How many times have you listened to someone explain something but not understood how it works in practice? In the fast moving world of marketing and sponsorship, leading marketers must combine intuition with experience and progressive thinking. These are qualities which Johan Cruyff embodied throughout his career as a player, manager and coach.

The Sponsorship 360: International Sport Marketing and Sponsorship program is a combination of campus lectures and tasks with guest speakers and one-off site programs with visits to organisations active in sports marketing and sponsorship sharing their expertise and knowledge.

It consists of six modules which will be blended into the program across the two weekends. In Amsterdam there will be a greater focus on more theoretical topics, cases and in class assignments. In London the focus will shift to more practical examples brought to life through on-site visits to actual sport organisations, venues and events.

Your program

We will cover the following subjects:

• Market Orientation: Sponsorship and Sports Marketing
  People: Key Stakeholders in the Sponsorship Business
• Segmentation and Targeting: Identifying the customer
  Product Development: Defining and developing sponsorship assets
• Packaging and Pricing: Preparing Sponsorship Programs for Partners
• Execution: Activating and Delivering Sponsorship programs
• Storytelling: Building a strong brand with content and data
• Measurement: Media and Market Research

We encourage participants from different backgrounds and interests that fit with the following profiles:

• Sports marketing professionals who want to gain more expertise in the field of sponsorship, sponsorship activation and management
• Students who have studied marketing and want to specialize more in sponsorship
• Rights owners, event owners, sport federations and sponsors who wish to develop a more strategic approach to sponsorship
• Individuals who want to make a career change into sports marketing, specializing in sport sponsorship

Admission requirements

An interview may be part of the admission procedure to evaluate if your achievements as well as your aspirations and motivations, are in line with the objectives of the program. As a guideline, we are looking for participants with these profiles:

• Aspiring leaders with three to five years’ business experience
• Industry Professionals with sport management and/or marketing qualifications

Richard Denton

Richard Denton is responsible for the delivery of this program. He has been teaching at Johan Cruyff Institute since 2012 in different academic programs in Amsterdam, Barcelona and Online.

Richard is the Academic Director of the Master in Sport Management at Johan Cruyff Institute Amsterdam. He has been working in the sport marketing and entertainment business since 1989. He has worked for global brands such as Canon, Philips, Omega, ABN Amro, Heineken and Unilever, across a variety of sport and events including the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, Formula 1, Volvo Ocean Race, PGA European Golf Tour, The Ryder Cup, Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the Olympic Games. Denton was managing director of one of Holland’s leading sport marketing agencies, Trefpunt-prism, from november 2009 until september 2015, and has been the sponsorships and partnerships manager of Vitesse Arnhem Football Club.

Going into the field and taking a closer look at sponsorship in action is all part of the learning experience offered by Johan Cruyff Institute. Each session is a blend of theory combined with practical cases, selected study material and presentations from professionals active in the sponsorship business.

No attendees. Only participants

The Sponsorship 360: International Sport Marketing and Sponsorship program will challenge your thinking about sponsorship as a marketing tool. Instead of inviting 50 or 60 people to a conference, we keep the numbers limited to 20, which creates a more productive learning environment.

Participants will join their team mates, work together, get to know them and learn from them as well. Through a combination of individual tasks, simulations and team exercises you will learn how to make critical decisions that improve the way you work as a sponsorship professional.

Our input. Your output

Johan Cruyff Institute strongly believes the student is central to everything we teach, learn and share. We help participants maximize their output and the outcomes they are seeking. Here are some of the principles we apply:

Everyone contributes

We expect all participants to engage and contribute to the learning process. There is no hierarchy, no walls or restrictions.

Diversity in class

We intentionally bring together participants from sport, business and diverse cultures to enrich the learning process.

Professional experience

Our coaches and guest speakers bring years of experience working in sport, business and the sponsorship industry.

Competitive learning

Just like in sport, we encourage healthy competition amongst participants to maximize the output for everyone.

Expect the unexpected

If you are not prepared for the unexpected then you are not prepared to advance in the sponsorship business.

Personal and Fun

We believe that learning should be fun and not just hard work so we make a special effort to ensure our students enjoy what they do, individually and collectively.