October will be an even busier month. I’ll be at some great events next month and would love to meet up if you’re there or in the area.

DMA 2010 Conference

I’m really looking forward to the DMA 2010 Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco. As my friend Espree Devora said on the phone today, social media and direct marketing have a lot in common. I’m excited to meet with some smart people and talk about social media, online communities and the integration of direct and digital marketing. I’ll be there from Oct. 10-13 if you want to try to meet up.

I’m also excited about the fact that the company I work for, eWayDirect, will be an exhibitor there. We’re working on a very cool algorithm that takes a brand’s marketshare, awareness, popularity and trust (looking at social media trends and sentiment, email marketing trends, acquisition trends and search trends) and combines them into a metric that the company can use to determine how successful its online marketing is and see how it is doing compared to its competition. We’ll be releasing the first version of this metric at the DMA show and if there’s enough interest, we’ll really build it out. If you’re going to the show, I’d love to walk you through our approach and get your thoughts. Or you can follow the eWayDirect Blog for updates and news about this.

BlogWorld

I’m definitely looking forward to going back to Las Vegas again this year for BlogWorld (October 14-16). You can see some of my takeaways from last year’s event here and some video interviews I did with some smart folks about the ultimate mobile+social app here.

I’ll probably do another series of interviews this year, but I haven’t yet decided what the question should be. If you have ideas, I’m all ears. But interviews or no interviews, the best part of BlogWorld is hanging out with some really awesome people in Vegas. Let me know if you’ll be there and let’s definitely meet up.

Western Sponsorship Congress

I’ll be speaking on how social media platforms can benefit sponsors and properties at the Western Sponsorship Congress in Calgary on October 26-27. I’m looking forward to having a good discussion about this and hearing from some other smart folks in the sports marketing industry. If you’re going to be there, I’d love to chat!

Please see below for some questions and answers about the Panthers Purrsuit from Mike and Dana Thomas, Account Manager/Events Coordinator with the Panthers.

What is the Panthers Purrsuit?

The Panthers Purrsuit is citywide quest to discover new places, visit local businesses and non-profits, and connect with other Panthers fans. Team up with friends to find clues, complete challenges, earn points and win prizes – all while sharing the experience with friends via popular social networking sites.

What was the thinking behind launching this? Did anything that other teams/brands have done with social media inspire this?

We started talking about this in May when Scott Hepburn mentioned this concept over a coffee brainstorming meeting. He thought the Panthers could be a tour stop on this brilliant “road rally” concept he had thought up to get folks to interact not just online but in person with places around Charlotte. I thought it was a perfect (purrfect) way to get our fans in closer contact with our team partners, sponsors and non-profits and brought it back to our team internally who saw the potential in the event.

How are you getting the word out about the Panthers Purrsuit?

Mainly via social channels, our Twitter and Facebook pages, but also email, PR, and they’ll be Panthers radio ads and also ads in our GameTime program as well. So far at least one Panthers player, Everette Brown, has done a Youtube video inviting fans to participate and we are hoping for more support in that area.

How has social media changed the way you think about creating programs like this that engage fans?

From the sponsorship side, our partners really share a passion for Panthers football and they want to engage our fans that share that passion. Social media is a great bridge between traditional media (print, radio, tv) and interactive sampling that happens at and around games. Social is also measurable and helps start conversations as opposed to one-way messaging. Our sponsors have been asking for more ways to interact with fans and social media really helps make this possible.

I see that Allen Tate is a sponsor. How were they involved in creating this and how will they be involved on October 23rd?

Once we met internally as a team around the Panthers Purrsuit idea and decided it was an event we wanted to make happen, we had to have a sponsor that believed in social media as a medium to help cover the costs of such an event, the prizes, the T-Shirt, the food and beverages at the awards party. Allen Tate was the first company we looked to because of their adoption of Facebook, Twitter, and blogging. We also executed a Twitter contest last year with Allen Tate that netted some excellent results for them and for a lucky fan so we thought they might have an appetite for pushing the envelope a little further.

Registration for a team is $40 – what was the thinking in having people pay to register vs. letting them register and participate for free?

We have two main reasons for the entry fee. We believe the fans will find value in the event. It’s going to be a lot of fun to participate and fans will get a T-shirt for signing up and checking in, as well as an awards after-party where the teams can gather and have dinner and drinks and watch as the prizes will be handed out. Secondly with so many local partners involved we had to have a way for them to plan their day and how many people will show up. We have a defined start and end but lots of clues along the way. We need to plan exactly how many teams will show up an Allen Tate office or a Harris Teeter store (if those are clue stops, my lips are sealed) so that the brand staff can have a positive experience with them. So with an entry fee there is a commitment to participate.

