Value the rights honestly
What the assets are genuinely worth to the buyers who want them, measured against the alternatives they have.
07Pillar: Partnerships
Sponsorship and revenue growth
Know what you are actually selling. Price it properly. Sell it to the people who will renew.
Who this is for
- Venues, arenas, and stadiums
- Sports and entertainment properties
- Events and festivals
- Destination organizations with commercial programs
The business problem
Most sponsorship is priced from a rate card and sold on inventory. The buyer is trying to solve a business problem, and increasingly has to prove the spend did.
Understand what the sponsor is actually buying, and the terms improve. Agreements run longer. Renewals stop starting from zero.
When clients call us
- Renewal rates are falling and discounting is rising
- Inventory is sold but revenue has plateaued
- A new venue, event, or property needs a commercial model built from scratch
- Sponsors are asking for proof of value you cannot currently provide
- The commercial team is selling assets rather than outcomes
What we do
Rebuild the offer around the buyer
Categories, tiers, and packages designed from what sponsors are trying to achieve, not from what the venue happens to own.
Sell to the decision, not the department
Reaching the commercial leader whose problem the partnership solves, rather than the sponsorship manager who administers it.
Make renewal the default
Servicing, measurement, and relationship ownership designed so the renewal conversation starts from demonstrated value.
What you get
Deliverables may include
- Rights inventory and valuation
- Commercial model and category architecture
- Sponsorship strategy and sales narrative
- Pricing framework and negotiation positions
- Servicing and measurement model
- Renewal and pipeline discipline
Outcomes clients are after
- Rights priced on value rather than precedent
- Longer agreements and fewer discounted renewals
- A commercial team selling outcomes, not inventory
- Sponsors who can defend the spend internally
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 here usually takes one of these shapes. We will say which fits before you commit.
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 review a sponsorship program?
Tell us where the program is. If we can help, we will say how. If we cannot, we will say that too.
Get in touch
Tell us what is in front of you.
Send a note and a senior member of the firm will reply, usually within two business days — or use the Book a Meeting button to pick a time.