Why & How a Convenience Store Chain Sponsored an Oktoberfest
David Rachell with Ryan Garner
The Property
St. Charles, MO (St. Louis metro) celebrates its German heritage with this event for the whole family featuring food and gift vendors, a Saturday parade, vintage car show, “wiener” takes all Dachshund races, fashion show, 5K Run, and opportunity to look into German genealogy/history. There is also a children's area complete with magic and children's shows, face and pumpkin painting, and more. For the adults there are 3 Entertainment Areas with a great selection of German and popular music, and of course, cold beverages. According to Festivals.net, 70,000 people attend this event Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday in the early Fall.
The Sponsor
A chain now with 58 locations in the state of Missouri. Originally started as a company that sold fuel oil and lubricants in 1972, the family owned business ultimately expanded into selling gas, and then entered into the convenience store space with FastLane convenience stores. Warrenton Oil Company (WOCO) remains the parent corporation.
Story overview
When David Rachell first approached FastLane about the St. Charles Oktoberfest, he had an opening to sponsor the “Weiner Take All Dog Derby.” This is how FastLane first became involved as a sponsor. After a few years, FastLane was so pleased with its sponsorship, it wanted to increase its level of involvement with the property. It went from sponsoring a Dachshund race, to becoming the presenting sponsor of the Oktoberfest. But it needed a real activation that would impact its retail operations to justify the additional commitment.
As any wine or beer festival requires attendees to buy an official event glass or mug to sample the beverages on site, St. Charles Oktoberfest required event goers to purchase an official beer stein (and wristband) to drink the beer for sale at the event. This stein was branded with the event logo and sponsors who pay for the right to be on it. As a retailer, it made great sense for FastLane to distribute the steins for sale at its stores prior to the Oktoberfest weekend. This created a unique pre-event activation for the sponsor and the property to benefit from their partnership.
FastLane bought the steins and paid $3.20 for each. When customers paid $5 for the stein in-store, they got a voucher good for a free $2 drinking wristband at the Oktoberfest. The steins cost $11 at the event, so people who bought them at FastLane saved $8, a pretty nifty incentive. The Oktoberfest sold FastLane exclusive rights to the stein, but suggested it could charge another sponsor, Bud Light to have its logo on the opposite side of the Oktoberfest/FastLane logo on the stein. It did, and FastLane basically liquidated the stein sponsorship activation cost in the process.
The partnership between St. Charles Oktoberfest and FastLane is a great example of figuring out a way to leverage the assets both parties to a deal have, in a way that maximizes value for both. It also demonstrates how savvy and creative property reps can create value for partners in multiple ways, including finding opportunities for them to collaborate with other sponsors.
Of course, this partnership didn’t get done by itself. Something brought the parties together. Someone made the initial outreach to the other in some way. Something was discussed that both parties seized on. And ultimately they agreed to sponsorship terms. What were those things? How long did it take to go from intro to contract? Why did the partnership get done? Was it renewed?
Find out the answers to these questions and more, straight from David Rachell who sold the rights, and Ryan Garner who represents the rights holder today, in this complimentary interview.
David Rachell (Property) Interview
Backstory
How long did you sell sponsorships for St. Charles Oktoberfest?
I began working with the Oktoberfest in 2012 through 2021. During that time, I also developed their outmarket media programs funded through grants I worked on from the St Charles CVB, activated some of the sponsorships, and did guest research.
How long have you been selling sponsorship rights, and what has changed most from when you started to now?
I began working with the local NPR affiliate as the development director in 1995, selling sponsorships for the University of Missouri’s Concert Series in conjunction with the NPR station. Most notably, the changes I’ve witnessed have to do with brands being more mindful of their activations, which was probably brought on by the advent of social media, since it was an easy place to engage THEIR stakeholders about their sponsorship affiliation. The need for ROI measurement has waxed and waned, the advent of building an overall brand affinity has made the psychographic make up of a property’s audience much more important. It has become apparent that more point-of-retail engagement between the property and sponsor stakeholders has increased.
Have you used any educational or reference resources to make yourself a better and/or more efficient sponsorship sales person? Or are you self-taught?
