CONFERENCE 2016 CHICAGO, USA A Sponsorship Opportunity with a Twist
What Makes LBMX s Accelerate Different? Accelerate 2016 brings the world s top buying group and purchasing cooperative professionals to Chicago from June 8-10 to share practical, relevant ideas and new tactics. Last year s speakers included The Athlete s Foot (United States), CBH Group (Australia), National Merchant Buying Society - NMBS (United Kingdom), Buying Group Services - BGS (Canada), BLUE HAWK (United States), TIM-BR Mart (Canada), General Filters (United States), Consult Levy on bahalf of Suppy America (United States) and the Athletic Dealers of America (United States). Our conference is dedicated to the one thing buying group professionals told us they wanted: getting practical advice from top speakers that they can immediately apply to their organizations. Think of it as TEDx for buying groups and purchasing cooperatives. For Accelerate, we ve rethought how sponsorship works. We ve sponsored many conferences over the years, and we know from experience what works and what doesn t. Using that knowledge, we developed a sponsorship package for vendors we believe will be most valuable to them. Chris Hayward, Managing Director National Merchant Buying Society, United Kingdom 1
Skeptical about sponsoring conferences? So are we! We ve sponsored many conferences and events. The results have been mixed. Most sponsorship packages give you a logo, a place to display a banner, and maybe some exhibition space. If you re lucky, you might get a few mentions from the conference organizers.this doesn t regularly convert into paying customers. It s disheartening to sit at an empty exhibition stand watching people stream by. At the end of the conference, most attendees won t be able to name the sponsors. Let s change this. We will give you the opportunity to capture the attention of interested prospects, to build beneficial relationships with key decision makers, and to assure everyone at the conference knows what you do and the value you provide.this creates real prospects and leads to paying customers. Trent Bartlett, Independent Director - CBH Group, Australia 2
LBMX Accelerate sponsorships are different For Accelerate, we ve decided to create more value for sponsors. We want you to get new customers from your sponsorship. This means we re going to do the following: 1. Educate our attendees about what you do. You will have the opportunity to educate the LBMX team attending the conference. The more we know about you and the solutions you offer, the better we can promote your company during our conversations with attendees at the conference. 2. Let you give a direct pitch to a captive audience. We don t sell our speaking slots. However, we do invite our silver and gold sponsors to give a short 2-minute pitch to the audience that explains what you do. We ve come up with a fun way to make sure the ENTIRE audience in the room is focused on you. Everyone will know who you are for the rest of the event. 3. Use our knowledge to introduce you to people. We personally know about 80% to 90% of the attendees. We know the types of groups they manage and the problems they can encounter. We are excited to make introductions to people we think you should meet. This provides you with plenty of opportunities to prospect. 4. Give you reach beyond your usual marketplace. Accelerate is a global event. Last year we had attendees from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. This is a great opportunity to broaden your opportunities outside of the United States. 3
Recap of Year One 2015 marked the inaugural LBMX Accelerate Conference for purchasing cooperatives and buying groups. We believed that the majority of our attendees would be past attendees of the NCBA Purchasing Conference. We were pleasantly surprised. Not only did we have more attendees at our first event than attended the last NCBA Conference, but 90% of our attendees do not normally attend NCBA Conferences. For us, this meant a significant influx of new prospects into our sales pipeline. We were also able to continue our growth in new marketplaces by building relationships with attendees from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. LBMX Networking Suite - Commerica Park 4
Here s the principal way Accelerate sponsorships are different: No competitors! That s right, as a bonus offering to help kick off the second year of the conference, we will only allow a single vendor from each category into the conference. Have you ever sponsored a conference only to find that your competitors are there as registered guests? We have. There is nothing worse than investing as a GOLD or SILIVER level sponsor and finding out that your competitors have the same networking opportunities as you without the making the same investment. As a private conference, we control registration. Only qualified buying group professionals and certain non-profit researchers will be allowed to register as guests to Accelerate. Everyone else must be a sponsor. Further, we are limiting the amount of sponsorship packages being offered. Once they sign up, our GOLD and SILVER sponsors will be allowed to provide us a list of direct competitors in their field. These direct competitors will not be allowed to attend the conference as either sponsors or attendees. This incredible offer is on a first-come-first-serve basis. Imagine having the group of attendees to yourself without worrying about what your competitors are doing. After the GOLD and SILVER sponsorship packages have been sold, we will be opening up a BRONZE level of sponsors. BRONZE level sponsors will not be competitors of GOLD or SILIVER sponsors, but we will allow competing BRONZE level sponsors to attend. This year s GOLD and SILVER sponsors will be given preference at next year s conference. This is a great opportunity to lock you in as our conference continues to grow year after year. 5
