Improve Sponsorship Management With Project Management

8/14/2019 Improve Sponsorship Management With Project Management

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http://www.protrain-canada.com

Sylvain Gauthier B.Eng. MBA, PMPProtrain Canada

About the Au thor

Sylvain Gauthier is a bilingual professional specializing in project management in the fieldof new product and business development. He holds a MBA from the Universite deMontreal and attained his PMP qualification in 1998.Sylvain has a solid background and extensive experience in business planning, costmanagement and the implementation of project management office for large corporations.

For the past 15 years he has worked with project teams with telecom service providers,equipment manufacturer, IT, TV broadcasting and e-business in Canada, US, Europe andAsia.Sylvains professional experience is centered on the practical application of ProjectManagement (PM) and Value Analysis (VA) Value Engineering (VE) principles andconcepts for improving product and processes costs.

Improve your sponsorship management results with project management!

When a company decides that part of its marketing mix, sponsorship of an event, a televisionprogram or an athlete is the right communication tool for their next campaign, they are reallydefining the needs of a project or a program. Sponsorship management is really perceived as
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marketing type of function where someone is managing the planning and execution of certainactivities where usually an exchange of visibility for money or other valuable assets happens. Infact, we could say that it is a formal agreement between two parties to deliver a set ofdeliverables by a certain time, at a certain level of performance or quality at a certain cost. That fitvery well with the definition of a project as per the Project Management Institute definition (PMI).The question becomes, if sponsorship management involved managing projects, could thesponsorship management world benefit from adopting the Project Management Body OfKnowledge (PMBOK) as guiding principles to manage project?

About Sponsorship managementSponsorship management is growing at a fast pace.On one side of the spectrum, when a property owner decide to create visibility tools integrated inits event, television program or personal performance with all kind of mechanism for a potentialinvestor to be associate with them, they also defining the needs for a project or program.On one side, the sponsor seek a project or program to invest in return of visibility that will improveits brand awareness, brand recognition, brand recall or brand association with a specific targetmarket containing well identify customer attributes. On the other side, the sponsee seekinvestment in visibility related type of projects derived from the main event which could also be abig project by itself . For example the Olympic games are by itself a project which trigger manyvisibility related projects such as the sponsorship of the TV broadcasting, the sponsoring of a

venue and many more.

Initial Situation Desired situation

The ideal situation for both parties is when they could merge together their project proposal intoone joint project. In order to achieve that optimum scenario it requires that both parties have

some common ground into managing sponsorship type of projects. The question at this stagebecome; Does the common ground facilitating this complete integration could be based on the 5key processes and nine body of knowledge framework from the PMBOK guide from PMI?

To answer that question we need to understand the following:- How does a corporation identify the needs for a sponsorship project through its

marketing mix strategy?- How does a sponsee build the elements require to propose a sponsorship project?- The typical anatomy of that type of project- What are the role and responsibilities of property owner and sponsorship managers?


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To understand how the need for a sponsorship project comes to life we will look at the frameworkfor decision making used by many marketers such as Mr. Peter Choi from Motion Asia

Management in Hong Kong. An outline for a sponsorship management framework is presentedand explained using actual case study.

Sponsorship project management context outline, initiation from a sponsor perspective

The framework is made of a series of activities that needs to be performed to finally get to theoutput that will be used to initiate the project. That output is called a sponsorship project contract

Activity 1At this stage we try to answer fundamental marketing questions to understand the needs of thebusiness such as

- What is our current context?

- What are our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats?- What is the desired situation?

It is important to set aside the sponsorship opportunity if one is know or one is push in order toreally capture the business needs based on the current situation versus the current proposal ortarget events. We are more concerned during that step with mid-long term needs (3 to 5 years tocome) versus next year objectives.The desired situation answer is the key to ensure that people understand the where we should beinstead the how we will be there? In a lot of cases, management will try to present a sponsorship

SponsorNeeds

Assessment

MarketingIntegrationStrategic fit

SettingSponsorshipObjectives

Leverage

Tie-inCross Impact

MeasurementStatement of

ObjectivesSOO document

Sponsee

Value PropositionProposal evaluation

Alignment

SOO and VP& Selection

Sponsorship

Projectcontract

SponsorNeeds

Assessment

MarketingIntegrationStrategic fit

SettingSponsorshipObjectives

Leverage

Tie-inCross Impact

MeasurementStatement of

ObjectivesSOO document

Sponsee

Value PropositionProposal evaluation

Alignment

SOO and VP& Selection

Sponsorship

Projectcontract


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opportunity as the answer to the desired situation and in facts it is a potential solution but notnecessary the desired situation at this stage.The desired situation should refer to geographic presence, product positioning, market share,target market customers, brand perception, awareness, recall etc.. Usually, it is closely related tomarketing mid-long term objectives for a product or in a market.

