Sponsorship for Chess

[Keith Rose]

Craig - thanks for the suggestions re Richardson/Spens. I think there is no doubt a significant change is needed in several respects. I will soon be contacting club Secretaries and team captains asking for their thoughts and I will be supplying a document with all the postings made in these threads.

Keith

[George Neave]

1) Sponsorship and why companies do it:
a) To directly connect with new customers in order to make money.
b) To generate publicity in a market place thereby indirectly reaching new customers from whom you can make money.

Do not confuse sponsorship with
2) Philanthropy (which I believe CS has benefited from in the past).
With philanthropy the giver has no expectation of a return. Such contributions are motivated by personal interest or belief that it is doing something for the greater good e.g. kids off street, promote certain values etc.

When you approach someone asking for their money you need to know which of the above levers you are pulling in your attempt to extract some cash from them

[KevinCampbell]

Would it not be hard for a business to profitably sponsor Chess, given the small % of individuals it would actually reach?

It was really innovative what the Oban congress used to do (still do!?), getting local businesses to sponsor the Congress in return for an advert within the entry form.

[Patrick McGovern]

most sponsorship is done without a return being sought. some sponsors are put off though by our perceived stuffy image and perceived bureaucratic difficulties. i have experienced this historically and recently, it takes some persuasion to potential sponsors to convince them that it is a good idea to put money into tournaments. Despite this we have success and should reap the rewards soon.