Racing to a Win...Win...Win

I was just reading about what sounds to be a really nice (and effective) local-market sponsorship program that tied MultiGrain Cheerios in with CNN and local market YMCAs in tandem with several high profile city marathons. On just about every level – this worked. And it's these kinds of multi-channel combinations that you would be wise to look for as well in your sponsorship programs.

The sponsorship (…which is on-going right now as I write this), ties in with five major marathons going on around the country this year. (It started with the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon back on May 17th …will continue this month with the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 11th … and then will wrap up at the end of the month at the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. on October 25th.)

In conjunction with these five races, Cheerios has partnered with the local YMCA's in each market to help encourage kids to get active by running in their community's upcoming marathon. The "Y" serves as a central "hub" for each of the respective market programs – helping to sign up and train the kids for the race to come. (Not that the kids ran (or will run) the whole thing – the participants just ran the last 1.2 miles of their city's marathon course on race day.)

Into this "mix" came CNN. (Nothing like having a media partner to help drive the bus!) CNN has on their schedule a program, "Fit Nation" that features the secrets of various CNN reporters telling about their dramatic weight loss – what motivated them to get fit and how losing weight has helped them to positively change their lives.

So you've got five major markets and a network that wants to not only promote itself in general, but a specific program on its schedule.

You've got MultiGrain Cheerios that wants to sell its product by promoting its healthy lifestyle make-up. ("Eat more healthy grains…") You've got the YMCA – that wants to promote it's activity centers and lifestyle …and lastly, you've got five major marathons that don't mind at all getting the extra publicity and promotion.

What you've got is a recipe for a marriage made in heaven.

And the biggest winners? That's right – it's the kids participating in each of these markets.

Each kid received a healthy, wholesome experience as well as a special medal, a race participation certificate and a photo of themselves in the race. What a blast!

And how about the different sponsorship parties here? Did they get to "go home winners" as well? Absolutely!

CNN got to bring their cameras out to these five major marathons, produce upcoming programming and promote themselves, their network and their partners. The YMCA as well as MultiGrain Cheerios got lots of free media and publicity – and were clearly recognized as "the good guys" behind this (… and what's THAT worth, right?), and the kids in each of these five communities got a chance to do something they otherwise wouldn't have gotten to do … and gotten fit in the process.

It's been a "Win…Win…Win" all the way around.

Do you have a "Win…Win…Win" in mind for your next event or issue? For the audience members in your next series of speaking presentations?

Are you thinking that way with (and for…) your sponsors? If not … you should…