We need to engage an event marketing agency which commands international exposure and could handle the entire event marketing artwork, Internet presence, which can proactively provide input to our campaign, and monitor usage of event collateral by sponsors, competitors, and third-party suppliers' throughout the event.
This item is extremely important at this juncture. Any information suited to quantify TV, press, and media exposure is crucial. Please go to www.discovery.com for background information.
See, e.g.: Lufthansa Skyshop. Revert with the type of products you suggest, the vendors, and their terms and conditions. Please note that our logo needs to be attached or printed on all items, that that goods will need to comply with our branding standards. Furthermore, please expect that our sponsors will co-determine the product portfolio.
Regarding marketing in general, the following activities should be on everyone's continuous to-do-list:
Post notices to aviation websites, e.g. online guest books, etc !
Identify and contact the editors of magazines, local newsletters, and other aviation publications particularly catering to the microlighting community asking them to include a prominent mention of the Marco Polo Rally, see
www.wst.nu/mpr/press.htm
Post a notice about the Rally at your local airport
www.wst.nu/mpr/flyer.htm and encourage others to follow suite.
Assist us with the improvement of our address and email database. (Not accessible to the public is our Knowledge Base, a research forum for the planners and organizers of the Rally. If you require information regarding a certain topic, please email us.)
Please be encouraged to share any public information or advice you have regarding any aspects of planning and execution of the Marco Polo Rally:
The Marco Polo Sponsorship Marketing Campaign will be a critical juncture in our progress and will have a significant impact on the commencement date. We suggest the following background reading materials
> Partner Program - multinational organizations which provide direct support > Suppliers - provide the Organizing Committee with critical support > Licensing - licensed products and event merchandise > Ticketing - includes hospitality events en route > Local Sponsorship - for example of national teams
You could either help us identify professional fund raisers and sponsorship sales agencies or become directly involved in Broadcast Rights or the Worldwide Sponsorship Program.
Qualification of potential sponsors to approach:
The annual financial reports of most blue chip corporations publish the contact details of their CEO's and those executives responsible for sponsorship on their Websites, including their business strategy and short to medium-term business outlook. We need to interview board members as well as research their annual financial reports to match the potential sponsors' interests with what our Olympian Rally Event offers in terms of brand-building and market exposure. Please also see the sponsorship categories published on our Website.
Please thus research the following:
Names and contact details of the potential sponsor's CEO, CMO, CFO, and sponsorship department, if they have one (in that order of priority) Find out if one of them is a pilot, aviation enthusiast, or avid sportsman (and which discipline if not aviation) Who they sponsored (event organizers plus contact details of the sponsored entities' decision makers), and what amounts in US $. An international sporting event and air rally must fit into their marketing and branding strategy. We also need to know about their medium to long term marketing strategies. Apart from your personal contacts, their corporate Website -> annual financial reports - are usually an excellent research resource.
Please revert with your results in the body of a separate email for each candidate. In the subject line please state: [your name, sponsorship category, the name of the company researched, and the name(s) of the individual(s) to contact]. As a number of people will need to process this information, I would like to suggest to structure the information in the body of the email:
Heading: Our Sponsorship category
Individual contact's name, email, phone and fax number
