Economy, Innovation & Ideas

Molly Beal of the Wall Street Journal wrote a good article today entitled "Winning at all Costs": http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122890850076094477.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
In this article she discusses the ripple effect that dwindling sponsorship dollars may have on teams, leagues and venues. It's hard to escape the overall doom and gloom forecasts, no matter what your place is within the current macro-economic environment. Ask anyone trying to raise money or start a business right now! Along with the economy, sponsorship is undergoing a major transformation: sponsors are tightening budgets and spending smarter on fewer opportunities, properties are competing harder for tighter budgets and providing more value to existing sponsors and agencies are pushing the creative envelope to new heights as they assist clients in making their marketing dollars work even harder. More creativity and smarter spending is here to stay - not just in the worst times - but hopefully in the best of times, too. Whether it's creative activation or finding brand new sponsorship opportunities; ideas are the currency of our industry and we think we can make a difference by helping you share, collaborate and connect those ideas in an effective, new way. For certain, times are tougher than perhaps ever before within our industry. However, in the long run what we learn from this experience may very well make us better in our jobs. As Melanie Dyer, National Media Manager for KFC, Yum! Brands, said last week at the Princeton Sports Symposium "recessions are great times to innovate." Whether you're responding to an RFP, preparing a sponsorship proposal or launching a start-up, I think this holds true. We think we can make a difference, helping professionals connect and create "smart deals" that would have previously been impossible at worst and inefficient at best. And that's why we started SponsorPitch.