CHALLENGE: 

Help ESSENCE overcome a growing concern that Film & Television brands had with ESSENCE Festival. These brands understood the value of the festival but could not resolve a way to integrate their brands into the Festival’s existing sponsorship structure at a price-point that worked.

ROLE: 

Lead Marketing Agency

GOAL: 

Deliver significant ROI for studios/networks and deliver qualified sponsorships that include media engagements.

OBJECTIVE: 

Develop a sponsorship model that is not dependent on a physical activation space but rather leverages talent and content as a platform for consumer engagement.

SOLUTION: 

Partnered with ESSENCE to create, develop and manage the ENTERTAINMENT ALL ACCESS (EAA) program which provided entertainment brands access to already established consumer engagement platforms within the festival at a price-point which they could afford.

TACTICS:

• Planning, management, activation and reporting of ENTERTAINMENT ALL ACCESS Center Stage, Fan Zone, Screening Room & Press Room.
• Provided client activation duties which included: celebrity panel talks, celebrity fan zone meet & greets, sampling, screening, publicity, red carpet, product demonstrations, creative production, credentials, security, promotional merchandise inventory/distribution, activation plans, social media, digital & weekend schedules.

RESULTS: 

• Grew the film studio/tv network sponsorships for ESSENCE Festival by 400% in year one. 
• After managing this program for 6 consecutive years, EAA is now a foundational sponsorship within the ESSENCE Festival model that delivers approx. $4 Million of sponsorships annually.