Activity 2Now that we understand what is the desired situation over the next 3 to 5 years we can identifiedobjectives that could be link to sponsorship program. Also if we meet these objectives what kindof benefits and advantages can we receive from it. To get an understanding of that we will answerthe following questions;

- What mid-long term objectives should we expect if we meet are at the desiredsituation?

- Which objectives could be met by enabling sponsorship programs?- What are the benefits and advantages of the desired situation?- How we will evaluate the best course of action versus these benefits?

Activity 3Independently of this study the organization is usually proceeding with a cycle of strategic

planning looking at its priorities, strategies and tactics for the upcoming years. It is important tovalidate how our desired situation and target objectives are tie to the strategic plan including themarketing plan. Questions to answer are

- How the desired situation and objectives are fitting with the strategic & marketingplans?

- Are there any projects in place in line with the desired situation and the targetobjectives?

Activity 4Rarely just the sponsorship of an event or other types of property whiteout the support of othercommunication mix tools such as advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, product launchor other form of communication, will allow the sponsor to meet its objectives. The tie-in andleverage comes into play when a message send through one of the communication variable tools

is reinforce and amplified by being linked with another variable. During this activity, we will try tounderstand how we could link the potential solution in line with the desired situation with othermarketing communication variables.

- Is there any potential link with:o Advertising?o Sales promotion?o Personal selling?o Direct marketing?o Promotional licensing?o Corporate & marketing PR?

- What objectives could be leverage by the sponsorship program?

Activity 5

To get the benefits and advantages identified when we have the target situation establish, we willneed measurement metrics. These metrics will also help monitor the effectiveness of oursponsorship program, will also be good project performance indicators in the context of projectmanagement.

- Do we have any metrics related to:o Brand recognition, recall and awareness?o Image and attitude?o Brand/service/product effects?o Media audits?o Behavioral measures?


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- What are the value improvement for:o Shareholders?o Customers or Society?o Employees?

Activity 6This activity requires the regrouping of all the previous activities into a document that summarizethe Statement of Objectives or SOO. This document provides all the guidance to themanagement for evaluating sponsorship proposal that will come to them. Because the sponsorwill not be creating events or television programs or athlete performance visibility, they will haveto evaluate what it is available in the market. With the SOO, the sponsors are well equipped tolook at proposal, identified which one seems to fill the needs and engage in further discussions. Atypical Statement of Objectives outline will be as follow.

Statement of Objectives (SOO) outline

Activity 7This is the step where for the first time the sponsor meet the sponsee usually through a

sponsorship proposal submit by the sponsee to them. The content that should be part of such aproposal, in this case we will call It Value proposition sponsorship proposal will be cover infurther details later on. Using its Statement of Objectives (SOO) , the sponsor is in good positionto perform a complete assessment of the value propositions in front of them , perform a gapanalysis and identify what needs to be add or adapt to be perfectly in line with their objectives.Obviously the bigger is the gap between the SOO and the value proposition the more it getsdifficult to get to a project contract.

Activity 8This alignment of the SOO and the VP is done between the sponsor and the sponsee throughdiscussions and negotiations. Usually visibility tools provided by the sponsee gets evaluate andrealigned towards the communications mix tactics, tie-in and leverage strategy identified in theSOO of the sponsor. Difficulties appear when the sponsee is working with many different

sponsors for its event which may have different SOO. Then it becomes a trade off discussion tofind the right balance between all parties .

Activity 9Once the sponsor and the sponsee agree on a common statement of work, both parties movetowards sealing the deal with a contract which become launch the initiation phase of theSponsorship project. Following the initiation phase, the next project processes are planning,executing, controlling and closing as per the PMBOK from PMI.

Sponsorship

Objectives

Corporate

Brand

Sales

Media

Personal

Target

Audiences

A,B,C,D,etc..

Cross Impact, Tie in

Leverage

Advertising

Sales Promotion

Personal Selling

Direct Marketing

Measurement,

effectiveness

Media audits

Brand recognition, recall

Brand awareness

Image and attitude

service/product effect

Promotional Licensing

Corporate PR Behavioral measures

Service/Product

Sponsorship

Objectives

Corporate

Brand

Sales

Media

Personal

Target

Audiences

A,B,C,D,etc..

