Sponsorship can often be looked at as a business based on emotion, where the goal is to evoke a connection between the consumer and the brand in order to achieve success. However, there is an outlook grounded by evidence, that when utilized correctly, can educate brands on where sponsorship is going and how they can succeed in its new form.

Join Sarah Stovold and Don Mayo of IMI International as they deliver a fast-paced global update on the state of sponsorship, from their fact-based perspective. They’ll cover the evolution of fandom and showcase growing global trends sharing why you and your brand should care. Most importantly, they’ll give you the strategic insights and inspiration you need to help your brand win in 2019 and beyond.

It is said that the only constant is change and this certainly holds true when it comes to the world of global events and sponsorship. For example, over the past 10 years, there has been a noticeable shift in sponsorship investment from North America to Asia and the Middle East; as well as a shift in spend from B2C companies to B2B companies. So, what does this all mean?

Rakuten is a global leader in internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to more than 1 billion members around the world. Since 2012, Rakuten has ranked in the top 30 of Forbes Magazine's annual ""World's Most Innovative Companies"" list. The Rakuten Group has over 14,000 employees, and operations in 29 countries and regions.

Kristen and Zailleen will be sharing their thoughts on Rakuten's biggest sports partnership deals signed with FC Barcelona and NBA champions the Golden State Warriors. Kristen will share her knowledge on how Rakuten has identified two of the biggest names in the world of sports as partners, while staying true to Rakuten’s local and cultural roots. Zaileen will be sharing her thoughts on how GMR is delivering creative tools for brands leveraging sponsorships to grow their business. She'll be highlighting examples on how companies can assess and optimize their sponsorship portfolios to deliver measurable corporate value.

As sports properties and brands play in a space with increasing noise, it's more important than ever to breakthrough in ways that elevate the game for fans and drive affinity and love for brands. Budweiser and the NFL have partnered to bring the fan experience beyond just “passive” participation, showcasing the power of what “active” partnership can do for the fans, the brand and the league.

The world of competitive video gaming has experienced an incredible rise in success, with total global competition prize pools reaching upwards of $100 million this year. But how has esports reached this point? What’s behind this consistent growth? And what role has brand sponsorship played on this rapid transformation?

Join moderator Sean Karoonian, Senior Marketing Manager at Cineplex Entertainment and his group of panelists: Juan Botero, Online Marketing Strategist, EA; Neil Duffy, VP, WorldGaming & Collegiate StarLeague; Matt Levitan, Co-Owner/Partner, Press Start Marketing; and John Pierce, Partner at Player 2 Studios. Together, they’ll take a look at today’s esports ecosystem, sharing insight to how sponsors partner with video game publishers, esports properties, and influencers to reach new audiences and accelerate brand growth. The end goal? To show you, and your brand, why now is the best time to get in the game.

You may know SRAM for being a maker of high-tech, high-performance bike parts. Or maybe you know them for sponsoring some of the best athletes and cycling events in the world. But what you might not know them for, is their help in mobilizing people in developing countries, one bicycle at a time.

Join David Zimberoff, VP of Marketing for SRAM, for an inspirational journey as he shares SRAM’s holistic approach to marketing. From high-tech componentry and high-level sponsorships to humanitarian efforts which empower people through access to education, healthcare, and more, you’ll see that thinking about your partnerships at the highest level, as well as the most grassroots level, can have unexpected results in connecting with people all over the world.

New interactive technology has made the most complex problems increasingly easier to solve, or improve. With the inventions and advances of new hardware, software and sensors, the possibilities of what can be created with technology is seemingly limitless. But what does this mean for sponsors, properties, marketers and event experience builders like you?

Join Mark Stewart, President and Chief Innovation Officer at wonderMakr as he offers you a guide to using common tools and techniques of connecting intelligent technologies to increase the effectiveness of your activations. He’ll provide examples of intelligent ways to take advantage of off-the-shelf components and code to create something engaging, measurable and shareable for your next sponsorship event or activation.

If you’ve recently purchased merchandise for your favorite sports team, it likely came from one of the far-reaching arms of Fanatics. The largest licensed goods retailer in sports, Fanatics manages e-commerce sales for all major sports leagues in North America. How has Fanatics grown so quickly in the U.S.? What are their plans for Canada? And how can other brands use e-commerce as a tool to reach their own goals?

