Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

[David Ottosen]

So, as you probably all know, I recently put up some money to help sponsor a chess tourney in Calgary. I did this in part because Vlad is a good guy and I wanted his tourney to be a success, but I also thought that I've made a lot of posts about sponsorship in chess, why it doesn't work in the current model, and who is to blame for it, and I thought it would be an interesting case study for all of Canadian chess to consider.

I have always posted that I believe chess cannot position itself as a sponsorship opportunity with positive ROI; the reach of the publicity will be extremely limited and unlikely to generate substantial new business for a company - this has been debated, but I still believe it to be so, and will until chess somehow gets mainstream media coverage. So, I have always believed that you must position chess as a goodwill/community type of sponsorship that will allow a company to feel like it's giving back.

For this type of sponsorship, potential sponsors must be shown first that the sponsorship activity is beneficial and worthwhile; I think this can be done. There is no shortage of links between chess and intelligence, links to improvement in chess and school performance, etc. It's a game with lots of positive goodwill towards it, and one that any company would be proud to say they are sponsoring in their employee newsletter. Making this first contact can come from anywhere; a player, an organizer, a dedicated parent, maybe even the sponsor comes to you first, whatever.

Once that first contact is made, however, the challenge is now shared by all members of the community. The initial point of contact has put themselves out there and gotten some money into the community. Now, it's up to everyone to make an effort to keep the sponsor feeling good about what they are doing, and want to continue it. This involves simple courtesies like adding the sponsor to the web site (and letting the sponsor know they are added to the site), communicating with the sponsor during the event, having the participants give some mention or thank you to the sponsor.

So, let's take this event (though I don't want to single Vlad or these particular players out - they are essentially the same as I'd have expected from any tournament or organizer in Canadian chess). When I first offered it, I communicated quickly and easily with Vlad, finding a way to transfer money overseas and ensure that it was added to the prize fund in the way I preferred.

Then the prize was announced, and the tournament went on; no further direct emails from Vlad of any sort - just a few posts on the ECC group and here. No mention of the sponsorship of any sort on the web site. No thank you from a single player (despite several of them being members of the ECC group, and my contact information being relatively easy to obtain from many ACA members and the availability of direct PM via this site).

Essentially, none of the common courtesies you'd expect shown to a sponsor, and as such, no good feeling from me about this and no interest in continuing to do so. I received Vlad's email immediately after the tourney about potentially continuing the offer for the Edmonton tourney, and I decided to wait one week until after the end of the tourney to see if anything came from any player; had anything come, I would have carried on the offer. Nothing came, so I'm not. In reality, I don't care that much about the thank you or the web site or whatever, but then I didn't care that much about some tourney thousands of kilometres away either. For me, it was just a way to test my beliefs.

So, in this case, both the organizers and the players have "cost" themselves a potential sponsor, and (to be frank) confirmed my belief in why Canadian chess does not have any record of getting and keeping sponsors. I've expressed this all to Vlad, but I hope other organizers and players can also give some thought to this.

[Joshua Guo]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

I agree 100%. If I were you I'd be like, "Screw it, i can give the money to a charity or somone in need, and they will appreciate it a lot more than these chess players who are so engulfed in their games".

I mentioned this in another threads - chess players need to learn to thank their sponsors (especially) and organizers. There is no money in chess, so unless you keep wanting to play in wkend swisses where top prize is $500, we should all be aware of these courtesies.

And it doesn't matter if you're an IM or GM, because frankly outside the chess community, no one cares. But, if the top players can lead by example and a bit more social (not to just the sponsors, but also to media, organizers, and even friends), i think its would do wonders for the general level of interest in chess.

[Vlad Dobrich]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

So, as you probably all know, I recently put up some money to help sponsor a chess tourney in Calgary. I did this in part because Vlad is a good guy and I wanted his tourney to be a success, but I also thought that I've made a lot of posts about sponsorship in chess, why it doesn't work in the current model, and who is to blame for it, and I thought it would be an interesting case study for all of Canadian chess to consider.

I have always posted that I believe chess cannot position itself as a sponsorship opportunity with positive ROI; the reach of the publicity will be extremely limited and unlikely to generate substantial new business for a company - this has been debated, but I still believe it to be so, and will until chess somehow gets mainstream media coverage. So, I have always believed that you must position chess as a goodwill/community type of sponsorship that will allow a company to feel like it's giving back.

For this type of sponsorship, potential sponsors must be shown first that the sponsorship activity is beneficial and worthwhile; I think this can be done. There is no shortage of links between chess and intelligence, links to improvement in chess and school performance, etc. It's a game with lots of positive goodwill towards it, and one that any company would be proud to say they are sponsoring in their employee newsletter. Making this first contact can come from anywhere; a player, an organizer, a dedicated parent, maybe even the sponsor comes to you first, whatever.