I think a combination of both. I’ve been formally educated in the public relations and marketing space, which I believe sponsorship decision making is a collaboration of the two disciplines. I’ve worked with the European Sponsorship Association, some IEG indoctrination, and have read countless formal papers on sponsorship ‘best practices.’ Kim Skildum-Reid is my go to for many types of subject matters to, at least, to get me thinking about engaging spectators and building the bridge between sponsors and attendees.
Most of the people who have success have a passion for what they do. Do you remember what got you hooked on sponsorship marketing?
Yes, the story involved a deadline, an idea, a shoe store client needing a promotion quickly, and a General Manager demanding I get a Taco Bell franchisee on the air. When it was all said and done, the promotion was a success, I had two satisfied clients and a happy GM. Not sure if I was excited by what I had pulled off, or relieved I still had a job!
Turning to the St. Charles Oktoberfest partnership with FastLane, what was your role? Did you work for the property? Were you hired as an agency rep?
I worked for the property.
What led you to FastLane, made you think they would be a good partner, and do you remember how you first reached out? Was it a cold call, email, or introduction from a mutual contact? Did you send a proposal and follow up on it? Maybe a media kit?
It was a tepid call. One of the owners of FastLane knew the Exec Director of the event, and spoken to him at the event. I don’t believe they really broached the subject, but I knew of their relationship, and took advantage by contacting the owner directly via email with a “have you ever thought about” inquiry. He sent me to their marketing director at the time, and we struck up a conversation. This was five years into my relationship with the property - and they became a lower level sponsor the next year.
How long before going into contract did you make your first outreach to FastLane?
From initial contact to contract - they became an event sponsor within 4 months.
How many different people did you have to go through with FastLane before arriving at the proper decision maker, and how many were actually involved in discussions that led to the agreement? Was there an agency involved?
No agency - 2 people; Owner -> marketing director.
The Deal
When you had your initial meeting, what did FastLane identify as its biggest priority? Was it what you thought, something different, and addressable by the Oktoberfest?
As a C-store, everyone is their customer, right? However, we identified early on that our event attendees almost mirrored their location footprint. Those stores that were in outlying areas were areas we felt the event could grow their participant base as well. Fastlane initiated the idea that in order to differentiate themselves in the market, they had to be visible beyond their fuel tanks by creating opportunities to connect with their stakeholders outside of the store. The timing was also right as they had begun a loyalty program, which was important for them to get individuals to participate.
When FastLane said it wanted a way to drive customers to their stores. How did you suggest this could be done by partnering with the Oktoberfest?
Initially, there wasn’t an edict from FastLane that they would HAVE to have a program driver to incentivize Oktoberfest fans to FastLane. I recall that there was “concern” about how they might be able to measure results, some way to show and justify the sponsorship. At the time, the sponsorship was NOT for title rights to the event, but sponsorship of a growing area of interest of the event (a participation event for Dachshund owners). Initially, we attempted to get all registrations for the “Weiner Dog Race” to go through the FastLane website. The C-stores offer several dog parks at their locations - and they also support animal shelters - so we were working to tie all of this together. The idea of offering special Oktoberfest Steins, replete with the Weiner Dog Derby logo on the stein available ONLY at FastLane grew through conversations organically.
Aside from rights of association with the Oktoberfest, what other assets did FastLane value enough to buy? Were there some things just thrown into the rights package that FastLane didn’t really value too much and used to negotiate the price down?
The sponsorship for the event was broken down by “ownership” of areas of the event. The level of participation by Oktoberfest guests dictated the value of the package and deliverables. After 4 years of participation as the Derby sponsor, we grew their package to be the event title sponsor, but including the continuation of the sponsor of the Weiner Dog Derby as well.
Did you feel you needed to know what FastLane wanted to achieve from a sponsorship before you could offer it a defined and priced sponsorship rights package? Or did you just offer fixed price packages and FastLane had to choose one?
