's all about collaboration to achieve certain goals together.

Reporting for Volunteer Duty

A friend of mine who is an attorney at a very highly respected international consulting firm is having his birthday in a few weeks. He decided that it would be good to give back so he contacted a local non-profit to see what they had to offer for 35-40 professional people. Guess what they came up with? Clean the basement.

I think this is a missed opportunity by the non-profit. If you have 35-40 people who are willing to donate their time on a Saturday afternoon, wouldn't you put together a project that was mutually beneficial? Maybe ask them to think of a new revenue stream, ask them to work with you to put together an outline for a case study, ask them to write a list of people that they would introduce you to, ask them to provide feedback on collateral.

Yes, we can all go and clean the basement (I hate cleaning basements), but the non-profit missed the opportunity to turn 35-40 individuals into fans, donors, connectors and potential board members.

Seth Godin's Post Today

Seth has a great post today about non-profits and fear of change. Check it out here.

A bit from Seth's post today:
"If you spend any time reading marketing blogs, you'll find thousands of case studies of small (and large) innovative businesses that are shaking things up and making things happen. And not enough of these stories are about non-profits."

Never Read a Blog?

Over 12 million American adults currently maintain a blog.

Do any of you have friends and/or colleagues that have never read a blog? I have several who, due to their profession, should both read AND write blogs. The reason...no time. Huh.

What Happens When You Lose? US Open

Tennis can be a very lucrative sport for the top-ranked players. The top players make money off of sponsorship deals, public appearances and prize money.

But what happens to their brand when they lose (There have been a lot of upsets at this year's US Open: Sharapova; Roddick; Safina and Federer.)?

The answer may be "nothing" if they are smart at structuring sponsorship deals. For example, Federer has a 10-year contract with Nike, in which he earns $10 million every year, plus other deals totaling nearly $28 million. Maria Sharapova earned an estimated $22 million from sponsorships in 2008.

Not bad for not always winning.

LentSpace, In the Meantime

LentSpace is a temporary art project that creates an "in the meantime" activity for vacant sites (awaiting future development) in a downtown New York City block between Canal, Varick, Grand and Sullivan Streets.

From e-flux:
"The inaugural exhibition at LentSpace, entitled Points & Lines, on view through the end of 2009, features work by eight international artists with seven art works: Olivier Babin, Olga Chernysheva, Eli Hansen & Oscar Tuazon, Graham Hudson, Tobias Putrih, Ryan Taber, and Corban Walker. Sitting in the center of a temporarily donated development site, which in turn is open to the public during set visiting hours, Points & Lines finds itself in the precarious position of being not only a guest, but also a host. In an attempt to playfully tease out some possible implications of this dual-identity, Points & Lines presents seven art installations that each refer to different issues of boundary and demarcation."

Pop-Up Agency, RKCR/Y&R Local

I love how the London based ad agency RKCR/Y&R opened a pop-up shop "with the aim of bringing marketing and communications advice to the shop keepers and stall owners of Camden Town."

Not only is it innovative, but it is also a great way to log face time with interesting people that will hopefully result in more out of the box thinking.

Check out their blog where they post updates and talk about the neighborhood stores and local characters.

C of BRIC

Take a look at this post on Harvard Business that talks about China's luxury consumer market. Key points include brand loyalty even in the financial crisis, and the use of the Internet to better understand luxury products.