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Blessed Events

How to make a sponsorship pay off.

At a time when marketers obsess over delivering their messages digitally and scrupulously calculate the return on every ad dollar spent, many businesses are pursuing a more low-tech strategy -- hosting really fun parties. North American businesses are expected to spend $16.8 billion sponsoring events in 2008 -- charity galas, athletic contests, concert series, and the like -- according to IEG Sponsorship Report, a trade publication. That's an increase of 12.6 percent over 2007, the biggest jump since 2000. Why the interest? Chalk it up to so-called experiential marketing -- the idea that the best way to deepen the emotional bond between a company and its customers is by creating a memorable experience. "Today, it's all about interacting with brands," says William Chipps, the Sponsorship Report's senior editor.

But sponsoring events is not for the faint of heart. Success can depend on an array of variables, such as weather, catering, the number of seats in a room. There are endless options from which to choose, and prices range widely (see "A Buyer's Guide to Events," below). Industry data are scant when it comes to local and regional sponsorship deals, which means that measuring an event's impact can be tricky.

To get the most out of a sponsorship, decide at the outset what your goal is. If it's brand awareness you're after, select an event that draws a large crowd, ask for ample signage, and make sure you set up some sort of display of your product, preferably with free samples. If you want to drum up sales leads, focus on an event heavy on networking opportunities, and make sure you have a booth where people will gather. If it's prestige you seek, you might serve as a sponsor for an upscale event, such as a sit-down dinner with a prominent keynote speaker -- introduced by you, of course. Whatever you want, there's bound to be an event for you -- as shown by the four examples below.

Getting your product out there

The sponsor: The McCormick Distilling Company of Weston, Missouri, maker of 360 Vodka

The event: Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah

The cost: $400,000

When the organizers of Sundance Film Festival approached McCormick about paying for the privilege of being the festival's "official spirit," the company didn't take long to say yes. Like any self-respecting liquor company, McCormick sponsors a slew of cocktail parties. Its new vodka, 360, was promoted at more than 80 such events last year, at a cost of $1.5 million.

Sundance was a good fit, says Vic Morrison, McCormick's vice president of marketing, both for its Hollywood glamour and for its association with environmental issues. That's because 360 is billed as an eco-friendly product. Bottles are made from 85 percent recycled glass, labels are printed on 100 percent recycled paper, and McCormick's plant has all but eliminated its emission of sulfur dioxide. "What we try to do is align ourselves with environmentally friendly projects that also are about a certain lifestyle," says Morrison. "Sundance covered both of those for us."

Festivalgoers ultimately went through 150 cases of 360 Vodka at more than 50 events. The vodka's logo was also displayed all over Park City. Though the sponsorship consumed a fifth of the brand's annual marketing budget, Morrison was willing to take the leap, in part because he liked having 360's name appear alongside those of Sundance's other sponsors -- heavy hitters that included Microsoft, Delta, and Adobe. Morrison was pleased with the results and is in talks to sponsor other film festivals.

Building brand awareness

The sponsor: Kelly Benefit Strategies, a company in Hunt Valley, Maryland, that helps businesses set up employee-benefits programs

The event: BikeJam, a series of cycling races in Baltimore

The cost: $15,000 -- $20,000

John Kelly loves sports and always looks for ways to mix his personal and professional interests. His company spends $200,000 on athletic events, from a few thousand dollars to sponsor the singing of the national anthem at Orioles home games to nearly $20,000 to sponsor BikeJam, a cycling eventin Baltimore.

Kelly, an avid cyclist himself, got his feet wet by sponsoring an amateur team. Then he got involved with BikeJam, a citywide event that draws 10,000 spectators a year. The Kelly Cup, a 40-mile professional cycling race around Baltimore's Patterson Park, is part of BikeJam. From a branding perspective, the benefits of the race are obvious: It aligns the business with the concept of wellness and places it in the company of Toyota and Blue Cross Blue Shield, BikeJam's other sponsors.