Opera Holland Park, Korn/Ferry International Q&A

Q&A with Michael Volpe of Opera Holland Park part 2:

Congratulations on completing a successful three year sponsorship with Korn/Ferry International!

1. Could you tell us how you identified Korn/Ferry International as a partner and how long it took you to close the deal?

Korn/Ferry had been a small scale sponsor for a little while and we had quite a bit of experience in working with high end headhunting companies. As with all good sponsorships, the relationship and its potential value becomes quite obvious and the deal was done very quickly. Probably about three months from first discussion to signature.

2. What were your mutual goals throughout this three-year sponsorship?

Korn/Ferry had a strong imperative to improve their profile among the kind of audiences they had identified at OHP - business leaders, ambitious, talented individuals on strong career paths etc. They closely identified with our well established reputation for finding and nurturing new talent which resonated strongly with their core business principle. They also wanted to grow their general awareness and the strength of our marketing, our willingness to incorporate them into our brand and our media partnerships offered this to them in a very powerful way. and of course, in their business, spending time with senior executives of companies is vital and the sponsorship gave them this opportunity. For my part, I saw it as the perfect opportunity, with the build of the new theatre in 2007, to introduce a new discipline and image into our own presentation and operation.

3. What measurements were you using to determine success?

From K/F's point of view, it was the success of the branding and reach of their profile. You would have to ask them how they themselves kept an eye on that via their own PR company but this side of the partnership was an unqualified success. The branding was total and complete. They were also tracking through their partners and the structure of the way in which they look after clients, how successful their events were Their events through each season at OHP meant that they could invite some of the most senior people in industry - and a measure of that is how many of them turn up! This was indeed a great success and is a fairly straightforward thing to measure!

4. What did Korn/Ferry International do to promote the sponsorship?

They did a lot of work via their PR company among the business media to keep their involvement in the public eye. They of course spent a great deal of time communicating with clients in a personal and direct way when promoting events to which they had invited them

5. What was your greatest lesson learned as a result of this sponsorship?

That it is possible to absorb the imperatives of a partner to create something unique without compromising your own values and aims. Not all companies are suitable or appropriate for the kind of naming rights we offered Korn/Ferry but what Korn/Ferry's sponsorship proved is that anything is possible with strong management and consistent, cohesive strategies in place. Many arts organisations fall down in their dealings with sponsors because they simply think 'Gimmee the money' and sit back, expecting the sponsor to be grateful for the relationship. We have never been like that and the K/F sponsorship was a powerful demonstration of what a strong and mutually respectful partnership can achieve in the arts.

6. What was the most innovative idea/event during the course sponsorship?

Well, I have to say that the partnership was pretty free of gimmicks and bells and whistles. Korn/Ferry did a few opera related press things with competitions among readers and subscribers to certain business media but the relationship was based on strong, solid, crystal clear branding and marketing coupled with the strength of the product we offered their clients. Sometimes, sponsorships get bogged down in what is thought to be innovation but often just appears as fairly gimmicky diversions. Of course, innovation is a part of this process and in fact, our total absorption of Korn/Ferry into our own branding was fairly innovative in itself; we achieved that whilst managing to strengthen both individual brands.


Thanks Michael!