TribalWorks

I went to the SMCC Conference yesterday and I thought most of the segments were well presented. 

The key conference takeaways were summarized well by Alan Middleton’s 3C’s.  Alan is the Executive Director at Schulich Executive Education Centre and was the MC for most of the day.

The 3C’s plus my takeaways:

• Community
  • Almost all the speakers highlighted the need to work with and do work for the community
  • This fits well with the Tribal Approach whereby you look at supporting the tribe rather than marketing to it
• Commitment
  • In order for a sponsorship partnership to be successful, there needs to be commitment from both senior management and employees
  • Most of the initiatives discussed during the day included a strong commitment from employees to deliver their results (best example was how Scotiabank was able to get their employees on board for numerous events that they sponsor)
• Continuity
  • This goes for any successful campaign but especially sponsorship
  • If you don’t tell people you are sponsoring something, you won’t get the recognition you are looking for and deserve
  • Also, make sure you have an integrated plan especially if you are sponsoring a one-time or infrequent event

Sponsorship can be a part of a complete Tribal Strategy.  The key thing is to make sure you know how it all fits together and how it impacts your entire organization.