Join aan Baise, Director of Sales in Fanatics’ Partner Solutions Group, as he walks us through three key principles to successful e-commerce business: connecting with your target audiences, reaching global markets, and using the latest tech to reach your goals. He’ll detail the history of Fanatics, how they became ‘the brand of the fan’, and touch on existing partnerships with several top global brands.

As technology makes an aggressive push into the sponsorship space, it is undeniably disrupting the market. However, technology is also presenting opportunities to deliver greater insight, efficiency and transparency to the buy and selling sides of the sponsorship process. The bottom line is: technology is reshaping sponsorship, so how can your brand or property make sure it stays ahead and changes too?

Join Tori Stevens, Senior Vice President at the Sports Innovation Lab as she explores the shifts in the sponsorship landscape, such as the transformation of the media landscape and implementation of smart technology in sports. She’ll explain why it is essential for brands, properties and agencies to understand what these emerging technologies are and how they can be leveraged to improve the overall sponsorship process. Leaving this session, you’ll feel equipped to ride the tide of technology, and take your sponsorship agreements to the next level.

Come hear how the nation's leading smart mobility company and one of the nation's premier sports teams are working together to create a better experience and solve a growing problem at live events.

On October 17th 2018, recreational cannabis will become legal across Canada. Will it disrupt the market? We already know it will. But how?

Join Alison Gordon, CEO 48North Cannabis Corp and member of the Board of Directors for the Cannabis Canada Council, as she discusses her journey from co-founding Rethink Breast Cancer to becoming CEO of 48North. As a veteran in the cannabis industry she’ll detail not only exactly how cannabis will disrupt the market but also highlight the human capital needed for an industry in which very few people have worked.

Using sponsorship dollars and making a huge impact don’t always go hand in hand. But could they? If we look at using sponsorship through the lens of solving a business problem, the answer is an astounding yes.

Join Matthew Leopold, Director of the European Sponsorship Association (ESA), as he walks us through this approach, talks about the importance of finding insights that match your customer’s needs, and the role that segmentation plays. As the voice of sponsorship in Europe, the ESA seeks to raise standards in the industry and ultimately, find the right question to ask.

Join Cyndie Wang, Head of Global Sponsorships & Alliances at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, as she proves why and how sponsorship can win when B2B technology is implemented. Her primary focus is how to leverage strategic partnerships to accelerate revenue and drive consideration. And using HP’s partnership with F1 as an example, she’ll explain how to creatively showcase the achievements of B2B business technologies, in a way to drive consideration and accelerate revenues.

In today’s fast-paced world of ‘now’ and ‘what’s in it for me?’, marketers need to be creative and nimble to keep the attention of current and potential customers. Programs must encourage unique consumer and fan engagement, in unexpected ways, while also being mindful of maximizing ROI. And that’s where Pam and Kami’s expertise comes into play.

Join them as they share their insights into Allstate’s robust sponsorship portfolio, including their college football and soccer sponsorships. Learn how they strategically identify target consumers, measure key KPIs for sponsorship platforms and develop unique, personalized activations that keep consumers in the game.

You’ve likely been asking yourself a lot of questions when trying to determine the most effective and efficient approach to engage in esports, such as: How can my brand integrate into the esports ecosystem? What partnership opportunities exist? How do they differ from traditional sports sponsorships? How do I evaluate the success of my business or brand’s esports partnership?

Join Dave Rosenberg, Chief Strategic Officer at GMR, Nathan Lindberg, Director, Esport Sponsorship Sales at Twitch, Wendy Lecot, Head of Strategic Alliances and Digital Marketing Innovation at HyperX and Valeria Herzer, VP, Strategy and Partnerships at Havas Sports & Entertainment as they examine the rapid growth of esports and share the opportunities for brand marketers to integrate esports into their strategic planning and the keys to creating impactful partnerships.

Get ready to tap into your own greater potential. Use that power not only to achieve your goals but also to boost the performance of those around you.

