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.