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By Doria Rahmani, Éditions infopresse

The 4th RDV Commandite (in French), the annual sponsorship conference organized by Infopresse took place recently in Montreal. During the event, David Pontbriand, partner at Substance Stratégie, presented Focus on major issues, the results of an exclusive joint survey on current and emerging industry trends conducted among 21 sponsorship marketing experts by the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada and Infopresse.

Key findings:

1. Digital sociability
   Social media is transforming the way consumers interact among themselves and with brands. Successful sponsorship programs will be those that bring a relevant contribution to the conversation.
2. Mobile is everywhere
   The ever-growing popularity of mobile devices in all walks of life creates new opportunities to engage consumers before, during and after events.
3. Hyper-entertainment
   The availability of a second viewing screen generates a new form of addiction: entertainment. In this era of multitasking, properties will need to work harder to capture and retain their target group’s attention, even during live performances.
4. Cooperative mentality
   The most effective sponsorships are those where the brand is an integral part the property. More than ever, sponsors and rights owners need to agree on the place and role of the sponsor.
5. Low rights, high activation
   Sponsorships are increasingly linked with the announcer’s marketing strategy. Clients now tend to favor activation instead of rights acquisition.
6. No rights. All activation (Red Bull)
   Not every brand can afford to create their own sponsorship properties. Nevertheless, the phenomenon warrants monitoring. More than ever, brands will have to focus on the key traits of their personality while developing partnerships.
7. Participative sponsorship
   Initiatives such as Sponsorise.me as well as the concept of “crowdfunding” (made popular by Kickstarter) are becoming promising avenues for sponsorship in the Québec market.

RDV commandite is an initiative of the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada and Infopresse, in cooperation with Cinco. The recent conference gathered nearly 300 sponsorship professionals at the exCentris, in Montreal. Access the event program (in French).