Gavin Roth here with another episode of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, sponsored by The Programme, your guide to finding and watching women's sports online and on television. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter at https://theprogramme.substack.com/

If you want to get Brent Barootes going, ask his opinion on Toronto being the quote unquote centre of the universe. And ask him to talk sponsorship marketing.

Brent is an author, a sought-after speaker and one of the top sponsorship thought leaders in the country. We’ve been threatening to do an episode together for while and the stars finally aligned.

We discuss his cross-country career journey – including stints in the hospitality sector, salmon farms, nightclubs and radio stations.

We focus on his time selling sponsorships on the Calgary Flames radio broadcasts, where he helped charities and other groups promote their brands. During that time, Brent noticed a gap in the market and started the Partnership Group.

Brent mentions the people that inspired him along the way – including a cool story about one early adversary who became a mentor and friend.

Insights into some of the partnerships Brent has been involved, with a focus on municipality naming rights success stories in small towns like Summerside, PEI, and Morinville, Alberta.

Brent shines a light on the new Jumpstart partnership with Clareview Rec Centre in Edmonton.

He then shares insights into sponsorship marketing trends – including:

The rise of purpose-driven partnerships, the way brands and properties band together in times of economic uncertainty, the intersection between technology and data, and an example of how data and technology can be applied to help charities like Crohn’s & Colitis and the MS Society fundraise and target partners.

We wrap with awesome professional development advice. And his answer started with a question… a deep, philosophical question.

You’ll leave informed and inspired. I hope you enjoy.

And for more episodes of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, follow me on LinkedIn, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud… or check out rothrevenue.com