Inside Sponsorship

Supanova Comic-Con & Gaming Expo has been the welcoming home of Australia’s pop culture fandom since 2000; a place where fans inspired by imaginary worlds emanating from comics, sci-fi, fantasy, anime, gaming, nostalgia, and literature have been able to come together to celebrate. A place to rejoice in cosplay and also a place to express their inner geek and their inner child.

What used to be considered nerdy and not really mainstream has well and truly shifted into the spotlight in recent times. Some of that can be attributed to the rise in popularity of esports as well as the never-ending releases of superhero movies.

At Supanova, supa-star celebrities, fan-clubs, exciting exhibitors, and exclusives have been woven in with entertainment technology, collectables, and toys.

Whether they are seven, or seventy, Supanova boasts an incredibly engaged audience who have huge passion for the content. That presents a great opportunity for brands through sponsorship.

Listen in as Patrick Bradley, Business Development, Brand Partnerships, takes us inside sponsorship at Supanova.

You can learn more at www.supanova.com.au and connect with Patrick via email on patrick at @supanova.com.au or via LinkedIn.

During the show, Patrick talks about Supanova’s dedicated sponsorship website, sponsor.supanova.com.au, which includes more information on the MWave case study discussed.

Also joining us is Sam Irvine, SponServe’s GM – Product, to discuss his latest blog which highlights some of the things that we can all learn from Budweiser’s activations as an official partner of the FIFA World Cup.

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Having been formed in since 1889, 129 years ago, Brentford FC endured a nomadic existence, playing at five different home grounds before, in 1904, settling in at Griffin Park. And, that’s where they’ve played for the past 114 years!

Excitingly, however, Brentford are set to move into a new home ground late next year.

Our guest this episode is James Parkinson, Commercial Director at Brentford Football Club. James joins us to talk about the challenges of managing a commercial program in such a competitive market as London as well as the excitement of the impending new stadium and how that will impact his commercial team.

If you’d like to connect with James, you can do so LinkedIn or visit the Club's site at www.brentfordfc.com

In the past few weeks, sports betting has been legalised in the USA; something which has not been the case for a very long time in much of the country. As such, joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is SponServe’s Managing Director, Mark Thompson, who has looked at why sports betting and sponsorship is good for the industry.

Enjoy.

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Just recently, and boasting 45 million players of the game, Epic Games announced that it will provide $100 million in prize pool money for Fortnite competitions in the first year of competitive gaming. Plus, the IOC will shortly be holding a summit, to better understand esports, which could be a precursor to inclusion in future Olympic games.

Late in 2017, Essendon Bombers Football Club, a Melbourne based team who compete in the Australian Rules Football League, acquired Abyss esports team, in partnership with Executive Sports and Entertainment and, it included, a full re-branding of the team to the Bombers and full integration with the football club and its operations structures.

Rohan Sawyer is the managing director of Executive Sports and Entertainment and is also the Executive Director of Bombers Esports and he joins us to discuss their commercial program as well as his experiences as GM Commercial and Marketing at the Rugby League World Cup 2017 and Head of Commercial at the Australian Turf Club.

If you’d like to connect with Rohan you can do so on LinkedIn or on Twitter using or visit www.esetheagency.com. You can find out more about Bombers Esports on Facebook and Twitter and more about the Essendon Bombers Football Club on their website.

Also joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is SponServe’s General Manager – Product, Sam Irvine, who has looked at why working with your charity partners has become more than just a donation.

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A lot of people think sponsorship is a complex beast; that it is a hard job. Not Jackie Fast who founded Slingshot Sponsorship in 2010, from her apartment, with only a laptop, basically because no one would give her a job in sponsorship.

Jackie grew Slingshot Sponsorship from a start-up to an international, award-winning agency with a head office in London as well as offices in Singapore and Oslo.

It’s not so much that Jackie thinks sponsorship is easy. It’s more that she’s started a personal crusade to help people who she believes are making stupid mistakes that hurt their sponsorship programs; both rights holders and brands.

Recently, after selling Slingshot in 2017 to The Marketing Group, Jackie wrote a book, Pinpoint – How challenging the norm is the only route to success in selling sponsorship. Jackie joins us on the show to discuss some of the learnings from the book as well as her wider views on the sponsorship industry.

Also joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is our MD, Mark Thompson, who has written about the keys to using talent in sponsorship.

Enjoy.

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Do you find hard researching and getting a foot in the door with those you want to discuss sponsorship with?

Prospecting and researching potential sponsors is a a unique beast in the sponsorship industry. It’s definitely not the same as other industries. It can be a challenge to figure out a prospect’s position in the market, their appetite, their cycles, and their objectives.

Lots of great advice around sales is applicable to the sponsorship industry. However, prospecting and approaching leads needs a little bit more attention and a refined approach.

That’s why Brian McCue, Senior Director of Sponsorship Sales at Winmo, joins us on the show to help us navigate the tricky waters of prospecting sponsorship leads.

Brian has helped hundreds of non-profits, event organizations, and professional sports teams build partnerships with major brands. From small non-profits in Alaska, to large professional sports organizations like the LA Lakers, Brian has helped companies of all shapes and sizes go after new partnerships and sponsorships more efficiently.

Also joining us on the show is Sam Irvine, our GM Product, who, in his regular blog series, has penned a letter to his younger self, when he was a commercial manager. This time, Sam has provided some awesome advice on why sponsorship and membership is a marriage made in heaven.

Enjoy.

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How many of you, who rely so heavily on traditional inventory, things such as signage, uniform branding, home game activations, tickets, and hospitality, would struggle if you could no longer offer them to your sponsors?

