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A lot of people are very good at their jobs but they suck at public speaking.

It’s not that they are shy, but because they don't know what to say.

Most speakers talk about what they want to hear. Very few talk about what you want to hear.

Great speakers teach. Bad speakers preach. Yesterday at the IEG Sponsorship Conference, there were two great examples.

The teacher was Peter Diamandes creator of the X-prize. The preacher...will go nameless. No sense in bashing.

The teacher knew that his audience wanted to learn. The brands in the room wanted to be educated on how to look for breakthrough properties that can generate exponential returns. The properties wanted to learn how you sell what's never been done before.

What did I learn?

• Rich individuals can be a sponsor!
• To reinforce to my clients that it takes time to sell.
• That once again entrepreneurs can solve issues that big companies or government can't.
• That a property can become a sponsor of another property and generate a return doing it.

The preacher thought we would all be impressed because he gave away prizes, works for a big company, and had some slick video.

Unfortunately what he really taught us is that even with twenty full-time people working on one sponsorship project, you can still produce remarkably stale work. That’s right,  he has 20 people working one property…year round.

The preacher should be ashamed. He told an audience of 1,000 industry professionals that his strategy is men/sport/beer. He told us his key insight was fan passion. He told us his big idea was his brand is a part of the game.

Now to be fair, the preacher did open by stating he would focus on execution vs. strategy. Which was an enticing approach. But he didn't deliver on his promise.

His talk stayed superficial. High level. Low value.

A speech that was focused on execution could have provided great learnings around fulfillment process, activation implementation, or measurement in action.

Alas we were denied.

I think speaking to a group is a skill that needs development. The hardest part is to shed your own skin and become the audience. Imagine them reading your session summary. What expectations does it raise for them?

By answering that important question, you could be the next Dale Carnegie.

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If you've been to the IEG conference, you've seen Rob Prazmark speak. He's spoken every year since I was in Grade 7. Although his surname sounds reptilian he is no dinosaur.

Today his speech was a great mix of past learnings (The story about American Express turning down the TOP sponsorship in 1985 is a classic) and some sage advice.

But this morning his talk focused on an interesting issue. Specifically, he drew attention to the attack on sponsorship by US politicians. Rob commented that they believe companies receiving bailouts shouldn't do sponsorship. Which is, in my opinion, ridiculous!

They aren't picking on other types of marketing, but misguidedly feel sponsorship is all about ego and schmoozing. The rhetoric is causing some firms that aren't receiving bailouts to be wary of high profile deals.

Holy Crap people!! Don't let this happen in Canada or we are all dead! D.E.A.D.

It’s up to us to publicize and promote the strategic benefits of our industry. So spread the word with your properties, clients, bankers, and elected officials.

Nobody is going to bail us out. Frankly we don't need it. Let's keep it that way.

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McDonald's Johan Jervoe took the audience through their LOST RING property which was a runaway success heading into the Beijing Olympics. This campaign ran for 6 months and engaged 5 million consumers. With nary a golden arches in sight. If you haven't seen this campaign google it today. I mean today.

What was amazing about this campaign is that it started with a teaser campaign to just fifty people (yes 50!!) in countries around the world and it grew and grew. Their target? Young people who were tired of obnoxious brand marketing. Did it work?

Based on favourability scores and intent to purchase, yes it did.

Besides checking out this case, you may want to read two books that Jervoe recommended: THE DREAM SOCIETY and LEADERSHIP WITH KINDNESS.

Guess I've got some reading to do on the plane ride home.

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Keynote presenter Rolf Jensen of the Dream Company made his point on two key fronts.

As it relates to companies who are challenged in these times he reminded them that "The Tour de France is won in the mountains". A great analogy.

Secondly his consumer prediction is that despite the tough times, consumers will continue to buy with their hearts. Which is good news because it costs little to add a story to a brand. He spun a tale about a Portuguese sardine company who were having issues with sales. They then added a written back story on each can about when the fish were caught, who was the crew, and what happened on that trip. Sales tripled.

Sounds like someone else believes in story telling.

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Lesa Ukman delivered a spirited and hard charging opening this morning to a smaller than usual crowd at the IEG Sponsorship Conference.

Calling on the industry to stand up for itself she made several amazing points:

1. Politicians in the US are off base for picking on sponsorship by companies who received bail out funds, yet saying nothing about the advertising they run. Sponsorship is about building brand value not people schmoozing and we need to remind ourselves of that.

2. Sponsorship should be about business not marketing. Ideas that are business driven will be more powerful than marketing.