Join Alice Petzold, Leadership Coach at Accomplishment Coaching, as she literally takes you to new heights in this interactive session that takes place on Whistler Mountain. You’ll be transformed and armed with new tools to inspire innovation and game-changing results within yourself and your teams and your partners.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of Bitcoin. And chances are, you’ve also heard of blockchain – the technology originally devised for it. But have you heard of using blockchain technology to solve problems in the sponsorship industry?

Join Jason Robert, Co-founder & CEO of HelloSugoi, as he walks through blockchain technology and smart contract use in the sponsorship industry and the transparency they can provide with every transaction. He’ll also talk about the progress that’s been made in the space, as well as the hurdles he’s had to overcome. Plus, he’ll show how brands and properties can leverage the blockchain to overcome their own challenges in the world of sponsorship.

Swimming is a healthy, enjoyable and sometimes lifesaving skill. But the fact is, 51% of students in England were leaving primary school unable to swim 25 metres unassisted. British Gas sought to change that.

Join Matthew Leopold, Director of the European Sponsorship Association (ESA), as he takes us through a groundbreaking case study that literally brings temporary pools into schools. Learn about the lasting, life-changing effects this hyper-local initiative has – not only for the students, but also for the communities that are touched along the way.

Keeping yourself motivated and pushing your limits is often something easier said than done. In ever changing world and industry, how do you ensure that you are constantly focused on becoming the best version of yourself?

From a young age, Mathea Olin’s been motivated to inspire others to be the best version of themselves. She’s consistently pushing her personal limits, which has translated into success on the global surfing stage, and did we mention she’s only 15? Join Mathea at sponsorshipX 2018 as she shares her story and inspires you to push your own personal limits.

It’s no secret that paid marketing can only take your company so far. In order to elevate their connection with consumers, brands need to rethink the way they reach out to, and engage with, their target. In recent years, companies have turned to a new, and heavily under-priced, marketing tool to achieve their business objectives – influencer marketing, or the modern-day Trojan Horse.

Join Robbie Deeks, Director of Ecommerce Revenue at Vaynermedia, as he guides us on how to capture people's attention by building ""modern day Trojan horses"". He will focus on three main aspects of gaining an edge through influencer marketing. First, how can agencies leverage influencers. Second, how can companies use this newly leveraged channel for acquisitions. And third, how brands can execute against influencers. The end goal being to learn why combining all three of these lessons, will help you build strategies for attention that establish engagement not just for today, but for the future, as well.

Gone are the days when people only looked to non-profits to make social change, now they’re looking to businesses, too. Creating sponsorships that spark social change has become an increasingly effective way for companies to reach broader audiences, while simultaneously making a positive difference.

Join Liz DeAngelis, Director of Growth and Emerging Media at the Ad Council, as she walks you through finding the fine balance between advertising and social good. She’ll explain the importance of finding a social value that resonates organically with your brand, an example would be Patagonia and the environment. As well as warn against “sadvertising”, reminding you that although an emotional problem is an important part of the story your brand is telling, you must also provide an solution. An answer she’ll teach you how to find.

Leslie has a reputation for big picture thinking and building integrated brand campaigns that turn heads. So what better place to hear her speak about her Canadian Olympic sponsorship experiences than from inside the PEAK 2 PEAK gondola as it works its way across the Whistler Blackcomb mountain range.

During your ride, you’ll learn all about her 2018 PYC COC CPC Kit Launch experience – including the 9th edition of the iconic red mittens. She’ll talk about how a media/PR only event was turned into a successful consumer launch featuring 15 Canadian PyeongChang 2018 hopefuls and hosted by radio personality Patrick Langlois and two-time Olympic bronze medallist Roseline Filion. And you’ll hear about how the event was broadcast on Facebook Live, to engage fans across Canada and all around the world.

sponsorshipX is gathering thought-leaders, decision-makers, and sponsorship pros from internationally recognized brands for a panel discussion on the age-old question: “What do Sponsors Really Want?”

Join Krista Massey, SVP, Marketing Activation and Engagement at Sun Trust, Josh Epstein, Managing Director of Sponsorship at BMO and Jake Annear, Manager, Digital Marketing and Innovation at Moët Hennessy for a panel discussion where the questions are chosen by you. Tweet your questions out and our moderator, Mark Harrison, President & CEO, The T1 Agency & Chair, sponsorshipX, will choose the most relevant and unique ones to pose to our panelists. This is your chance to have your most pressing questions answered by sponsorship pros to help you truly understand what brands really want.

