2009 economy & ballooning

[Patt Hansen]

Saw a post on the Reflector that got me wondering.. How many of you expect this to be another tough year? The post on the Reflector was from a special shape looking for places to go this year.(Call it a lighly veiled request for sponsorships/invitations as it is the norm to have to pay the special shapes to come. Whereas the "normal" shapes pay for themselves) At least one event organizer stated they had no $'s for special shapes this year. Wonder how many more will do the same? Or how many events will either fold or scale down quite a bit. Anyone heard?

[Jeanne Anson]

Haven't heard much from Event Organizers yet, though I had a call for a excursion flight for 6 on Valentines Day... and she withdrew the request when I quoted the cost of the ride per person.

[Aaron Zippy Richter]

I know in Greenville we are not inviting pilots until we know how many sponsor we have, but we are still hoping to have again this year.

[Patt Hansen]

Drat! Greenville is such a nice event too! I hope you can get the sponsors needed.

[Mike Shrum]

Well, being a shape operator(completely out of my own pocket, no corporate backing whatsoever) and also a event organizer, I believe that 2009 will be a challenge on both ends of the spectrum.
However, I have yet to see a "normal" balloon pay for themselves, as I stated I am a organizer, and the cost to bring a round balloon to my event averages about 300.00 per balloon(fuel rooms, food,ins. etc) X 35 balloons is not really what I call paying for themselves.(it is difficult to find 35 sponsors wanting to pay 300.00 to cover the cost in a town of only 8,000 people)That money always came directly out of my budget, whereas I had a shape participate, ONE sponsor was found to pay for that individual shape to appear, normally the fee/cost ratio is even.
However, since some special shapes do charge a appearance fee, those individual sponsors that have the ability to pay that fee are going to be harder to come by.
Just my two cents
Mike Shrum

[Patt Hansen]

Mike, Thanks for your input. You are correct that even "normal" shaped balloons are sponsored, I should have been made myself more clear. In my area it is common for special shapes to charge to come. So as a bit of a "wet behind the ears" person when it comes to events I mistakenly assumed they all did. My home area is a town in similar size to yours and thus they quit having special shapes about 3 years ago due to this fee. However the event is still a go this year. In fact it will be their 25th anniversary.. I also understand obtaining sponsors for the previous 2 yrs though met, was challenging. Just a sign of the times I guess.

[Mike Shrum]

Special shapes charging a fee is normal in all areas(to my knowledge anyway). Why that is I don't have a accurate answer for, as I bought into the shapes business, I did not create it. It is a proven marketing concept that special shapes CAN draw more spectators(not always) as the numbers at Fiesta on shape days has proven in years past. Most events cannot afford special shapes this day in age.
But focusing on the original thought you had, is the sponsorship market is.getting tougher? The first thing that businesses tighten up on is advertising, and sponsorship. I also believe that after several years of writing checks to support a event, some businesses lose sight of the value the event brings, and only see the check leaving their hands. Important items like printing sponsor names on EVERYTHING and on as many papers, posters, and t-shirts as possible.Having the sponsor at all the functions(pilot party, briefings, etc) their names announced... thus showing the value. A radio station rep once told me"if you have a captive audience of 30,000 people, what is it worth to a business for that crowd to see their business name on a banner? .01 each? .02 each?" doesn;t sound like alot of money in that respect, but if a area has multiple events, then it gets expensive for a business. If you prove your value, then the business will pick your event over others.
Mike

[Great Eastern Balloon Association (GEBA)]

We had a smaller event that has been happening every fall for several years now cancel due to the economy. Last year they lost a lot due to pouring down rain all 3 days... the event was going to happen until the sponsors all pulled out. Too bad...it was a really nice event and a nice flying area.

[Kevin Kamp]

I think it's going to be tough everywhere. Last summer was tough due to $4 gas. This summer I think the economy will affect us all. I have a small ride business that supports my trips to out of town events. I am guessing that I will take fewer fares this season as the economy slows. People tend to cut out unnecessary expenses when things are tight and not sure how a balloon ride would ever qualify as a necessity. And for the rest of the folks that pay for events out of their own pocket, I think they might travel a little less to conserve cash. Kink of hard to justify $1500 on an event if you are worried about your job. I am hoping to hit 2-3 events this year which is typical for me but just don't know if I can justify it. Hopefully there are still enough people that absolutely have always dreamed of a balloon ride to get us through another year.

[Danny]

Greetings,

I am an event organizer for the Florida Balloon Festival. We had to cancel last year because sponsors were not spending the extra money. This year doesn't look a lot better. Our festival is scheduled later in the year Oct 30, 31 & Nov 1. We are optimistic that we will get enough sponsors for at least 20 balloons. We have been working on getting this festival off the ground for two years. Many organizers would have given up. Our festival will support the Shiner's Hospitals for Children. They are looking at closing six hospitals this year due to the economy. Each year we get more of a response but sponsor sales are definitely tough to get this year.

[Erik Cornelison]

I think its going to be tough on the rallies for the next 2 years, maybe even 3. The economy has not bottomed out yet, but is showing signs of getting near the bottom of the trough. Unfortunately unemployment lags behind all this and we will see those numbers high even while the recovery starts, expect more layoffs even while the economy recovers.

I also am VERY worried that inflation is going to be very high, which means everything is going to be very expensive. The rallies will have to rethink how they have done things in the past and a new business model approach for running a rally will be needed to be successful. I would expect to see less total balloons flying in the US as the costs climb and the old balloons are not replaced.

-Erik

[Danny]

@009 is going to be another close event for the Florida Balloon Festival. It may all boil down to the price of insurance and inviting only local balloons. We have tremendous response from the public just not the businesses. Sponsorship is flat. I don't see much improvement for the economy in 2010 either. Even with a year off most of the businesses I have talked to don't expect any sizable change to their business until the end of 2010 or maybe even 2011. We are going to have to pay for a lot of things out of pocket to get this off the ground. It will happen if insurance doesn't kill the event.