This presentation was given at VSAE's Annual Meeting. It covers strategies and concepts for maximizing sponsorship, advertising and exhibit revenue in associations and non-profits.

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

2. Agenda
• Current Environment
• Structuring Partner Programs
• 10 Tips
• Case Study

3. 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 ?

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

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

6. Exercise: Recent Conference
Experience
Think about the last conference that
you attended (not yours)…
• Who sponsored what?

7. Traditional Approach
• ‘Inventory’
• Transactional
• Decentralized outreach
• Regular funding requests
• Internal competition

8. Outreach…
• Prospectus
• 80 / 20 Rule

9. …and Reaction
• Limited potential
• My objectives?
• Gold, Silver, Bronze…

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

11. What Associations Want
• Increase membership / audience
• Develop new programs / increase
participation
• Grow revenue

12. 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

13. Sponsors’ Desire
• Effective linkages; not inventory
• Credibility / authenticity
• Year-round relationships
• Customized arrangements

14. A Challenging Environment
• Marketing budgets cut
• Value add is critical
• Established structure and plans
• Identify impact on industry sectors

15. Getting Started: Develop your
Program
Identify assets
• Membership
• Communication channels
• Programs
• Events
• Content areas
• Others

16. Obtain Sponsor Input
Solicit feedback
• Specific benefits
• Other ways to engage
• Activation ideas
• Suggestions for improvement

17. 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”

18. Turn Assets into Benefits
• Determine assets/areas of interest
• Understand benefits from the sponsors
perspective
• Consider other potential benefits

19. Alignment of Interests
Organizational
Culture
Member Interests
Sponsor Goals

20. 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

21. Action!
• Develop a go-to market strategy
• Seek mutually beneficial partnerships
• Centralize and coordinate
• Align interests
• Seek strategic relationships vs.
transaction-based offerings

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. NAFSA: A Case Study from
an Ad Sales Perspective
• 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

26. NAFSA: A Case Study from
an Ad Sales Perspective
• 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

27. NAFSA: A Case Study from
an Ad Sales Perspective
• 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+)

28. Questions?
Scott D. Oser
President
Scott Oser Associates
301-279-0468
scott@scottoserassociates.com
Twitter = @scottoser
www.scottoserassociates.com