Week 8 - Sponsorship and Event Management

This week's readings centre on two of the strategies public relations practitioners can employ in promoting their organisations to their publics: sponsorship and events. Sponsorship involves partnering with other organisations or individuals, in return for specific rights and benefits. The scope for events is wide and diverse, and can run the gamut from news conferences to corporate entertainment. I think the key points to remember from this week's readings are that these two related strategies are highly visible aspects of public relations work, and can be used to great effect in promoting the organisation. However, both tactics require careful planning and assessment for successful execution.

Sponsorship can generate goodwill and media coverage, as well as place an organisation's products in the public's eye. With such great potential for success or failure, sponsorship initiatives need to be critically assessed, namely by coming up with a detailed sponsorship proposal. A public relations practitioner must research the target organisation to ensure that it is the right fit for our target audience and motives. We must be certain of the objectives of the sponsorship, the rights and benefits to be gleaned, and whether the sponsorship would improve our image, offer exclusivity, and increase brand awareness. I also think that it would be a good idea to come up with a strategic plan outlining the projected outcome of the sponsorship activity, implementation timelines, evaluation methods for measuring the impact of the sponsorship, as well as key performance indicators to determine whether we have achieved said goals and objectives.

On a similar note, event management involves formulating a suitable event by going through a checklist to verify the event's feasibility. This includes calculating the potential cost of the event, as well as whether the event will produce a positive effect on the organisation's key publics. The planning process would include the nitty-gritty details of ensuring a successful event, such as appointing key personnel, arranging catering services and coming up with a practical budget. The planning does not stop with the end of the event. Debriefing meetings with the main committee should be held to review and assess the outcome of the event.

This week's readings made me think about public relations practice in that sponsorship and event management are both inherently risky practices. There are no guarantees that both tactics would result in the public even taking notice of them. As such, there is no place for mediocrity. Events and sponsorship must be impactful, entertaining and unique, in order for them to generate the desired outcome of increased publicity. Also, because of the high risk of failure, I think that it would be prudent for any organisation planning sponsorship and events to develop a risk management strategy, in case of unforeseen crises and setbacks. A useful tool for risk management would be the O'Toole and Mikolaitis (2002) process of risk analysis, to identify, evaluate and manage any potential risks involved. Together with careful planning, this will ensure success in the area of sponsorship and event management.