3. Ideas are currency. The X-prize has created an entire industry of private entrepreneurs in space travel.

There was a lot more, but those were the highlights.

Well done Lesa.

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Left Ottawa today… was there for an event… to head to IEG. As soon as I got to the airport the bad Sponsorship Forum memories started creeping in!

My flight to Chicago went from delayed by two hours, to canceled, to a rebooking to Washington in the span of an hour. So I am on the plane now to Washington, and praying they booked me through to Chicago, and even more concerned about baggage. Oh well.

IEG this year should prove interesting. I actually haven't been south of the border since the Great Depression hit. I am anxious to see the mood and to gauge the gloom on the street. Will the shops be empty? Will my favourite restaurant be closed? Will the Hilton give me a discount?

The conference itself should provide some clues as to the market. The US sponsorship market is so dominated by Banks and Automotive, I have to imagine that a ton of properties are suffering. However I am also hopeful they are in attendance and finding new ways to do battle.

If you're in Chicago, send me an email (mark.harrison@trojanone.com) or a text (416-726-6720) and we will hook up to compare notes. If you’re not, I will keep you posted throughout the conference! I don’t TWITTER yet so this blog will have to do.

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Why listen to me babble about this year’s Forum when you can hear it straight from the mouths of Canada’s leading sponsorship marketers who braved the economy and the fog to get to Quebec City last weekend…

I have taken the liberty of pulling excerpts from many of the emails I received from our delegates. If you see yourself quoted in here… hopefully you wont mind my sharing your sentiments!

"Hi Mark,
the forum you and your team organized was truly above and beyond.  To quote Clueless "It was two thumbs up and Great Family Fun" (well maybe Chez Maurice @ 3am was 'not so family')."

 

  "... Just wanted to send a short note and say WELL DONE!!!  Again an exceptionally professional show, with great speakers and content and fantastic networking."

 

 "Hi,
I just wanted to send a brief email to thank you for holding such an
informative sponsorship forum. It was incredibly well run, especially given the unforeseen weather issues!"

 

 "...We are in for 2010…and the foreseeable next 5 years if they are repeats of this year.
Cheers.... well done."

 

 "Pippa, you beat us to it. Thank you for your incredible support and dedication to not only the conference itself, but to the delegates and making our time in Quebec City enjoyable, wonderful and memorable. You ran the conference well and your passion and eye for detail was evident in every aspect of the 3 days.
 
For me, you were incredibly accommodating in every aspect leading up the conference and at the conference; you provided not only me, but my entire family with a feeling of warmth and inclusion. Mark and Trojan One are fortunate to have such a warm, friendly and professional person on their team."

 

 "...The stories we all have and can take away from this
years Forum will likely bring even more exposure and interest for 2010's
event."

 

"Hey Guys,
This was my first forum and it was amazing. I've never experienced an event like that.
All of the delegates that I spoke with over the weekend had nothing but great things to say about the event. I just wanted to say that I am so proud to be a part of the TrojanOne team. I think we have a great group of people working together. This is an event that I'll never forget, and I am so proud to have worked on this with all of you. Everyone did an amazing job. Have a fantastic family day everyone."

 

 "..Great conference Mark. Thanks for the opportunity to present, very much appreciated."


"I just wanted to extend a huge thank you for a great sponsorship forum. I found it incredibly helpful, informative and fun. This was my first year attending and I was impressed by the level of organization and professionalism. Hats off to you and the Trojan One staff for an amazing job!"

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Having worked within the sponsorship industry for nearly a decade, you’d think it would be easy for me to answer the first part of this apparently simple question. But just try Googling the word sponsorship and you’ll be left scratching your head. Up until a few days ago, the standard answer I would serve up to people that asked this vexing question would begin something like “….well it really depends who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish…..” The vagueness of this answer was based upon the dynamic and ever changing nature of sponsorship and by my displeasure with those in the broader marketing industry who’ve hijacked the term to serve their own agenda….don’t get me started!

Just two weeks ago I was asked by the VP of Marketing for one of the world’s largest QSRs, what the strategic purpose of sponsorship is. This particular question was a little easier to answer because we were no longer talking about a definition but rather the purpose of sponsorship within a particular marketing category. Nevertheless, I still could have spouted a myriad of answers which would have all been correct to varying extents.

So in a world of sports and entertainment sponsorships, broadcast sponsorships, online sponsorships, cause marketing sponsorships, venue naming rights sponsorships, philanthropic sponsorships, etc; what are we to do if we want to preserve sponsorship spending in 2009 and beyond as we stare down a deep recession that according to Dr. Norm O'Reilly from the Canadian Institute for Sports Marketing will wipe out $200 million of available sponsorship spending this year in our country!?!?

