Front and Center

Guest post by Andrew Meader, President & Promoter, Applause Factory, Inc.

Event sponsorship is a marketing investment, not charity.

We’ve all read about the legendary costs of Superbowl™ ad space or witnessed the preponderance of product placement in movies and cross-promotion leading up to events. It’s easy to write these things off as something available only to those with multi-million dollar budgets. The truth is high profile and even higher impact opportunities are available at affordable rates for small businesses on a local or regional level.

My experience with event production and promotion has run the gamut from theatrical productions featuring Gwyneth Paltrow and Roger Rees to touring, one-night gigs with Last Comic Standing, the Texas Tenors  and more. Are you murmuring that I just name-dropped? It’s true, but the intent here is to demonstrate that the formula is the same. For every act there is an audience, the more effectively the audience is targeted and courted, the more potent the dollars invested in the show will be. My success is in sales, which benefits the performer, the agency behind them, the venue, the community and the sponsors.

Sponsorship is an integral part of event promotion. As I see it, it is vastly more rooted in marketing than philanthropy, which is why as I explore sponsorship partnerships I turn to Directors of Marketing. These individuals are trained to identify opportunities that offer the greatest return on investment for their company. Today’s media landscape makes standing out and stretching ad dollars more complicated than ever.

Companies big and small are trying to get found—online, on shelves and in conversation, but how do you do it? Companies that connect the dots in event sponsorship value are reaping the rewards (and returning to the stage time after time.) All you have to do is turn on a Nascar event for 10 seconds to see how many companies are doing this. If it didn’t work, would they still be investing there? It isn’t as different as you might think when compared to event sponsorship at a local level. 

The specificity of target demographics for events can be very strong. While some events may draw a diverse audience, others have beautifully narrow demos. I call it beautifully narrow because if a small business can match their target demographic with an event, the association garnered from a sponsorship will far exceed the return from a traditional advertising source.

Sponsorships have the potential to greatly affect a geographic area surrounding the event. 1. A company sponsors a concert, enabling the organizers to make the event a reality. 2. The event is promoted drawing people to the area (and advertising title sponsors). 3. Patrons of the event fill local area restaurants and shops (including the sponsor’s) before and after the event. 4. The area is busy as a result of the event. 5. Investment in the area follows to leverage all that traffic and attention. 6. The successes are tied to the events, and in turn, tied to your company as a sponsor of the event. Trampoline Design has supported the efforts of the Adirondack Theatre Festival for the past several years, in fact, these photos, taken by Jim McLaughlin are of ATF audiences, enjoying a performance, and spending in nearby downtown establishments.

The crux of the impact is in emotion. Entertainment is something that is intended to trigger a response from the audience‑ make them think, make them cry, or make them laugh. Associating your brand with the emotional impact of an event is an incredibly effective way to shape the way a group thinks of your company,

The approach to sponsorship is similar to advertising in that you want to put yourself in front of the right people and, once you have their attention, you need to craft the message so that it achieves the desired result—sales, buzz, loyalty. You can’t just slap a name on top of an event and wait for customers to start flooding in. Leverage your sponsorship to gain the most ROI. 

• > Promote your association with the event. Let your current customers know that you are involved
     with the event. Use your social media outlets to inform your customers, followers and friends.
     The more successful the event is, the greater return. 
•  
• > Get involved. Use those sponsor tickets as sales incentives for employees, client incentives
     or to show your gratitude for doing business with your top clients. 
•  
• > Display your products or services and give samples or demonstrations at the event.
     This is like having your own trade show, and you are the only booth! 
•  
• > Allow their tickets to serve as a coupon or special offer. 
•  
• > Do not be afraid to try and negotiate with sponsorship, if you have an idea, pitch it to them.
     They just may say yes.

Investment shows strength in a company. Sponsorships are marketing investments that have a trackable rate of return and provide valuable benefits that far exceed the cost of the investment. 

It would seem that if played well, sponsorships, no matter the event, are really a sponsorship of your company.

Aren't you worth it?

Social Media Soufflé

Which came first the spin or the egg?

The egg* recall has, to some, shown a flaw in a national system to others it has highlighted the positive in the local system. We can appreciate most of the news stories as we endeavor to protect our families. There can be a kind of community in a shared fear. The reality is that eggs were maybe going to take a back seat on the old shopping list. Monitoring the growing recall list as newscasters speak in hushed tones and point dramatically at charts and maps—suddenly you wonder if there is poison in your very refrigerator.

