reason. The audience is subjected to corporate history, product features, market claims and promotional messages while sitting politely because there is nowhere else to go. The quality of the speaker matters enormously and having a title doesn’ t automatically translate into speaking compellingly. The audience become collateral damage in this mess of being stuck in an advertising blitz that they cannot opt out of. Doesn’ t every event have an implicit social contract with participants who give their time, attention, money, data, trust and presence in exchange for an experience that is expected to deliver something meaningful?
Then there is what is undeniably the most frustrating sponsorship experience of all- getting paid. Event owners are expected to deliver with military precision and this is not reciprocated where payments are concerned. Venues need deposits, caterers need payments, technical suppliers need their money, security teams need to be sorted out, speakers need confirmations, transport needs to be booked, and on and on and on, and event suppliers surely should not be told that“ accounts are processing it” when their invoices are long overdue?
The long marathon of chasing sponsorship money for months on end after the event has ended is just tragic. This matter of successful event execution and the money for it remaining somewhere in a sluggish internal corporate approval process needs to come to an end. It creates bad blood for reasons that go beyond cash flow, with the event owner ' s credibility on the line while the sponsor ' s internal processes remain comfortably insulated from the consequences.
These problems are sometimes layered with the restrictive commercial terms that many times have exclusivity clauses, that cause other potential partners to be turned away with the opportunity costs not factored in. Some instances have witnessed sponsor withdrawal putting the entire event at risk.
Speaking of risks … when two brands are placed together repeatedly, audiences naturally connect them much to the delight of the sponsor. The danger though for the event owner is that if the sponsor becomes embroiled in controversy, delivers poor customer service, suffers a reputational crisis or is accused of misconduct, the event property can be dragged into the fallout. The event owner has effectively lent its credibility to the sponsor, while simultaneously allowing the sponsor to attach its reputation to the event.
15 MAL74 / 26 ISSUE
What may start out as commercially attractive may become a reputational liability. But because sponsorship is often desperately needed, and many events are curated by people with good ideas but limited access to capital, the negotiating power becomes uneven and event owners become exposed. There is need to redefine these agreements and have sponsorship negotiations begin with value, not desperation.
Deep questions need to be asked including- What does each party want to achieve? What must remain non-negotiable about the event? What level of branding enhances rather than overwhelms the experience? What speaking opportunities genuinely add value? Who has final authority over programme content? What happens if the sponsor wants to withdraw? What does exclusivity actually cost the event owner? When will payment be made? How will disagreements be resolved? What happens when one party ' s reputation is damaged? What do we need to create together? These questions should be answered before the first banner goes up.
The sponsorship marketing culture needs an overhaul because the current imbalance is ultimately bad business. It creates resentment, compromises experiences, weakens event properties and encourages organizers to become permanently dependent in a very maladaptive way. Even after delivering a successful event, many organizers find themselves back at the sponsor ' s door the following season, essentially begging to be considered again as though the previous year ' s partnership never happened. This vicious cycle of torment must be broken with a call to sponsors to do better!
There is an equally strong call to event owners to step beyond the fear of the event not panning out without the‘ Big Brother’ because fear cannot be the fuel that fires up success- far from it. If the price of sponsorship is losing your voice, your identity, your audience or your ability to determine the future of your own property, then there is truly need to negotiate differently. Every event owner should examine what fear is driving their decisions and ask whether that fear is costing them more than the sponsorship is worth.
Carolyne Gathuru is the founder and director of strategy at LifeSkills Consulting. She has several years of experience in customer experience strategy development and training. You can commune with her on this or related issues via mail at: CGathuru @ life-skills. co. ke.
Event Owner’ s Sponsorship Checklist 1
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Know the value of your property: Be clear about what you have built before entering negotiations.
Separate sponsorship from ownership: Define precisely what the sponsor is buying in totality.
Protect the event ' s identity: Agree on how the two brands will appear together and separately.
Define who runs the show: Put operational authority down in writing with definitive clarity.
Outline speaking rights clearly: Agree who speaks, for how long, on what subject and in what context.
Agree payment milestones in advance: Build an event around a sponsorship commitment that exists both on paper and in reality with payment schedules.
Price exclusivity properly: If the sponsor wants an exclusive category, calculate the real opportunity cost and bill for that accordingly.
Stipulate the withdrawal clause: Agree what happens if the sponsor withdraws and what happens next.
Protect your reputation: Include provisions covering reputational damage, misconduct and material changes affecting either party.
Protect your audience: Ensure every activation genuinely improves the audience experience or drop it.
Control access to audience data: Be explicit about who owns event data and information and what is to be done with it.
Establish a single decision-making channel: Nominate authorized contacts and create a clear escalation process and follow it.
Never negotiate from desperation: Build enough resilience into the property that you can say no to a bad deal, even when you desperately want the money.
Measure the partnership, not just the event: At the end, review what each party actually received and created.