What about if you are a rights holder who enjoys long and regular periods of sustained awareness and engagement, like an annual twenty plus week season? Would your job be tougher if you couldn’t rely on that high-profile regularity?

How would you even approach your job without those things?

While they are interesting hypothetical questions for most you, they are the reality for Ian Sargeant, Commercial Manager at Paralympics New Zealand. In this episode, you’ll learn about how Ian and the organisation deliver a highly successful commercial program, without the plethora of traditional benefits most rights holders boast, as we go inside sponsorship at Paralympics New Zealand.

You can learn more about Paralympics New Zealand, connect with Ian on LinkedIn, or email him directly on isargeant at paralympics.org.nz.

You want more? Lucky that our MD, Mark Thompson, also joins us to discuss a very interesting topic, and not one that is talked about a lot, that being the sponsorship landscape in terms of understanding third-party influencers who could be vital to success.

Enjoy.

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Working in sponsorship is great. Yes, it is challenging, but there are loads of great aspects and it certainly beats working in some boring admin role in some boring office, right?

For some, however, that can lead to staying in a role for a really long time and, when a move does come, moving to something very similar. Someone who has avoided that path, and gained a wealth of experience over some really great roles, is Sarah Lewis, Business Development Consultant - Sponsorship, Events and Luxury Tourism Specialist at Sursum Consulting.

Sarah joins us on the show to share her stories and experiences which are really insightful for both rights holders and brands. There is lots of chat about activations and some of the challenges along the way including her being a graffiti artist!

If you would like to connect with Sarah you can do so on LinkedIn. Sarah also talks about the upcoming Partnership Huddle where, if you get in contact with her, you can get a discount code for your registration.

Sam Irvine, SponServe's GM of Product, also join us and shares his Recipe – 5 Key Ingredients For Fantastic Hospitality

Enjoy.

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Events, either stand-alone or as part of a rights holder, such as team community days or end of season functions, bring people together where they are highly engaged and usually with really positive attitudes.

For rights holders, there is a finite amount of time to deliver the event and, in turn, deliver for sponsors. There’s not a lot of wriggle room if something goes wrong. Still, for sponsors, events can be highly attractive because of a large gathering of highly engaged people from their target audience.

Whether you are a rights holders or a brand, all of this presents not just a big opportunity, but also a unique set of challenges in executing sponsorship.

Someone who is well placed to discuss the unique challenges, how to navigate them, and enjoy success, is Roberta Vigilance. Since 1997, Roberta, through her event planning company, Vigilance Style & Grace, has consulted and taught how to plan sponsored events and secure sponsors from local through to corporate brands and Roberta joins us on the show to discuss all things event sponsorship.

If you would like to connect with Roberta, you can do so on LinkedIn, Twitter or visit www.eventsandsponsors.com

Mark Thompson, our MD, also joins us to discuss his latest blog - Sponsorship Reporting in a Bad Year – How to Tell a Good Story in Hard Times

Enjoy.

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Whether you are a brand, or a rights holder, you’ve no doubt been in situations where a sponsorship has gotten off on the right foot, and with all the right intentions, but then one, or both, parties have struggled to bring the sponsorship to life and activate it well.

It is easy to see how it can happen; especially if there is no explicit conversation about the additional investment that sponsors need to make towards activation which is over and above the investment of the sponsorship agreement.

The big brands have in-house teams that concentrate on sponsorship and so this isn’t usually too much of a problem. However, there are a number of medium and smaller sized businesses, who, combined, have a significant sponsorship presence right around the world, yet may lack the knowledge and resources to activate their sponsorships well. In fact, they can often expect the rights holder to make it all ‘happen’.

It is a shame, or even a weakness at times, because everyone wants the sponsorship to work.

One person who, while working on the rights holder side, identified this as a significant issue, and a gap in the market, and decided to strike out on his own in order to address it, is Aaron Warburton, Director of The Sponsorship Department, a boutique sponsorship agency in Sydney. Aaron joins us to discuss his work and starting his own business, some of the challenges, a lot of the great stuff and also what he has in store for The Sponsorship Department for 2018. Aaron is an experienced operator and has lots of great insights. So, whether you one day want to strike out on your own, or want an inside perspective from a rights holder or from the brand side, there is something for everyone in the chat.

If you would like to connect with Aaron, you can do so on LinkedIn, Twitter or visit www.thesponsorshipdepartment.com.au

Sam Irvine, our GM of Product, joins us to discuss five things he has learnt from the Big Bash League, Australia's premier T20 competition.

Enjoy.

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Trend number 5 in Nielsen Sports’ Commercial Trends in Sport 2017, is live sport gaining traction on OTT and social media. One man who has been on the OTT trail, from the early days, and even by his own admission, maybe a little too early, is Chris Wagner EVP and co-founder of NeuLion.

For 14 years, NeuLion has been a worldwide leader specialiSing in digital video broadcasting, distribution and monetization. NeuLion deliver live and on-demand content to every Internet-enabled device imaginable.

Chris has held numerous executive positions in the technology sector. The growth of internet television on computers, tablets, mobile, and internet-connected devices, has given Chris an opportunity to work closely with the largest brands in the sports and entertainment industry including the NFL, NHL, UFC, NBA, Univison, Dish Networks and many others.

Chris joins us to discuss the OTT landscape and how rights holders can capitalise on it.

If you would like to connect with Chris, you can do so on LinkedIn, Twitter or email using chris.wagner at neulion.com. Be sure to download NeuLion's free eBook From Lead To Customer: Turning Free Trials Into Paid Accounts.

Also joining us on the show is Sam Irvine, SponServe’s GM of Product, who, in this ongoing series, ponders his past life as a commercial manager at a rights holder and what he wishes he knew. Then, he pens a letter to his younger self.

Enjoy.

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