Alumni Groups

Great success with Alumni groups signing up to Groupable. They’re a hot target for many retailers and beverage companies who want to reach out to these groups. Our sponsors love the demographic set of savvy, educated, influencers. Get your group signed up now.

Sports Sponsorship Spending Spiraling Downward

According to industry experts, (IMG, Reuters), sponsorship seems like an easy area in which to slash spending as measurement for direct impact on the bottom line is sketchy at best.

The recession has obviously hurt leagues like the NFL, the NBA, Major League Baseball and NASCAR, as consumers tighten their belts and decrease discretionary spending.

North American companies are expected to increase their spending on sponsorship, including sports, by just 2.2 percent this year to $16.97 billion, according to IEG, a leading sponsorship advisory firm. That would be the smallest increase in the 24 years IEG has been tracking such spending.

Clearly, micro-sponsorships on a local level are the way to go.

A Groupable Moment…

Just Another NY Jelly, this one in Brooklyn

On Friday, a buddy of mine was hosting a jelly at his Park Slope manse (2 bdr apt). He registered the Park Slope Jellyers as a group on Groupable. I emailed and asked if the assembled group could use some pizza. Shockingly, he said, yes. So, I used groupable’s sponsor account to offer to send some pies and soda pop in exchange for a sentence about what groupable could do for their group….Simple sponsorship idea, yes?

Here’s what happened…

They accepted the sponsorship offer and ate the pizza. They also had some really nice things to say. Would they have been so nice were it not for the pizza? I guess we’ll never know…

• Groupable would be great for me finding event sponsorship for my Cupcakes Take The Cake monthly meetups. I also know other food bloggers who can use this service.

  Nichelle - http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/

• Groupable, at it’s conceptual level, totally lines up with what we hope to do at Philanthromedia: Link people with money with people who have great ideas directly, instead of philanthropic giving being based on who knows whom. It’s exciting for me to see the realization of the ideals of web-transparency along these lines: direct connections based on common goals and great ideas!

  Alan S. - Producer - Philanthromedia

• Groupable is a perfect match for the growing sport and social league movement! Corporate sponsorship presents a great opportunity for teams looking to expand the social aspect of their weekly games and outings.

  Erin - Video Editor/Soccer player

• Groupable is a great channel for finding companies interested in reaching out to people who attend my events. I can plan better events and help companies increase their visibility with potential customers at the same time.

  Mark - Jelly Organizer

• Groupable is a great way to pull people together for a common cause and connect those people with parties interested in supporting that cause. It’s win win for individuals and sponsors alike.

Seth V - iPhone Developer

• Groupable is exactly what our startup needs. Our customers each have their own businesses and many of them could really benefit from Groupable’s offering.

  David - Startup founder

Finding a Sponsor

So the question on everyone’s mind is “How do I find sponsors?”
There are a number of ways to find sponsors for your group. Of course, we recommend using Groupable as one of those channels.

Of course, there are other ways. Here are the top 10 compiled by our crack editorial team:

1. Get testimonials from past sponsors and display them publicly. If you don’t have past sponsors, give away your first sponsorship for free in exchange for great feedback
2. Put together Groupable Profile Page so you have a professional place to refer potential sponsors (shameless, we know)
3. Ask your group members if  they know anyone. Preferably do it publicly so everyone can feed off of its others energy
4. Pick 10 organizations you think would be perfect and pick up the phone and dial!
5. Know exactly what opportunities you have to offer and why they will be important to a sponsor. If possible, fully understand a sponsor’s goals before even approaching them
6. Place the Groupable Sponsor Us badge on your website or group page
7. Put together statistics on your group, showing how a sponsor can benefit
8. See who sponsors your competitors groups and call them
9. Call the competitors of the people who sponsors your competitors groups!

Remember, micro-sponsorship of any kind allows you to do more what you love to do and less of the other stuff (like hassling people for their dues).

We're sponsored by an International Shoe Company - and they gave us lots of shoes -- honest