In comparison to sports or music, fashion has long been considered a niche interest among men. Yet this outdated perception is well overdue a rethink. Men today are more interested in their outfits than ever, and smart brands across a whole range of industries are discovering how they can be part of that. Join Alexander Gwilliam, Senior Creative Concept at Berlin-based agency KEMMLER KEMMLER, as he explains how fashion is the next great cultural – and sponsorship – frontier for men.

Are you confused as to why someone would want to watch someone else play a video game, when the person watching could just be playing the game themselves? Then you probably aren’t a member of the Gen Z or Millennial demographic, because to them, it makes perfect sense. What’s going on in their mind? What’s their motivation? How are they driving the popularity of e-sports?

Join John Pierce, a Partner at Player 2 Studios, as he explores the fundamental issues of why people enjoy watching other people play video games. He’ll go into the mind of the demographics that provide the most views, and explain why they find it so appealing, while simultaneously teaching you how your brand can connect with an audience whose primary interaction with the outside world is through video games.

Traditional male sports are filled with sponsorships, from emblems on the field to patches on the jerseys, it’s everywhere. Sponsorship in women’s sports however, is an extremely underdeveloped opportunity. And although the big media numbers brought in by male sports haven’t reached women’s sports yet, companies who have engaged in this sponsorship opportunity are recognizing the benefits.

Join Rebecca Shanks, who sits on the board of the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) as she discusses equity in sport from different points of view: participation, funding, sponsorship marketing and leadership.
She will get you thinking about the opportunities and benefits of considering women’s sports as part of your sponsorship mix.

When you think about NASCAR, what do you think of? That NASCAR is a deeply American racing league? That’s simply a stereotype of the globally recognized brand. A brand that has put some serious time, and strategic thought, into escaping these stereotypes. So, how are they doing it?

Join Chad Seigler, Vice President of International Business Development and Partnerships at NASCAR, as he discusses NASCAR’s global expansion strategies. He’ll highlight the fact that they hold 13 races in Canada, 12 in Mexico, and 12 in Europe. He’ll also detail their approach to growing their fan base, especially with respect to engaging a younger demographic. Finally, he’ll use case study intelligence to explain how their successful partnership with Coca-Cola allowed them to grow their audience globally, and become a more internationally recognized brand.

Imagine getting two expert assessments of the current global sponsorship industry in a single presentation? In this session you won’t have to imagine, all you’ll have to do is listen to the results from Norm and Elisa’s new, and highly extensive, Global Landscape Study.

Working with a team of researchers and partners from around the world, assessing more than 200 global jurisdictions, this global study explores the trends, barriers, challenges and realities facing the sponsorship industry.

The study leaves no stone unturned and takes a multi-stakeholder viewpoint and explores sponsorship from each of the brand, property and agency perspectives. Sponsorship deals, global indicators, secondary research, depth interviews, and initial survey work are used to inform the analysis, findings and key recommendations for everyone who works in the field.

Picture an English footy fan. Now picture an American soccer fan. They’re different right? If that’s the case, then wouldn’t everything about the game – including sponsorship – be different too? And if that’s the case, then what business would an American have in European FC sponsorship? The answer may surprise you.

Join Bruce Bundrant, CEO and Founder of Riviera Sports Marketing, as he talks about his journey. After 10 years in the US, he made the move to Europe where he successfully grew sponsorship revenue for football clubs including Liverpool FC and AS Monaco. Now back in the US, he recently led triple-digit sponsorship revenue growth over two years for the International Champions Cup. He’ll explain that even though best practices can be shared, the authenticity of the game must stay true to its roots.

Is there such a thing as an impossible goal? It all comes down to perspective. What if we create action by break impossible goals into smaller, seemingly achievable steps. What if it was all part of a bigger plan? And more importantly, what if the bigger plan had an even bigger purpose?

Join Alison Désir, Founder of Harlem Run, as she takes us through the ups and downs of her personal journey, the importance of knowing your ‘why’, cultivating consistency, training tips and other lessons she’s learned along the way.