Sponsorship 101, Part 3: The Proposal

I just spent a bit of time helping a friend who's interviewing for a sweet job in cable (ironic in light of yesterday's blog). After a successful first interview, she was given an assignment to write a proposal for a specific Hollywood film tie-in; so, we were chatting about her concept, which is great, and, more specifically, the actual deck (proposal). She happens to be fantastic at what she does, but I've discovered most people really don't know how to write a deck successfully and effectively. So, our convo inspired me to share 10 quick pointers I've learned along the way:

1. Clearly map out your pitch before you begin to write. Otherwise, you'll find yourself writing in circles. Trust me, I've done it too many times to count. Massive waste of time and effort.

2. Keep it short and sweet. As one friend once told me, "small words, big font". This isn't an essay for English class and your vocabulary is not being graded. Just relay your message as clearly and concisely as possible.

3. Bullet points are your friend; paragraphs are not. You should be able to boil each key idea into a simple bullet-pointed phrase. Remove all superfluous language and cut to the chase.

4. Identify your key point(s) of difference, highlight it/them with consistency and repetition. Basically, hammer it home and make it idiot-proof (Calixto's favorite phrase). For example, in our case, the NY Int'l Latino Film Festival is the #1 U.S. Latino film festival and the only one that speaks to the hip, Urban + Latino lifestyle. That's our fundamental selling proposition. Once you really understand what it is you're selling, you can articulate it. Remember: Be consistent, be repetitive.

5. Put the client opportunity on the first card after the title card. The rest of the proposal serves as support and details. These folks receive TONS of proposals. Don't be cute and tease them. Cut to the chase. If you don't, they may not read past page 2.

6. Understand the difference between goals, strategies and tactics. Goals are easiest to determine: what is the overarching objective of the client (i.e., drive sales, drive brand awareness, drive retail traffic, etc.)? Your mission is to understand the needs of that client and provide solutions to fulfill those needs. Differentiating between a strategy and a tactic can be a bit more challenging. A strategy is the general approach you employ to fulfill the goal, and tactics are the specific mechanisms to realize the strategy. For example, a strategy can be to discover and support emerging filmmakers; one tactic could be to conduct a filmmaker contest. So, basically, each level digs deeper into the thought process. There can be multiple strategies and multiple tactics, but they should all fulfill the goal(s). Be consistent, be repetitive.

7. Load the program with as many promotional layers as possible. Consider all potential media and touch-points (e.g., internet, events, contests/sweeps, grassroots/guerrilla, traditional media, 3rd party tie-ins, public relations, retail/employee incentives, cause-related overlays, etc.). Challenge yourself: how rich can you make this platform? In all likelihood, the client will cut much of it ($$$), but the more information you can provide upfront, the easier you make his/her decision.

8. Remember aesthetics: you don't have to employ a creative team, but make sure the presentation is professional, attractive and reflects the vibe and positioning of your opportunity and brand. Also, check your spelling and grammar!

9. Do your homework. Know your competitors and get the research to back up your statements. In my case, I have to show the buying power, growth potential and media consumption habits of my audience b/c access to that audience is a key selling point.

10. Be passionate. Folks invest in people, not companies; it may be cliche, but it's true. Let that passion show through your proposal and all communication.

~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)

www.cinedulce.com

Our Time

Okay, I'm a bit frustrated right now because I'm trying to watch this movie we're considering for Opening Night at the 2009 NY Int'l Latino Film Festival, but I can't get the darn thing to play. Neither my DVD player nor Mac can get it rolling. I think the DVD is corrupt or something. Argh!

That bit of venting aside, a friend took me to this holiday party on Saturday night at a fantastic UWS apartment - super beautiful. The host works at a basic cable network, so there were lots of TV and media folks there. The talk of the party? The economy. More specifically, what's happening in media as a result of the recession. If you haven't read, most major media companies, including Viacom, NBC/Universal, CBS and ABC, have already had or are rumored to be planning major layoffs. And, Yahoo! is predicted to cut 1,500 - 2,000 employees any day. One network guy I met was just let go as part of an entire division elimination. A marketing executive at another cable network has been given just 25% of her usual operating budget so she feels somewhat paralyzed in terms of planning for 2009; how is she supposed to get anything done without a real budget? It's really insane and, obviously, pretty scary. I did, however, meet one guy who's interested in discussing potential partnership opportunities with Cinedulce and, also, maybe the festival; he's in acquisitions and programming at a major video viewing site (jackpot!). I sent him a follow-up email this AM, so let's see if he responds. Fingers crossed. All I can do is keep pushing and hope Corporate America realizes two key factors: 1. film and media viewership tend to see an uptick during hard economic times because it's a relatively inexpensive form of escapism; and, 2. creativity flourishes during hard times because, inherently, art is a form of personal expression and social commentary... heightened emotions, observation and reflection = greater compulsion for artistic expression. Some of the most challenging economic and social periods have inspired some of the most creatively significant periods. Please! Charles Dickens would have had nothing to write about if not for London's rampant poverty and social inequity! ;) So, I'm hoping Corporate America realizes this is the perfect time to align their brands with storytellers: professional, amateur and/or even 'armchair directors'. This is the time to be cool, to get 'it', and connect on a more personal level. This is the time for inspiration and vision. And, this is also the time to seek efficient solutions for maintaining through the pipeline a steady flow of new, relevant, high quality content. This is our time.
~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)

Amen, Gracias and Shalom!

