Vendor Sponsored BASH Activities

[mbroberg]

After some discussion between Jeff and I we have decided to offer vendors the opportunity to sponsor Birthday Bash events. I will make a public announcement to vendors later today but I wanted to make you all aware first and give you the chance to voice concerns or make comments about how this will impact, either positively or negatively, your individual areas of responsibility.

What prompted this? Vendor Sponsored Activities has been on my agenda for awhile now. Several months ago Roy (The Classic Nib) contacted Jeff about making a donation of 25 wall thermometers that will contain the IAP 9th anniversary logo to the Birthday BASH. These are valued at $29.95 retail. The obvious question is, "what do thermometers have to do with penturning?" The answer is, "nothing" other than they can be hung on the wall of a shop and they have the IAP logo on them, not much different than clocks, coffee mugs or beer stiens that have been given away in the past. Roy suggested that they be used as a daily prize for the Trivia Contest. We decided to leave Trivia alone (since there were only 25 thermometers) and resurrected the Wood Identification Contest, something I had been wanting to do anyway. We will hold the Wood Identification Contest on 25 days and award one of the thermometers each day. Roy will handle the delivery of the prizes to the winners.

We decided to allow other vendors to "Sponsor" BASH activities as well. The advantage to the membership is the possibility of a greater number of prizes to win. The advantage to the vendor is the exposure of having their name associated to a month long activity as a sponsor, for free (other than the prizes the sponsor would have to donate). The advantage to Ed and his team is that they will not have to distribute the prizes awarded by sponsoring vendors.

I do not envision this having a negative impact on the prizes that Andrew acquires. Those prizes will still be awarded. In some cases those prizes could be awarded in a vendor sponsored activity in addition to the prizes supplied by the sponsoring vendor. However, the distribution of those prizes (the ones obtained by Andrew) would still be the responsibility of Ed and his team.

I'll keep both Andrew and Mike Redburn in the loop so they will know about prizes other than the ones Andrew obtains.

Depending on the Vendor response it may be necessary to have an activity Co-Sponsored. From my perspective, logistically this will not be a problem. However, I think that the affected vendors should be in agreement to this if it needs to be done.

I've drafted and attached a copy of a public announcement to be posted later. Please look it over and make and comments / suggestions you wish. I worked on this most of the morning, through constant interruptions, and frankly I've cut, pasted and revised to the point where everything is blurring together now so don't be shy in telling me that I forgot to address this or that.

Edit in: OK, I'm being told that my draft is a "Invalid File" I'll upload it as soon as I figure out why a Word document is invalid.

 

[ed4copies]

've drafted and attached a copy of a public announcement to be posted later. Please look it over and make and comments / suggestions you wish. I worked on this most of the morning, through constant interruptions, and frankly I've cut, pasted and revised to the point where everything is blurring together now so don't be shy in telling me that I forgot to address this or that.

I don't see it, Mike---what did I miss???

 

[mbroberg]

I forgot that Word 2010 documents aren't accepted. I converted it to Word97.

 

[PR_Princess]

Mike, is there a limit to the number of sponsored contests per vendor? I would assume yes...but I didn't see it mentioned.

....Unless I missed it! (Very possible!)

 

[Monty]

I'm not familiar with the following contests:

Prize Acquisition
Prize Allocation
Prize Distribution

 

[mbroberg]

Mike, is there a limit to the number of sponsored contests per vendor? I would assume yes...but I didn't see it mentioned.

....Unless I missed it! (Very possible!)

No, not because i don't think there should be but because I just didn't think to address it. I would like to keep it at one per vendor. What do you (all of you) think?

 

[mbroberg]

I'm not familiar with the following contests:

Prize Acquisition
Prize Allocation
Prize Distribution

Should have been deleted after the cut and paste. Thanks for catching that.

 

[mredburn]

I see some potential pit falls. How will you decide which contest will be sponsored by which vendor when multiple vendors want to sponsor the same contest? Bidding by the vendors? flip a quarter?
Will vendors have to be qualified or state their level of prize donatations to qualify to sponsor an event? I know you have posted suggested values. What will you do if one sponsor doesnt donate for their event equal to the other sponsors commitment? AN extreme example would be if some one sponsored the Russ Fairfield contest and the prizes awarded were half the value of the Beginners contest. Have you considered a few different buy in levels for sponsership.
$500.00 for full sponsership, $250 for co sponsorship, $125 for 1/4 co sponsership , as an example.
Will you place a tier structure on the importance of the contests in relation to the other contests and set prize levels accordingly

 

[mredburn]

Will the sponsor of an event have first right of refusal in the next bash to sponsor the same event?

