Ahead of the 2016 ESA Excellence Awards ceremony, taking place on Thursday 9th February in London, we’re asking each of our chair of judges to give some insight into their judging categories and highlight any trends or themes that are starting to appear.
It’s the turn of Laura Sears, Head of Corporate Partnerships, Victoria and Albert Museum, who gives us an insight into the Live Music Partnership category.
It’s clear that live music, and the sponsorship activity that takes place within it, is becoming an increasingly crowded market place with lots of things happening. So I was really interested and impressed by how brands ensured stand-out, and kept some long term partnerships fresh.
Because of the nature of the modern music scene it was no surprise to see an increasing use of digital within the entries that we were judging.
But it was refreshing to see that activation tactics had also focused on a two-pronged strategy of supporting acts and venues in order to create maximum impact.
Live music really fires people’s passions and the partnerships really added value for customers in an authentic way. And it’s that authenticity that came across very strongly.
This category, more than most others, demonstrated the value of long term partnerships and really strong working relationships between the rights holders and the sponsors. It was an absolute privilege to read the award entries and gain a greater insight into this sector of sponsorship.
The 2016 ESA Excellence Awards Ceremony takes place at Porchester Hall in London on the evening of Thursday 9th February 2017.
For further information, and to purchase tickets for the event, please click here.