OBJECTIVE
The assignment is to develop a sponsorship proposal using the knowledge and insights you have gained from the Sponsorship Online Course.
CHALLENGE
You have been approached by a brand that needs advice about the potential opportunities associated with sponsorship to achieve specific brand marketing and business development objectives.
For the purpose of this assignment, you will have a choice between two different types of brands:
1. EzePay (pronounced easy pay)
EzePay is a financial services product that allows consumers to manage all their payments through one mobile web-based platform. The proprietary technology has been created and developed by EzePay to work with all major banks, credit cards and payment service providers.
As this is a new financial service, it is not well known and the Marketing Director has been tasked with increasing the visibility of the brand in three key regions, namely Europe, Asia and North America. This is a subscription-based service where new customers will have 3 months free trial, followed by a monthly fee of $5.00
The second objective is to increase the number of consumers registering with EzePay, without overstepping data protection laws, and capture details of 10 million people, specifically in the 18 to 30 years age group. This target is to be achieved over 3 years.
The Marketing Director at EzEPay is familiar with the general benefits of sponsorship but is not an expert and therefore needs advice about all aspects of a sponsorship strategy including selection of a sponsorship property/partner, investment, activation and setting KPIs to track and measure the performance of the sponsorship.
Brand values of EzePay include innovative, trustworthy, pragmatic and provocative.
This is the first opportunity to demonstrate you have the ability to secure EzePay as a client and a top-line presentation is required, not a full proposal. The annual investment in this case for sponsorship, activation and any other marketing expenses is $50 million per year.
THE CONCEPT
Develop a concept sponsorship plan to explain your initial recommendations for further internal review by the Marketing Director and the Board of Management.
The sponsorship selection, activation plan and all details in the concept proposal should be as realistic as possible based on publicly available information, desk research, news reports and industry sources.
WHO IS THE CLIENT?
In both cases, the client is a 40-year-old Marketing Director from Australia who has been living in Europe for the last 15 years (Amsterdam, Munich and Barcelona) with a family of three children aged 7, 10 and 14 years.
The Marketing Director studied Business Administration at university and has been a lifelong marketer working at AkzoNobel, BMW and NH Hotel Group but has never been directly involved in sponsorship programs.
Personal interests include tennis, fitness (running) and surfing.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE CLIENT TO UNDERSTAND?
That you have the knowledge and expertise to advise this organization how to identify, select and secure the most relevant and suitable sponsorship to achieve the stated objectives.
What is your added value?
How are you going to ensure the client feels comfortable working with you and what else can you do to increase confidence in your abilities?
Mandatory / Executional Factors
Please ensure you think about and address these factors in your proposal:
1. Marketing objectives what are the marketing objectives for this product or service in the context of the (sport) market or business where the organization operates?
2. Market or situation analyses what research have you undertaken to establish the sponsorship opportunity for this product or service? What are the external factors that are most influential in shaping the selection of sponsorship properties?
3. Competition who are their competitors (if any) and what have you learnt by analyzing the competitors? Are there any key stakeholders that can have a positive or negative effect on the sponsorship plan or activities? If so, what are they?
4. SWOT Prepare a SWOT analysis of the sponsorship properties selected activities for your organization. How can the organization increase the opportunities and/or reduce the threats as they relate to the marketing objectives? Make two recommendations.
5. Market segmentation who has been identified as the main target market? Explain the market segmentation variables and how they apply to the customer(s). Can you outline the profiles and expected behavior of key customers in the target market?
6. Value Proposition what problem is your organization seeking to solve for the prospects / customers or what is the added value of their products or services that will support the development of this organization? How is this relevant, authentic, inspiring and different to the competitors and how can this be used in your sponsorship concept development and recommendations?
7. Branding what is the effect of the brand values in the sponsorship selection, plan and activities? How can the brand create a distinctive position in the marketplace? Think about the brand values and factors that will influence the customers perception of the brands product or service and how the sponsorship could reinforce these values.
8. Integrated marketing campaign which sponsorship activities will you employ to bring the product or service to the market? Think how to create market awareness, generate demand and diversification to enter different regions and segments. How does the content, media network and/or distribution channels affect the ability to meet the marketing objectives?
9. Pricing what is the pricing of the product or service? How could this influence the type of sponsorship you would recommend and the activation?
10. Measurement how can you measure the success of this sponsorship concept to achieve the marketing and business objectives? Is there any evidence of research or benchmarks in this sector for the selected sponsorships?
Additional Information
There are certain details which might not be described in this briefing document. It is your responsibility to make intelligent assumptions about the scope and setting that could influence your recommendations.
This sponsorship concept proposal should be in a PowerPoint format and converted into a PDF.
You may use a maximum of 20 slides and include an Appendix for any reference material you feel is relevant.
Graphics, visuals and any other aids to support your proposal is welcome.