 

[maxwell_smart007]

I would not allow a vendor to choose the contest they want to sponsor, or take perpetual dibs on that contest in the future - that prevents loss of control by the Bash organizers.

Allowing vendors to say that they would like to sponsor a contest by providing up to X number of prizes is fine in my mind...

 

[mbroberg]

I see some potential pit falls. How will you decide which contest will be sponsored by which vendor when multiple vendors want to sponsor the same contest? Bidding by the vendors? flip a quarter?

The oe who asks first gets the first shot at it.

Will vendors have to be qualified or state their level of prize donatations to qualify to sponsor an event?

Yes. They must declare their prizes when they request to sponsor the contest.

I know you have posted suggested values. What will you do if one sponsor doesnt donate for their event equal to the other sponsors commitment? AN extreme example would be if some one sponsored the Russ Fairfield contest and the prizes awarded were half the value of the Beginners contest.

We retain the right to refuse sponsorship if the prize offered does not appropriately reflect the level of the contest. I'll tweak the announcement to address this. Perhaps we should set minimums for the individual contests. Do you still have records of the value of prizes we awarded last year?

Have you considered a few different buy in levels for sponsership.
$500.00 for full sponsership, $250 for co sponsorship, $125 for 1/4 co sponsership , as an example.

This has been discussed in the past but nothing was agreed upon or decided. If this program takes hold we will probably institute something along those lines.

Will you place a tier structure on the importance of the contests in relation to the other contests and set prize levels accordingly

Perhaps we should set minimums for the individual contests. Do you still have records of the value of prizes we awarded last year?

Good questions!

 

[mbroberg]

Will the sponsor of an event have first right of refusal in the next bash to sponsor the same event?

What does "first right of refusal" mean? What would the vendor be refusing?

 

[mbroberg]

I would not allow a vendor to choose the contest they want to sponsor, or take perpetual dibs on that contest in the future - that prevents loss of control by the Bash organizers.

Allowing vendors to say that they would like to sponsor a contest by providing up to X number of prizes is fine in my mind...

I agree about the "perpetual dibs". I'll address that in the announcement.

Why don't you think the vendor should be able to chose the contest they want to sponsor?

 

[maxwell_smart007]

I just think it becomes harder to say 'no, that prize isn't good enough for that contest' if you let people choose both the contest and the prize...

But if that's what we want, I can change my mind!

 

[mredburn]

There may be several vendors that want to sponsor particular contests, feeling that those contests reflect a better return on their sponsorship.
Im looking for last years records but that computor crashed.

 

[mredburn]

First right of refusal means the vendor that sponsored the Freestyle would be offered the first chance to sponsor it again next year. He has the first option to turn it down and opt for a different compititon.

 

[mbroberg]

First right of refusal means the vendor that sponsored the Freestyle would be offered the first chance to sponsor it again next year. He has the first option to turn it down and opt for a different compititon.

OK. The answer is no. Venders are not gauranteed the right to sponsor the same contest year after year.

 

[mbroberg]

Announcement V2

Here is a revision that (hopefully) addresses some of the concerns listed above. I will delay releasing the announcement until a chart of contest skill level vs. prize value can be developed. Keep in mind that vendor prizes will be supplemented with other prizes that Andrew obtains.

Keep the comments coming. no matter how many times I revise this, or how many issues are discovered and addressed we will not get them all. So lets address as amny as we can.:biggrin:

 

[mbroberg]

There may be several vendors that want to sponsor particular contests, feeling that those contests reflect a better return on their sponsorship.
Im looking for last years records but that computor crashed.

Mine crashed twice last year. It's a PIA!

 

[maxwell_smart007]

One suggested edit:

Order of the receipt of the PM in mbroberg's inbox...having a single point of contact for the sponsorship requests is probably wise

 

[mredburn]

I ranked the contests last year for prize placement according to pen making related areas of skill. We ranked the Russ Fairfield and Freestyle as the top two contests and I belive prizes were 200,150,100 for the top 3 places(plus cash). Intermediate, beginners, modified, and casting were second tier and I believe they were 150,100,75 for the top 32 places. contests that didnt reflect pen making skills, shop identity, photos, trivia. articles, front page pen, were 100,75,50 or there about. We awarded more than one prize to a slot in some cases to try and balance them to those levels.

 

[mbroberg]

One suggested edit:

Order of the receipt of the PM in mbroberg's inbox...having a single point of contact for the sponsorship requests is probably wise

Done. I edited the attachment in post 18

 

[mbroberg]

I ranked the contests last year for prize placement according to pen making related areas of skill. We ranked the Russ Fairfield and Freestyle as the top two contests and I belive prizes were 200,150,100 for the top 3 places. Intermediate, beginners, modified, and casting were second tier and I believe they were 150,100,75 for the top 32 places. contests that didnt reflect pen making skills, shop identity, photos, trivia. articles, front page pen, were 100,75,50 or there about. We awarded more than one prize to a slot in some cases to try and balance them to those levels.

