When you’ve had a long-term sponsorship, any changes have the potential for headaches and heartache. But, if you’re prepared to step up, innovate and collaborate, there are wins to be had.
In 2011 AMI Insurance had a long-term charity partner in the Malaghan Medical Institute. When AMI began sponsoring Wellington Round the Bays Fun Run, The Institute saw an opportunity. They noticed the event organiser is a fellow not-for-profit, Sport Wellington.
Together, the three organisations set themselves up as equal major partners of the event. Co-operative planning saw them pool ideas and resources for shared activation. They developed messaging to meet the vision of all three, Run For Research.
The partners all gained more value by collaborating. For example, as the event began to sell out, Sport Wellington let Malaghan take the final 200 tickets. The Institute was then able to sell these ‘last chance’ tickets to their database at premium prices. They created packages with special after-run extras like foot massages and a BBQ. So, those who bought the tickets got great value too!
All the partners came out as winners through this collaboration. The Malaghan Research Institute was able to raise a lot of money and increase its membership database. Sport Wellington had amazing activations at their event for no extra cost. Finally, AMI Insurance was able to give effective support to two charity partners at once. This created synergies for both causes and reduced the time the sponsor spent in managing its two sponsorships.
Source: Sport New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards 2013 – Commercial Partnerships Excellence Award