Conference Content

Topic One: Industry Insight (15 Minutes ) 

Exclusive extracts from the Frontier 19 industry survey (in partnership with MKTG) give delegates insight and intelligence on current and expected sponsorship trends for the year ahead. Hot off the press the Frontier 19 is a comprehensive worldwide survey of sponsorship industry professionals providing an unrivalled    perspective on the who, what and where of diversification within sponsorship.  Results from the survey are delivered exclusively to Think!Sponsorship delegates ahead of public release.

Sandra Greer, Insights Director, MKTG 

Topic Two: Diverse Platforms - Q & A (30 minutes) 

In this session we talk to about sponsorship selection - the start of sponsorship. We discuss how to establish and build a robust sponsorship portfolio, the challenges of strategic sponsorship selection and the diversification of available platforms. We explore how Chestertons has mapped their customer profile to sponsorship selection and the subsequent engagement of micro-communities through these selections reflecting how the industry is evolving.  

Giles Milner, Marketing Director, Chestertons

Chestertons are sponsors of the Royal Academy, Dogs Trust, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, MCC Women's Cricket Team, Polo in the Park, Chelsea Physic Gardens

Topic Three: Diverse Activation - Panel Discussion (45 Minutes) 

In Diverse Activation we explore how modern sponsorship asset bases are evolving to deliver a variety of outcomes to sponsoring businesses in line with focused and targeted objectives. Our panel debates ‘reach versus depth’, the enduring challenge of measuring impacts and outcomes and expected future trends in sponsorship activation.

Sarah Niblock, Sponsorship & Reward Manager, SSE 

Amy Smith, Sponsorship Manager, O2 (Telefonica UK) 

Rebecca Kozlowska, VP Senior Experiential Marketing & Partnerships Manager, Barclaycard

Dan Sherwood, Head of Sponsorship and Events, Santander

Specialist Moderator: Louise Johnson, CEO, Fuse 

Topic Four:  Impactful Partnership- Breakout Discussion (45 Minutes) 

In this breakout we celebrate the diversity of modern partnership, exploring how resourceful and impactful sponsorship can be in delivering benefits and opportunities to multiple stakeholder groups simultaneously. In this session we consider how an aligned philanthropic and commercial sponsorship programme can deliver big results from CSR outcomes to employee-led initiatives as well as unique content opportunities that inspire behaviour change

Helen Chomczuk – Head of Development, Edinburgh International Book Festival

Sam Pattman – Sponsorship Manager, Baillie Gifford

Kat Shearer – Corporate Development Manager, Edinburgh International Book Festival

Michelle McLeod - Sponsorship Manager, Baillie Gifford

Topic Five - Sporting Innovation - Breakout Discussion (45 minutes)

Topic Six: Digital Sponsorship- Breakout Session (45 Minutes)

The explosion of opportunity within the digital and social stratosphere has substantively impacted on the engagement and interaction between sponsor and target community be that a fan, enthusiast, audience or visitor. In this session we discuss and review how sponsors can be relevant and authentic on digital and social channels,  the challenge of responding to fast-paced live interactions and the impact of effective social and digital sponsorship activations.

Magda Lojszczyk, Head of Music & Film, EE 

Topic Seven: Influential Sponsorship—Panel Discussion (45 Minutes) 

An insatiable desire for ‘celebrity’ has created a unique culture for bloggers, influencers, celebrities and ambassadors to work with brands and influence outcomes. From entertainment bloggers to more traditional brand ambassadors the marketplace is exploding with possibility. Influencers are establishing and maintaining their own personal media platforms through social channels – offering reach and endorsement in a competitive brand environment. We examine how partnerships of this type are blurring the traditional sponsorship model and where and rights owners can harness the ‘influencer’ opportunity and work collaboratively to stay in the game.

Liam Chivers, Director, OP Talent Limited (Endemol Shine Group) & Board Director Business of Influencers

Owen Laverty, Director of Fan Intelligence, Ear to the Ground

Dan Sherwood, Head of Sponsorship & Events, Santander

Ben Jeffries, CEO & Founder, Influencer  

Topic Eight: Sponsorship Integrates - Breakout Discussion (45 minutes)

Industry insight shows that more that 66% of sponsorship practitioners believe that sponsorship should play an important role in helping businesses to deliver on their CSR objectives. Unequivocally this would present great opportunities for industry expansion were we to  integrate more fully with businesses and their overarching CSR initiatives/objectives. In this session we examine a case study that shows the potential of CSR/Sponsorship collaborations of this type and that highlights what partnership of this type can achieve for both rights owner and seller. We also look through the lens at the challenges of authenticity and engagement and consider how our industry may need to evolve to harness this opportunity.

Jenny Seymour, Commercial Manager, British Paralympic Association

Jo Sheterline, Senior Campaign Manager, Virgin Media 

Topic Nine: The Business of Sponsorship (45 Minutes) 

In this session we consider how sponsorship is evolving to deliver diverse solutions to increasingly complex business to business (B2B) marketing objectives through the use of impactful and sustainable programmes. Through examination of a case study example that demonstrates the breadth of assets and opportunities within this space we will debate and discuss a changing B2B sponsorship marketplace.

Mark Wileman, Brand Director, Hertz International

Charlotte Surman, Senior Corporate Development Manager, National Theatre

Topic Ten: Diverse Measurement - Presentation & Q & A (45 Minutes) 

In Diverse Measurement we tackle one of the enduring challenges for our sector—demonstrating return on objectives. In 2018 only 19% of the industry (brands, rights-owners, agencies) indicated they  were confident of measuring the business value return of sponsorship (source: Frontier18) In this session we discuss how to overcome our propensity to measure metrics instead of business values and question how a sea change in measurement be achieved?

Colin O’Toole, Marketing Manager & Sponsorship Lead, Cadbury

Andrew Cahill, Business Director, MKTG