What kind of prizes can people win by participating?

The grand prize is a trip to our Panthers vs. Steelers game in Pittsburgh with airfare, hotel and game tickets on 12/23. There will be many different prize categories from something as simple as Best Team name or best team costume. I hope nearly everyone goes home with something from the awards party whether that’s a trip to the ‘Burgh or a Panthers hat.

What are your expectations for this? What would make it a success?

First I hope we have all types of teams sign up. This is not only for social media addicts. This is for Panthers fans and fans of shows like the Amazing race. It’s not all social, but there are physical challenges as well. Then I want 100% of the challenge teams that participate to sign back up in 2011 when we have this again. The same for our partners because that will mean it will have been fun for the teams and a productive example for our partners that social media is not just online, but its real life.

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Mike and Dana – Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.

I hope you found their answers valuable and that they spark some thoughts on new ideas that you can try with your company or organization.

What do you think about the Panthers Purrsuit?

• why should fans care?
• why should teams care?
• why should athletes care?
• why should agents care?
• why should coaches care?
• why should colleges care?
• why should agencies care?
• why should properties care?

Even if you already know why this is important, I hope you enjoy getting a variety of perspectives on this subject. If you have bosses, colleagues or friends that still don’t get it, maybe they’ll find some value in this series if you share it with them.

Today’s topic is sponsors. Sponsors should care because social media can help them increase the effectiveness and reach of their programs and activation efforts. Social media can help them achieve their goals and reach fans in interesting ways at the stadium and beyond it. Everything online is measurable, so sponsors can see what is driving actions/activity they’re interested in.

See below for a few thoughts from other smart folks about why properties should care about sports and social media.

Jackie Adkins – Social media gives sponsors a whole new medium to reach fans. The catch is the sponsors have to completely rethink how they approach fans in this medium. Talking at them isn’t going to work, so sponsors have to figure out how to start conversations with the end-consumer in a non-intrusive manner that leans more towards a conversation than it does advertising.

Dennis Allen – Social media provides sponsors a way to eliminate layers between them and their consumers. The real time assessment of their brand, product and strategy is invaluable in today’s world of global competition. Social media also affords them a way to be more personally involved with their audiences. As well as a method to get out in front of potential negative branding issues before they cause irreparable damage.

Anthony De Rosa – Sponsors, like properties need to connect organically on social media. They have to be here because that’s where the audience is.

Brian Gainor – Sponsors should care about social media because it serves as an additional channel to deliver and reap value from their property agreements. Sponsors can utilize social media as a cost-effective, engaging means to drive awareness for programs/promotional offers, drive traffic to microsites and URLs, stimulate discussion about products/team affiliation, capitalize on new inventory (owning social media channels), and seamlessly align with athlete endorsers (to name just a few). Properties are still in the early stages of developing and valuing their social media channels, so sponsors looking to make a huge splash with limited activation dollars should seek out this inventory now!

Lewis Howes – Sponsors should be looking at new ways to use social media in their campaigns in place of the traditional advertising methods. It’s no secret that people are becoming less trusting of companies and want to trust and interact with “real” people today. Sponsors should capitalize on that and come up with sponsorships that are personable to their consumers.

Ash Read – Social media allows sponsors to build up relationships with sports fans. Rather than just broadcasting their message they can provide interesting content, interact with fans and really build their brand through sponsorship. If a sponsor really wants to make the most from their sponsorship they should look into the possibilities of social media and digital activations. Sponsors shouldn’t try and use social media as a way to broadcast their brand name though, they should look to provide content that fans will appreciate and become a part of the community.

Brian Reich – The economy of eyeballs has been undermined by social media — its not enough to deliver a message, a brand now has to make a strong case for why their product is worth buying, address questions that consumers might have… and explain how their connection to an athlete or team can translate to an individual’s life. Sponsoring a sporting event and having your ads appear in the stadium or between segments of the broadcast won’t be enough. Fans get information from a variety of sources, and they look for more information than what is simply put in front of them before deciding to make a deeper investment. Sponsors make it possible for sports leagues to exist and games to be played, but social media gives them both an opportunity – and I would argue an observation — to add more to the fan experience, and the quality of the sports offering as well. They can use sports sponsorship as a venue to deliver a message about their commitment to a serious issues — and mobilize action among fans to respond and support a worth cause. They can add data and insight, through a lens that promotes their products or services — and in doing so demonstrate the value of their offering and commitment to creating a valuable experience for the audience. But they have to do something different if they want to realize a return on their investment.