Once that first contact is made, however, the challenge is now shared by all members of the community. The initial point of contact has put themselves out there and gotten some money into the community. Now, it's up to everyone to make an effort to keep the sponsor feeling good about what they are doing, and want to continue it. This involves simple courtesies like adding the sponsor to the web site (and letting the sponsor know they are added to the site), communicating with the sponsor during the event, having the participants give some mention or thank you to the sponsor.

So, let's take this event (though I don't want to single Vlad or these particular players out - they are essentially the same as I'd have expected from any tournament or organizer in Canadian chess). When I first offered it, I communicated quickly and easily with Vlad, finding a way to transfer money overseas and ensure that it was added to the prize fund in the way I preferred.

Then the prize was announced, and the tournament went on; no further direct emails from Vlad of any sort - just a few posts on the ECC group and here. No mention of the sponsorship of any sort on the web site. No thank you from a single player (despite several of them being members of the ECC group, and my contact information being relatively easy to obtain from many ACA members and the availability of direct PM via this site).

Essentially, none of the common courtesies you'd expect shown to a sponsor, and as such, no good feeling from me about this and no interest in continuing to do so. I received Vlad's email immediately after the tourney about potentially continuing the offer for the Edmonton tourney, and I decided to wait one week until after the end of the tourney to see if anything came from any player; had anything come, I would have carried on the offer. Nothing came, so I'm not. In reality, I don't care that much about the thank you or the web site or whatever, but then I didn't care that much about some tourney thousands of kilometres away either. For me, it was just a way to test my beliefs.

So, in this case, both the organizers and the players have "cost" themselves a potential sponsor, and (to be frank) confirmed my belief in why Canadian chess does not have any record of getting and keeping sponsors. I've expressed this all to Vlad, but I hope other organizers and players can also give some thought to this.

Thank you for your thought-provoking post! And I agree, no one called Vlad should be criticised too strongly :)
I had some similar thoughts after the 2010 Canadian Open. I suggested to Brian Fiedler and later to this year's organizers the following:
Hire a liaison person to liaise with the sponsor. This could be on a commision basis. That person would be the sponsor's contact with the event. The liaison would follow up after the event and present the sponsor a memento token with say a photo of a presentation with the sponsor's logo on a banner in the background of the picture. The liaison would then be in a position to contact the sponsor at a later date should another worthy event appear on the horizon.
I would offer to be the liaison - but, unfortunately I'm not good-looking enough:( I would suggest any one in the attached photo......

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

And I agree, no one called Vlad should be criticised too strongly :)

As long as they are smart enough to avoid the climate change threads... :p

[Joshua Guo]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

Thank you for your thought-provoking post! And I agree, no one called Vlad should be criticised too strongly :)
I had some similar thoughts after the 2010 Canadian Open. I suggested to Brian Fiedler and later to this year's organizers the following:
Hire a liaison person to liaise with the sponsor. This could be on a commision basis. That person would be the sponsor's contact with the event. The liaison would follow up after the event and present the sponsor a memento token with say a photo of a presentation with the sponsor's logo on a banner in the background of the picture. The liaison would then be in a position to contact the sponsor at a later date should another worthy event appear on the horizon.
I would offer to be the liaison - but, unfortunately I'm not good-looking enough:( I would suggest any one in the attached photo......

Good idea Vlad.

[Vlad Dobrich]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

Yo Josh!
Do you think a sponsor would rather see you or Dina walk in the door?

[Joshua Guo]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

Yo Josh!
Do you think a sponsor would rather see you or Dina walk in the door?

Depends on if the sponsor is a guy or a girl :)

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

Somehow I thought that David was a bit like Tom O'Donnell, that the reward for any action must be intrinsic. I must go back and re-read some of David's posts. Or maybe the players thought that they had "thanked you in advance" by producing the desired number of decisive games.

In the 1960s Vancouver folk-rock music scene, it was considered uncool to applaud. A great number or a great set was met by silence. Silence and attention were considered the highest compliment. Talking during a set and then applauding afterwards was considered hypocritical. That sort of treatment has passed into history, but I'd think that chess players would like it.

But yes yes, the culture of courtesy is dying out with the pre-baby boomers. Of course, people still say "please" and "thank you", but many will be surprised that, if you visited a friend for lunch, it used to be standard to send them a thank-you note. On paper, in an envelope, with a postage stamp.

Add that to the syllabus of the chess "Master Class": one hour on courtesy and how to treat fans, organizers and sponsors. It's even simpler than mating with BN.

BLTN: Thank you, David, for your monetary vote of confidence in chess!

