Nipawin MIC 2015: Naming Rights - Municipal Buildings and Facilities

This afternoon I attended an enlightening workshop on sponsorship. Notes are below. To see the website for the conference I am attending and speaking please click here.

·         Companies invest in municipal projects to block competition and for intangible reasons

·         Money is requested through the identification of capital inventory that can be sold for terms of 5 years (secondary rights like dressing rooms) and 10 years for primary rights (the overall naming rights)

·         The return on investment is based on advertising exposure and intangibles

·         Sponsorship is an exchange, a form of advertising

·         Philanthropy is a gift

·         Purchasing naming rights is buying a brand, and a sign(s)

·         For smaller communities the intangible value of sponsorship is more valuable than the tangible

·         Investment value is about a 1:10 ratio

·         Deals are often done quickly

·         Hard infrastructure, such as water plants can be sponsored without naming rights so the sponsor can gain exclusivity rights

·         Good sponsorship markets is the financial industry

·         Benchmarks are based on the primary ‘ask’

·         All secondary asks are based on the primary ask

·         The primary ask is finished before any other ask is completed

·         Asks have to be realistic in the market

·         Fundraising should raise a minimum of 10% of the project

·         Martensville raised $1.75 million in two weeks for their new athletic pavilion

·         Naming rights are expected to rise over term of contract at the rate of inflation at a minimum

·         Sponsorship consultants are usually compensated with fee and commission