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Sponsorship and Advertising Committee Chair

The Sponsorship and Advertising Chair reports to the Vice President Public Relations. This Chair is responsible for managing the advertising activities for HRP-MN’s monthly newsletter, Update, along with securing and managing corporate and event sponsorships.

The Sponsorship and Advertising Committee works very closely with the co-editors of HRP-MN’s monthly newsletter, Update, as well as with the graphic designer for Update.

The Committee Chair and members solicit sponsorships and advertising business through letters, email messages, and phone calls to member and non-member companies. Potential advertisers who initiate contact with HRP-MN regarding Sponsorships and Advertising are referred to the Chair by the association management firm and other Board members. The Chair stays in close contact with Sponsors and Advertisers. Therefore, a primary responsibility of this committee is providing good customer relations to ensure customer satisfaction.

Duties: Advertising

• Respond to inquiries from current and prospective advertisers.

• Provides advertising guidelines and rates to current and prospective advertisers. (See attached.)

• Obtains from advertisers a signed Advertising Contract (see attached).

• Maintains clear and thorough records regarding customers’ arrangements. e.g., organization names, contact persons’ names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and email addresses; billing contacts’ names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers; and the signed Advertising Contracts that clearly specifies advertising arrangements. The Advertising Contract includes the following: the membership status of the advertiser, the size of the ad, and the length of time the advertisement is to run in Update. Forwards contracts to association management firm so billing can be sent out to advertiser.

• Act as a liaison between the advertiser, the graphic designer and association management firm. This includes clarifying and communicating acceptable ad formats to the advertiser, determining if additional setup or design need to be charged to the advertiser for graphic design services and communicating this to the advertiser, and providing to the graphic designer, before the relevant deadline, the ad copy received from the advertiser.

• Monitor publication deadlines and communicate deadlines to advertisers as necessary.

• By the second Wednesday of the month, proofs the list of advertisers sent to the Update Co-Editor to be included in the upcoming issue of Update (association management firm will facilitate this). Works directly with Co-Editor on any corrections.

• Prepares communications to members inviting them to advertise in Update.

• Reviews invoices sent to the advertisers by the association management firm. Provides a report detailing all revenues invoiced to the Vice President Finance and the Board. Works closely with Vice President Finance on all corrections to invoices and other financial matters. Keeps Vice President Public Relations in touch with all finance related matters.

• Follows up on collection of outstanding charges, as needed. Periodically consult with the Vice President Finance to determine if there are any past due amounts that should be followed up in writing.

• Monitors the quantity of ads in each publication. As a general rule, advertising should not consume more than twenty-five (25) percent of the monthly newsletter.

• Consults with the Update Editor when there is the potential for the advertising space in any given issue to exceed the allotted advertising space of 25 percent.

• Periodically evaluates advertising rates and makes recommendations to the Board through the Vice President Public Relations.

Duties: Sponsorships

• Responds to inquiries from current and prospective sponsors.

• Maintains corporate and event sponsorship information on the website.

• Solicits and sends information to prospective companies about sponsorship opportunities. This includes submitting an article to Update at least once a year about the benefits of Sponsorships.

• Provides sponsorship options and rates to current and prospective sponsors (see Sponsorship Guidelines).

• Obtains from sponsors a signed Sponsorship Contract along with payment (see attached).

• Maintains clear and thorough records regarding customers’ arrangements, e.g., organization names; contact persons’ names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and email addresses; billing contacts’ names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and email addresses; and the signed Sponsorship Contracts. Forwards original contracts to association management firm and keeps copies on file.

• Act as a liaison between the sponsors, association management firm, and Update Co-Editors for advertising included with their sponsorships. This includes clarifying and communicating acceptable ad formats to the sponsors, determining if additional setup or design is needed for their advertising for graphic design services (including any fees involved) and communicating this to the sponsors. Provides to the graphic designer, before the relevant deadline, the ad copy received from the sponsors.

• Follows up with Sponsors to ensure they are satisfied with all the elements of their sponsorship package and want to renew each year. This includes reminding them to bring their marketing materials to monthly luncheons, mini-conferences, philanthropy events. When needed, ensures that materials are delivered to HRP-MN events for this purpose.

• By the second Wednesday of the month, provide the association management firm and Update Co-Editor a list of advertisements coming from sponsors to be included in the upcoming issue of Update.

• Periodically evaluates the sponsorship package rates with the Vice President Public Relations and the Board.

Calendar

• Second Wednesday of the month: list of advertisers for the upcoming issue is due to the Update Editor. e.g. on the second Wednesday of January, the list of advertisers for the February issue is due.

• Second Wednesday of the month: Any new ad copy is due to the graphics designer. e.g., an ad that is to run in the February issue must be to the graphics designer by the second Wednesday of January.

Committee Interface

• Vice President Public Relations

• Update Co-Editors

• Graphic Designer

• Vice President Finance

Update Rate Sheet
Circulation:
There are approximately 250 members of HRP-MN. With members forwarding newsletters within their organizations and their associates, the total circulation is well over 350.
Deadline:
The deadline for submitting an ad is the first Wednesday of the month preceding the desired month of publication. For example, an ad that is to run in the November issue of the newsletter must be received by HRP-MN by the first Wednesday of October.
Rates & Dimensions:

*In certain circumstances, there may be a setup fee in addition to the rates listed above. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, the following: If the file you submit is not translatable, if the size of the ad does not comply with the dimensions noted above, if a font is not clear, or if a graphic or logo does not reproduce well.
Submission & Format of Advertisement:
All ads must be submitted in JPG format via e-mail to the Sponsorship and Advertising Chair. A resolution of 300 dpi is preferred for best quality. Color ads are acceptable.