Case Study
Project:
Manage the acquisition and activation for The Uptown Art Fair to alleviate the workload on event organizers and drive incremental revenue.
Owner:
The Uptown Association
Goal of Project:
Why what we do this important
The Uptown Art Fair is Minnesota’s largest and longest-running art event, with more than 300,000 annual attendees. The event plays an integral role in showcasing local artists and is an important economic driver for Minneapolis’ Uptown Community. Corporate partnerships play a crucial role in not just funding the three-day event but also in creating fun and engaging experiences for all attendees. Like many community-based events, the Art Fair operates with limited staffing, and prior to Front Burner Sports & Entertainment’s involvement Partnership sales efforts were time-consuming and produced limited results.
Project Results
Timeline
January – The Weekend of the Uptown Art Fair
Front Burner Sports’ Game Plan
The Creation of a New Story
Upon being brought in by the Uptown Art Fair, Front Burner immediately audited all previous sponsorship efforts. This audit resulted in the creation of a new partnership sales story, one that not only focused on partners’ desire to support the arts but also focused on the demographic profile of the attendees and how potential partners could benefit from engaging with these consumers in a relaxed environment surrounded by local artists. This story later evolved into one that also invites partners to be a part of the reinvigoration of a culturally important neighborhood.
Focused Outreach
Unlike past years where organizers had to fight to find time to generate partnership revenue while also working on key duties such as artist registration, security, catering, volunteer recruitment, staff training, etc., Front Burner Sports & Entertainment is 100% focused on
connecting with potential partners and promoting how they could benefit by being a part of the event.
Due to Front Burner’s standing in the industry and its deep relationships with many companies in the region, it quickly created several meaningful conversations with key decision-makers.
Ongoing Support
Aside from contracting with these new partners, Front Burner Sports & Entertainment also oversaw the activation of every partner relationship. This included regular meetings with partners to formulate exciting consumer interactions, the creation and production of onsite branding, and the onsite supervision of all partnership activities.
Removing these duties from event organizers gave them more time to do what they do best, execute the largest Art Fair in Minnesota.
Meaningful Results
As a result of Front Burner Sports & Entertainment’s efforts, partnership revenue has increased by 75%. Recognizable brands such as T-Mobile and the Minnesota Lottery have made the event part of their annual marketing plans, and the event moved into the exciting CBD category through a partnership with Global Organics, LLC.
Most importantly, event organizers no longer have to take on the responsibility and workload involved with creating and selling corporate partnerships and instead can focus on the operations and organizational aspects of the event.
Why It Worked
Owners Perspective
“Working with Front Burner Sports & Entertainment has allowed us to focus on other important aspects of the event while still generating revenue from sponsorships.”
– Director of the Uptown Association.
Front Burner Sports Perspective
“The uptown art fair has always been one of the premier summertime events in Minnesota. Our partnership with the Uptown Art Fair is one that we are really proud of as it creates memorable partnerships that add to the attendee’s experience and gives brands access to a unique audience.”
– Chris Potenza, President, Front Burner Sports & Entertainment
