Sporting leaders aim to leverage options at financing

KINGSTON:

Top executives of national sporting associations are expressing gratitude for strategies to boost their earnings, which were shared during a Sales Marketing Sensitisation Session hosted by the Ministry of Sport - through the Sports Development Foundation - in partnership with Guardian Life.

The seminar, designed specifically for the sporting bodies, was facilitated by experienced industry professionals lecturing in sales, sponsorship positioning techniques, marketing insights to attract partners, and strengthening commercial appeal.

Government, through the SDF, allocates subventions monthly to the national bodies charged with sports' growth. However, the organisations can rack up huge costs, which total way more than the subventions they get, especially when they have teams travelling to represent Jamaica.

GREATER INNOVATION

Alan Beckford, general manager of the SDF, says they are hoping for greater innovation.

"We at SDF want associations to realise they have a product to sell and you do have this product and we want to help you sell your product. So we're having these presentations so that you can get ideas and be able to improve how you sell the product of sports," he said.

"It's the same as any other entertainment event as sports is part of entertainment. And we're hoping that going forward we'll see more innovation from sporting associations and that will also help them to become more self-sufficient."

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, one of the main speakers, called on sports' leaders to "think outside the box" in leveraging opportunities to boost financing.

"It's not that we're not going to continue to give you the support, but I want you all to think out of the box and do some exciting things," said Grange. "Sales and marketing are key skills that national sports associations need to focus on in order to grow their sport business ideas and increase and expand their visibility."

RECIPROCITY

The general idea included reciprocity, with sponsors looking to benefit from their association with a product because it contributes to national growth and is likely to generate widespread interest. The possibilities are even greater if the relationship translates into increased consumption of the sponsors' goods or services.

"It was a wonderful intervention by the SDF in partnership with the ministry and their sponsors because it focused administrators on some of the important elements of work that we have to do in terms of closing the gap financially for our associations," said Evan Faulkner, communications officer for the Jamaica Darts Association. "The focus led us to think about how we can market ourselves and how we can add value and propose value to our sponsors so we have a win-win situation.

He noted that they have a number of upcoming commitments, which will require significant funding. These include the Caribbean Championship in Bahamas in July to early August, World Cup qualifying in Panama, the World Championships in London in December, the Caribbean Cup (youth team), along with the National League.

Errol Matthias, president of the Jamaica Amateur Baseball Association, said they learnt "... how to position our associations, to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, to create new opportunity, new vision, as to how we move the association forward.

"We will look at how we can capitalise on the presentation to ensure that the Jamaica Amateur Baseball Association stands as a viable association within the Jamaican landscape."

Ingrid Graham, the Jamaica Table Tennis Association president, says it will prove beneficial.

"We have learned a lot ... about how to garner support, sponsorship for our association and also what these sponsors are looking for. So we can now go back to the drawing board and prepare something better to put out to our sponsors. What is it that we, the association would be offering to these potential sponsors that we want to come on board?

"We must learn to implement and put things in place and help ourselves, knowing that not all the time things will work in our favour to get all the sponsorship that we need."

Oneil Clarke, vice-president, Life, Health and Pensions Sales, Guardian Life, shared that corporate partners today want "more than a logo placement on a jersey or a banner".

"They want partnerships that are sustainable, strategic and aligned with their long-term business objectives. This is where strong governance, strategic planning and financial resilience become critical."