“Companies are faced with difficult decisions about how to spend marketing dollars, and it’s important to look at how we can increase the value of what we have to offer. As an unbiased, non-profit association, we can connect companies and organizations across all industries with a well qualified base of motivated automation professionals,” said ISA Executive Director and CEO Patrick Gouhin. “We’ve developed new opportunities and taken a careful look at our current offerings, and we’ve developed a program structure that lets companies decide the best ways to accomplish their marketing goals within ISA.”
ISA is working with world-renowned sponsorship organization IEG to analyze its assets, evaluate sponsor needs, and develop strategies for increasing sponsorship’s return on investment (ROI). IEG is a leading provider of consulting, valuation, measurement, research and training to the global sponsorship industry. IEG’s 5,000 clients include the NFL, UNICEF, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Credit Suisse, Diageo, and Subway. The organization works to help properties and sponsors make the most of sponsorship dollars, and features a division focused on evaluating the true value of sponsorship packages.
IEG studies sponsorship trends across all industries, and reports that despite economic conditions, corporate marketers remain committed to sponsorship as a growing part of their marketing mix. According to IEG/Performance Research’s Sponsorship Decision Makers Survey, the average company plans to dedicate 17.6 percent of its marketing budget to sponsorship, up from 12 percent just seven years ago.
“The trend toward sponsorship as a marketing strategy makes sense for companies across all industries,” said Jennifer Infantino, ISA’s Manager of Corporate and Foundation Partnerships. “It’s cost-effective, because you’re not buying dozens of different things from all corners of the same organization. Through this program, we can bring all of ISA’s assets together and help companies maximize their marketing dollars. ISA has tremendous reach, with Members and customers in dozens of industries around the world, and we also have great depth in our vertical markets.”
ISA’s program will feature three main levels of sponsorship. Sponsorship packages will offer year round promotion, prominent association-wide access and recognition, and turnkey service from a dedicated team of professionals.
Packages are currently being developed and validated, and ISA plans to open the program to sponsors at the end of the year. Opportunities will be limited to a small number of companies per level in order to give the highest level of visibility to each of ISA’s partners. Companies interested in learning more about 2010 sponsorship opportunities should contact Jennifer Infantino at + 1 919 990 9287 or jinfantino@isa.org.
“The best automation professionals in the world are right here, and it’s the perfect time to connect those individuals to the companies that are leading us into the future,” said Gouhin.