Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello, SUNers!  You`ve been so helpful in the past, so I`m hoping someone will drop a pearl of wisdom.  Last year, I founded Eating Their Words, LLC, with which I creatively pair seasoned chefs and prominent playwrights for a uniquely integrated evening of new cuisine and new plays.  The events take place in restaurants of note around Manhattan. 

While the events have incredibly well received and I`ve garnered some strong press, I had no start-up capital, or a budget for marketing or PR.  Needless to say, it`s been my achilles heel.   However, I recently contacted Zagat to see if they would be interested in producing a series of my events at restaurants in their guide.  They are very, very interested in the idea, but asked if I could get corporate sponsorship to cover the cost of building and running website to promote the series.  They suggested American Express. 

I can`t seem to find American Express`s corporate sponsorship department.  Moreover, if there`s another company out there that would be better suited, I`d love to know of them.  Help!  Time is of the essence!

Thanks!

?

It sounds like you’re having an interesting concept, which seems to be well suited for sponsors.

In order to create a starting point, and most definitely prior to even attempting to contact potential sponsorship candidates such as American Express, you should take a deep breath and think about the details of a potential sponsorship deal.

With other words, what type of sponsor will be best suited to work with you. The other question is what is the sponsor getting out of this deal? Finally, how much money are you looking to raise through a sponsorship deal? Once you got the answers to these questions, you should summarize your ideas in a more or less formal sponsorship proposal.

Have you thought about charging the restaurants for the event? I think I’ve been to a similar event  a long time ago. It was called “Pomp, Duck, & Circumstance”, which was produced by a renowned German chef.

There are probably many ways to do this. Think about luxury carmakers, which provide limousines to pick up VIPs (BMW is very active in this segment), or think about giving certain events a charitable spin which will make it easier to garner support and publicity.

If you are interested in discussing this in greater detail, please feel free to PM me.

I hope this helps.


Mark



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Jackson Steiner
http://www.JacksonSteiner.com

Advanced Document Design for entrepreneurs, intermediaries, and the financial services industry.
http://www.Publications.FastVentures.com

Thanks, Mark.  I have thought quite a bit about having the restaurant pay for it.  But it is a rather pricey event for them to tackle, with payments to playwrights and actors, plus my fee.  If it were just the cost of food, the ticket price and producing price would be significantly lower.

I`m also speaking to numerous charities who would essentially hire me as an event planner, and my producing cost would be covered in the hiring fee/budget. 

As for corporate sponsorship, I did manage to find a personal connection at AmEx, but yes, I agree the more concise the proposal the better.

Thank you for your wisdom!