Balancing Act
It can cause a certain amount of anxiety knowing that the sponsor must be happy with their representation and eyes, while it is all really being done for the charity. One wants more, the other to not be exploited. We are being a bit extreme of course but that does not make crossing that tightrope any easier. An unusual solution that we have employed is a form of “U.S. Do Good.” It has to do with thinking a bit out of the box and really zeroing in on the entertainment part of “Entertainment Entrepreneurship.”
Selling or Entertaining or Both?
Can you entertain an audience while also making visible the sponsor without causing distress with your spectators? Of course you can. And one version of this is to create your very own troupe. We mean theater company or maybe traveling artists. The concept is simple, the group is both for the sponsor as well as for the nonprofit. You can do a little product placement and maybe even weave the sponsor’s wares throughout the story-line that the troupe performs.
Make Sure the Nonprofit is a Fit
And if the audience is enjoying themselves during the performance, the charity will be all smiles as well. Clearly this would work for something along the lines of a nonprofit neighborhood theater. But be careful, the more upscale the theater is, the more they will look down at trying to integrate promoting within the show itself. Bottom line, this is just an idea presented to you as a jumping off point, but don’t fall off of the tightrope!