Define what you are actually offering
Not inventory. The commercial and strategic value a partner gains, stated in terms their finance director would accept.
06Pillar: Partnerships
Partnership development
We help venues, destinations, and brands build the partnerships their growth depends on, and structure them so they last beyond the people who signed them.
Who this is for
- Venue and arena commercial teams
- Destination organizations and tourism boards
- Brands investing in sponsorship and hospitality
- Business development leaders carrying a partnership target
The business problem
Partnership is the word organizations use for a list of logos. Real partnership is a commercial relationship where both sides get something they could not get alone, and both sides know what it is.
The difference usually comes down to two things: whether the right conversation happened with the right person, and whether the structure underneath the handshake survives a change of personnel.
When clients call us
- The partnership pipeline is a list of names, not a strategy
- Renewals are getting harder and nobody is sure why
- You need to reach decision-makers you do not currently know
- A partnership was signed and neither side is getting what they expected
- Growth requires capability, distribution, or credibility you do not have in house
What we do
Target the relationships that matter
A short list of partners where there is a real fit, and a route to the person who can say yes.
Open the conversation properly
Thirty years of relationships across tourism, hospitality, entertainment, and sports means the first meeting is usually a warm one.
Structure it to survive
Commercial terms, governance, review rhythm, and named ownership on both sides. Partnerships fail in the second year, not the first.
What you get
Deliverables may include
- Partnership strategy and value proposition
- Prioritized target list with routes to decision-makers
- Commercial structures and term frameworks
- Introductions and negotiation support
- Partnership governance and review model
- Pipeline and renewal discipline
Outcomes clients are after
- Partnerships that renew because both sides are getting value
- Access to decision-makers who were previously out of reach
- A commercial structure that does not depend on one relationship
- A pipeline the board can see and believe
Example projects
Representative example, illustrative only
A brand using hospitality to deepen executive relationships
- Situation
- A corporate brand spends significantly on sponsorship and hospitality but cannot say what those relationships are worth, or which ones are advancing.
- What we do
- Rebuild the program around the relationships that matter. Design the experiences to create the conversations the business actually needs, and put a measure on them.
- Outcome
- Hospitality spend that the commercial team can defend, tied to named relationships and outcomes.
An F&B operator pursuing venue partnerships
- Situation
- A restaurant group wants to move into stadium, arena, or resort food and beverage, where the economics, the labor model, and the buyer are all different.
- What we do
- Translate the concept into a venue commercial model. Identify which venues want what this operator has, and prepare the group for how those deals are actually structured.
- Outcome
- A pipeline of realistic venue conversations, and a commercial model that survives contact with a procurement team.
How the engagement works
Work in this area usually runs as one of the following. We tell you which fits before you commit to anything.
A standing relationship with a defined scope. We stay close enough to the business to be useful quickly, and far enough outside it to say what an employee cannot. Most retainers settle into a monthly rhythm of working sessions, review of live decisions, and access between them.
- Board and owner decisions
- Growth planning
- Sounding board for the CEO
We take the seat. Commercial, partnership, or venue leadership held by an experienced operator for an agreed number of days each month, with real accountability for the outcome. The role is scoped to end, and we build the internal capability to replace it.
- Between permanent hires
- Function too small for a full-time exec
- Capability you intend to build
Scoped, priced, and delivered against a date. A market entry assessment, a partnership strategy, a guest experience review, a commercial plan for a venue. You get the work, the reasoning behind it, and a practical recommendation you can act on.
- A decision to be made
- A plan the board must approve
- Work with a deadline
We have sat on both sides of the table. On the issuing side we help define what you are actually buying and how to evaluate it. On the responding side we shape the strategy, the story, and the submission. Either way the work runs to the submission date.
- Venue management RFPs
- Destination and event bids
- Operator selection
Senior leadership on site while you run a search, complete a transaction, or stabilize an operation. We hold the role, keep the organization moving, and hand over cleanly with the knowledge transferred.
- Leadership transition
- Operational stabilization
- Post-transaction integration
Let's talk
Ready to build a partnership strategy?
Tell us where you are. We will tell you honestly whether and how we can help, and what a sensible first step looks like.