There is mounting evidence that sponsorships are becoming a significant portion of marketers' overall budgets. At the same time, there remains a dearth of information about best practices and measurement standards. That's where the SMCC comes in. We are marshalling the resources of the advertising community to create and sustain a knowledge base for sponsorship marketing.

The SMCC has been designed to deliver on four key objectives:

• Create a body of knowledge that will improve the confidence in the power of sponsorship marketing as an accountable marketing communications investment;
• Encourage the development of measurement tools and metrics to better define sponsorship marketing's return on investment;
• Introduce education programs to support the development and dissemination of best practices; and
• Celebrate the discipline's best work through a dedicated awards program.

Membership in the SMCC is open to advertisers; marketing communications agencies, consultants and suppliers; and owners of sponsorship properties. ACA members automatically become SMCC members and receive full SMCC privileges

Delivering Excellence

The SMCC will create a body of knowledge that will encourage agencies and advertisers to objectively analyze their sponsorship marketing investments for effectiveness; to develop improved methods of evaluation; and to increase the understanding of how sponsorship marketing works as a stand-alone tool as well as its role within an integrated MARCOM program.

The SMCC will foster best practices in the development of better ROI measurement tools and techniques; in agency selection and remuneration; in monitoring worldwide trends; in establishing best practices guidelines for all stages of the sponsorship marketing process; and in proprietary Canadian research.

The SMCC will be a force in education by introducing courses to support best practices guidelines; by holding annual conferences, by instituting a sponsorship marketing section on the ACA's Web site; and by covering news and trends in the ACA Bulletin newsletter.

The SMCC will recognize achievement through the Sponsorship Marketing Awards. The Awards celebrate sponsorship marketing programs demonstrating the highest levels of accountability, effectiveness and return on investment. Click here for the winning cases from the 2008 Sponsorship Marketing Awards show.

Founding Partners

In 2004, a group of leaders in the MARCOM industry launched the drive to provide sponsorship marketing resources to Canadian marketers. The founding members of the SMCC steering committee are: Richard Burjaw, Vice President, Marketing, Pepsi-QTG Canada; Susan Charles, Vice President, Member Services, Association of Canadian Advertisers; Nicole Dubé, Director, Marketing - Quebec, Dairy Farmers of Canada; Lisa Ferguson, Sponsorship Marketing, IBM Canada; Susan Harley, Director, Marketing Integration, Aliant; Paul Hétu, Vice President, Association of Canadian Advertisers; Dave Hopkinson, Director, Corporate Sales & Service, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment; Jennifer Howard, Marketing Manager, Advertising & Front Of The Line, AMEX Bank of Canada; Stephen Kouri, Vice President, Brand Development, Home & Personal Care, Unilever Canada; Ron Lund, President & CEO, Association of Canadian Advertisers; Dean MacNeil, President, Juice Sponsorship Strategies; Jo-Ann McArthur, President, Molson Sports & Entertainment; Marilyn Michener, Vice President, Wakeham and Associates; Patricia Straker, Senior Advisor, Sponsorship Marketing, RBC Financial Group; Patrick Taylor, Executive Producer, Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival; and Dean Tesser, Director of Marketing Communications, Ford Motor Company of Canada.

For more information about the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada, please contact Susan Charles at (416) 964-1538, or scharles@ACAweb.ca.