Michael O'Hara Lynch

MICHAEL O'HARA LYNCH
Senior VP-Event and Sponsorship Marketing
Visa, San Francisco, CA

It has becoming increasingly clear that the traditional sponsorship model as we know it is changing. As a result of continued clutter in the marketplace and changes in technology, there are new challenges and opportunities for us on the buy side. The days of the "official product" sponsorship have passed and as a result you'll see event marketers looking for better integrated programs. A few of the trends you'll see in the new year are:

• Brand integration explosion: Lower TV ratings, selective viewing patterns and continued fragmentation of the audience mean that it's more critical than ever for us to get our content ingrained into the fabric of the programming. We're looking for "unzappable" visibility with programs like the Mobil Masterpiece Theatre or the Visa Triple Crown.
• Anywhere, Everywhere: The penetration of mobile phones and PDAs in the young target groups is impossible to ignore. Marketers are going to find new ways to get their content into the hands of these consumers, and wireless technology will open up an unlimited number of contact points with the audience. Event marketers will do everything possible to take advantage of this access, and deliver content directly to the consumer that can't be edited out.
• Seeking increased equity and relevance: We're charged with better defining the role that our products and services play with properties. We must be more relevant to the consumer as well, and to do that you will see marketers seeking more ownership equity in events. We're also going to be looking for more unique added value benefits that other sponsors aren't getting.
• Taking more risks: As rights fees continue to escalate, we are going to look for more cost-effective opportunities, which will require us to take more risks. If the traditional properties aren't providing the value that we expect for the investment, we'll have to look elsewhere.

Matthew Glass

In 2005, event marketers will continue to incorporate the latest mobile communication technologies into their programs to help them build relationships with consumers at events and afterwards. Wireless technology allows marketers to make their promotional events more interactive by giving consumers the opportunity to vote, enter sweepstakes, answer surveys, etc.

We are always exploring new ways to integrate technologies such as camera phones, MP3 players, IM'ing and text messaging into our events and promotions. For example, we will be executing a program this year with street teams around the country, capturing consumer data on the same hand-held device that will take photos and send e-mails to participants. This will allow us to deliver our client's message on site and have it repeated with additional branding and product information when they get home.

As event marketing continues to grow and be incorporated into more and more marketing plans, the demand for ROI continues to be an issue. With these data capture technologies, we can provide valuable program feedback and evaluation to our clients.

We will also continue to explore new ways to provide "entertainment sampling" to build buzz and drive tune-in. For our clients in the entertainment industry, it's often important to "sample" programming through site-specific screenings or other unique methods of delivery that allow targeted audiences to view trailers and promo spots in unusual ways and new environments. For example, we will continue to offer street teams wearing portable monitors and we'll be developing new and unique tactics to deliver video entertainment.

Expect to see event marketers "pushing the envelope" in an attempt to stand apart from the clutter of traditional advertising and copycat marketers vying for consumers' attention in 2005 campaigns. For example, last year, "pop-up" retail promotions allowed brands like Meow Mix to generate international media attention and drive sales through an innovative twist on retail-tainment (The Meow Mix Café for cats). But marketers will need to continue to come up with creative new ways to exploit traditional retail spaces, as well as find other new and unexpected venues to get their messages out.

Jeffrey Miller

JEFFREY MILLER
VP-account director
Jack Morton Worldwide, Chicago

In consumer marketing: increased integration of wireless technologies such as cell phones and PDAs into the event experience. They'll be used to deliver added-value elements (ring tones, downloads, e-coupons) and to alert consumers to an event itself via video, text messaging, flash mobs, Friendster and the like. Marketers also will look to hit the big BUZZ and get a media splash like Pontiac did with its giveaway on Oprah.

In business-to-business: expanded use of trade shows programs, and more investments in field marketing initiatives between trade shows to let field sales forces leverage trade show work and bring the trade show to the buyer.

Plus, there'll be a blurring of internal and external marketing. Companies are beginning to understand that they must market the message to employees before they launch a program to consumers.

We'll see more globalization as corporations look for agencies that can work with different languages and cultures. That means everything from Hispanic work in the U.S. to integrating events culturally around the world while retaining the brand's essence.

Priorities will be how to really measure ROI in a meaningful and time-efficient manner; how to get more for their money in agency bidding, partnerships and activation on sponsorships; and how to use the Internet in a more relevant manner.

Gary Colen

GARY COLEN
CEO
Alloy Marketing and Promotion, Boston, MA

We see three topics being debated with our clients related to the event marketing planning in 2005. They are:

• Proximity: How do we not only create events that are compelling and connected to the segment, but how do we deliver that experience closer to the places that are a deeper part of the community? The closer the delivered experience—both physically and emotionally—the more meaningful and successful the program is for the client.
• Return on Event Marketing: We have engaged in developing models that prove performance of the programs we create, as well as exploring ways to connect both the agency and the client to that metric. It's advantageous for us all to measure performance with increasing accuracy. Connecting agency/client to a satisfactory metric is what is moving in a positive direction for 2005.
• Media Delivery: We see the use of appropriate media elements being more carefully woven into the planning process. The focus and rise of non-traditional media (out-of-household, interactive, mall, cinema, viral, word-of-mouth) as a critical part of creating an integrated event marketing program [will increase] in 2005. The media is part of the event experience that is being delivered to the consumer. More sophisticated agencies and marketers are taking advantage of these flexible media and incorporating them creatively and as a larger percentage of the program.