I’m happy to report that after three days at the Fifth Annual Canadian Sponsorship Forum, I may have a partial solution. I won’t go so far as to say that I hold the keys to a universal definition which I could confidently defend to earn a PHD but I may have a simple place from which to start. You see the theme of this year’s Forum chaired by Mark Harrison, President of TrojanOne, was the power of Storytelling and I came away with some clarity and some ideas on how we can each work more effectively to leverage the power of sponsorship and help preserve its place in corporate budgets.

After listing to a range of terrific speakers from across Canada and participating in discussions (and a few debates) with industry colleagues, I’m fully convinced that sponsorships have the profound ability to connect people emotionally like almost nothing else. Tap into people’s passions and engage them in dialogue (the process of storytelling) and all the supporting marketing strategies and tactics will flow from there.

The most impressive sponsorship case studies I heard at the Forum were all rooted in people’s passions. Creative and strategic activation, execution and post analysis are all important but they’re next to useless if they’re not grounded in relatable stories that have the power to speak to people as people NOT as consumers or brand targets.  

Brian Levine

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I just got off stage a few minutes ago where we made the exciting announcement that the next Canadian Sponsorship Forum will be in Whistler from March 19th to 21st during the 2010 Winter Paralympics! The event will be co-presented by TrojanOne, Institute for Sports Marketing, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

Joining me on stage was Benoit St-Amand, a member of Canada’s 2006 gold medal winning sledge hockey team, won at the Torino Paralympics. St-Amand talked about the pressure’s of defending gold on home ice during the 2010 Paralympics, which was extremely relevant as our conference delegates will be attending the gold medal Sledge Hockey game! Additionally we ill be attending the closing ceremonies of the Paralympics in Whistler.

Today’s final day of presentations at the Forum were highlighted by Scott Moore of CBC Sports, closing the day with his storytelling about the new era at CBC Sports. This was the perfect complement to our high energy opening presentation conducted by Alison Gordon of Rethink Breast Cancer who was rescheduled after missing her flight on Thursday. In between Angus Reid Strategies, Reebok CCM, ParticipACTION, and CN all shared great learning's.

Also on the agenda today was the 3rd annual Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Survey presented by Dr. Norm O'Reilly which identified a big jump in spending and activation in 2008, with the rights fee projected growing to $ 1.39 billion, a growth of 14% over 2007. However the forecast for 2009 shows a sharp decline in spending… wiping out almost $ 200 million in available sponsorship in the market!

We started this weekend’s discussions with a focus on how to provide solutions to the economic. Sounds like we might need two hundred million of them!

Thanks to all of you who attended this year’s Forum. I look forward to spending more time with each of you in Whistler.

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What do the Chief Strategic Officer (Bill Baker) of Envisioning & Storytelling and the official ambassador (Bonhomme) of Carnival have in common?

Well they both stole the opening day of the Canadian Sponsorship Forum. Bonhomme was greeted to such a thunderous ovation, by the two hundred delegates in the audience, you would have thought it was a room full of eight year olds. Not a collection of sponsorship marketing professionals. He brought greetings to the group and taught them his famous cheer – Joyeux Carnival! -  made fun of my weight and then posed for a couple of dozen photographs with adoring delegates.

His appearance came following a pair of presentations outlining the history of the Carnival and then a panel featuring some of its biggest partners such as Kraft and Loto-Quebec.

Up next was Baker, who has made the transition from being one of the leading strategic planners in the Canadian advertising industry to a partner and strategist in the much admired E+S. Baker’s presentation, The Magic & Logic of Storytelling, provided motivation, insight, and conviction for all in attendance. Indeed it was the perfect foundation for the theme of this year’s Forum which is Sponsorship Storytelling.

Baker talked to the power of stories to inspire people and get them to unite in action. There are three steps to developing a story according to Bill: 1. Envision; 2. Engage; 3. Enact. Beyond these three steps, he talked about the power of story telling and the keys to success behind it. Including engaging people beyond your company’s marketing department to challenge your thinking.

But he also cautioned that story telling is not propaganda. Not a tag line. Not about being on message

When I opened the conference today I threw down a request of our delegates for us to come together as an industry and work for the betterment of all of us. In these times we need to push on all fronts and help our country and our planet rebuild itself economically, socially, environmentally.

I think its possible. Storytelling will be a big part of it.

Stay tuned for more Forum fables.

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