So, I just wrapped a long meeting with my good friend and festival staff member, Nancy, who has generously offered to build some financial spreadsheets for the NY Int'l Latino Film Festival. THANK GOD (a.k.a. Nancy)! I mean, I think I've done a decent job of organizing and maintaining our budget, Quickbooks files and general finances, but, come on, I'm neither an accountant nor bookkeeper. And, quite frankly, I have no desire to be either. Obviously, we have an accountant who handles all tax-related matters, but, beyond that, it's all me. Riiight... Needless to say, I sure am grateful for my girl, Nancy, who gets all giggly thinking about designing spreadsheets. Now, finally, finally!, we will have the big three docs: income statement, cash flow analysis and balance sheet. Yipee! This may not be all that exciting to you, I realize, but let me tell you, it sets my heart aflutter. I continue to learn the terminology and principles of accounting, but I've learned a ton in the past 12-18 months (thank you Professor Herb!!) and the most important lesson I've absorbed is you really can't properly run, much less grow, a business without these fundamental financial analyses. It's like...once you learn how to read and implement these documents, you can't go backwards; more importantly, you don't want to go backwards because they provide a sense of liberation, organization and comfort. It's all in the numbers. Your whole business is right there before your eyes: where you've been, where you are and where you're going; what are doing right, what could you improve, where are you realizing efficiencies and where could you be more creative? I can't believe it, but I actually really dig it. It's just cool. It's magic, I tell you. It's like the Kabbalah of business. And so, to Nancy, I say: Amen, Gracias and Shalom!
~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)

Ink!

Our Entrepreneur Magazine piece came out in this month's (December) issue and it's awesome! Holy smokes, the journalist, David Worrell, did us a HUGE solid. I mean, it's really super. I don't so much love the picture, but that's my fault. Live and learn...and use your stylist for everything. ;) What's most important, however, is the text and it's honestly really fantastic: Cinedulce's first real media coverage! We got ink: woo-hoo! I totally have to thank one of our publicists, Gabrielle Bernstein, for hooking us up with David and making this happen. Hopefully, it will lead to some interesting connections. If not, at least we can now say we were in Entrepreneur Magazine. That's pretty cool, right?

On a different tip, last night's tree lighting event at NBC was super lovely. We ended up chatting up the general manager of New York's Telemundo (Channel 47) and tossed around some ideas about how we can activate a bit more at the 2009 NYILFF. Plus, I told him about some recent media meetings I've had that indirectly relate to him and he liked the direction we're going. So, that's cool. We shall see where that takes us...

And, even more random - tonight, I'm going to see Billy Elliot on B'way. It's supposed to be awesome, so I'm psyched. Plus, what a great example of an entertainment property that successfully migrated from one medium (film: 2000) to another (novel: 2001) to yet another (theater: 2005, West End; 2008, B'way). More interestingly, Stephen Daldry directed both the film and musical. Now, THAT's impressive. In case you don't know Stephen's work, he also directed "The Hours" and "The Reader", and is in production on the screen adaptation of one of my favorite books of all time, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Awesome.

~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)

Perks - Ain't They Grand?

On occasion, I get to enjoy a perk or two from working off my booty to ensure our sundry sponsors and partners are happy. For example, our good friends at American Airlines invited us this year to Bette Midler's INSANE Halloween benefit for her non-profit NY Restoration Project, which, by the way is a super cool organization; check it out: http://www.nyrp.org/. She actually just completed a park with 50 Cent. I dunno, that just makes me laugh: Bette and "Fitty". Oh, and mark. (division of Avon) sent me a FABULOUS bag overflowing with all sorts of cosmetics and costume jewelry. That was pretty awesome. Regardless, tonight, we have another fun event that's a perk of partnership: NBC & Telemundo invited Calixto and me to their annual treelighting ceremony. Okay, I'll admit - meeting the Jonas Brothers isn't high on my list, but it's a really fun event that's pretty much as festive as it gets. When they count down to the actual lighting, everyone inside goes out to watch from the skating rink (yes, they obviously cover the ice). It's just really beautiful, really cheery (dare I say jolly??) and a quintessential New York moment. Plus, last year I ran into NBC sportscaster Bruce Beck, whom I know from back in the day when I worked for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (loooooong time ago) - super funny reminiscing with him. When we were there, it was getting banned across the country, we were forced to move the pay-per-view live event from Denver to Casper, Wyoming and John McCain made it the target of his senatorial re-election platform: family values. LOL. Now? Please! It's on basic cable (Spike) and makes money hand-over-fist. Who woulda' thunk?? That aside, it's lovely when our partners remember us during these times, especially since we work so hard to make them happy during the event. Plus, it's a good opportunity to chat casually with our folks over there and see what's happening for next year. I just pray we survive the budget cuts that are happening across the board. In the meantime, heck yeah, I'll have a drink on NBC. Cheers!
~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)