The ding of the email caught my attention and I opened the new message. It was from an Eggland’s Best representative. I immediately remembered joking with their people in the BlogHer Expo. They really were genuine and listened, a rarity in some of those sponsored booths. The email was a succinct update on the relationship between Eggland’s Best and the egg recall, namely that there isn’t one.

Lainie Fiszer, the woman from Eggland’s Best who sent the email, quickly shared the key points:

• EB eggs are safe
• EB eggs are not produced in Iowa
• EB has the most comprehensive food safety quality assurance program
  and will never compromise when it comes to consumer safety

I’d like to believe the 3^rd bullet is a given, but the first two, those two spoke to me. I felt good knowing that the eggs in my fridge bore the cheerful red EB stamp. I felt lucky to be on the list, in-the-know and I felt gratitude. I responded to the email and let Lainie know that I would be blogging about this.

I told my family.

I emailed a friend.

I reaffirmed my commitment to the brand.

I played a role in the power of a relationship established via a social media mechanism—BlogHer + blogging  + Twitter. 

Eggland’s Best isn’t breaking new ground, they are simply using tools effectively. They found a receptive audience in women at BlogHer, they figured out how, where and when their audience wants to be addressed and, most importantly, they identified something that had huge significance to their audience, their brand and beyond, then, they acted. Swiftly, effectively and memorably.

I will buy Eggland’s Best, I will recommend it to others and I will retell this story again and again. That, is the power that can be found in social media.

Don’t fear it, use it. 

*Random mostly unrelated link that could not not share. See why. 

Awesome, for his age.

Derek Slayton, a Principal here at Trampoline has been named to the Post Star's 20 Under 40 list.

Co-founding a creative agency that has grown by leaps and bounds in each of its 7 years, producing campaign work that has won 17 Nori Awards from the Albany Ad Club, contributing well over $100,000 in volunteer time, in-kind donations, and financial contributions (just last year) and providing new jobs for young professionals in the middle of a recession is a lot to do.

Dude ain't even 40 yet.

We'd also like to congratulate a few of our friends and clients who also made the list: Christine Dawson, Director of Development at the Hyde Collection, Michael Murray, Vice President of Commercial Lending at Adirondack Trust, and Likling Khoo, Owner of Baker's Dream and creator of incredible deliciousness.

Congrats to all the deserving professionals who made the list!

Do It Yourself

We spent a large part of the first quarter creating 30 custom illustrations for one of our long-standing clients. Peter Bauer, Executive Director of the Fund for Lake George approached us with concept that would literally show property owners how to manage their land.

What followed was months of pencils, photos and pagination. The Lake George Waterkeeper and the Fund's Board of Trustees compiled data and supplied it to be recreated visually. The process for each illustration was different, but included meetings to establish goals, reference material gathering, creation of a draft to make certain the concept was clear, pencil sketching, scanning, colorization, and captioning. Reference material was obtained on the water, and from above Lake George. 

The Fund will distribute these books to lake front homeowners, and give them out at several water quality seminars held around the lake this summer. Want to see more? You can find illustrations here.

BlogHer 2010 Recap

There are few events, outings or days, even, that pass in the life of a Tramp that don't produce a colorful story. BlogHer 2010 in New York City was no disappointment.

We endured preternaturally bright mornings with otherworldly beings.

"Never miss an opportunity to communicate." We tried to shut it off for the weekend, but creative never sleeps.

When we weren't mouthing off, we were scoping Martha Stewart's rooftop digs.

There was nightlife that allowed for partying with the youngin's,  a 12 year old to be exact.

A highlight of the weekend was seeing Amy's work displayed at the Kirtsy + BlogHer Voices of the Year Auction and Gala.

There was even the requisite celebrity siting a mere 2 minutes after stepping off the train at Penn Station.

Between the conference sessions bridging social media and worthwhile content, networking soirees with influencers, powerhouses and straight-up fun people and contemplative pow wows in the marathon elevator rides, we discovered that at the end of the day, big city or small town, a beautiful sunset, a kind word and a pair of comfortable shoes are things we can all agree make the world a better place.

National Bullseye, Baby

Agencies dream of clients that value the creative process, invite participation and cultivate imagination and collaboration. Our relationship with SaraBear Company has allowed us to participate in custom textile creation, website design and blog integration, packaging, and now celebration. 

We send a collective congratulations on the recent introduction of SaraBear Diaper Caddies® to the entirety of Babies "R" us stores nationwide after a wildly successful launch on the Babies "R" us registry, the most well-known registry in the world.