Sponsorship Professional: Interview + Top 5 Favorite Brands to Work With

How did you become a sponsorship professional or event organizer, or both?

My first career was as a jewelry designer. I designed for over 200 stores for almost 10 years, I attended the Fashion Institute of New York for a degree in jewelry design while I worked full-time during the day, it’s where I learned about consumer spending habits, marketing, business, and most importantly how to work with brands.  My biggest accounts were Walmart, White House Black Market, Forever 21, J.C. Penny, Kohl’s, etc.  I attended some of the best events and fashion-based activations. During and after my stint as a jewelry designer, I worked part-time for a production company, and I also moonlit at some of the top clubs in N.Y. The production company is where I get into the minutiae of producing large scale events and working in nightlife is where I built my contacts. My duties at the production company ranged from making sure celebrities had their sushi + chicken (That’s a story for another day) also sponsorship. Each project was different but sponsorship because a quick favorite of mine. I took my skills and used them for a fashion show I planned for my accessory line in partnership with a fashion collective, we landed a venue sponsor, (one of the best venues in Manhattan) and an open bar. I have always loved planning events but not all of the nitty-gritty, sponsorship was the perfect way to work with event organizers to add that extra pizzaz to events. In nightlife, I worked the door and assisted with promotions, planning events, building my contacts, and connect with lots of spirits brands. Some of my first contracts were alcohol companies that wanted to break into the N.Y. market. In 2013 I told friends and business associates I was starting a firm where the main service was sponsorship procurement, my first few clients were celebrities and it took off from there. My company served over 5 cities and secured sponsorship for everything from New York Fashion Week events to in-store promotions for a large retailer.

What are your favorite brands to work with?

There are so many brands I absolutely love to work with for different reasons. There are companies with great in-house teams or agencies that are a pleasure to work with. Some are great because the check comes fast which makes cashflow easier for my clients. There are other’s that their creativity excites our team and our clients. Here are my top 5 brands to work with:

• Suntory Beam (Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam, Hornitos, Hibiki, etc.)
• Dunkkin Donuts
• Jack Daniels
• Rumba Watches
• Airbnb

What is your longest standing sponsorship relationship?

Working in corporate I’ve done deals that are between 5-10 years long, usually deals that long are with stadiums and sports teams. There are marketers that I’ve none and done deals with for 10 years! They’ve switched companies and so have I but the relationships are still there.

What do you think the most popular “must-have” asset for brands in 2020 going into 2021?

The digital space of course is huge because of COVID so expanding presence from an event standpoint whether it’s lightning talks, meet the team behind the scene style, really introducing people to the company. This will also be important as companies continue to be called out for the lack of support for black people, acts of transparency will continue to be at the forefront.

What is one of the most important things you include in a deck?

Accurate deep insights. You have to dig deep into your company and present the information that will lead to sales. Data is great but you have to be able to tell the story through the data. Large numbers can sometimes be that, just large numbers, but what’s the story it tells? How do these large numbers convert to lifetime customers?

How many pages do you think a deck should be and why? (it can be a range)

Anything more than 6-10 pages can be overkill. You cant to be able to get your point across efficiently and effectively. If you’re presenting your deck it should take 2-3 minutes to talk to each page which gives you 20-30 minutes to present with a few minutes left over for questions.

Average check size of your sponsorship deals?

Working in between worlds it can vary. Working as an in-house marketer checks for $50,000-$250,000 was average. For my clients within the first 2 years of their event $2,500-$5,000 and for clients 3-5 years $15,000-$25,000 is the range.

Do you notice a difference in sponsorship procurement (amounts received, what brands will give) for black women compared to other races and genders?

Sure do. Being inside of some companies there are blatant discrepancies with the amount of money that is budgeted, and distributed for minority organized and attended events compared to mainly caucasian attended events.

What’s one tip you would give to someone seeking sponsorship?

Know your company first, do your research, test, and determine if sponsorship is right for you. I know it’s tempting to think there is so much “free” money out here. But it’s not free. Sponsorship is a business deal and you have to be willing and able to treat it as such. It’s tempting to jump headfirst into a deck and ask for $50k, that’s a quick way to set yourself up for disappointment.