While it’s great to attend a conference and hear from all the experts from within your field, it can be even more useful to hear from experts who work in other fields. At The Art of Placemaking conference we invited Jed Pearsall, founder and president of Performance Research, a global leader in marketing and sponsorship research for Fortune 50 brands, to share his experiences in working with companies that sponsor the Arts. Performance Research’s mission is to help clients capture and measure the value of sponsorship and experiential marketing and reveal the essential truth about the impact.
Measuring What Matters: Sponsorship Research Lessons for the Placemaking World
1.
2.
3. Our Mission
To help clients capture and measure
the value of sponsorship and
experiential marketing, and reveal
the essential truth about impact.
4. First born sponsorship research firm
750+ programs
12 of Top 15 US sponsors as clients
Global reach
Olympic Games
America’s Cup
FIFA World Cup
Rugby World Cup
NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB
Motorsports
Extreme Sports
Youth sports
Theme parks
Cause marketing
Web sponsorship
Music sponsorship
TV Sponsorship
Site-based marketing
Alternative media
Minorities / subcultures
Experiential marketing
Raceways
Concert Venues
Stadiums
Theme Parks
Ski Resorts
Beaches
Bars/ Clubs
Golf Courses
Fairs / Festivals
Football Stadiums
Basketball Arenas
Olympic Venues
College Campuses
City Streets
Movie Theaters
Museums
Arts Venues
7. Performing Arts:
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Carnegie Hall (New York)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
Harris Theater, Chicago
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Philadelphia)
Lincoln Center (New York)
London Symphony Orchestra
Ravinia Festival
Seattle Symphony
Verbier Festival Orchestra (Zurich)
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
11. o resistant to trends
o heightened senses
o heightened response
o contagious
o memorable
o timeless
12. no standard unit of measurement
reliance on easy feedback
focus on volume rather than value
we start on the defensive
answering to multiple constituents
fruitless search for complex models
why measurement is tough…
14. Michael Lynch
VP, Global Partnerships
Visa
“You can’t manage a sponsorship
if you can’t measure it.”
15.
16. 4 real studies…
- spanning 25 years of research
- hundreds of thousands of interviews
- representing millions of pages detailed statistics
withoutshowing a pie chart
19. "If you named a sport or venue, we were there. The problem was the
consumer didn't notice we were there. The consumer said
that signage in these venues is nothing more than advertising.
So what's the difference between a sign in a bus shelter and one at a
baseball stadium? Probably about a million dollars in fees, and the
bus shelter is probably better for you.
Steve Koonin
Former VP, Presence Marketing
20. theresearch
Model market approach
Baseline on-site survey research
Discovering passion points, emotional triggers
Building experiences
Post-activation research to show value
24. the situation
• outdated space- built to represent future
• flagship showroom
• chance to impress
• chance to boring
• competition for attention
25. the research
• baseline quantitative surveys
• mini groups -- grabbed right from line
• every aspect tested-- pre show, ride, post show
• sensory aspects: sight, sound, noise
26. the outcome
• no second wasted
• new learnings, retention of information
• verifiable increase in dealer visits
28. Determine the emotional components and passion
points among snowboarders for global soft drink
Riders considered to be:
• opinion leaders
• early adopters
• anti-establishment
Brand wanted to be:
• Authentic
• Relevant
• Integrated
the situation
riders considered to be:
• anti-establishment
• early adopters
• opinion leaders
brand needed to be:
• Authentic
• Relevant
• Integrated
29. the research
• observation on mountains
• video diaries
• focus groups
• quantitative on-mountain surveys
• goal to find emotional trigger
30. • group mindset
• prefer separation over inclusion
• traditional sponsorship rejected
the outcome
• “the place” –
o snowboard huts
o low key branding
31. wea lth ma na gement firm a nd co ntempo ra ry a rt
32. “Arts & cultural sponsorships have two
enormous advantages. First, they
represent one of the last kinds of
sponsorships where consumers give you
credit for just showing up…
Secondly, they allow you to be distinctive
and win attention by doing something
unexpected.”
David D'Alessandro
Chief Executive Officer, John Hancock Insurance
Author of Brand Warfare
33. the situation
• worldwide cultural differences
• need for consistent message
• platforms resistant to branding
• target traditionally insulated
• need to be understated but understood
34. the research
• focus Groups in US, Europe, Asia, South America
• pre-post online surveys in sponsorship markets
• on-site intercepts at events
35. It’s more penetrative. It’s hammering in all the time. You see it everywhere. And it burns
its way into your brain.
The moment the subject become interesting, you notice the sponsoring
The effect is not so selfish. Your still advertising, but you’re doing something for
others as well.
If a sponsor does something that’s selfless, a real commitment to the people, that counts.
If I notice a sponsor and think “Thank you, otherwise this great thing wouldn’t take place!”
That’s emotion.
The best chance of emotional influence is providing timely help
36. the outcome
• art is a universal language
• fear of over-commercialization is unfounded
• most want to be informed more about corporate support
• arts are not that much different from…
When Peter asked me to speak here, he said, “The main reason we chose measurement as a topic to explore is because there is currently little agreement on what to measure… and honestly there isn’t even a definition of what creative placemaking.This is exactly where sponsorship was in the mid-80’s
Corporate clients such as Visa, Anheuser-Bush, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, GM, Allstate, Nestle, CitibankSports properties such as ESPN, NCAA
This is a hard thing to do– we like to think we look good-- but how often do we ask? Do we want validation? Or contrastive criticism? The whole story? Part of the story?In short- do we really want to know the truth?Our job is to help clients capture and measure the value of sponsorship, and reveal the essential truths about sponsorship impact.
Biggest commonality– no on thought it was possibleNo standard unit? Of course not– There is no such thing as "sponsorship effectiveness" in any general or abstract sense. Sponsorship can be effective only in accomplishing specific goals and objectives.
Biggest commonality– no on thought it was possible. These are EXCUSES not obstaclesNo standard unit? Of course not– there is no such thing as sponsorship success in any general or abstract sense– sponsorship can only be successful in reaching specific objectives
So how do we count? Or not count?Onsite surveysOnline surveysFocus groupsOnline research Video research
Disney is probably represents the modern day place-makers…Everything is about the experience, escape, adventure, interactivity, memoriesBut how do you keep that alive and current?
have we been invited into fans’ personal space, or are we invading it? are we giving something of value? have we created an emotional commitment for the brand? have we broken through to an inner circle of trust? does our sponsorship or activations fulfill a need?
Emotional trigger-You know it when you see it, touch it, feel it, experience it.
are seen as vital by both sides to sustaining arts programsof arts can be considered more valuable and unique than other genres, especially among the High Net Worth segmentmust be justified – now more than everrarely illicit negative feedback regarding “over-commercialization” of cultural venuesneed to know how (you) the property, or (them) the audience is benefitingneed to see that sponsorship is providing the otherwise unattainableneed to understand that without sponsors, they may lose cultural initiativesneed to experience sponsors as "enablers" of the event or artists, rather than just as advertisers dominating the event
Research, measurement and creativity can all co-exist. Measurement keeps the creativity on task… and ultimately the money coming in.The balance can be struck--- and I am guessing that the field of creative placemaking, simply by talking about this so early in the game-- has a very bright future.
This statement is so relevant to sponsorships..Why is it rarely pure? Multiple constituencies all looking at the same things, with very different perspectives: Properties: Sponsors: Sponsorship Managers Other Marketing Departments Upper Management Finance People General PublicBut our goal today is to make it simple for you. How do we do that? …. Break it down into simple steps.