Treasure Hunting: Smart Strategies for Growing Ad, Sponsorship and Other Non-Dues Revenue

TREASURE HUNTING: Smart Strategies for Growing Ad, Sponsorship and Other Non-Dues

Revenue

Agenda

• Current Environment

• Structuring Partner Programs

• 10 Tips

• Case Study

Who are Your Competitors?• Amusement Parks• Aquariums• Associations

(local/regional HBAs and other)

• Causes - charitable• Chambers of Commerce• Colleges/Universities• Convention and Visitors

Bureaus• Fairs• Festivals• Hospitals

• Hotels• Museums• Parks• Performing Arts Centers• Political

Causes/Campaigns• Religious Organizations• Schools - Local• Sports - Teams,

Stadiums, Athletes – Professional

• Sports Teams – Local• Transportation –

Airports/Trains• Zoos

Others ?

Typical Offerings

• Conference sponsorships• Gala dinner; other fundraising event• Advertising • Event or program sponsorships • List rental• Other

Standard View…

• One-off sales: Offer bags, badges, pens….• Propose value add or additional clutter?• Likely impact on the

organization/audience?

Exercise: Recent Conference Experience

Think about the last conference that you attended (not yours)…

• Who sponsored what?

Traditional Approach

• ‘Inventory’• Transactional• Decentralized outreach • Regular funding requests• Internal competition

Outreach…

• Prospectus

• 80 / 20 Rule

…and Reaction

• Limited potential

• My objectives?

• Gold, Silver, Bronze…

• Build long-lasting relationships• Show added value and stand apart• Tap into emerging industries / trends

Opportunities?

What Associations Want

• Increase membership / audience

• Develop new programs / increase participation

• Grow revenue

Why Companies Invest

• Generate new leads / clients• Expand awareness – visibility / branding• Provide thought leadership • Improve retention or recruitment • Increase brand loyalty• Change / reinforce image• Show community responsibility• Support association/industry

Sponsors’ Desire

• Effective linkages; not inventory• Credibility / authenticity • Year-round relationships• Customized arrangements

A Challenging Environment

• Marketing budgets cut• Value add is critical • Established structure and plans• Identify impact on industry sectors

Getting Started: Develop your Program

Identify assets

• Membership • Communication channels• Programs• Events• Content areas• Others

Obtain Sponsor Input

Solicit feedback • Specific benefits• Other ways to engage• Activation ideas• Suggestions for improvement

Internal Assessment

• Clarify what is available for ‘sale’• Ensure alignment with mission and

culture• Determine parameters of involvement• Coordinate within your organization• Garner leadership/board support

Understand “Organizational Tension”

Turn Assets into Benefits

• Determine assets/areas of interest• Understand benefits from the sponsors

perspective• Consider other potential benefits

Alignment of Interests

OrganizationalCulture

Member Interests

Sponsor Goals

Establish Packages

• Bundle benefits strategically• Tier packages to incent companies to

‘buy-up’• Price packages based on value • Establish other limited offerings at

lower dollar levels

Action!

• Develop a go-to market strategy • Seek mutually beneficial partnerships• Centralize and coordinate• Align interests• Seek strategic relationships vs.

transaction-based offerings

10 Tips for a Successful Sales Program

1. Know your product(s) and audience

2. Know your prospects—develop partners, not purchasers

3. Create a strong media/sales kit

4. Think creatively

5. Look for low cost/high value opps

10 Tips for a Successful Sales Program

6. Create urgency in your marketing

7. Hit the low hanging fruit first and often—PRIORITIZE!

8. Market aggressively but respectfully—develop partners, not purchasers

9. Make saying yes easy

10. Trust your salespeople

NAFSA: A Case Study from an Ad Sales Perspective

• About NAFSA:

– Individual Member Association with approximately 10,000 members

– Members are international educators

• Sales opportunities:

– Advertising in print and electronic publication

– Sponsorship of Annual Conference

– Exhibit at Annual Conference

• Global Partnership


• Challenges:

– Sales efforts were very siloed

– Little to no bundling

– Staff resources were limited

– Data base was large but unstructured

• Opportunities:

– Publication was #1 in its category

– Name recognition was extremely high

– Editorial staff was very willing to work with ad sales

– Data base could be manipulated


• Goal: Significantly increase ad revenues for International Educator

• Steps taken:

– Develop a very strong media kit which hammered home value of reaching the audience

– Get purchasers of other sales opportunities

– Develop special offers for purchasers of other sales opportunities

– Primarily market and sell through email and phone follow-up


• Steps taken (cont.):

– Worked with editorial staff to develop supplements on topics of interest to readers AND advertisers

• Results to date:

– Advertising revenue is up over 50% year on year

– Sold out the Conference issue for last 3 years ($150,000+)

Questions?

Scott D. Oser PresidentScott Oser [email protected] = @scottoserwww.scottoserassociates.com

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