[Vlad Rekhson]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

So, as you probably all know, I recently put up some money to help sponsor a chess tourney in Calgary. I did this in part because Vlad is a good guy and I wanted his tourney to be a success, but I also thought that I've made a lot of posts about sponsorship in chess, why it doesn't work in the current model, and who is to blame for it, and I thought it would be an interesting case study for all of Canadian chess to consider.

I have always posted that I believe chess cannot position itself as a sponsorship opportunity with positive ROI; the reach of the publicity will be extremely limited and unlikely to generate substantial new business for a company - this has been debated, but I still believe it to be so, and will until chess somehow gets mainstream media coverage. So, I have always believed that you must position chess as a goodwill/community type of sponsorship that will allow a company to feel like it's giving back.

For this type of sponsorship, potential sponsors must be shown first that the sponsorship activity is beneficial and worthwhile; I think this can be done. There is no shortage of links between chess and intelligence, links to improvement in chess and school performance, etc. It's a game with lots of positive goodwill towards it, and one that any company would be proud to say they are sponsoring in their employee newsletter. Making this first contact can come from anywhere; a player, an organizer, a dedicated parent, maybe even the sponsor comes to you first, whatever.

Once that first contact is made, however, the challenge is now shared by all members of the community. The initial point of contact has put themselves out there and gotten some money into the community. Now, it's up to everyone to make an effort to keep the sponsor feeling good about what they are doing, and want to continue it. This involves simple courtesies like adding the sponsor to the web site (and letting the sponsor know they are added to the site), communicating with the sponsor during the event, having the participants give some mention or thank you to the sponsor.

So, let's take this event (though I don't want to single Vlad or these particular players out - they are essentially the same as I'd have expected from any tournament or organizer in Canadian chess). When I first offered it, I communicated quickly and easily with Vlad, finding a way to transfer money overseas and ensure that it was added to the prize fund in the way I preferred.

Then the prize was announced, and the tournament went on; no further direct emails from Vlad of any sort - just a few posts on the ECC group and here. No mention of the sponsorship of any sort on the web site. No thank you from a single player (despite several of them being members of the ECC group, and my contact information being relatively easy to obtain from many ACA members and the availability of direct PM via this site).

Essentially, none of the common courtesies you'd expect shown to a sponsor, and as such, no good feeling from me about this and no interest in continuing to do so. I received Vlad's email immediately after the tourney about potentially continuing the offer for the Edmonton tourney, and I decided to wait one week until after the end of the tourney to see if anything came from any player; had anything come, I would have carried on the offer. Nothing came, so I'm not. In reality, I don't care that much about the thank you or the web site or whatever, but then I didn't care that much about some tourney thousands of kilometres away either. For me, it was just a way to test my beliefs.

So, in this case, both the organizers and the players have "cost" themselves a potential sponsor, and (to be frank) confirmed my belief in why Canadian chess does not have any record of getting and keeping sponsors. I've expressed this all to Vlad, but I hope other organizers and players can also give some thought to this.

I believe that adequeate mention of the sponsor was made during the event.
And the decision of whether to put something on the official website was the actual event organizer's, not mine, as I was more in a capacity of assisting with the running of the event.

With this prize, even though it was generous, the players didn't really feel like it could be won (66% of the games had to be decisive) until the last few rounds when suddenly the draw percentage went way down. Plus, I am not exactly sure how the players can thank you personally when you aren't there. They said thank you to the organizers, and in return I posted a thank you note to Dave for the "Ottosen Prize."

Cheers,
Vlad

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

I thought I would share our experience in Ottawa with the Canadian Open and Canadian Youth in 2007. We were fortunate to get a number of sponsors for both events. One of our committee was assigned to liaise with each sponsor through the preparation and execution. All sponsors were referenced in the program and the major corporate sponsors saw their logos displayed on our website and throughout the events themselves. They were invited to the prelaunch event, the opening of the tournament, and the closing ceremonies and took up the offers. Personal sponsors were given the option but generally chose a lower profile or a specific recognition activity. For example, a CFC governor kindly contributed a trophy for the Canadian Open to replace the one lost by the CFC and we enabled him to make the presentation to the winner at the close. Following the events, sponsors received a framed poster with the sponsor's name engraved plus the signatures of the players.
The sponsors were key to the financial success of the event. Indeed, a surplus was transferred to the CFC for the promotion of chess in the future only to disappear down a black hole.
Judging by their letters, the sponsors were generally very pleased with their participation in these events. I should note, however, that none has to my knowledge sponsored any subsequent events for whatever reason.

[David Ottosen]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

I believe that adequate mention of the sponsor was made during the event.

To be honest, if you are doing proper "sponsor maintenance", this shouldn't be something that you decide. When you are asking for philanthropic sponsorship, it's up to you to proactively determine the needs of your customer, not to imperiously decide that enough has been done to satisfy them.