Cross Impact, Tie in

Leverage

Advertising

Sales Promotion

Personal Selling

Direct Marketing

Measurement,

effectiveness

Media audits

Brand recognition, recall

Brand awareness

Image and attitude

service/product effect

Promotional Licensing

Corporate PR Behavioral measures

Service/Product


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CASE STUDY : CHINA NETCOM COMMUNICATION (CNC) SPONSORSHIP OF FORMULAONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TELEVISION BROADCAST IN 2001

Project : TV sponsorship of the television broadcast in China of theFormula One World Championship

Owner/ Client : China Netcom Communication (CNC), Beijing , China

Executive Management team : James . CNCPeter Choi Motion Asia Management

Project background :The CNC company a growing telecommunication company inChina deploying fiber optics capabilities across the countrywas looking for a communication tools that would allow themto be associate with Speed, High tech and innovation. FormulaOne was the right communication vehicle and sponsoring thebroadcasting live of race and qualification allow them toassociate their brands with the best in class in technology.

Framework overview :Activity 1 - Growing Telecom Company

- Market demand exceed supply,- Needs for bandwidth, speed and quality of service- Desired situation; being recognize as an international caliber

companies with cutting edge technology and innovation

Activity 2 - Brand association with international attributes of Lifestyle,Technology and innovation

- Market share with early adapters for internet and wireless

Activity 3 - Fit perfectly with the business strategy to growth andexpand across the country with technology

Activity 4 - Leverage and tie-in possibilities with TV advertising, on site

promotion display

Activity 5 - Key indicators Coverage 700 millions Chinese reach 40% Brand awareness and recall with 21-35 yrs old

Activity 6 - SOO done based on activity 1 to 5

Activity 7 - Review proposals from property owners selected TVBroadcasting of F1 due to attribute of innovation, international,lifestyle and technology driven.

Activity 8 - Alignment of the TV program visibility billboards with the TVadvertising commercial. Special content were creates to buildon the message of technology. The final SOW covered 17weekend (race and qualification) with visibility during pre showand magazine.

Activity 9 - The project plan included deliverables in terms of content suchas 2 TV commercials, set of bumpers, the production of F1features integrating CNC technology and visibility and thebroadcasting of more then 3 minutes of material per show.


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As you have probably notice, the sponsorship process meets the sponsee one at activity 7.Activities 7, 8 and 9 are done jointly between the two parties and becomes the initiation phase ofthe upcoming project.To understand better how the sponsee got to this stage, we need to look at the steps that theyneed to do to get their.

Sponsorship project management context outline, initiation from a sponsee perspective

To be in position to bring a proposal to a potential sponsor, a sponsee (property owner) mustcreates area of cooperation within its activities that will provide some benefits in return of fundingor other exchangeable goods ( airline tickets, free seats , VIP box etc..). Usually the sponsee willexchange visibility tools for the sponsor in re turn of money or direct cost elements of his activityor event. The visibility tools translate into media value for the sponsors and sometimes offer amore effective way than traditional advertising for reaching its target customers by being morefocus and associate to an event or activity that the customer enjoy.The typical steps to go through to get to the point they can generate a value proposition topotential sponsors are the following:

Step 1The first step is to describe what is the property, where is it happening, who is involved, in orderto familiarize the sponsor about what you have to offer. Any historic or background info isimportant to be put in perspective.

PropertyDescription

Visibilitytools

platform

Value/Benefits

description

Media valueCalculation

TargetDemo-

graphics

ValueProposition

LetterOf

Introduction

SponsorshipProposal

PropertyDescription

Visibilitytools

platform

Value/Benefits

description

Media valueCalculation

TargetDemo-

graphics

ValueProposition

LetterOf

Introduction

SponsorshipProposal


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Step 2The target market demographics also called hard data cover by the events or activities is key tounderstand and present. Important data such as age, race, familial status, income, lifestyle etc...should be known and in the case of a new events, targeted. Also when possible the sponseeshould spend some times defining the psychographics also called the soft data of its targetmarket such as for example; risk takers, value for money oriented, early adopters, tech lovers etc..

Step 3The sponsee must create some visibility tools as part of its events or activities which will translateinto media value. In a case of an event at a venue, space at strategic location could be offer tothe sponsor for display of its products, its brand or others, visibility for the sponsor on pressrelease, naming of the event, communication material to promote the event, stage forpresentation and there is much more. The idea is to develop what it is called a visibility platformallowing the sponsor to use the different tools to leverage its results. There is a multitude of waysto provide visibilities depending if its an event, a TV program, a fund raising activity, a sports orothers.

