The European Sponsorship Association launched an educational programme designed to provide the skills and insight for career development.
The 2009 schedule has been broadened to encompass sponsorship as both a marketing discipline and a business tool. Called ESA Knowledge, the new programme caters for all levels of seniority and features a range of bespoke and relevant sessions covering interactive-style workshops, thought-provoking insight forums and small group briefings.
ESA Board Director, Matt Rogan of Lane4, who is leading the ESA Education group, explains how the programme has developed: “With sponsorship evolving as a discipline, there is a greater need for broader learning options. We will be looking at the challenges of managing campaigns in the short-term economic environment, and also at the longer-term opportunities the future may hold.
“Our four-part ESA Skills workshops aim to provide a foundation for good sponsorship practice and help junior and middle management gain the tools they need to understand all aspects of the business, be it the financial implications, the repercussions of good briefings, importance of accountability, and the delivery and demonstration of winning results.
“We have a superb line-up of industry experts willing to share their knowledge. The workshops form a series and while individual events can be attended, we believe maximum benefit will be gained from attending all four. The first workshop, “It’s a numbers game!” on the 3rd March, will cover changing market trends, budgeting and financial management, and best practice guidelines. The speaker line-up includes Steve Cumming (Diageo), Sandra Greer (Sports Marketing Surveys) and Matt Rogan (Lane4).
ESA’s Insight Series will tackle broader issues such as future-mapping consumers’ behaviour and how this will impact on sponsorship, practical issues surrounding running a successful business, the opportunities presented by the digital revolution, the influences affecting the entertainment and arts sectors, among others.
The first in the series - “Global Trend Forecasting and Consumer Behaviour” on the 2nd April, will include a keynote speaker from The Future Laboratory.