Steve Lemon

I believe two issues have escalated in importance this past year and will continue to do so in 2005:

We will be paying more attention to and more money for workplace safety. While our industry endeavors to conform to safety guidelines, the cost of doing so can be expensive and require time and resources you may be unaccustomed to budgeting for.

Producers generally demand to pay the least amount of money for the most amount of production value. However, at what expense to the goods and services provided do we do this? Frankly, what's good for the bottom line may not be good for the industry as a whole.

I know, blasphemous words for a producer. Hey vendors! Next time a producer severely compromises your profit margin, just say "pass." It's the only way we are going to learn.

Mike Reisman

MIKE REISMAN
Principal
Velocity Sports & Entertainment, Wilton, CT

Traditional advertising is like comfort food for many [brand] executives. The more the marketing world appears chaotic with buzz marketing, experiential marketing, word of mouth marketing, mobile marketing, etc., the more they will have an appetite for their traditional sweet spot (as in the 30-second spot).

The most compelling [challenge] we face in 2005 is quite simple: Answering the question, "Why should I take dollars out of advertising?" Every executive in America buys the notion that the media environment is more fragmented than ever before. However, we'll need to quench [brand management's] insatiable thirst for proof that a fundamental spending shift is the right thing to do.

We will all tell the decision makers that they need to "touch the hearts" of consumers, but that's what advertising creatives have told their CEOs for 50 years. Instead, we'll be equipped with metrics that indicate the wider dispersion of marketing spend throughout the marketing mix, the better the impact on market share. This will require a powerful blend of quantitative and qualitative research. However, it will also require a more specific approach to database analytics that can battle the traditional argument that more GRPs equals higher market share. From a tactical perspective, there will be other trends to look for:

• B2B event marketing is becoming more mobile: some B2B marketers are extending the trade show environment by sending mobile teams into office buildings & lobbies to get their product messages across.
• Creativity will be at a premium as consumers become increasingly accustomed to events. If you want to grab consumer share of mind and modify behavior, you'd better realize that standard mobile buses and tractor trailers are becoming passé. The new items are those that break the mold and create a stir where and when they pop up.
• New technologies will drive more dynamic event environments. Digital and wireless technologies will allow consumers to "experience" an event before they ever attend. The personalization of events will be achieved through digital communications that allow consumers to design their experiences before they arrive and after they leave.
• Events will increase their value as prime opportunities to improve knowledge of customer demands, preferences, and needs. In acquiring feedback and more accurate knowledge of tactics that maximize ROI, brands will gain a competitive advantage. It's the accurate and cost-effective method of surveying customers that will make event marketing even more popular in 2005.

Any promotion that relies on a property is relying on borrowed interest. That's not bad, but the promotion manager must recognize that the audience came to the property not to learn about the marketer's brand or even the product category. Instead, they came because they were interested in the activity or event or people associated with the property, whether the National Football League, the Olympics or Willie Nelson for Farm-Aid. The product or service the marketer is promoting through the property is generally a by-product of the event, not the main event. This is not to say that borrowed interest is bad, but the promotion manager needs to remember that in developing plans and programs that will help sell more stuff....

The key strategic determinant in any use of properties is the audience the activity generates and for which it has appeal. In truth, participation in a property is not unlike the selection of traditional advertising media. If there is no audience match between the property and the brand or organization, the sheer size of the audience generated is of no matter. For example, in some recent analyses we conducted for a marketing organization, we found that rather than helping build the brand, the association with the property actually hurt sales. The target audience for the marketer's brand simply ignored the sponsored property. In some instances, we found the brand's involvement with the property was actually a deterrent to continued use of the brand. So the key element is to know enough about your target market and the property's audience and reputation to make sure there is a fit. —Don E. Schultz

Events reach right into the community, from professional sports to grassroots festivals. The most crucial task is finding the right event from over 40,000 choices. Or you can create your own event. As always, start out by defining your objectives, then reviewing the possibilities. Some objectives to consider:

• Creating a more exciting presence
• Changing or enhancing your image
• Increasing the market's scope (e.g., children plus tweens)
• Publicity
• Lending credibility to the product ("Must be a good deodorant if a wrestler uses it!")
• Flexible foundation to launch diverse promotions under one umbrella
• Leveraging property's popularity for store traffic and tie-ins—with community presence
• Motivating trade, distribution, sales force, etc. (hospitality events, incentives, celebrity visits, event-branded merchandise, perks, etc.)
• Bringing corporate image to the community level
• Prominent signage like stadium banners appearing on national TV
• Product sampling or demonstrations
• New regional distribution launch—awareness, traffic, distribution
• New product introduction—awareness (both trade and consumer)
• Product sales/sales contracts
• Trial—sampling handout
• Trial—experience product
• Literature distribution
• Retailer tie-ins—from events in their parking lot to inclusion at your event
• Client/customer relationship building
• Lead generation
• Community goodwill via cause tie-ins
• Counter-competitive activities
• Research
• Recruitment
• Added revenues from refreshments, space rental, program advertising, etc.

About the authors:
Steve Smith has been VP-creative director with some of the largest integrated agencies, serving such clients as Coke, Pepsi, 3M, Burger King, Kraft and BellSouth. He is the founder of Creative Marketing Services, a consulting and creative firm based in Chicago.

Don E. Schultz is an authority on promotional and integrated marketing. He is a professor of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern University and president of Agora, Inc., a marketing consulting firm headquartered in Chicago.