Sponsorship makes or breaks a party - Osmosis benefits from good liaisons

As with any event of the magnitude of Osmosis, sponsors are an essential part.

Smirnoff was the first brand to take the growing event under its wing. The Mad Circle team revealed that they had been courting Smirnoff for some time, and after a string of successful events, climaxing with the last staging in Beverly Hills, they finally forged an alliance. But other entities didn't just rush in after that.

"Even though the team had been working hard on defining what the Osmosis brand represented, securing sponsorships has never been easy. We have to work twice as hard to secure sponsorships. The only consolation we took was that more sponsors started knowing our names," the team explained via email. So what does Mad Circle look for in a sponsor?

"When we think about a sponsor we try to identify someone who can add an experience to the Osmosis patron and improve the quality of the overall event. We look for partners who not only want to promote their products but want to help us to grow as an event."

Brand image

They also look for someone whose products and services attract the same type of consumer Osmosis targets.

"This way our brand inherits image cues and grows from more established premium sponsors, while, at the same time, less established brands can benefit from our brand image."

They explained that when the event was younger, attaching themselves to the world's number-one spirit, Smirnoff Vodka, made perfect sense. Smirnoff's cocktails and decor helped raised the level of the event, and the brand was seen as more credible to the wider public.

"In more recent times we were searching for ways to reach a wider audience, including overseas, and make a bigger impact within corporate Jamaica. This led us to approach The Gleaner, and thankfully they were excited to partner with us to get our message out and for them to connect with the younger, trendy demographic."

Vision

The guys say they don't think there is any sponsor they would outright not work with, but they do evaluate whether the products and services of a particular brand/company match their brand vision.

"If the two are aligned, then once we can negotiate a mutually beneficial position, we welcome that sponsor on board. Sponsors have been a key ingredient in making Osmosis the event it is today, as the model for Osmosis is unique."

They pointed to what they offer as opposed to their pricing, and said it was an extremely difficult task to continue to stage such a classy event. For this reason they are always trying to increase the level of sponsorship they receive.