Thanks. This will be a big help.

 

[mredburn]

With Iap's membership levels you may find that there is considerable interest in purchasing the rights to sponsor certain events. You will be taking it from a "charitable donation" with honorable mention and "thank you" to a major advertising opportunity for the competing businesses.

 

[mbroberg]

Question for the group....

The schedule Mike provided above reflects the approximate value of the prizes awarded last year. All of those prizes wee obtained by Andrew. I anticipate no real change to the allocation of Andrew's prizes this year. So the question is should vendors be required to provide prizes of approximately equal value to what Mike and his team allocate to the various contests or should the vendors be allowed to provide prizes of lesser value (i.e. 75%) Example = if we anticipate an allocation of Andrew's prizes to the Freestyle contest to be approximately 200, 150 and 100 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd do we require vendors to make like donations or would 75% (or some other percentage), 150, 75 and 40 be sufficient?

 

[maxwell_smart007]

I still have some concern with the idea of selling sponsorships to contests, but I guess that's just apprehension over changing a working model for an unknown one...

 

[mredburn]

You will find that the donations Andrew received last year will now be this years vendor sponsorship. You will not have both from the same vendors.

Edit in, It is possible that some vendors may do both but do you see for example, Constant donating 2500 in prizes and sponsoring a compititon also?

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Another thing to consider is that there are no active premium classifieds at the moment, and I think classified sales are down across the board - so the number of people who might want to sponsor a contest is very low..1 or 2

 

[mbroberg]

Mike, that is probably true of the vendors that we all know and love. Andrew does a great job of obtaining donations from vendors that do not really frequent the forum. I don't anticipate more than 5 or 6 vendors (if that many) sponsoring contests. Maybe I will be proven wrong, which I don't mind, but this will probably only appeal to the vendors that have purchased space in the Vendor Catalog Forum and only some of them will participate. We may get a few miscellaneous vendors pop up and decide to sponsor a contest, but I kind of doubt it.

 

[mredburn]

Rereading the thread, just how do you intend to show sponsorship? Will the first post contain the "Sponsered by" information? will it be a sticky/ Will it be part of the official rules and kickoff thread, declaring the sponser and the prizes associated with the contest? Since pictures in Landons competitons will not be posted until the closing of the entries will the "sponsered by" part be limited to the thread with the official posted entries.

 

[ed4copies]

Question for the group....

The schedule Mike provided above reflects the approximate value of the prizes awarded last year. All of those prizes wee obtained by Andrew. I anticipate no real change to the allocation of Andrew's prizes this year. So the question is should vendors be required to provide prizes of approximately equal value to what Mike and his team allocate to the various contests or should the vendors be allowed to provide prizes of lesser value (i.e. 75%) Example = if we anticipate an allocation of Andrew's prizes to the Freestyle contest to be approximately 200, 150 and 100 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd do we require vendors to make like donations or would 75% (or some other percentage), 150, 75 and 40 be sufficient?

I BELIEVE Constant's donation last year skewed the "averages" significantly. But, as my old friend Cav said, "Ed keeps everything".
So, I have the spreadsheets from every year I have administered the prize awards.

Tomorrow, I will make a compilation to show the average prize per each contest that has existed and the value of the prizes each year.
(There is some value to history, which is WHY I keep every one. I believe I started in 2009)

 

[mbroberg]

Mike, the Sponsor's name will be attached to the contest throughout the Bash. For example, the "Wood Identification Contest" will be officially known as the "The Classic Nib Wood Identification Contest" or something similar. It will appear that way on any schedule, announcement, or anywhere else the contest is referenced or talked about, especially by members of IAP management, Bash planners and contest chairs. I the events are listed on the front page then the name will be there. I hope to have Jeff create a separate sub forum this year for each individual contest. So there will be a sub-forum titled "The Classic Nib Wood Identification Contest" displayed in the Birthday Bash Forum, which will be visited daily.

Even though photos of the pens are not going to be shown until the voting starts, or the contest ends, we can still have the contest chairs post teaser photos to generate interest in the contest. When the voting starts or winners announced the it will be viewed the most. I'm sure we can think of some other ways to keep the names of the contests in fromt of the membership.

 

[mbroberg]

Question for the group....

