Two representatives from ISES' Eventworld 2008 top sponsors, Chimah Ekeanyanwu of CCR Solutions and Rick Jobe of Jobe & Associates, answer questions about the value of their ISES membership and why they choose to partner with ISES through sponsorships.
ISES: What did you sponsor specifically and why?
Chimah Ekeanyanwu: We sponsored the audiovisual productions for the conference, ISES Esprit Awards and the Cyber Cafe. ISES Eventworld is an industry event, so it gives us an opportunity to showcase our services and has significant potential for business referrals.
Rick Jobe: J&A sponsored the customized room keys/jackets and “robot” USB flash drives. We helped sponsor Eventworld as a way to give back to one of our most valued resources: ISES!
ISES: Why did you choose to partner with ISES in the first place?
Ekeanyanwu: The majority of our business has been major corporate and association conferences, but we found that the gala or awards components of those events were so much more fun! We sought out an association that focused on the special event industry so we could hopefully land more gala events!
Jobe: ISES has meant so much to me personally as well as to Jobe & Associates. We are blessed with great partners throughout the industry, and [partnering with ISES] was a way to acknowledge our overall respect of the organization and its many members.
ISES: How do you feel about the retail value of those sponsorships?
Jobe: We actually stepped up our sponsorship dollars this year. I felt the money was well spent as the goal of the USB robot was to acknowledge the annual event's green initiatives. The USB robots helped drive the message. We could have selected less expensive USB drives and still have been in the same sponsorship category. However, we felt that the robots would generate interest or buzz about the key message.
ISES: Can you elaborate on the benefits you've received from aligning with ISES?
Ekeanyanwu: Partnering with ISES allows CCR to showcase our staging and production services. It also provides us an opportunity to build and maintain relationships with other industry profes-sionals, as well as with ISES staff members, who serve as good liaisons and references to other potential association business.
Jobe: It was a simple decision for J&A. I knew we were going to sponsor more this year — the question was how much more and what would we sponsor. The benefits are immeasurable. We did not provide sponsorship to gain contacts or to sell our services to the group, but it happened. ISES members genuinely appreciate their sponsors, and they patronize them. I think it's because we understand what it takes to get sponsors, make them happy and keep them coming back. It's not easy, and ISES members understand that and go out of their way to use the people who help support their annual conference.
Name: Chimah Ekeanyanwu
Company: CCR Solutions
Address: 1040 Islington Ave. Toronto, ON M8Z 6A4 Canada
Phone: 416/675-2480, ext. 239
E-mail: [email protected]
Name: Rick Jobe
Company: Jobe and Associates
Address: 5995B Shier Rings Road Dublin, OH 43016 USA
Phone: 614/798-JOBE (5623)
E-mail: [email protected]
