The economy stinks and budgets are tight: the perfect scenario for marketers to commit to partnerships with sports, arts, entertainment, cause and association properties.
Why? Because by combining the value of what each partner brings to the table, they achieve something worth far more than either could earn on their own, making sponsorship the smart marketing choice in economically challenging times.
Sponsorship delivers business-building results for corporate partners while ensuring that local, national and global organizations are able to survive and thrive. Unlike other marketing vehicles, sponsorship is a sales and market-share driver that also communicates interest in and commitment to the vital events and organizations that consumers and customers care about.
That idea, combined with real-world examples and documented proof of the medium's value, lie behind IEG's 26th annual sponsorship conference: Singularity: Ideas So Big They Change Everything. The event will be held March 8 to 11, 2009 in Chicago.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Nowhere else will you find such a diverse collection of pioneering leaders as the conference's line-up of keynote speakers. From top executives at two of the world's smartest sponsors to the developer of a groundbreaking series of properties, a world-renowned futurist, a game-changing management expert, and the most famous motivator of all time, these six innovators will change the way you think about sponsorship, events, community and the future:
Peter Diamandis, chairman/CEO, X PRIZE Foundation, creator of the $ 10 million Ansari X PRIZE awarded to the developers of SpaceShipOne and of four descendant competitions including the Google Lunar X PRIZE and Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, will demonstrate the power of combining business-building sponsorship and strategic philanthropy for mind-blowing results.
Sam Hill, senior managing director, FTI Helios Consulting, and corporate strategist and advisor to some of the world's largest businesses, will share his latest insights into how to deal with changing economic, social, political and other forces, as well as prepare for big changes coming around the bend.
Rolf Jensen, chief imagination officer, Dream Company, who first identified the importance of storytelling in selling products and services, and now reveals the new directions you will need to go to connect with customers and consumers and stay ahead of the competition.
Johan Jervoe, corporate vice president, global marketing, McDonald's Corp., will explain how a promotion that involved no McDonald's branding --an activation around its TOP worldwide Olympic sponsorship--became one of the company's most successful marketing programs and is causing marketers around the globe to look much more closely at the concept dubbed "dark marketing."
Tony Robbins, thought leader, entrepreneur, life coach and philanthropist, will bring his one-of-a-kind ability to inspire peak performance as he addresses how to succeed in tough times.
Keld Strudahl, international marketing director, Carlsberg Breweries, will present an inside look at how Carlsberg has developed its successful sponsorship strategy around soccer, providing a blueprint for maximizing partnerships through integrated messaging that dramatically lifts sales and market share--delivering unbeatable return on investment.
FEATURED PRESENTATIONS
Presentations by leading sponsors offer unprecedented insight into the challenges, objectives, structures, strategies and best practices of corporate marketers who are doing it right. Representing a wide range of industry categories, these presenters are the best and brightest:
Liz Cahill, vice president, marketing and communications, Lee Jeans, will discuss how she has melded cause marketing--in this case the wildly successfulLee National Denim Day--with the brand's extensive online social marketing efforts, and share best practices from the VF Corp. brand's experience using Web 2.0 to bolster the effectiveness of its involvement in fighting breast cancer.
John Doig, senior vice president of marketing, Scotiabank, will outline why Canada's third-largest bank chose to increase its sponsorship spend 50 percent rather than use additional measured media to compete with deeper-pocketed competitors.
Suzanne Hamm, chief marketing officer, Stanford Financial Group Co., will delve into Stanford's unique approach to managing philanthropic and marketing investments together, and why the company requires each of its sponsorships to have a tie to a cause and insists philanthropy be approached in a strategic manner.
Jeff Hayzlett, chief business development officer and vice president, Eastman Kodak Co., will address how to reprioritize a sponsorship portfolio when a new business direction demands it. He will discuss the choices Kodak has made in dramatically shifting its use of the medium to reflect its evolving business. They include new initiatives in sports and entertainment to support multiple B2B and B2C objectives, and the decision to end two decades as a worldwide Olympic partner.
Tim Rosa, director of brand & lifestyle marketing, 2K Sports, will highlight how the video game label is stretching the boundaries of traditional sponsorship--through deals such as its partnership with the Pitchfork Music Festival and event owner Pitchfork Media--as well as establishing itself at the confluence of sports, music and video game culture through its title of the annual hip hop Bounce Tour.
Billy Sanez, director of global advertising, promotions and corporate communications, American Airlines, who will show how the world's largest airline has responded to a bleak economic outlook with strategic adjustments to its sponsorship program. He will discuss how to cut back without cutting out the heart of a program, as well as why the carrier is also making new investments in properties it believes will deliver ROI.
John Stamatis, director of sports marketing, Pepsi-Cola North America, will address the beverage giant's ahead-of-the-curve approach to activation--including digital and broadcast extensions--that fully involves consumers and immerses them in the culture of the sports they are passionate about.
