Sydney Festival is the largest annual arts event in Australia and the most successful in attracting corporate partnerships. We raised more than $8.4 million in cash and in-kind support for the 2009 Festival, about one-third of our annual turnover.

The Festival appeals to a wide range of Australian blue-chip sponsors such as ANZ, Nationwide News, QANTAS, University of Sydney, the Nine Network, and Lion Nathan because we offer a compelling business proposition.

Association with the Festival delivers:
- A loyal, educated audience
- Acknowledgement across an extensive marketing campaign
- Broad media coverage
- Exceptional corporate hospitality
- Creative promotions, product placement and sampling opportunities
- Access to very influential corporate and government stakeholders
- Positive brand alignment
- Sophisticated measurement and research tools

In short, we are a comprehensive business solution and our award-winning business development team is committed to helping you achieve solid returns on any investment in the Festival.

PROMOTIONS

Sponsors can achieve direct contact with large numbers of consumers at major Festival events.

In 2009 over 1 million people enjoyed free events as part of the Festival program.

Festival First Night continued to be a tremendous success, drawing crowds in excess of 240,000 to the city. The free Festival Jazz and Festival Symphony concerts in the Domain attract up to 160,000 people each night. iiNet Films Afloat at Darling Harbour was extended across five nights over 2009, at which over 30,000 people enjoyed watching cult-classic films scored live by highly acclaimed musicians and projected on a superscreen over the water.  In 2010, Darlling Harbour will be hosting an all new program throughout January featuring Circus Oz.

The Beck's Festival Bar ran for three weeks in 2009 with capacity crowds and the Festival Garden in Hyde Park attracted over 45,000 people. The Beck’s Festival Bar and Festival Garden are back in 2010 and promise to attract record crowds again as the hottest places to be throughout January in Sydney.

These, and other iconic Festival events, are opportunities for sponsors to reach consumers with messaging, product sampling, product sales and promotional giveaways.

Examples of media promotions:
- Print competitions and giveaways in News Ltd titles
- Competitions are the most obvious way to bring together sponsors and our media partners, offering sponsors additional exposure and leverage through giveaways and cross promotions
- Cross sponsor promotions e.g. discounted outdoor advertising, radio & on-air packages

Domain Concerts: Summer Sounds, Festival Symphony and Opera in the Domain
Thousands of people turn up early to the concerts to ensure they get a prime spot to watch the show. To keep the crowd entertained there are four hours of pre-show programming with sponsor products, MC, and televised activity to the main screen. This allows sponsors the opportunity to interact with the crowd and build brand awareness or experiences.

Ways in which sponsors can leverage their on-ground activation:
- On screen branding at Domain events
- Patron interaction with the public through product placement
- Staff engagement with public infrastructure set up to act as base for activity
- On-ground product demonstration/displays
- On-ground sampling
- Access to the big screen (live cross, graphics, video, pre records etc.)
- Access to the MC
- Access to the stage
- Creation of interactive consumer promotions/entertainment

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

We are keenly aware that our partners deserve evidence that their investment is working.

Sydney Festival works with Woolcott Research to develop our annual qualitative and quantitative research projects.

To assist the Festival in providing our sponsors with comprehensive evaluation of their sponsorship, a proportion of the questions asked are focused on the effectiveness of sponsor activities and overall sponsor recall.

The Business Development staff has extensive experience working with major sponsors on research projects.

For more information contact Amalina Williams on 02 8248 6511 or amalina.williams@sydneyfestival.org.au