Is the sponsorship pie shrinking or growing? All research and numbers seem to indicate that it is growing. The annual IEG research shows that investment in sponsorship in North America (rights fees and activation dollars combined) is growing annually, even during the recession a few years back.

The Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study has shown the same trend for the past six years. When it is released officially in a couple of weeks at the Canadian Sponsorship Forum at the Montreal Grand Prix, I am sure it will show continued growth between last year and this year.

Imagine Canada indicated that corporate donors are switching to corporate sponsorship at a rate of 50% per annum. Research shows that brands are spending 15% or more on sponsorship, event and experiential marketing tod...

People buy from people they like and trust. Sure, you might buy a product from someone you don’t like, but there would be reasons for it, such as it was a necessity, there was no alternative at the time, or it was the least expensive. But that is what I call a transactional purchase. Sponsorship is not a series of transactional purchases-at least not successful sponsorships. Sure, there may be a sponsorship buy that is done through an advertising agency that looks at it as a media buy or promotional activation, but normally those sponsorships do not renew. They don’t get what they want.

To me, real sponsorship is about relationships-developing trust and belief that your partner (be it the brand or the property) is working in your best interests. They are committed to making the partn...

Where does sponsorship end and clutter begin?

OK, so there are limits. Many of you who have heard me speak or know me, also know my passion for the industry. I live and breathe sponsorship. When I go to an event or a building, I see missed opportunities. I notice places and opportunities that can be sold and where revenue can be increased. That is what I do for a living. But even I have to admit that there are limitations.

When we work for a sponsorship property, delve deeply and do our job correctly, we come up with hundreds and sometimes thousands of assets. Our job is to identify and determine everything that can be sold.

It is the job of the property to determine what it will sell or how much of anything it will sell. In our reports to clients, we indicate the level of income they should generate annually-often just abou...

^ digital activation

Some may say it is crossing the line between sponsorship and academia. Some may say it is innovative and delivers value to the sponsor, property, stakeholders, clients and constituents. Some claim it adds fodder to educational institutions defending brand infiltration of curriculum. And for others, it is the way of the modern world.

I am talking about the most recent corporate sponsorship activation with digital marketing. Through sponsorship agreements, brands are pushing the envelope of their digital marketing with an audience that lives and breathes social media. As Digital Trends and the Wall Street Journal recently reported, brands have begun sponsoring more than college gyms, libraries and buildings through naming. They have begun sponsoring college classes in the United States...