Here is a prime example of the sponsorship industry coming to the rescue of record labels around the world, but more pre-dominantly the United States:

“North American-based companies will spend $1.17 billion to sponsor music venues, festivals and tours in 2011, a 7.3 percent increase from the $1.09 billion spent in 2010, according to IEG, the world’s leading authority on sponsorship.

Corporate interest in music partnerships has never been greater, said William Chipps, senior editor of IEG Sponsorship Report. Spending continues to be driven by the apparel, automotive, insurance, personal grooming, retail, technology and telecommunications categories, all of which are increasingly using sponsorship to build their brands and gain one-on-one touch points with young adult consumers.”

This was also said about sponsorship regarding the YOUTH MOVEMENT with brands:

“It’s clear that there’s massive new opportunities in sponsorship and advertising programs for obtaining the greatest reach, perception, and awareness among youth culture today. The Report, produced by Label Networks, a leading global youth culture marketing intelligence and media company, provides fresh consumer insight and analysis that indicates how, where, and why this new generation of consumers is influenced most by specific sponsorship programs, plus the state of advertising effectiveness, including what’s hot and what’s over, in addition to quantifying effective grassroots and viral marketing ingenuity via specific industries and unexpected communication formats.

“Fascinating results have been produced from our Sponsorship + Advertising Youth Culture Report,” says Tom Wallace, President of Label Networks. “Results illustrate the mercurial adaptation and success of those who have not only tapped the vein among America’s youth culture markets, but pushed trends forward through unique and creative sponsorship and advertising campaigns, while exposing the near-tragic and almost comical disconnect of others when trying to reach today’s generation of new consumers.”

Sponsorship has taken the music industry and combined consumer brands with integrated marketing campaigns not only to sell more records- scratch that, DOWNLOADS – but to grow an artist from grassroots by pairing the artist or band with a certain brand and keeping relevancy among America’s youth alive.

Sponsorship has saved the music industry for now and the numbers over the past year say “Thank YOU” in full detail.

By Brandon Edgley

Gnosiis Media LLC

Sponsorship and Developments

Many corporations and brands will have a renewed attitude and vigor toward sponsorship over the next two months. January and February are the two busiest months out of the whole year for the sponsorship industry. The dollars that companies have to utilize are neatly packaged into a budget that is used for marketing, which encompasses sponsorship.

Here at Gnosiis, we know we have some great events that sponsors are interested in. We know we can get that company a big time ROI (Return on Investment), and that’s why we look forward to January. Brands are on the hunt for the right fit, the right demographic, that perfect event to invest their sponsorship dollars into. This is the time of year we can’t wait to sink our teeth into.

If your brand or corporation is looking for an event to utilize that shiny new budget, take a look at what we’ve got here at The Gnosiis Media Company:

• Mark Allen Racing (Nascar Nationwide Series Sponsorship Opportunity) All Next Year 2011
• NICOCUSA Film Festival (Nigerian Film Festival) Summer 2011
• An Evening With The Stars (NBA ALL STAR Weekend Charity Cocktail Mixer, Silent Auction and Dinner) February 2011
• American Mall Model Search (Modeling Contest) 2011, annually
• The Santa Monica Pier (Twilight Summer Concert Series, etc…) Summer 2011, annually

The opportunities are endless. We are excited for the promise of a new year.

Happy Holidays from The Gnosiis Media Company!

If you are interested in any of theses great event please contact:

Brandon Edgley
Senior Agent
The Gnosiis Media Company
1901 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 200
Century City, CA 90067
Tel. (310) 557-3591 x705
Brandon.edgley@gnosiis.com
www.gnosiis.com

Take Southwest Airlines for example: Southwest has recently signed on again for 2011 to sponsor the Sundance Film Festival. ”As a pioneer in aviation, Southwest salutes the filmmakers who seek new horizons and embrace possibilities. Southwest Airlines also sees the festival as an opportunity to expand the airline’s Branded Entertainment practice—an effort focused on integrating Southwest into television and film productions. The airline is happy to showcase its people, culture, planes, and travel experience through this innovative approach.”

Southwest Airlines is offering its Customers the opportunity to win travel and tickets to attend the 2011 Sundance Film Festival simply by using Gowalla, the location service.  Beginning today through Dec. 31, 2010, each time a Customer uses Gowalla to check in at a Southwest Airlines airport with nonstop service into Salt Lake City, that Customer will be offered a Southwest Airlines Sundance Film Festival pin and be entered to win roundtrip tickets on Southwest Airlines and tickets to a Festival screening of their choice.

