Whether you are a brand, or a rights holder, you’ve no doubt been in situations where a sponsorship has gotten off on the right foot, and with all the right intentions, but then one, or both, parties have struggled to bring the sponsorship to life and activate it well. It is easy to see how it can happen; especially if there is no explicit conversation about the additional investment that sponsors need to make towards activation which is over and above the investment of the sponsorship agreement. The big brands have in-house teams that concentrate on sponsorship and so this isn’t usually too much of a problem. However, there are a number of medium and smaller sized businesses, who, combined, have a significant sponsorship presence right around the world, yet may lack the knowledge and resources to activate their sponsorships well. In fact, they can often expect the rights holder to make it all ‘happen’. It is a shame, or even a weakness at times, because everyone wants the sponsorship to work. One person who, while working on the rights holder side, identified this as a significant issue, and a gap in the market, and decided to strike out on his own in order to address it, is Aaron Warburton, Director of The Sponsorship Department, a boutique sponsorship agency in Sydney. Aaron joins us to discuss his work and starting his own business, some of the challenges, a lot of the great stuff and also what he has in store for The Sponsorship Department for 2018. Aaron is an experienced operator and has lots of great insights. So, whether you one day want to strike out on your own, or want an inside perspective from a rights holder or from the brand side, there is something for everyone in the chat. If you would like to connect with Aaron, you can do so on LinkedIn, Twitter or visit www.thesponsorshipdepartment.com.au Sam Irvine, our GM of Product, joins us to discuss five things he has learnt from the Big Bash League, Australia's premier T20 competition. Enjoy.

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