Networking Opportunities The true value of an event like this is the chance to talk directly with key decision makers. In 2015, we had 11 hours of organized networking time. In 2016 we ll have even more opportunities for you to spend time with attendees. Evening Welcome Reception: The opening night of the Conference, there will be a hospitality suite style reception for attendees and sponsors. Breakfasts and Morning Breaks: We ve left breakfast unstructured to encourage attendees to spend time with sponsors. We have also planned two morning breaks where attendees are encouraged to visit the exhibition space. Lunch: We ve planned a long lunch so you have time to talk with attendees. You will also have a chance to introduce yourselves formally to the entire audience before lunch so attendees will know who you are and what you do. MLB Baseball Game (Cubs or White Sox): depending on the MLB schedule, GOLD and SILVER sponsors will be invited to attend a private event hosted by LBMX in a private suite. Most of the key attendees will be a captive audience for the evening at this fun event. If there is no game that night, we will plan an equally compelling private event. Post Event Fun: We encourage our attendees to continue the fun after the game. Be creative and invite people out for some late night fun. Remember, the benefit of this networking time is huge due to the lack of competitors being there. 6
Audience by Job Title Who will be at Accelerate? Our invitation list reads like the who s who of the global buying group/purchasing cooperative elite. This includes executives from the largest groups in the world, the smallest groups, and everything in between. Specifically we want to attract the people who make the decisions for the group. This includes the CEOs, COOs, and General Managers. We also target key board members for some of the largest groups in the world. This is exactly the group of people you want to reach. These are the individuals who make the decisions and sign the cheques. We are also targeting a smaller group of people at the administrative level by offering a series of training workshops outside of the main Accelerate track. These people keep things running smoothly at a buying group and have a great deal of influence about what software and services get used. LBMX Workshop session at MGM Grand Detroit 7
Sponsorship Options Here is what you re really interested in the different sponsorship packages. For Accelerate 2016, we have created three sponsorship options: Accelerate GOLD Sponsor Accelerate SILVER Sponsor Accelerate BRONZE Sponsor $ 12 K $ 6 K $ 3 K Our plan is to use innovative approaches to ensure you get the most reward for your sponsorship investment. 8
Accelerate GOLD Sponsor - $12K This is the big one. If you want as much attention from the audience as possible, this is the option for you. Accelerate GOLD Sponsorship includes: One Pre-conference email blast to all attendees Opportunity to introduce our main conference speaker 2-minute pitch to audience members before lunch Double sized exhibit space. Room for two 3 banners and one 6 table 3 banner in the main conference room Logo on the table tents in the main conference room Recognition as THE Welcome Reception sponsor Two registrations to the conference Includes two tickets to the private event with the attendees during the evening. This event is a fantastic networking opportunity. Ability to specify direct competitors who will not be allowed to attend the conference Only one GOLD Sponsor available Full page spread in the conference program 9
Accelerate SILVER Sponsor - $6K Accelerate SILVER Sponsorship includes: 2-minute pitch to audience members before lunch Exhibit space. Room for one 3 banner and a 6 table Half-page ad in the conference program One registration to the conference Listed as a sponsor for Wednesday breakfast One ticket to the private event with attendees during the evening. This is a unique networking opportunity. Ability to specify direct competitors who will not be allowed to attend the conference Accelerate Program 10
Accelerate BRONZE Sponsor - $3K Accelerate BRONZE Sponsorship includes: Quarter-page ad in the conference program Mention as a sponsor Logo in program and other displays Eligibility to register as an attendee BRONZE sponsorships will be made available after GOLD and SILVER sponsorships have been sold. Attendees listening attentively on Day 1 of Accelerate 11
Booking Sponsorship All sponsorship places will be reserved on a first-come basis. Once the available numbers of sponsorship places for each category have been taken, no further sponsorships at that level will be created. You can book your sponsorship by contacting Jim McMillan: Jim McMillan jmcmillan@lbmx.com 1-519-280-6611 12
Comments from 2015 I thought the conference was a great success and I thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to network and meet so many delegates from various parts of the world. - John Steen, TIM-BR Mart I learned so much in such a short period of time. Just knowing that there is this large of a network out there full of resources and people that you can get ideas from and bounce ideas off is so valuable. - Ray Collins, QCS Purchasing, LLC I am the type of person that attends an event and normally take 1-3 notes at best, and I have pages from this conference - very relevant topics and speakers. - Jobe Sellers, ADO Practice Solutions My greatest take away from the conference was that there is a lot that our company can learn from discussions with other buying groups here. It s nice to hear what some of the big players are doing and how they are succeeding. - Ryan Voss, Starnet I have a page of notes from each speaker, and a lot of things to action when I get home. - Ron Baluch, IPG We are already starting to implement some of the ideas and suggestions that we heard about at the conference. - Pete Schneider, ADA 13
Final word: what about the NCBA? Accelerate 2016 will be a great complement to the annual National Purchasing Cooperative Conference held by NCBA CLUSA every September. We re huge fans of the NCBA, and we will again be a major part of the NCBA Purchasing Conference this Fall. NCBA CLUSA was a key part of the LBMX program in Detroit and LBMX will continue to be a major sponsor of the NCBA event. Pat Sterner, Chief Operating Officer of NCBA CLUSA, said we are so pleased to work together with LBMX to advance the education of purchasing cooperatives in the United States and continue developing an integrated national co-op strategy in which purchasing co-ops play an integral part. Why two conferences? Pat Sterner, COO - NCBA CLUSA, United States We wanted to broaden the discussion to include buying groups that don t quite fit in the traditional purchasing cooperative model. We wanted to bring international viewpoints and expertise from groups around the world. Finally, we wanted a less traditional event that puts the focus on buying group executives sharing actionable ideas. If you find sponsoring Accelerate to be a valuable investment, you ll find sponsoring the NCBA CLUSA Purchasing conference just as worthwhile. 14
book your sponsorship package now Jim McMillan jmcmillan@lbmx.com 519.280.6611