On Fri, Sep 29, 2000 at 11:54:14AM +0100, Greg McCarroll wrote:
> He confirmed twice that a representative from the company would
> be able to give a 5 minute talk before lunch on the Saturday. The
> alternative that we ended up with was not a satisfactory substitute. We
> were further disappointed that the company banner which was supplied was not
> used. Aside from this, we were promised the following "We can put the
> sponsor logo, a url,
> and some information about them on both the web pages and in the materials,
> including the proceedings, and thank them roundly whenever possible." Most
> of this clearly never happened. I hope you can see why were were
> disappointed. We had very much relished the opportunity to be involved in
> an event like this.
I think the main problem here is III (or whoever set up the
sponsorship at III) considered "sponsorship == advertising". While it
is true that sponsors usually get very good advertising, recognition,
karma, etc... for their buck/quid (and for less than the cost of one
magazine ad) it does *not* buy you advertising. Banners, posters,
materials, company plugs.... they *should* get displayed, but this
isn't a contract. And being anal about how much ad space you get is
something you wrangle with magazines about, not seat-of-the-pants
conferences.
Additionally, if YAPC::Europe/YAS is a non-profit, the sponsorship
should have been a tax-refundable donation, which removes it even
further from the realm of buying advertising. (Note: IANAL)
I have run into this problem myself. At my last job, trying to get
sponsorship for YAPC::America lead to some questions about if banners
could be displayed, how much company material could be handed out,
etc... and these were not PHBs. Businesses like to get concrete
things for their money.
Deciding not to sponsor another YAPC would have been appropriate.
Pulling their funding was just asinine from all perspectives
(pennywise, poundfoolish). However, it might make sense for YAS to
have another look at what they're telling their sponsors. Make sure
its clear that sponsorship != advertising and that we'll try to make
sure their stuff is displayed, but the nature of the beast leaves no
guarantees. That the best way to get recognition is to have a
representative at the conference doing something for the conference.
It might also be wise to get it in writing and make it a
tax-deductable donation.
--
Michael G Schwern http://www.pobox.com/~schwern/ [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Just Another Stupid Consultant Perl6 Kwalitee Ashuranse
We're talkin' to you, weaselnuts.
-- Diablo www.goats.com
