In recognition of the growing standards of creative and strategic thinking in sponsorship and the increasing role of sponsorship as a business tool, the Marketing Federation of Southern Africa presents the Raptor Awards for Sponsorship.
Sponsorship is generally multi-media in nature, using the different components of the marketing mix to achieve pre-set marketing and business objectives. A Raptor Award acknowledges and celebrates the multi-faceted efforts involved in delivering the return on investment.
These include the big idea, the sponsorship selection for strategic fit, the creative and effective leverage and also the efforts of the staff, agencies/consultants and media partners involved in the sponsorship.
The 2003 MFSA Raptor Committee has takenthe decision to introduce a second tier to the Raptor Awards. Research has indicated that sponsorship is fast approaching maturity and it has even started to receive some criticism for "over commercialisation". As a result cause-related sponsorships have started to play a much more important role. For this reason, the Committee has decided to 'move with the times' and broaden the scope of entry for these type of projects. It is through taking corporate social investment and activating it like a sponsorship that the Committee believes will result in growing the industry as a whole in South Africa.
You will thus see that an entry may be entered in the Cause-related category of the Raptors for Sponsorship Excellence OR it may be entered in the Raptors for Excellence in Corporate Strategic Investment.
The choice must be made on the basis of how you want to have your entry evaluated. The headings for the 2000-word summary are different and so are the criteria against which the programme will be evaluated. In a nutshell, the sponsorship entries must show benefit to sales, change in attitude and a return on the sponsorship investment. On the other hand, entries in the corporate strategic investments tier must show at least three benefits to the community/cause as well as the company.
The long term goal of the Raptor Committee is to see the corporate social investment entries eventually moving over to the sponsorship side. This will happen as the projects are leveraged in a multidimensional way and can illustrate tangible return on investment as opposed to just goodwill.
Here follows the winners' list:
2003 Grand Raptor
Sponsor: Mobile Telephone Network
Event/Product: MTN ICC Cricket World Cup - "Hello the Heroes"
Sponsored party: WSN on behalf of the ICC
Consultancy: Octagon Marketing SA
GM: Marketing and Communications: Bernice Samuels
Executive Director: Dr Ali Bacher (ICC CWC 2003)
Sponsorship Services Manager: Hayley Hilary (WSN)
Senior Account Director: Dale Agar
Sponsor: Sanlam Life
Event / Product: Sanlam Money Game
Sponsored party: SABC 3
Consultancy: Blue Daisy
General Manager: Trevor Smith
Managing Director: Annalie Watt
Sponsorship Manager: Elena Meyer
Other parties: Sandra Briar (Total Exposure); Jaco Wolmarans (Wordsource); Duncan Irvine (Rapid Blue); Lizette Smith (Berry Bush BBDO); Ilse Cilliers (Ciliers Strategic Communications
Journalists Award
Sponsor: Sanlam Life
Event/Product: Sanlam Money Game
Sponsored party: SABC 3
Consultancy: Blue Daisy
General Manager: Trevor Smith
Managing Director: Annalie Watt
Sponsorship Manager: Elena Meyer
Other parties: Sandra Briar (Total Exposure); Jaco Wolmarans (Wordsource); Duncan Irvine (Rapid Blue); Lizette Smith (Berry Bush BBDO); Ilse Cilliers (Ciliers Strategic Communications
Corporate Strategic Investment Award
Sponsor: Sanlam
Event/Product: Sanlam Takalani Sesame
Sponsored party: Takalani Sesame
Project Manager: Gloria Britain
Sponsorship Manager: Emile Terblanche
Other parties: Quo Vadis Communications
Raptor Awards
Sponsor: Absa
Event/Product: Absa Cup
Sponsored party: Premier Soccer League
Consultancy: Octagon Marketing SA
Group National Sponsorship Manager: Sizwe Nzimande
CEO: Trevor Philips
Business Director: Billy Lascaris
Other parties: Sandile Ndzekeli; Yolande Arendse
Sponsor: Mobile Telephone Network
Event/Product: MTN ICC Cricket World Cup - "Hello the Heroes"
Sponsored party: WSN on behalf of the ICC
Consultancy: Octagon Marketing SA
GM: Marketing and Communications: Bernice Samuels
Executive Director: Dr Ali Bacher (ICC CWC 2003)
Sponsorship Services Manager: Hayley Hilary (WSN)
Senior Account Director: Dale Agar
Sponsor: South African Breweries
Event/Product: Castle Lager Springbok Rugby
Sponsored party: South African Rugby
Consultancy: Playmakers
Brand Activation Manager: Diane Southey
Managing Director: Richard Dunn
Public Relations Manager: Anne-Lee Murray
Other parties: MSports Marketing; Quo Vadis Communications
Sponsor: Vodacom
Event / Product: Vodacom Challenge
Sponsored party: Vodacom Challenge
Consultancy: SAIL
Tournament Director: Emy Casaletti-Page
GM Corporate Client Services: Michelle van Eyden
Sponsorship Manager: Shereen Rimmell
Other parties: FCB
Sponsor: Absa
Event/Product: Absa Company Relay
Sponsored party: Central Gauteng Athletics
Group National Sponsorship Manager: Sizwe Nzimande
Event Manager: Joe Morris
Business Director: Billy Lascaris
Other parties: Dale Agar; Cathy Fiddian-Green; Malissa Malheiro; Sandile Ndzekeli
Sponsor: Creda Communications
Event/Product: Design Indaba 6
Sponsored party: Creda Communications
Consultancy: Traffic Integrated Marketing
Marketing Manager: Lyn Viviers
Events Director: Shaheda Sayed
Strategy Director: Jonty Fisher
Sponsor: Rand Merchant Bank
Event/Product: WineX Rand Merchant Bank Wine Festival
Sponsored party: WineX
Head of Public Affairs: Carolynne Waterhouse
Director: Michael Fridjhon
Sponsor: Mobile Telephone Network
Event / Product: MTN Free to Speak Youth Concert - "Jammin in Da Park"
Sponsored party: Mobile Telephone Network
Consultancy: Octagon Marketing SA
Senior Manager: Sean Gardiner
Senior Account Director: Billy Lascaris
Other parties: Mark de Leiburne (Octagon); Dave Cohen (Little Dave's Big C); Peter Friedman (YBLU)
Sponsor: Sanlam Life
Event/Product: Sanlam Money Game
Sponsored party: SABC 3
Consultancy: Blue Daisy
General Manager: Trevor Smith
Managing Director: Annalie Watt
Sponsorship Manager: Elena Meyer
Other parties: Sandra Briar (Total Exposure); Jaco Wolmarans (Wordsource); Duncan Irvine (Rapid Blue); Lizette Smith (Berry Bush BBDO); Ilse Cilliers (Ciliers Strategic Communications
Sponsor: Mobile Telephone Network
Event/Product: MTN ICC Cricket World Cup - "Hello the Heroes"
Sponsored party: SABC
Consultancy: Octagon Marketing SA
GM: Marketing and Communications (MTN): Bernice Samuels
Producer: Jerry Mokgopo
Senior Account Director: Dale Agar
