Successful Meetings - June 2008 - (Page 30)

Sponsorship Guide DIALING FOR DOLLARS There’s sponsorship money out there for meetings; it’s just a question of structuring the deal By Suzie Amer Despite the gloomy mood in the general economy, there is good news to be found. Chicago-based sponsorship research firm IEG expects sponsorship spending by North American companies to increase by 12.6 percent in 2008, to top $16 billion. According to IEG’s most recent industry forecast, this marks the sixth consecutive annual growth in sponsorship spending and the largest increase since 2000. By far, the lion’s share of the dollars will go to major sporting events, but smaller annual events and association meetings will also see their fortunes rise. Associations and membership organizations are expected to witness a sponsorship growth of 4.6 percent to $461 million in 2008, while annual events, festivals, and fairs should see an increase of 7.7 million to $754 million this year. Planners who want to get their piece of this growing sponsorship pie should carefully consider their options when creating their sponsorship programs. Planners can choose to incorporate three main categories of sponsorship: items, sessions, and experiences. ALL THE LITTLE THINGS Of all the options, sponsored items are probably the most familiar. Anyone who’s attended an association meeting or trade show has walked away with a lanyard bearing the name of a sponsoring company, if not a travel coffee mug, a tote bag, and probably some breath mints emblazoned with corporate logos as well. Going beyond these tried-and-true sponsorship standards, any item that an attendee might use while attending a meeting can be—and probably has been—sponsored, from SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS 30

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - June 2008

Successful Meetings - June 2008
Contents
Editor's Note
Industry Trends
Events
Suppliers
Associations
Planner Spotlight: Kelly Broz
Technology Talk
Food & Beverage
Websites of the Month
Pre-Event: Tech
Pre-Event: Bartering
Tools of the Trade
Dialing for Dollars
The All-in-One Resort
Bottom-Line Speakers
Places & Spaces
Florida’s West Coast
Mississippi
Atlanta
Wisconsin
Chicago
Gurus

Successful Meetings - June 2008