*page in progress* So in light of the Loft redevelopment and [M12]'s great desire to get Quiz Night off the ground earlier than ever this year, UCC is going to start putting together a Prospectus to start putting out feelers for Sponsorship.
Below will be much in the way of marketing speak and general doubletalk to make us seem like the greatest institution in the universe (aren't we already guys?)
Prospectus 101
The basic idea behind a Prospectus is to put everything you have to offer a potential sponsor in one handy and easy to peruse document. Through reading a prospectus, a company that has never heard of us should have a decent understanding of what we do, what we provide our membership and how we operate.
Basic Rules:
The document should clearly represent the UCC as it is.
- We can add flair and make ourselves look a little better, but we really don't want to use stupidly pretentious language. More often that not, bigger companies will want to sit down in front of someone(s) and if they can't use the same language as what the Prospectus uses, they're gunna wonder how much of their money will be going towards the next prospectus.
- Have a wide variety of events/offers/whatever to offer potential sponsors
The trap a lot of places fall into is putting all their eggs into a couple of baskets by either only mentioning a few possibilities or creating a tiering sponsorship system (Platinum, Gold, Silver...). You aren't going to attract a wide variety of sponsors by doing this and you will probably leave out what could have been your biggest demographic by doing so. I don't care if you think having PLE stickers on all of our machines sounds like a stupid idea, companies will pay for advertising
- The sky is the limit with ideas
- Seriously
- If you think it would be really great to hold X event but it might take some money to set it up then chances are we should put it in the prospectus. Now I don't want anyone being stupid and suggest a campfire or something, but you get the idea!
At the end of the day, it's all advertising
- We can come up with great ideas for what to put into the prospectus, but at the end of the day a company is going to be looking for some logo somewhere or getting a mention to our membership at some stage. They'll love good events and innovative ideas, but don't for a second think that they will see anything aside from what's in it for them (smashed hopes and dreams of a Utopian Society can be handed to any Commerce student you know)
TBC when [M12] finds the document he was given about making killer Prospectuses... Prospectii... whatever!
