Corporate Partnership Program

An opportunity to partner with the City of Charleston to enhance your company’s marketing program.

Corporate Partnership Overview

Marketing success is measured by the ability to reach objectives. Whether your objective is greater brand awareness, increased retail sales, more website traffic or some other tangible goal, success can only be achieved by getting the right message to the right market.

The City of Charleston’s Corporate Partnership Program provides a unique platform for delivering your message to groups large or small in a variety of demographics.

For the City of Charleston....the Corporate Partnership Program represents a vehicle for raising non-tax revenue by using assets that already exist. Modeled after leading sports properties like the Olympics, NASCAR, and the NFL, the assets available to partners generally fall into one of two categories:

• Marketing sponsorships affiliated with a special event or naming rights for a venue or facility.
• Procurement sponsorships, adding a marketing element to the City’s purchase of goods and services and/or the delivery of services to residents.

Every partnership is customized to match the City’s assets to the needs and marketing objectives of the corporate partner.

For the Corporate Partner…the Corporate Partnership Program represents an opportunity to utilize the fastest going segment of the marketing industry – Municipal Sponsorships. The City’s partnership counselors will analyze your company’s marketing strategy to determine:

• How your objectives can be reached.
• The combination of assets required to reach them.
• An activation strategy to take advantage of those assets.
• A measuring metric to determine your return on investment.

In addition to the tangible results, corporate partners will benefit from partner forums, “first look” at new opportunities, renewal options and the opportunity to use the partnership in their other marketing efforts.

How To Become a Partner

There are two main avenues to becoming a Corporate Partner with the City of Charleston:

*Marketing Sponsorships affiliated with a special event or naming rights for a venue or facility.

*Procurement sponsorships, adding a marketing element to the City’s purchase of goods and services and/or delivery of services to residents.

Both offer opportunities for a corporate partner to achieve “Official” status with the City and benefit from their Corporate Partnership with Charleston in their other marketing efforts.

Marketing Sponsorships

The City is dedicated to constantly improving the quality of life for residents of Charleston. From special events like FestivALL and Live on the Levy to year round activities at our parks and community centers, Charleston provides entertainment and recreation for citizens of all ages.

Charleston is also blessed with neighborhood community centers, city parks, swimming pools, a golf course and more, where citizens can take advantage of facilities made possible by the City.

Corporate Partners can receive valuable exposure and marketing opportunities through sponsorships, while at the same time directly contributing to Charleston’s quality of life.

Corporate Partner opportunities exist at many levels, beginning around $5,000 and building as high as several hundred thousand dollars. The key is our ability to create a Corporate Partnership that meets your marketing objectives and budget.

Procurement Sponsorships

Charleston regularly purchases goods and services from the business community so that we can perform essential services for residents. For larger purchases, Charleston uses a competitive bid process in order to secure better prices and ensure fairness in the selection process.

The goal of the Corporate Partner Program is to identify those opportunities where the selection of a qualified provider can include a marketing element as part of the criteria. The selection process would be based not only on a competitive price for products and services, but also on partnership benefits for both the City and the corporation.

When a city purchase is identified as a viable candidate for Corporate Partnership, it will be advertised as a Request for Vendor Marketing Proposal through traditional mediums. The request will include specifications for the purchase component and guidelines on the Corporate Partner marketing opportunity.

In general, the selection of a Procurement Corporate Partner will be based on the following:

1. Respondent’s ability to supply the goods and services as described in the RFP.
2. The price and terms at which the respondent is willing to provide those goods and services.
3. The respondent’s interest in entering into a marketing relationship with the City via the Corporate Partner Program, and if so, the commitment the respondent is willing to make, both financially and as an active partner.
4. The appropriateness of the respondent’s compatibility as a marketing partner with the City.

The first part of the proposal will follow typical bid process guidelines; the second part will allow respondent’s to exhibit creativity, both in their financial package and their sponsorship activation.

For More Information

Contact our Corporate Partner Program agency:

Jay Cipoletti
Point Forward
Phone: (304) 346-3351
Fax: (304) 346-3900
jay@point-forward.com