In the realm of corporate sponsorships, Kim Skildum-Reid stands out as a pivotal figure. Her forward-thinking firm, Power Sponsorship, redefines the landscape of sponsorships, reshaping sponsorship assets to establish a triple advantage for rights holders, fans, and brands alike. With her fervent commitment to effective methods and a straightforward style in client consultations, she has garnered worldwide acclaim as the leading authority on sponsorship strategy.
Skildum-Reid has collaborated with a multitude of brands, shifting their perspectives from viewing sponsorship simply as an extension of advertising to leveraging these collaborations to engage with fans’ interests. She has co-written two popular books on the subject: The Sponsorship Seeker’s Toolkit, a comprehensive resource for individuals seeking corporate sponsorship (the ones requesting funding), and The Corporate Sponsorship Toolkit, addressing the perspective of corporate sponsors (the ones investing the funds). Her strategic discipline enhances sponsorship opportunities, creating added value that elevates both the brand and fan engagement.
Here are some of the strategies her clients employ to achieve success:
1. Shift sponsorship perspectives
Many brands perceive sponsorships merely as an additional communication channel to showcase their logo, set up event booths, or distribute game tickets. However, this logo-focused, one-directional communication model has proven to be ineffective and remains unchanged since the early ’90s. “Research indicates… that logos do not alter perceptions or behaviors, nor establish a connection with a brand—and that’s the essence of marketing!” asserts Skildum-Reid.
Skildum-Reid begins her process by dismantling brands’ preconceived ideas about sponsorship, advertising, and marketing through illustrative case studies. “The revelation occurs when I present case studies, and clients react, ‘Oh my God. Can I borrow that idea?’ And I respond, ‘Here, we embrace ‘borrowing with pride’,’” Skildum-Reid chuckles.
This stimulates them to identify the links between their sponsorship options and the enhancement of fans’ or customers’ experiences. Skildum-Reid’s philosophy centers on shifting the sponsorship mindset to form meaningful connections with customers, aiming to enhance the experience of a fan or customer rather than merely disrupting it.
“[Sponsors] need to think about their brand like a fan. We’re in this alongside the fans. What can we do leveraging our role with the fans?” Skildum-Reid emphasizes. Through Power Sponsorship, she combines coaching, training, and consulting to equip clients with the tools to assimilate and implement this new perspective, using case studies as a springboard for practicality and strategy.
2. Small, impactful victories = successful sponsorship
To differentiate between an effective sponsorship and a traditional one, Skildum-Reid invites a mental exercise. Imagine you’re at your favorite sporting event, and one of the sponsors is a bank. They announce to the crowd: “We’re offering an all-expenses-paid trip to see this team in New York. To enter the raffle, just text your details to this number.”
“Would you do it? If only one person wins, would you send all your information to the bank?” Skildum-Reid questions.
The likely answer? Probably not.
“They’re just going to bombard you with spam for eternity, right? Yet, that’s precisely the type of initiative most sponsors pursue,” Skildum-Reid remarks.
“Contrarily, what if you’re a client of that bank, showing your bank card or accessing your app, where a scannable barcode allows you to park closer than everyone else at the stadium? [Those are] small, meaningful victories that genuinely enhance the day for many attendees,” Skildum-Reid suggests.
3. Collaborate with a sponsorship expert
Frequently, when brands consider a sponsorship transformation, they consult their advertising agency or experiential agency—skilled professionals who excel in their fields but lack expertise in sponsorship. They may lack perspective, specialized strategy, and the ability to operate independently from constraining company politics. “If you’re truly prepared for change, enlist a specialist sponsorship strategist,” Skildum-Reid advises. The advantage an external consultant provides is the capacity to convey “bad news” to those who need to hear it most.
“It’s beneficial to engage someone else [who] can navigate internal dynamics, [who] functions as a candid impartial outsider, [who] can communicate difficult news to the CEO about a favored project without jeopardizing their position,” Skildum-Reid adds. “Your aim should be to collaborate with a consultant [who] is experienced across various industries and markets, since there are numerous innovative ideas and methods flourishing internationally. You want someone capable of introducing that diverse knowledge into your strategy,” Skildum-Reid states.
As an external consultant, Skildum-Reid’s straightforward yet passionate style swiftly alters clients’ sponsorship outlook, objectively reshaping their strategies while adeptly managing internal dynamics. Her methodology over the past three decades has established Power Sponsorship as the leading enterprise in transformational sponsorship worldwide.
Skildum-Reid’s ideal clients include brands with expansive sponsorship portfolios that have yet to be strategically optimized. “It’s the leverage that generates results, not the sponsorship itself,” Skildum-Reid notes.
She expresses a desire to collaborate with a few major airlines, which, in her view, are not utilizing their sponsorships to their fullest potential.
“I would thoroughly enjoy working with a large, diverse portfolio—one that presents numerous opportunities for leveraging and adding value, fostering alignment, and genuinely transforming something that costs them millions into something extraordinary,” Skildum-Reid reflects.