We had an initial non-binding, fact finding discussion before anything was proposed. However, we had pre-developed areas of the event and sponsor assets for each of those areas, and pulling added options into the area sponsorships - such as added hospitality benefits, based on the needs of the sponsor. Including the special Dog Derby branded Stein, with a discount on the first “fill’ at the event, was added to the package. FastLane purchased the steins, and we added social media ads for special FastLane steins along with their promotions. FastLane activated the steins sales on-site using pump signs.
Did FastLane pay a flat price for the package of assets it ended up buying? Or was there some sort of performance mechanism that escalated Oktoberfest’s revenue based on how well the activation performed in a measurable way?
Flat Fee - no performance based
If you can remember and are comfortable sharing, what were the deal terms?
Deal terms included a flat fee for the Weiner Dog Derby sponsorship, with an overlay of additional hospitality benefits for FastLane to use internally, plus the cost of the steins. The package for the initial Weiner Dog Derby sponsorship had already included social media ads, which we just shifted to include the stein offer.
After 3 years, we changed the sponsorship position for the event’s title sponsorship. We added an employee event, and they kept the Derby sponsorship as well, which added to the overall fee structure of our title sponsorship.
What did you see as results from the partnership? Were you pleased? In the dark? Did you have a means of assessing what the Oktoberfest audience thought about FastLane as a sponsor?
If a sponsor has a local footprint, I always believed that part of the results stem from the anecdotal outcomes from the sponsor’s leadership. If people are saying something to them about their sponsorship, there’s a benefit - and FastLane leadership was recognizing that feedback.
The amount of feedback that was received from social media posts and FastLane’s social media activation of the partnership was successful in terms of engagement. FastLane’s onsite engagement included attendee activations for their loyalty program, which did very well.
The Oktoberfest has been really pleased with the partnership and the title sponsorship. Having a strong community partner outside of the beer brand was really important to the property.
Did you follow-up to assess how it went from the FastLane perspective, and if so, what did you learn about it?
Ironically, after a few years, the stein promotion faded as the consumer nostalgia wore off, so I think it’s important to always be looking for new ways to activate the partnership. The Oktoberfest always provided a recap of their point of activation, and a meeting was held to relay that, in order to determine what went right, and notes on what to improve and change moving forward. We never had an agreement that extended more than a year, so the recap meetings were very helpful in taking a temperature of a continued interest and how to develop the next year’s presentation.
Did FastLane renew its Oktoberfest commitment?
I believe so, as they remain a sponsor of the event.
Any final thoughts or things you learned from this experience that others might benefit from now?
Not sure I learned this from this partnership, but I always believed that if you can develop a needs assessment with the potential sponsor before providing a proposal, it gives you an opportunity to really assess what’s important to them and develop ideas for their business solutions using the property’s assets. I have previously told potential sponsors that it’s not a good fit, respectfully, and never presented a proposal. But, I kept in touch to see if their business needs changed.
Ryan Garner (Sponsor) Interview
Backstory
Roughly how many employees does FastLane have?
1,000
Roughly how many unsolicited sponsorship requests does FastLane get per month?
We receive about 15 per month on average.
Does FastLane have an automated system to handle them, and if yes, what does it use?
We use Pinpoint* sponsorship management software.
* Full Disclosure: David Rachell owns the company that provides Pinpoint to FastLane. I will ask any sponsor questions about how they receive and review proposals because this is such a fundamental facet of how sponsorships are sold. If you want to learn more about Pinpoint, contact me and I will get you in touch with David to learn more about it.
Do you prefer to seek out properties for sponsorship, or do you trust property sales people to bring you opportunities that fit the FastLane strategy and objectives?
We have a multi-faceted approach, so do both.
Is there something you would change about how those selling sponsorships operate?
A partner that doesn’t appear to appreciate the value of your investment and only sees the value they bring to you can be offensive as a sponsor. It’s important for both parties to recognize the value each player brings to the table.
Before doing the St. Charles Oktoberfest deal, what kind of sponsorship activities did FastLane engage in?
Fairs, Fundraisers (Golf Tournaments, etc.)
In general, what does FastLane seek in a sponsorship rights deal, and why does it allocate funds to sponsorship marketing?
Exposure to new and current customers at events that promote our brand’s commitment to the communities we’re in.