And the decision of whether to put something on the official website was the actual event organizer's, not mine, as I was more in a capacity of assisting with the running of the event.

My mistake as I thought you were the organizer. To be honest, this actually makes it worse. The prize fund for the event was $1750, and you have someone willing to put $1000 more in. The main organizer should be directly involving himself with this possibility, and if he's not doing so, then Jean Hebert would have every right to point out the failings of our organizers in my opinion.

With this prize, even though it was generous, the players didn't really feel like it could be won (66% of the games had to be decisive) until the last few rounds when suddenly the draw percentage went way down.

I don't see how this matters (especially since it *was* earned and I waited a full week after the event to see if any acknowledgement came). Money was put on the table, and whether the players earned it or not, there should be appreciation. You might make an exception for something like Micah's offer of 1K for 9-0, which had a microscopic chance of happening, in which case there isn't any "real" money being put in the tourney. Even so, as a player, it costs nothing to say "hey, cool offer, thanks. Sorry I couldn't get it done!".

Plus, I am not exactly sure how the players can thank you personally when you aren't there.

As I said, a number of the players participate in the ECC group or on this board. Hell, Eric has posted things on my facebook wall. If I can find a way to send $1000 to you guys, I don't think it's at all impossible for them to find my email address.

They said thank you to the organizers, and in return I posted a thank you note to Dave for the "Ottosen Prize."

Here's the only point we agree on. The players and organizers believed they had done sufficient sponsor maintenance, and I'm trying to educate both you and them that they are wrong. I don't actually think the players maliciously sat around and said "let's not send a thank you email, let's just take the money and laugh at this sucker" - it just literally would never occur to an average chess player to personally contact a sponsor, and that's a big part of why there aren't any.

Jonathan Berry:

Somehow I thought that David was a bit like Tom O'Donnell, that the reward for any action must be intrinsic

I believe many people are motivated by a desire to do good things and that is the intrinsic reward they want. For the money this time, I got to make a cool chesstalk post, so there's that..

maybe the players thought that they had "thanked you in advance" by producing the desired number of decisive games.

I did consider this, and I think there's some merit in it. But a quick thank you email only takes an additional 30 seconds out of their lives.

Once again - I don't want to take Vlad to task as he put himself out there and made this happen, along with many other events (and apparently wasn't even the organizer!). He's a valuable resource to chess in Alberta and Canada, and I don't want him to take this personally. As I said, I have no doubt that this same case study could have been replicated over just about any tournament and with any organizer in Canada.

[Tony Ficzere]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

I have to take full responsibility for not posting this on the official website. This was something I missed and nobody else should be blamed for this.

Accepting responsibility for not doing something doesn't make the situation better, but we now know where the finger should be pointed.

I will of course modify the website now and show the Ottosen contribution.

While i did thank you on our newsgroup and in emails, you did not get the recognition that a sponsor deserves.

I do not like to make excuses, but in my defence, all I can say is that I was very busy during those 5 days (basically from 8 am until 1 am each day, give or take a few hours). When your offer came in after the event had started, I should have put it up on the website, but in the heat of the event, this detail (not a minor one) was overlooked.

I have been successful in gaining sponsorship from the private and public sectors in the past. In all cases, the sponsorship was lined up prior to the event and an inventory of what the sponsor would get was always determined at the point of sponsorship.

In any event, my apologies for missing this major point. Your contribution to the tournament was not unappreciated on my part. As for the players, I can't speak for them. In personal conversations with both Kraai and Sevillano, they were appreciative, but perhaps did not know where to send their kind words. Again, I should have given them at the very least, your email address so that they could have thanked you in person.

While none of this really deals with the problem at hand, it does help to explain the situation during the event.

Thank you once again David.

[David Ottosen]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

While none of this really deals with the problem at hand, it does help to explain the situation during the event.

Like I say, Tony, I don't reallly care one way or another as it was mostly an experiment for me. I just hope that both players and organizers can see what happened here, and learn from it for the future.

[Tom O'Donnell]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

Somehow I thought that David was a bit like Tom O'Donnell, that the reward for any action must be intrinsic. ...

A thought experiment:

You have the opportunity to donate as much as you like to a good cause, but not one that you or anyone you know will benefit from personally. Bill Gates will match your contribution 1,000:1. The only catch is that not only is your contribution undocumented (i.e. you get no credit for it whatsoever and no one else will know what you have done) but further you must submit to being injected with a drug that will wipe all memory of the contribution and everything associated with it (but only that) from your mind. In other words, no one - not even you - will ever have any idea of your donation.

Do you still make the donation?

[John Coleman]

Re: Sponsorship in Canadian chess - my case study

The drug thing is a little hard to imagine, but yes, I'd make the donation.

(In fact, I probably have, I forget everything these days. ;))