Adam Weber, brand manager, TAG, The Procter & Gamble Co. will copresent with David Caruso of ACME Brand Content Co., taking the audience behind the scenes of the TAG body spray brand's unprecedented partnership with Island Def Jam Music Group to form TAG Records, a hip hop record label. The pair will show how this singular idea creates an entirely new conversation and relationship with the target audience and establishes credibility, relevance and authenticity in a way no 30-second spot ever could.
WORKSHOPS
Workshops presented by sponsors, properties and agencies fulfill the many needs of an audience representing a wide variety of property and sponsor types, as well as diverse levels of experience:
Accenture's Steve Leland brings years of experience and a straight-forward approach to his interactive session where pitches from the audience are critiqued by the session leader and other participants.
Amica Insurance's Vince Burks offers a lively and informative talk-show format addressing topics ranging from "proposal tidbits that seal the deal" to "incorporating emotion into your sponsorships."
Canadian Tourism Commission's Dan Melesurgo and Ava Sones on how to maximize the value of business-to-business partnerships, including how to stand out from the clutter when exclusivity is not available.
Chevron's Steve Woodhead, MillerCoors' Tom Crawford and Visa's Jennifer Rowland form an A-list panel to review ideas, opportunities and challenges submitted by the audience in need of expert feedback.
Dove Canada's Sharon McCloud on using sponsorship to persuade consumers to care about your brand. She will use Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty and its live-event activation to demonstrate the power of emotional connections in securing long-term brand growth.
Siemens Healthcare's Barbara Sivek on leveraging philanthropic efforts to stand out in trade show and other B2B event environments.
Sprint Nextel Corp.'s Sarah Hutchins on what you and your attorneys need to know about sponsorship. Sprint's top sponsorship lawyer will be joined by expert property attorney Mary Hutchings Reed to discuss drafting contracts that protect both sides.
Wells Fargo's Constance Mosher on the latest developments in the topsy-turvy financial services sector, including the latest hot buttons and current needs of players in the category.
Assn. of Christian Schools Int'l's Jan Stump; Emergency Nurses Assn.'s Pam Block; and Professional Convention Management Assn.'s Sheriff Karamat on top sponsorship strategies for associations and membership organizations.
Breeders' Cup's Peter Land on how the property completely revamped its sponsorship packaging strategy to offer significantly more value to its largest sponsors and thus maximize revenue.
Dallas Center for the Performing Arts' Keri Kaiser and New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Peter Hansen on how arts properties can forge marketing-driven partnerships that perform for sponsors, audiences and the properties themselves.
Junior Achievement Worldwide's Thomas Dewar on how the organization has grown its sponsorship revenue more than tenfold to nearly $ 32 million.
Maverick Business Adventures' Dan Schorr on how to successfully market a property with a small--but elite--audience to national brands.
NHL's Larry Gelfand on maximizing digital rights to strengthen connections with fans and increase a property's value to sponsors.
New Jersey Nets' Chris Brahe on how to take a fresh look at a property's saleable inventory and craft new offerings that include more than just exposure benefits.
UrbanDaddy's Lance Broumand on building out the value equation for non-traditional sponsorship opportunities, such as his invitation-only, Web-based newsletter for upscale male city dwellers.
Creative Presence Partners' Vince Thompson on integrating sponsorship across channels and tapping today's technology to create new consumer touchpoints.
Millward Brown's Ann Green on determining the image you are buying or selling.
Plus:
Can't-miss sessions led by the All Stars of the IEG conference, longtime audience favorites Gail Alofsin of Newport Harbor Corp., Rick Jones of FishBait Marketing, Jed Pearsall and Bill Doyle of Performance Research and Rob Prazmark of 21 Marketing.
A series of in-depth workshops for both sponsors and properties led by IEG's senior analysts and advisors on a variety of critical and cutting-edge topics.
One-on-one guaranteed 15-minute meetings with one of our Sponsors In Residence
More than 60 in-depth, small group round-table discussions on topics of specific interest
A new pre-conference seminar, Selling More to Buyers with Less, which will focus on sales and renewal strategies in these complex and challenging times. The Sunday seminar will include participation and expert guidance from a select group of our Sponsors In Residence.
IEG's annual conference is the premier meeting ground for more than 1,200 sponsors, agencies, media and sports, arts, event and entertainment marketers worldwide.
For a complete agenda, visit http://www.IEG2009.com or call IEG at 1-800/834-4850 (or 312/944-1727).
Singularity costs $ 1,895 per person. Selling More to Buyers with Less costs $ 499, $ 399 for Singularity attendees.
IEG offers services that include sponsorship consulting, competitive intelligence and valuation. IEG also publishes IEG Sponsorship Report, the international biweekly newsletter on sponsorship; the IEG Sponsorship Sourcebook, the definitive guide to sponsors, properties and agencies; and other industry publications and resources.
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