The schedule Mike provided above reflects the approximate value of the prizes awarded last year. All of those prizes wee obtained by Andrew. I anticipate no real change to the allocation of Andrew's prizes this year. So the question is should vendors be required to provide prizes of approximately equal value to what Mike and his team allocate to the various contests or should the vendors be allowed to provide prizes of lesser value (i.e. 75%) Example = if we anticipate an allocation of Andrew's prizes to the Freestyle contest to be approximately 200, 150 and 100 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd do we require vendors to make like donations or would 75% (or some other percentage), 150, 75 and 40 be sufficient?

I BELIEVE Constant's donation last year skewed the "averages" significantly. But, as my old friend Cav said, "Ed keeps everything".
So, I have the spreadsheets from every year I have administered the prize awards.

Tomorrow, I will make a compilation to show the average prize per each contest that has existed and the value of the prizes each year.
(There is some value to history, which is WHY I keep every one. I believe I started in 2009)

Thanks!

 

[Displaced Canadian]

I would say the sponsor should provide prizes at the amount expected. They could have the option of only offering the top prize.

 

[ed4copies]

OK, here is the compilation of the major contests for the last three years, and 2010-2011. (attached xls )

If you prefer the "short version"
2010-2011
First place average for MAJOR contests: 108.50
Second place average: 70.63
Third place average: 49.25

Total:$228.38

IF we include 2012 (Constant donated $2500)
First place three year average: 161.20
Second place three year ave: 100.93
Third place three year ave: 62.93
Total: 325.07

I would consider the blue numbers far more meaningful, since we are unlikely to see another "bolt from the blue" as Constant did.

As prize distributor, I would discourage such a large contribution. We did not get the final donation out until late April. By then, any goodwill the vendor hoped to gain had turned into frustration on the part of the recipient, me, and, this past year, JEFF!

 

[PR_Princess]

With those numbers in mind, I think that there is another avenue here that maybe we should look at adding for a vendor to qualify for sponsored contest.

In addition to sponsoring the prizes for an event, I believe that the vendor should do more. Sponsorship should carry a premium after all. What if the sponsoring vendor was also required to make a donation to the IAP? (Amount to be determined by management).

Perhaps the amount could have a sliding scale, Major contest could be more, smaller contests a less. The amounts could be tweaked from year to year depending on how things went.

 

[mredburn]

With first pm to Mike B being the deciding factor on deciding who sponsors an event that more than one vendor wishes to sponser you may have an issue. There are vendors and not just Dawn and Ed,but Myself and Eric, etc that will have advanced knowledge of the posting. Or you may have a volunteer within the bash planning that can notify his favorite vendor. I realize you dont think this will be an issue but your now offering another venue for prestige, Brand recognition and income. All sorts of sports or other compitions sell ad space and minimum requirements for sponsor ship.

 

[MesquiteMan]

I believe there should be a set fee for sponsoring a contest if this is the route we plan to go. There is a lot more value to a vendor to be a sponsor than simply $250 worth of prizes.

I have been involved with many fundraising endeavors for the local home builders association when I was the president. We would do benefit golf tournaments and skeet shooting tournaments every year. On the golf tournaments, for example, we would have hole sponsors, beer cart sponsors, dinner sponsors, etc. Each sponsor got their banner at the course and recognition on whichever sponsorship they did. On top of that, we would ask for door prizes from companies and most sponsors also donated door prizes. If we did not have enough door prizes, we would use some of the sponsor money to buy them so we had good ones. Our average tournament would generate over $20k net.

The sponsorships were highly coveted and folks paid good money for them. For example, the dinner sponsor would pay $1,000. We also would get sponsors for things that were already donated. For example. we would get the beer donated by one company and then a different company would be the beer cart sponsor. The beer cart sponsor was not the one who donated the beer and the one who donated the beer received recognition as a donor but not on the beer cart. As a matter of fact, if the beer cart sponsor wanted to donate the beer, they would still have to pay to be the sponsor of the beer cart.

All of this worked very well and was our primary fundraiser each year. I see no reason to not adopt a similar approach. Still get donations for prizes but sell sponsorships for the various contests. It could possibly reduce the amount of donated prizes slightly but it will raise more money and if there are not enough prizes, use some of the money to buy them. That way we have more control of the quality of the prizes.

Just my rambling thoughts on the subject. I am sure most will not agree with me but experience in doing the golf tournaments and skeet shooting tournaments for 8 years proves it works great.

 

[ed4copies]

BTW, I did do the prizes in 2009, but I did not keep a summary sheet. That is why I started with 2010.

(A cursory glance at the individual sheets indicates the numbers were smaller in 2009)

This is in no way a reaction to Curtis' post, we posted simultaneously.

 

[ed4copies]

Average home= approx $200,000++
Average pen kit=approx $15. or less

Could be apples and oranges!