Michael Lang is president of Lang & Associates, a Toronto-based international associative marketing agency with offices in Vancouver, Montreal and Atlanta. Contributions, ideas, media releases and feedback should be directed to Kelley at (416) 229-0060 or fax (416) 229-1210.

There are many challenges facing event property owners today: a more savvy corporate sponsor with increased event expectations; expanded sponsor benefit demands; incremental competition; and government cutbacks, to name a few. These pressures require properties to maximize all revenue streams if they are to secure their place at the table.

As has been seen over the last decade, corporate sponsorship will continue to play a pivotal role in determining the financial viability of most properties. Therefore, property owners, whether they be facilities, events or associations, must be organized to address the needs of corporations in order to position themselves for the next millenium.

In preparing proposals for potential sponsors, many properties know little about what sponsor-relevant benefits they possess, the market value of their assets, how to adequately service corporate sponsors, and what role sponsors will play now and in the future.

The determination of a property’s assets and its value is often referred to as sponsorship engineering. Sponsorship engineering encompasses a number of important steps, including asset analysis and valuation, marketplace review (property and industry sectors), strategic objective setting and long-term planning, and asset packaging and selling.

By engaging in this engineering process, a property is forced to check against corporate needs its packaging philosophy, pricing levels and selling strategies. This allows the property to clearly articulate its assets as well as to justify its pricing levels and the value delivered to sponsors.

Making a property saleable to corporations requires that owners look at their products through the eyes of a sponsor. Owners must divorce themselves of their emotional ties and strive to address objectively specific corporate needs.

Becoming saleable to corporations means that customized sponsorship packages are created based on solid research; an integration of assets and benefits is provided that allows sponsors to involve multiple business units; niche ownership opportunities are created, allowing for effective leveraging strategies to be built; and superior sponsor servicing is given throughout the contract.

Equity positions or limited partnerships between properties and sponsors, where the corporation takes an ownership stake within the property, is ideal. The stronger the ties that can be forged between the property and its sponsors, the more likely the property will have staying power.

One way to facilitate this is to create an environment that encourages corporations to use the property as a vehicle to showcase new technology, launch new products, etc.

Properties that fully understand who they are and what they offer, and bundle their assets in a meaningful way for corporations, will be the ones most sought after. Corporations will continue to use those properties that address the corporation’s core marketing needs effectively and efficiently.