Trevor Turnbull – Social media is all about building relationships. The success of a sponsorship agreement can be directly related to how closely tied their brand is to a team, athlete or event. Social media allows sponsors the opportunity to directly associate themselves to a sports team, athlete, venue or event. The influence that these entities have over their fan base can be directly attributed to the connection consumers might inevitably have with a sponsor.

Brendan Whilhide – Social media is a unique opportunity to reach your audience directly. Also, when done well, marketing via social media can have incredible results. See the recent Old Spice viral YouTube campaign as evidence of that.

Joseph Yi – To an extent, social media has changed the way that sponsorship deals have developed. No longer are online assets limited to banner placements and pre-roll advertisements on videos. Rather, sponsors are looking for ways to tap into the large distribution opportunities that social media provides. Because of social media’s sharing capabilities when sponsors look at areas like impressions, visibility, and the distribution networks that are possible, the opportunities are endless.

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Now it’s your turn – why do you think sponsors should care?

It’s been a lot of fun putting this series together. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.

*photo credit – http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiros2004/3896658394/sizes/s/

Do you think the term “sponsorships” is outdated and everything should be called partnerships? just an idea I’ve been thinking about…

It was really just an idea I’ve briefly thought about on occasion. A lot of times the terms “sponsorships” and “partnerships” are thrown around and used interchangeably to describe deals between entertainment and sports properties and brands. But does the wording that properties/brands use reflect how they actually see their relationships? Should we be moving towards the use of partnerships (which imply that both sides benefit) and away from sponsorships (which unfortunately has not been very well explained to the general public)?

Your Responses

After I posted that message on Twitter, I got some great responses. Thanks to all who contributed the thoughts below (earliest responses posted first):

rscibetti@JasonPeck I definitely see a mix of both terms. Definitely tells you something about how the entity views the relationships

MJMunson@JasonPeck No, people just need to know what it means. Look up the latin roots for sponsor and you’ll see it is a perfect word for its use.

BizballMaury@JasonPeck It’s moving more & more toward partnerships as deals are multi-pronged. See my NY Post article on Yankees/Audi http://ow.ly/hoef

jpbrunelle@JasonPeck I think it depends on the context, but ‘sponsorships’ will remain in play for the foreseeable future. Bigwigs want to sponsor.

MJPatzwaldt@jasonpeck i still think there’s a difference between sponsorships and partnerships…those sponsored tend to have longer term benefits

jeffmard@JasonPeck partnership implys 2-way street, sponsorship implys other “partners” exist. Which is more true? then u have advertiser…

Play3r_VP@JasonPeck sponsorships is out. partnerships are in. it’s about relationships + alliances… NOT about hand outs.

mmahoney13@JasonPeck I think the Sponsor should be emphasized more in many cases, esp PGA Tournaments and even teams. they enable us to do more

sponsorpitch@JasonPeck IMO, not outdated & no need to hide from the term + lots of different types of biz ‘partnerships’.. something more narrow needed

EmilyRCampbell1@JasonPeck There r still true mktg sponsorships out there even tho’ some local partnerships may lean more toward philanthropy.

briangainorRT @JasonPeck poses a great question – thoughts on “partnerships” vs. “sponsorships”? How do you see your relationship with partners?

Darren_Heitner@JasonPeck I love the idea of banning the word “sponsorship”, all successful “sponsorships” are partnerships. Both sides should win.

Sponsorships vs. Partnerships – My Thoughts

Let’s see how Wikipedia defines the terms.

“A partnership is a type of business entity in which partners (owners) share with each other the profits or losses of the business.”

“To sponsor something is to support an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services.”

The partnership definition that Wikipedia gives isn’t completely relevant to this conversation–which is about using the term sponsorship vs. partnership when describing deals between sports/entertainment properties and brands. In most cases, no brand is going to be willing to equally share in the losses of the property’s business–unless it’s a special deal where the brand is actually able to share in the profits, too. I’m not aware of this happening very often.

The sponsor definition is interesting as it emphasizes giving support. In my opinion, this “giving support” aspect has not been emphasized nearly enough in discussions and articles about sponsorship. For example, all we heard about for awhile was that since Wachovia wasn’t doing well, they shouldn’t be wasting money on sponsoring their golf tournament (and they actually removed their name from it, even though it was paid for). Or that Northern Trust shouldn’t have had a party for their best executives at their tournament. People hear that, instead of hearing about how much money from each PGA TOUR event goes to charity or that the money spent on parties/events provides jobs for cooks, caterers and others. But I’m getting off subject here.

My thinking about this sponsorships vs. partnerships issue is that it’s more of a reflection on how each side sees the other and how they approach relationships. My feeling is that it starts with properties. Do you want a sponsor (someone who supports you via money or services) or do you want (can you get?) a partner (someone who has a greater stake in your success)? While some smaller properties may be happy just finding sponsors, some of the most prestigious properties can be more selective and seek partners who have very strong brands and who must commit more than just money to the relationship.

