SESSIONS
Keynote Presentations
AI & the Impact on Sponsorship and Marketing
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how organizations attract partners, build sponsorship value, and execute marketing strategies. From audience insights and content creation to proposal development and sales enablement, AI is becoming a core tool in modern marketing operations. This keynote provides a practical, non-technical overview of how AI is being used today across marketing and sponsorship functions. Drawing on real-world examples, the session demonstrates how organizations can increase efficiency, improve targeting, and strengthen their sponsorship offerings in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Audience members will:
· Understand what AI is and how it applies to marketing and sponsorship
· See real-world examples of how organizations are using AI to attract sponsors and grow revenue
· Learn how AI is reshaping content creation, audience targeting, and partnership development
· Identify practical opportunities to integrate AI into their current marketing and sponsorship workflows
· Gain clarity on where AI is heading and how to prepare their organization
Keynote Presentation Delivered by Carl Karamaoun (President, AIDAPT).
The Five Factors for a Successful Municipal Sponsorship Program
The Opening Summit keynote is designed to set the pace and content track for the next two days. With the focus on five key factors to ongoing success for your municipal sponsorship program, you will have a roadmap to triumph. You can apply these five pillars to your everyday role in municipal sponsorship back at the office as well as integrate them with the learnings you have at the Summit with panel discussions, other keynotes and breakout sessions.
Keynote Presentation Delivered by Brent Barootes (President/CEO, Partnership Group –Sponsorship Specialists®).
Breakout Sessions
Asset Identification and Valuation: Turning Municipal Inventory into Strategic Sponsorship Value
Municipal sponsorship success begins—and often fails—at the asset level. This in‑depth breakout session equips participants with a structured, repeatable approach to identifying, cataloguing, and valuing sponsorship assets in a way that aligns with community priorities, governance frameworks, and market realities. Designed for municipal leaders, economic development professionals, recreation managers, and sponsorship practitioners, this session moves beyond “logo placement” to focus on defensible, value‑driven partnership frameworks.
Participants will explore a step‑by‑step methodology for identifying tangible and intangible assets across facilities, programs, events, and services—including naming rights, digital platforms, experiential opportunities, and community touchpoints. The session will address best practices for cataloguing assets into a usable inventory system, ensuring consistency, transparency, and scalability across departments. Emphasis will be placed on avoiding common municipal pitfalls such as undervaluation, asset duplication, and misalignment between sponsor objectives and public expectations.
The session will then dive deeply into valuation methodology, demystifying how sponsorship value is established and justified. Key topics include the use of applicable impressions, visibility and dwell time, audience relevance, asset quality, and contextual factors such as seasonality and exclusivity. Participants will learn how tiering structures are built, how bundled assets change valuation dynamics, and why not all impressions carry equal value.
Throughout the session, real‑world municipal examples and applied frameworks will be used to reinforce learning. Participants will leave with ideas around practical templates, evaluation lenses, and strategic questions they can immediately apply within their own organizations to strengthen pricing integrity, revenue sustainability, and community trust.
Key Takeaways:
A structured process for identifying and categorizing municipal sponsorship assets
Best practices for building and maintaining a defensible asset inventory
Practical valuation techniques using impressions, visibility, relevance, and tiering
Insights into sponsorship measurement tools and data‑driven reporting
Breakout Session Presenter - Chris Reed (Senior Consultant, Partnership Group – Sponsorship Specialists).
Internal vs. External Sponsorship Sales: Choosing the Right Approach
One of the biggest decisions municipalities faces is how to approach sponsorship sales. Do you build internal capacity or engage a third-party agency? This session explores both models, helping you understand how each approach works and what it takes to successfully generate revenue through each.
Learn the pros and cons of internal and external sales strategies, including timelines, payment structures, and resource requirements, while gaining insight into short- and long-term considerations. This session will help you determine which approach best aligns with your municipality’s goals, capacity, and overall sponsorship strategy.
Breakout Session Presenter - TBC
Municipal Sponsorship Activations: Turning Experiences into Impact
Sponsorship is shifting beyond logos. Today’s partners want meaningful engagement and measurable results. This session explores how municipalities can leverage activations to enhance community experiences while delivering stronger ROI for sponsors, including what defines a strong activation and why sponsors are increasingly prioritizing experiential opportunities over traditional branding.
From events and festivals to facilities and programs, learn how to create sponsorship moments that resonate with audiences and stand out to partners. This session will also explore practical activation ideas across municipal touchpoints, along with ways to measure success and demonstrate real impact for your sponsors.
Breakout Session Presenter - TBC
Municipal Sponsorship Strategy: Building a Strong Foundation for Revenue
A successful sponsorship program starts with the right strategy. This session explores how municipalities can build a strong, sustainable approach to sponsorship across events, programs, and facilities—while understanding the full scope of opportunities available, from community events to naming rights.
Learn how to establish clear partnership criteria, engage your community, and balance risk with opportunity, while exploring practical approaches to working with partners and attracting sponsorship investment. This session will also highlight how a well-defined strategy can unlock both tangible revenue and intangible community benefits, setting the foundation for long-term success.
Breakout Session Presenter - TBC
Name It Right: A Deep Dive into Municipal Naming Rights Deals
Get an inside look at how naming rights deals are secured and managed in the municipal sector.
Using real-world case-studies, this session walks you through the entire process of securing a naming rights deal— from initial prospecting and discovery sessions to negotiations and final execution. Learn best practices, avoid common pitfalls, and gain the tools you need to confidently navigate high value naming right sponsorship deals that deliver lasting impacts for your community.
Breakout Session Presenter - TBC
Sponsorship Procurement: From RFP to Right Partner
Securing the right partner is a critical step in building a successful sponsorship program. This session provides a practical walkthrough of sponsorship procurement processes, whether you’re engaging a consultant for strategy or IAV work, or onboarding a third-party sales agency to drive revenue.
Learn how to develop effective RFPs, establish clear evaluation criteria, and navigate the procurement process with confidence, while understanding what to look for in potential partners. This session will also cover key considerations to help ensure the right fit for your municipality, setting your program up for long-term success.
Breakout Session Presenter - TBC
The AI Advantage: Transforming the Future of Sponsorships
Discover how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping municipal sponsorship. This session offers a practical look at how AI can streamline proposal writing, enhance research, and boost efficiency. Explore top tools, prompts, and expert tips—alongside common pitfalls and limitations to watch for.
A live case study will compare a human-written proposal with an AI-generated version, revealing where AI excels and where the human touch remains critical. The session wraps with an interactive Q&A, giving attendees the chance to ask questions, share insights, and explore the future of AI in sponsorship.
Breakout Session Presenter - TBC
The Prospecting Playbook: How to Get in the Door and Make It Count
This breakout session is designed to help municipal professionals identify, approach, and engage the right sponsor prospects for their community. Learn practical strategies for securing meetings, conducting discovery sessions, and tailoring your outreach based on asset type and community size.
Whether you're pitching naming rights in a major city or seeking sponsors for a small-town Canada Day event, this session offers tools, case studies, and data-driven insights to help you prospect more effectively—and make every meeting count.
Breakout Session Presenter - TBC
Working in a One Person Department – How to Make It Work!
Do you struggle as the sole individual managing sponsorships, naming rights, and advertising sales for your municipality? Sure, there are people working in other departments like Economic Development or Community Services, but sponsorship is not their “responsibility”, nor do they care. They don’t really understand the nuances of your work, what relationships are with partners, and the concept of a “win-win-win”. If this sounds like your work environment, you are not alone. In this breakout out session, we are going to walk through what you need to not only survive but thrive in a one-person department!
Breakout Session Presenter - TBC