Build Sponsors Into Your Story

"If you have the best real estate in town and you're still not making money, keep the real estate but change the concept." So shared Martin Lindstrom, as someone had once shared it with him. Lindstrom's research on neuromarketing offers insights for nonprofit leaders interested in increasing equity from events and partnerships. If you or your sponsors aren't getting the return you want from an event or a partnership, take a look at the messaging and the positioning. His research showed that "if a brand is part of a story line, our brains will accept the role of the brand and remember its presence. However, if a brand and its role don't support the story line, the opposite will happen: Our brains will simply erase it." Don't get erased. Take the time to help your sponsors connect with your story; think of telling your story in a way that better connects with your sponsors. You won't change your mission but you can consider thinking about how you define the purpose to connect the players in order to move beyond business as usual.