The Dance

I had a meeting today with a competitor to one of my longstanding sponsors. It's sort of an odd feeling - like betrayal or cheating - to pitch a competing brand, especially when you have a strong relationship with the original brand. In fact, I believe our partners are returning. But, the flip side is there are a fair bit of internal changes and reorgs. going on inside the company and I don't want to be caught by surprise. That's never a good thing. It happened to me once before and, let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. I once had a major company confirm its return as the festival's official automotive partner for a 2nd year. Awesome! So, I was waiting for the contract...and waiting...and following up...and waiting...and following up...and...finally, I received the dreaded call: all sponsorships - national and local - were canceled due to poor year-end sales. WHAT?? I found out towards the end of Q1 of that year, waaaayyyy to late to approach competitors. So, that was it. We had to suck it up and move on. Since I had received their confirmation of participation, I'm not sure what more I could have done. But, I still felt I learned a lesson: you don't have the deal until the ink is dry (or, as my family likes to say, you don't have a fish until it's in the boat). I love that saying. Okay, so, back to the situation at hand. I think (hope!) we're fine with our longstanding partner, whom I love, but I just want to be proactive and cover all bases. Plus, I pitched them a cool Cinedulce idea, which we're putting together in partnership with Remezcla. Soooo...even if the festival doesn't work out with this competitor (due to the return of our existing partner), we have a second, non-compete opportunity for their consideration. It's like a little dance between the two competitors and me. This leads me to a belief I've mentioned in prior blogs: whenever possible, never put all of your eggs in one basket because you JUST NEVER KNOW what's going on behind conference room doors.
~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)

Mike and Priorities and Me...Oh My!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

My friend, Mike, is part of this comedy troupe, Room 28 (room28comedy.com) -- really funny, really talented guys. In fact, we like them so much we asked them to rewrite the script for the 2008 NY Int'l Latino Film Festival commercial. The result was hilarious. If you've never seen it (http://nylatinofilm.com/extras/videos.html), the premise is the somewhat ludicrous film pitches development executives have to endure. Our POV is of the executive, so you just see this succession of ridiculous characters and pitches. It's cast and edited beautifully. I'm telling you, it's funny stuff. Mike has also always been a very good friend of/to the festival - he's worked with us for years on marketing and grassroots outreach. He and I were chatting this afternoon about his desire to help with next year's festival. The issue always becomes time and priorities. In addition to a full-time job, Mike also always has a million projects in the works, including producing Room 28 shows and short films. So, here's the point: Mike offered to meet with me every few weeks next year to bounce around ideas, trade contacts, etc. In theory, it's a lovely, very generous offer. In reality, however, it becomes a waste of my valuable time because my biggest challenge is not idea generation: it's execution. We can dream up ideas 'til we're both blue in the face, but if there's no one to get the work done, it's not only irrelevant, it's useless and unproductive. Again, it's about priorities. At that time, my priority has to be on the bigger picture: managing our various partners (I just sent the recap video to 44! 2008 NYILFF sponsor contacts), overseeing production, creative and media, and running the event, itself. I'm not suggesting this isn't important stuff, because I'm a huge believer in the power of grassroots marketing. I'm just saying, at a certain point, I can't be the one to do it all...especially when you consider this is just the festival I'm discussing, here. The REALLY big picture, of course, is Cinedulce and the relationship between the festival and Cinedulce. The obvious solution is to hire a marketing director for the festival. Duh. The issue? $. That is just one example of a job I'd love to fill but we first need to be sure we have the funds to add the position to our already growing staff list. Last year, we had roughly 30 staff members and 150 volunteers. Another solution? Interns -- AKA God's gift to the NYILFF and Cinedulce. Our current intern, Michele, is a rockstar and is already handling a bunch of online grassroots marketing. Maybe we bring on a partner for her and, together, they knock it out? We shall see. These are the issues we find ourselves facing on a daily basis. How do you get everything done - and, more importantly, done well - within the confines of a limited budget (especially, in this economy, which, apparently, was just officially declared in a recession)?? Creativity. Resourcefulness. Prioritization. More on this another time...

In the meantime, check out Mike and the Room 28 gang this Saturday, 12/13, for their LIVE Christmas sketch show, including performances by Tweaponz and Pattydukes & Rephstar (both of whom were also in our commercial!): La Pregunta Cafe (1528 Amsterdam between 135th and 136th Streets). Doors open at 7pm. You must RSVP at rsvp@Room28Comedy.com by December 11th. You can also watch them live on www.Salsamerengue.tv. Two lucky online viewers will receive $100 dollar gift certificates and an mp3 player. Good stuff!

~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)