Sponsorship Case Study

REVENUE RAISING
Case 10. Sponsorship
Sculpting A Reputation And Event Through Sponsorship

Sculpture by the Sea is an annual sculpture prize and exhibition which uses the coastline between Sydney’s Bondi Beach and Tamarama as its spectacular venue. The event has been running since 1997. It seeks both in-kind and cash sponsorships and donations. In 2003 the event organisers formed a not for profit incorporated association which has tax deductibility status for the donations it receives.

In this 2003 interview between David Handley, Director of Sculpture by the Sea, and Merrilee Kessler, NAVA, David talked about his experiences of raising sponsorship and the lessons he learned.This case study was developed to be read in association with the Theory in Practice Series.

Q. How important is sponsorship to Sculpture By The Sea?
A. Right from the start sponsorship was an intrinsic part of the funding for the event. It was always intended that the event would be free to the public, so someone had to pay. In the planning stages I tried to conjure an event that would be attractive to artists, to sponsors, the government, the public and the media. In the first year of the event the income split was probably about 75% sponsorship and 25% donations.

Q. How did you attract those first sponsors?
A. Attracting sponsorship is the story of the chicken and egg. You are going to have difficulty getting sponsorship if you don’t have a track record. So you have to be realistic and understand the position of the project and how important it’s going to be for its audience and the potential sponsors. In the first year we didn’t ask for much - and none of the Sculpture by the Sea staff were paid. Of the $11,500 budget, $8,500 went on prizes for the artists.

We obtained permission from Waverley Council to use the Bondi - Tamarama coastal walk. We also had the support of the well respected sculptor, Ron Roberston-Swann, who could advise on technical aspects of the exhibition and spread the word to other sculptors. So we went to Sydney Water and sought sponsorship for the Sydney Water Sculpture Prize, the major prize. The request was made at very short notice but it seemed to catch the imagination of the right person. To some extent it was just good luck.

We were also able to attract some contributions from businesses and individuals, for example Bryce and Benita Courtenay have supported us since year one.

Q. What aspects of the event do you think interested Sydney Water?
A. They were interested in the event because they were keen to highlight how good the water quality of Sydney’s beaches were (following a period of community concern), they wanted to put something back into the community, and, support an under-resourced art form. Now they also have the prestige of supporting the richest sculpture prize in NSW. When we were making the first approach we had also teed up a major article to appear in the Sydney Morning Herald. That acted as a push for them to make a decision quickly so that they could be associated with the event when the article came out.

Sydney Water found the first year of the event value for money and were open to talk about the second year possibilities. So we were able to build on the relationship and increase the prize money and make it acquisitive. The winning work has since been acquired and donated by Sydney Water to the Campbelltown Art Centre. It was important to us to increase the prize amount to offer something substantial to artists while Sydney Water saw Sydney’s west as a priority and wanted to show that it was not just interested in the eastern suburbs. The donation of the acquisitive prize helps them to build the presence of sculpture in western Sydney.

Q. How do you decide on how much sponsorship you need?
A. As long as a piece of string. We still cobble together the show on a ridiculously low budget compared to the size of the show.

As a process we divide the event into individual pegs onto which we try to put individual sponsors hats. There is the main prize, the People’s Choice, an education program and a young artist’s prize. Each one is sponsored or funded separately.

But greater resources means you can do more things. In our first year we attracted 25,000 people on a marketing budget of $400. Today, with better resources, we estimate we attract about 300,000 people.

Q. How do you service the sponsorships?
A. As sponsorships grow you need to spend more time and money servicing them. By way of example, we spend 20-30% of what a sponsor provides on servicing the sponsorship (and that does not include staff wages and overheads). Sponsorships are multi faceted packages. For example, since 1999 a key component of the sponsorship benefits offered to corporations is the exhibition’s corporate hospitality program. It’s based on the idea “money can’t buy experiences”. We give the sponsors things like private tours of the exhibition, with guest speakers etc.

You have to tier your responses. Don’t give the same recognition or benefits to all sponsors irregardless of how much sponsorship they are giving you. Make sure you are able to quantify the value of what you are offering and give the level of value that is reasonable for the sponsorship value.

Q. What are some of the lessons you have learnt about sponsorship?
• You must have the project worked out in a concrete form before you approach the potential sponsor.

• When sending a proposal there are only three people you should consider sending it to:
- the Chairman, or
- the managing director (or equivalent), or
- the marketing / sponsorship manager.

• You must be able to convey, in no more than a few minutes, concise information about the event.

• Tailor all approaches. The partnership must make sense for both sides, it is not a donation. Work with the sponsor to find out what they are looking for from their sponsorship program.

• Realise that some companies will give cash and some will give in-kind. In-kind may be much easier for some to provide.

• When drafting the proposal don’t keep saying ‘We want’, ‘We need’ etc. You have to put the sponsoring company’s needs first as they are paying for a service, not making a donation.

• NEVER try to get two competitors to sponsor the one event.

• Be wary of sponsorship managers who believe they have all the cards. Don’t succumb to unreasonable demands.

• You must get at least a letter of agreement outlining exactly what you and the sponsor are providing to each other. One time in ten someone will try and say they have a right to something you don’t believe they have.

• Go for multi year contracts (although this is very hard in the first year of the event). Three years is pretty much the best you will get, still try for options to extend for further years as well.

• You must be business like. Or, if you are going to be Yahoo Serious, the person next to you must be serious. That is, if you are going to be creative and unorthodox in your meeting with the sponsor you have to take someone with you who can relate to the sponsor in the usual business way. A lot of people think producing arts events is 80% creative work. This might be the case with fringe events, it’s not if you ever want to work with a decent budget. The division of work to produce an arts event is 20% creative, 20% legal, 20% financial, 20% marketing and 20% networking. Don’t get one of these right and everything else will fall down. Also your sponsor is not going to be comfortable if you’re not business like.

• Read everything you can on sponsorship. Understand the world and the language. Know which major businesses are doing well, which are failing and who is doing something that might connect well with your project.

• Develop a media partner. Then you are able to say to the sponsor that you can provide them with their logo on xyz thousand dollars of ads. That can be very attractive.

• And lastly, don’t waste your time with really small sponsorships. It’s better to think of other ways to raise the money. That said however, I did a few small projects before Sculpture by the Sea, seeking smaller sponsorships, and it was a useful learning experience. Small cash sponsorships can be the start of your sponsorship raising career - but you must build on it, otherwise you spend weeks servicing a $2,500 sponsorship and there’s no sense in that.

© National Association for the Visual Arts Ltd, 2008 This information is provided as general information only and should not be relied on for advice. Professional tax and legal advice must be sought for specific issues. Information correct as at time of printing. Not responsibility taken for any errors or omissions.