“We are excited about this partnership with Gowalla that will allow us to engage with our Customers in a new way while they are traveling this holiday season.  It will also offer them the chance to fly to the Sundance Film Festival and see a film, just like the stars do.  It’s a great treat for our Customers,” said Linda Rutherford, Southwest Airlines Vice President of Communication and Strategic Outreach.

“Gowalla and the Sundance Film Festival both share a love for encouraging people to go out and discover the world,” said Andy Ellwood, Director of Business Development for Gowalla. “By teaming up with Southwest Airlines, we are bringing both of these communities the ability to explore Sundance.”

Southwest is one of many companies that could benefit from sponsoring a film festival. If the brand combines the effort of letting the consumer feel like they are celebrities for a day while utilizing their product or service, it will only be beneficial to the brand. Film Festivals are a great way for a sponsor to get involved at a low cost of investment and the opportunity for high ROI is exactly what companies are looking for in this particular economy.

Here at Gnosiis Media, we have just added a very prestigious event to our repertoire: The 2011 Nigerian Film Festival. Brands that have made the jump to Nigeria already know the huge economic impact that the country has had over the past ten years. Many brands are already benefiting on the high quality of products Nigerians are buying into already. The Nigerian Film Festival or NICOUSA Film Festival is presenting another opportunity for sponsors: As you can see from what Southwest Airlines is already doing with Sundance, brand’s can highly benefit from attaching a contest or reward to a well executed marketing campaign. NICOUSA presents a PERFECT opportunity for your brand. If you have further questions or would like to sponsor the NICOUSA Film Festival contact:

Brandon Edgley

Senior Agent
The Gnosiis Media Company
1901 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 200
Century City, CA 90067
Tel. (310) 557-3591 x705
www.gnosiis.com

Events have actually begun to mix these two together for a combined cause marketing approach that gives sponsors and event producers the best of both worlds. Sponsorship mixed with fundraising makes perfect sense and corporations looking to find their highest ROI (return on investment) are quick to jump on the bandwagon: Not only can they sponsor an event and grow their brand, but they can help to donate to an organization or philanthropic cause.

Corporate sponsors really look to use events to help grow their brand to consumers but also look to grow as a “giving company” in the eyes of the public, which in today’s world warms consumers into purchasing their product.

Sponsorship and Fundraising have officially intertwined to provide “YOU” the perfect opportunity…

Now there is only one question…

Are “YOU” ready?

Brandon Edgley
Senior Agent
The Gnosiis Media Company

“Social networking sites such as Facebook have become the party lines of this young century. They are inviting and intriguing and a powerful communication tool. Learning how to use them wisely for marketing can increase your business profile.”

Take the social networking site Linked In for example: “Currently there are more than 150,000 groups, including business forums, alumni groups, fan clubs, and conferences. If you run an interior design firm, or sell to interior design firms, you can choose from nearly 90 groups catering to that field. Some are credential-based; some are based on geography. The group “owner” approves your membership to ensure validity.” Once these processes are met, your in. The social networking world is not only a tool that can be utilized while going after sponsors, it sometimes is the only way to get the info you need to contact sponsors. Once the sponsor is interested in the project/event you have presented, it is of high importance to that sponsor that a social networking campaign be attached to the event. It really is the end-all-be-all in today’s world.

The value for marketing on social networking must be developed and presented to the sponsor. Social and online marketing are a prerequisite for properties looking for sponsors, and the creative aspects of such leverage would be an undue burden to place on a would-be sponsor. To deliver value, you’ve got to paint the whole picture. Developing a pitch which neglects online leverage and social networking approaches is always selling yourself short and more importantly, as a property or sponsor broker, its your value-added.

“After 18 years with DuPont as the primary sponsor of his famous No. 24 Chevrolet, four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon will have backing next year from an anti-hunger program through the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Hendrick Motorsports is expected to formally announce the unique marketing program on Wednesday at its shop near Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s believed the sponsorship is the FIRST in NASCAR with a high-profile, cause-related theme. Teams and the sanctioning body itself have occasionally embraced cause-related promotions, but not on a car and with a team and a driver as visible as the No. 24 Chevrolet and Gordon.”

Cause marketing is the wave of the future for big events and a new way sponsorship has beaten the economic downturn once again. Imagine seeing the #24 Jeff Gordon Dupont Chevrolet flying down the track over 50 times every year with, “Drive for Hunger” on it’s hood. Not only is this a genius move for this non-profit organization to gain awareness by placing their cause on one of the most popular and most seen Nascar’s, but the simple fact that Jeff Gordon is now the face of their cause moving forward really gives value to that organization.

It’s amazing to me that more companies have not jumped on this band wagon, YET… This will be the first but definitely not the last time non-profit organizations will make this jump. This is the wave of the future for the sponsorship world.