Best dressed snares success

By ELLEN READ

Sponsorship and small business may not seem obvious bedmates but leading New Zealand fashion designer Gaye Bartlett hasn't let that deter her.

Professionalism, no matter what the size of the business, is key to securing quality sponsorship, says Bartlett.

It was this approach that distinguished her from numerous other sponsorship opportunities when she approached financial services firm Sovereign to support her individual fashion show at next week's L'Oreal New Zealand Fashion Week.

Bartlett sees sponsorship as an ideal marketing and funding opportunity for small to medium enterprises, and has seven tips for businesses seeking support:

* Be professional in your approach, verbally and in writing.

* Make sure you are talking to the right person. Big corporations will generally have a sponsorship manager, whereas in other companies sponsorship may be looked after by the marketing manager or general manager.

* Make sure the fit is right. Is your audience right for the sponsor? Is there good synergy between your business and the sponsor's brand? Do you have similar objectives?

* Always have a clear idea of what the benefits are for a sponsor. Think creatively and try to offer value for their brand or product - think bigger than just having a brand name on a banner.

* Outline all the marketing opportunities - media exposure, corporate hospitality, naming rights, product sampling opportunities, employee incentives and so on.

* Prove you have the capacity and resource to do a good job. Build on previous experience and your expertise in the area.

* Be flexible and willing to work with a sponsor to create beneficial opportunities.

Sovereign sponsorship and events manager Lisa Dowling was impressed by Bartlett's professional approach, which came just as the company was looking to build its new brand campaign, "Sharing the passion for life".

"Sponsorship is a valuable marketing tool which allows us to build subtle brand relationships with our target audience," she said.

"To be successful in securing sponsorship you need to differentiate from the crowd, show relevance and an understanding of the company you want sponsorship from and align your objectives and brand values."

Another aspect of Bartlett's company which is perhaps more common among small business is that it is a family operation. Her daughter, Deanne Bartlett, works alongside her mother, day in, day out, a situation they both say works extremely well.

The company, which caters for women over 30 who want to wear designer clothes, exports around 85 per cent of its product to Australia.

It pitches its product to the top 2 to 3 per cent of the market, so the NZ market alone would not be large enough.

Each new range of clothes evolves from the previous one, taking into account what the customers want, says Gaye Bartlett.

The company employs eight fulltime staff in NZ and has an agent in Australia. The Bartletts work on the designing together and then contract out the manufacturing.