The Main Stage

Our main stage session descriptions are being updated frequently so check back often.

ASK ME ANYTHING ABOUT SPONSORSHIP
Brent Barootes
Panelists: Jennifer Bishop & Victoria Mahoney

This exciting and open-ended topic panel discussion will provide you with answers to the questions that are burning inside your head. Your queries will be asked by a panel with over 100 years of industry experience in everything from data and research to events to naming rights to municipalities and charities, sport and festivals and more. You name it… this panel of knowledge will have answers for you.

Brent Barootes as the moderator will have his own questions to ask the panelists but bring yours along to either ask from the floor or provide us at the WSC® Alberta Forum. Here are some of the topics that may be on the list of questions for the panelists!

  • Can a sponsor get a charitable tax receipt for their contribution?

  • What is an average ration for ROI on an event like a gala or a run…

  • What is the difference between a title sponsor and a presenting sponsor?

  • What are sponsors looking for in a proposal?

  • When is the right time to deliver a fulfilment report?

  • What is an acceptable Activation to Rights Fee ratio?

  • What is the best way to get sponsors to activate beyond what they spend with you on a rights fee?

  • What is your policy on municipal website recognition?

  • How do you manage sponsors in your corporate social media and how do you manage your communications people accordingly?

  • Tell us about your experience with virtual and/or digital donor/sponsor recognition versus a “donor wall”

  • How should an organization deem appropriate or not appropriate for sponsorship/advertising of tobacco, cannabis, gambling, political messaging, alcohol, firearms, energy drinks?

  • How do you balance environment/events / green spaces / green initiatives with sponsors?

  • What are the average or maximum terms of an agreement you do for advertising, naming rights, and program sponsorship?

  • Do you have your own staff to sell partnerships or outsource to a third party or a hybrid and why?


BLURRED LINES: HOW SOCIAL PURPOSE IS CHANGING THE GAME AND CREATING NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN SPONSORSHIP
Christi Cruz
Panelists: Karen Ramchuk & Amanda Pick

Social purpose is here to stay! This engaging and interactive keynote session will highlight how social purpose has further blurred the lines between sponsorship and community investment. You will hear how experts in the field have changed their pitch to maximize success using non-traditional methods. Hear how Women In Need Society (WINS) reimagined their retail assets and how Missing Children's Society of Canada (MCSC) leveraged their technology relationships to create new and innovative streams of funding. With easy-to-implement ideas, insights and examples, this session will help you understand the newest reality in sponsorship - social purpose - and inspire you to rethink your current strategy. And, most importantly, you will be very hip and cool as you share these new approaches with your team.


DATA DRIVEN SPONSORSHIP DECISION MAKING: A FAN’S PERSPECTIVE
Neal Covant

In this fact-based session, we will highlight industry trends, ingredients to sponsorship success, and the latest case studies based on the perspectives of hundreds of thousands of consumers in Canada and around the globe. Join us to see insight in action and discover why fans are the most important source for informing sponsorship decision making.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

  • Navigating the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape

  • Three ingredients to sponsorship success: Selection → Connection → Impact

  • Gold Standard Activations: Best-In-Class Activations That Are Driving Results For Brands In Sponsorship

  • The Way Forward: Ensuring Action Through Measurement

And here are the questions that we’ll help answer:

  • Is the property the right one for my brand?

  • How much should we invest in the partnership?

  • What assets should we invest in and how should we position the sponsorship?

  • How do I know if the sponsorship is delivering a return on my objectives and investment?

HOW TO MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SPONSORSHIP? MYTHS, MISCONCEPTIONS & BEST PRACTICES
Francis Dumais

Recall statistics, the most basic form of sponsorship measurement, are highly valued by brands but are seldom provided by rights holders. The current view of sponsorship ROI is a major cause for concern in the industry, with a staggering 60% of sponsors feeling neither satisfied nor dissatisfied—nearly two-thirds are neutral regarding sponsorship performance. Simultaneously, the percentage of sponsors engaging in evaluation is at an all-time low of just 2%. It’s time for an honest conversation about measurement and valuation. In this talk, Francis will address the challenges and misconceptions surrounding this topic, offering a blueprint for a better sponsorship industry by advocating for collaboration between properties and brands to measure sponsorship effectiveness.

"I'M JUST FOLLOWING UP” (AND OTHER THINGS WE SAY THAT COMPROMISE OUR VALUE)
Leanne Calderwood

They’re the words and questions we use everyday, things we learned in sales training so we come across as polite, modest, and anything but pushy. However the language we use can often diminish our position and our self-perception, to where we believe we are honestly “less than” our peers. In this eye-opening session, learn how the language we use can unconsciously put us in positions of being less than what we actually are - equal partners full of talent and skill. If you’re currently taking a backseat to everyone around you, come and discover ways you can lean into your own greatness and jump into the front seat of your own life.

  • Learn how simple words can diminish or elevate your position and how they feed into an unconscious power dynamic

  • Explore how identities and labels can change how you view your God-given talents and strengths

  • Create a plan that helps you correct your language in the act, move confidently into business relationships.

SPONSORSHIP IN 2024 - LEARNING FROM THE CANADIAN SPONSORSHIP LANDSCAPE STUDY
Dr. Norm O’Reilly

Sponsorship went through a challenging time during the global pandemic. This session will share data and insights from the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study about where sponsorship is today and how our industry has adapted in the 2022 to 2024 period.


SPONSORSHIP MARKETING FOR 2025 AND BEYOND
Brent Barootes

The landscape has changed and continues to evolve. As naming right agreement fees decline and investment in activation increases, brands are demanding measurable ROI with fee payments aligned to such performance delivery. AI, live streaming with multiple screens are now the mainstream in sponsorship. Big data and data segmentation, charitable alignment and purpose driven partnerships are becoming staples of the landscape.

So how and why has this all changed. And what will change in 2025? Whether a brand or a property or agency representing one or the other,  you need to know what bumps are in the road ahead and what it will take to journey on flat ground. This keynote address will lay the groundwork for your understanding about how to pave the road to success in 2025 and beyond.


SPONSORSHIP VALUATION: DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THIS SH!T IS WORTH?
Derek Mager

Whether you are a property trying to sell sponsorship, a brand trying to determine if you should purchase a sponsorship opportunity, or an agency negotiating on behalf of your client – you need to know the assets available, what the value of each asset is, along with the fair market value of the overall sponsorship package. This session will dive into the types of assets typically associated with sponsorship opportunities (tangible, intangible, media, etc.), methods for determining value of the assets, assessing their importance in relation to your objectives, as well as some best practices and some “do’s and don’ts” from both the brand and property side.