What do the big leagues/events call these relationships?

Let’s check out some websites to see what wording some of the major pro leagues and premier sports events use when publicly describing their relationships with brands.

• AVP – sponsors (listed on bottom of home page)
• MLB – sponsors (here’s the link)
• NBA – not clear from their website
• NFL – not clear from their website
• PGA TOUR – title sponsors for tournaments and huge list of marketing partners
• USGA – partners (logos listed on bottom right of their home page and here)
• The Masters – no official wording but relationships with IBM, AT&T and Exxon Mobile
• US Open (Tennis) – sponsors (list is here)
• Breeders’ Cup – partners (list is here)

The funny thing is, for some of these properties (and many teams as well), it’s hard to even tell who their sponsors are by looking at their websites! Or they hide them and make you really look around. That would not make me happy I was a sponsor/partner-no matter what the relationship is called. It definitely didn’t make me happy when I used to spend a lot of time researching that stuff.

As consumers’ attention becomes even harder to get (because we have more choices now than ever), my feeling is that the term “partnerships” will be used more often. Properties who used to sell out every event and may have been content just getting money are now in the same boat as brands–they need eyeballs and attention, too. Now both sides are asking each other for access to market to their customers, and the best relationships will be those where both sides help each other. Sponsorships certainly aren’t dying–I just think the word “partnerships” may be more beneficial in describing these relationships and ensuring that both sides are getting what they want and working to help each other succeed.

But maybe I’m completely wrong. Maybe the words should be used interchangeably and there isn’t really much difference between them. Maybe good sponsors are essentially partners. What do you think?

1) Advertising supported - This is the main way social networks are trying to generate revenue. It’s good for the users as they get free access in exchange for seeing a few ads. This has the potential to be great for advertisers, too, as they can often target users based on various demographic info and interests. But here’s a dirty secret–click-through rates on social networks (especially Facebook) are horrible. Last I saw the CTR was about .04% …. This actually makes sense, because people go on social networks for specific purposes—they want to check out their friends profiles, pictures, videos, etc. Social network users aren’t in a shopping mindset and so aren’t likely to be looking for information about products or services. But, social networking is still a good option for increasing brand awareness as Disney found out with its MySpace page for “Step Up” and “Step Up 2 the Streets.”

It doesn’t look like ad spending on social networks will be decreasing any time soon. eMarketer says that about $2.1 billion will be spent on social networking advertising this year, with the number rising to $4.1 billion in 2011.

2) Subscription Model – This involves charging users a fee to use a site. Dating sites have been very successful with this model, but outside of this space, I’m not sure who’s operating this way. People are so used to getting things for free, that its hard to convince them to pay for social networking. There would seem to be an opportunity to offer free services and upsell people on something that includes exclusive content, access, etc…In a way, some of the college sports recruiting/news websites operate this way–gives some basic content for free and charge for premium content and message board access.

Something to think about is whether there will ever be other niche or local social networks that people will pay to be a part of…sort of like online country clubs, where membership is seen as a privilege and a status symbol. What do you think?

3) Data mining - This model involves collecting data about a group of people and selling it to an advertiser. So say Nike wants to learn more about what kind of music and movies guys 16-19 like, they would be able to purchase data from a social network that tells them what they need to know. I’m not sure if any sites are currently doing this, but it may be something to think about. Do you know any sites doing this?

4) Sponsorship – Instead of just having advertisers, it would seem to make more sense to have sponsors who are invested in helping the site grow and adding value. Sponsorship could be something as simple as giving Brand X complete ownership of a contest or section of the site, or a sponsor could take things further and partner with the site to bring users something unique and valuable.

5) Affiliate Marketing – Affiliate marketing is basically selling an outside party’s goods/services and getting a commission or fee for each sale that is made. In my opinion, this is an under-utilized method of monetization. Instead of putting up some Google ads that no one clicks on, why not offer a relevant product or service to your users? While we’ve seen that most people aren’t in a shopping mode when they’re social networking, it never hurts to test offers, especially on niche sites.
It would be pretty easy to add a “store” to the site and feature relevant products. A couple sites are currently utilizing this method:

• Go211- They are using their status as an Amazon Associate to sell products and get a commission off of each product sold in their “store.”
• SkiSpace – It looks like Bode Miller’s site has a partnership with Backcountry.com to sell items in the “gear” section of their website

That’s all I’ve got for now. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this stuff.

Have a great weekend. Hopefully the Heels can pull out the W against Kansas for a shot at the National Championship. Let’s go boys!