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?

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. 

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!

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.

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.

Trampoline proudly announces a new partnership with Merrimack College in North Andover, MA.

Merrimack, recently named a 2011 Best College in the Northeast by the Princeton Review, offers undergraduate degrees in liberal arts,  business, science & engineering, and education, among others.

They're especially proud of their Division I Men's Hockey Team.

Derek and Sean toured the campus recently, just 25 minutes north of Boston, and loved the bridge in the center of campus. Trampoline is making a habit of doing business near reflecting pools. 

Merrimack is a Catholic College based on the Augustinian Tradition of scholarship and service to others. 2,000 students from 25 states and 16 countries will decend on the 220 acre campus this September.

The Trampoline Team is excited to begin positioning Merrimack College, as it begins a new chapter with Chris Hopey as President. 

Success is never a given.

Even when your client is as, ah, as connected, as Christ Church United Methodist of Glens Falls.

You hope, fervently even, that you will succeed, but you don't truly know until you get a sign. 

It took a few weeks, but the sign finally came. It was thanks to the friendly and very wry Casper at the First Baptist Church of Glens Falls just around the corner.

Amen.

No sense gilding the lily. Jake became a Tramp this summer and this fall he'll officially become a dad, with the little slice of perfection you see above growing into another Sox fan even as we speak. Our congratulations to The Haddens!

Northeastern University's College of Professional studies has been working on an updated approach to social media, and Trampoline has been providing web updates and communication support. Recently, two Tramps headed east to capture some video interviews of the CPS staff. Sean enjoyed visiting his old stomping grounds, even hopping the Red Line with Derek to share a pitcher at John Harvard's in Cambridge.

The NU campus sprawled across Huntington Ave. Our location was in the shadow of the Prudential Building. It was great to get to know the faculty and staff members at CPS. We were able to ask the right questions with the help of the marketing team, who had some nice things to say about working with Trampoline.

At the end of a long day, we were fortunate to catch up with our old pals Andy Riley from Digitas, Vance Kiviranna from MarketingDrive and Ali Riley from Thompson Safaris. The ride back to NY was dominated by a Red Sox / Yankees game on the radio. We rooted and argued, but agreed that Brett Gardner is sporting some serious cab doors.

Mack Collier (@mackcollier) was tweeting that the issue most companies have with blogs (after "not having one") is this: Failing to deliver relevant or quality content and an inability to use it for business development. We have certainly been guilty of the blog as press release or portfolio approach.

Mulling what Mack said, it occurs to me that we might be able to talk a bit about "the sell." It really doesn't matter what the product or cause is. Seriously. Just like social media doesn't have a back door secret to being a cure-all for your marketing woes, the sell cannot be a sham. There are charts and graphs, how to books and lecture series presenting all the ways in which you can magically do x, y or z, but when it comes down to it, it's just like losing weight.

It's about the person.

The honesty.

The accountability.

Resolve. Tenacity. Willingness. Focus.

The sell is knowing who you are talking to and how what you are selling pertains to them. I'm not talking about amortizing the cost of a vacuum cleaner out for 3 years so that it is really only 23 cents a day. That's crap for a person on a budget— smoke and mirrors, nothing more. The sell shouldn't be speculative or projecting some feel good thing that at the end of the day does not benefit the person.

Do you believe what you are selling? Do you really believe that if I do what you are asking— wear it, eat it, buy it, give it— that I am genuinely going to reap the benefits?

Or, when the door is closed and the camera is off is the truth that you are just chasing a number, a goal and I am but a direct line or an unfortunate detour along that run?

We are people. Each of us with our own insecurities, capabilities, advantages and capacities. If, when you offer the sell, you do not sincerely take those things into account, if you put your own motives ahead of how I feel, you will fail. You may get me this time, but when the buzz of your potion wears off, I'll be left feeling used or swindled.

Social media, consumers and your bottom line will all eventually reveal the truth in whether you are offering something of value or are just one more snake oil salesman trying to steal my last dollar.

How you do what you do is up to you, but if relevance and quality are central to success, are you on a course to fail?

There is the client experience and then there's the *client* experience. Ken Reynolds is the latter, pushing us harder, cracking us up and generally reminding us that we have really cool jobs. Ken knows cool jobs, he is in the golf simulator business.

We're working on a number of the things for him, but our favorite is the logo.

Why?

Because Ken calls it his "Tramp Stamp."