Step 4The next step consists of describing the tangible and intangible benefits of being associated withthis event or the property. Things like its potential return in terms of visibility, of perception by the

customers, sometimes sales increase, brand awareness, brand recall, brand association andmany more potential benefits needs to be carefully explained at this stage.

Step 5A lot of the value provided by sponsoring a property is difficult to evaluate in terms of valuebecause it cannot be bought separately. For example; for a sponsor that decides to be associatewith an Indy race car team and pay a certain amount to be visible on the car during all races alsobenefits of VIP passes and special treatment (meet the drivers, visit the garage, lunch with theteam etc..) for its customers. This tool could easily contribute for the sponsor to the signature of abig contract with its customer and it was not possible to buy that (VIP treatment) withoutsponsoring the team.Even though its is not easy to do, the sponsee must convert its visibility into a media value. Theidea here is to provide a comparison benchmark to the sponsor that if they would go outthere and

try to purchase the equivalent offering in advertising (television, radio, print media, billboard etc..)how much it would cost using rate card produce by different media in the market concerned. Forexample; if a company sponsor a television program and will have a opening billboard of 20 secwith its name shown and said , how much does that worth in equivalent TV advertising using a 15sec TV rate card.

Step 6This step corresponds to the integration of all the element of the proposal. It is at this step wherethe sponsee spend the time to understand how to customize its proposal to align to the targetsponsor needs. The value proposition should not be the same to all sponsors that we target. It isimportant to start talking the same language of the specific sponsor we target using its ownproducts, advertising message, to place them in the context of being associate with the property.The best description for it would tailor made value proposition!

Step 7At this stage, the sales process gets engage by the sponsee to find a sponsor. Before sendingdetail presentation packages, it is important for the sponsee to identify carefully potentialsponsors based on their fits and seek a first level of interest. To do that the sponsee prepare ashort summary 2 to 5 pages max describing the value proposition. If the sponsor is interest, It willask for more details so they can evaluate your offer versus their own SOO.


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Step 8Once the sponsor has express some level of interest , they will ask for more details and in somecases a presentation. At that time the property owner is really offering the sponsorship proposalwhich is reviewed by the sponsor using its SOO. This step is linking directly with the activity # 7 ofthe sponsor. If proposal has the best fit there will be a period of alignment leading to thesponsorship project contract (including the Statement of Work SOW).

CASE STUDY : DEVELOPMENT OF A VALUE PROPSOTION FOR THE SPONSORSHIP OFTHE TELEVISION BROADCASTING OF THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUEIN CHINA

Project : TV sponsorship of the television broadcast in China of theNational Hockey league

Property representative : Motion Asia Management

Executive Management team : Sylvain Gauthier Protrain ChinaMarie Laure Liao Logic International

Project background :Motion Asia Management has approached the National HockeyLeague head office based in New York to developed a valueproposition for its property for the television broadcasting inChina. Assuming a successful connection with a sponsor toinitiate a project, the TV rights would be sold to Motion AsiaManagement to be exploit. Motion Asia Management developedthe value proposition, here is a summary of the content.

Value proposition overview :Step 1 - Half hour magazine per week(highlights, best play, news etc..)

- 1 game per week during season,- NHL all star game- Playoff & Stanley cup series

Step 2 - Gender 35-54 male 68% female 32%- Bachelor degree 20.1% higher degree 11.8%- Income $100K+ 15.9% , $70k + 33.1% $50k+ 49.5%

Step 3 - Show Name, Opening Closing billboard, transition bumper,studio design with logo, presentation board (best goal, assitetc..) and other insertion

Step 4 - Ownership of the product, association with an internationalSport, more than 25000 visibility spots a year, reach morethan 150 million people a year (cumulative viewers).

Step 5 - Media value superior of $US10 million a year

Step 6 - Value proposition was completely package with audio andvideo ready for potential sponsor presentation

The value proposition of the property owner becomes is document to link with and answer thesponsor Statement of Objectives (SOO).The alignment of the value proposition with the statement of objectives becomes the initiationphase of a new sponsorship project that require the same PM discipline as any other type ofprojects


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Author: Sylvain Gauthier B.Eng. MBA, PMPEmail : [email protected]: June, 2004For : Project Management Magazine in Beijing

About Protrain Canada: Protrain Canada is a Global Registered Education Providers from PMIand is registered in Hong Kong and Montreal.

Address: Protrain Canada2550 Blvd Daniel JohnsonLaval Quebec, CanadaTel : 514 433 8223
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Improve Sponsorship Management With Project Management

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