How do you feel about buying fixed asset packages like “Gold, Silver, Bronze,” that require FastLane to figure out how to make all the rights it buys work?
When opting-in to a sponsorship opportunity FastLane prefers to know what assets are included in order to ensure we maximize the impact of our sponsorship. Gold, Silver, Bronze isn’t as important as understanding what our money is paying for.
Did David have some insight into what FastLane wanted that maybe other sales people don’t have?
David’s relationship skills give him a natural ability to understand a company’s needs.
The Deal
Do you remember or know what FastLane said when David asked what its biggest priority for FastLane was? Was it something FastLane knew the Oktoberfest could do, or was it not sure?
We became involved with Oktoberfest because many of our employees participated in the event and Oktoberfest’s fun-filled, family-friendly, community-focused vibe was a good match for our brand.
When presented with the available assets FastLane could have from the Oktoberfest, did FastLane know how to accomplish its objective with those assets, or did it need something different than what was offered?
As the main sponsor of Oktoberfest for many years, we have always collaborated to maximize our sponsorship while also providing value to Oktoberfest that goes beyond just our financial support.
How does FastLane measure the success of its partnership with the Oktoberfest? Has it seen an increase in purchase behavior and in-store traffic directly attributable to the Oktoberfest? What specific metrics are used, and is FastLane happy with the results?
Unfortunately, tracking the value of Oktoberfest as an event and investment is really difficult. Our recent partnership with Pinpoint was in an effort to monetize that involvement to ensure this and other events we participate in are a good match for our company as a brand and as a financial decision.
Prior to Pinpoint we were tracking results based on steins purchased in-store, in advance of the event and coupons redeemed in-store after the event. Pinpoint takes it a step further by analyzing the attendance and investment.
Would it follow that if another property could guarantee similar in-store sales and foot traffic, FastLane would want to sponsor that property? Or is there something unique about the Oktoberfest activation that would make it difficult for other properties to match?
FastLane prioritizes maximizing our impact in the community. We are always open to opportunities to sponsor and partner in the communities we serve.
If the Oktoberfest rights cost “x,” how many times that does FastLane spend making them work to achieve objectives? And what was that objective?
Between man hours, giveaways, and promotions run for the event we spend a decent amount on attempting to make the event a success for FastLane, beyond the price we pay for sponsorship rights.
Did/will FastLane renew its partnership with the St. Charles Oktoberfest, why/why not?
We are currently in discussions to determine our level of involvement for Oktoberfest 2024.
Any final thoughts or things you learned from this sponsorship experience that others might benefit from knowing?
Every sponsorship experience is different – it varies heavily depending on the event and who runs it.
“Sponsorship 101”
While it is true some brands hire agencies to manage their sponsorship efforts, there are many more that don’t. This means sponsorship rights sellers have real opportunities if they can identify smaller, local brands that can benefit from sponsorship with their property. It will still require persevering through obstacles to make contact with those who make decisions about sponsorship investments, then making a compelling case for why partnering with the property is a good idea. This is before any serious discussion about cost and activations of the proposed sponsorship rights offered. Sometimes it might not even be a person standing in your way.
If you sell, you are probably familiar with online sponsorship request management systems. I created a company (Sponsorwise est. 2000, sold 2018) that provided one to major brands like AT&T, Kraft Foods, and Toyota so they could efficiently decline almost all their thousands of annual requests to save time dealing with constant distractions. FastLane uses the Pinpoint software system to process sponsorship requests, not because it is inundated with them and wants to save time fending off sales people, but because it wants to sponsor things in the communities it serves, wants guidance as to what it should sponsor, and can’t justify the expense of an agency. There are many potential sponsors for smaller properties, if they can be found and made to feel important. This always requires knowing their business goals.
Any person seriously selling sponsorship rights is concerned about a sponsor getting value from their sponsorship investment and wanting to renew, because replacing one can be very costly. This isn’t done by just providing “Gold, Silver and Bronze” packages of rights, and leaving it up to the sponsor to figure it out. There is always some investment required on the sponsor’s part beyond the rights fee, to maximize ROI/ROO, but both parties also have capabilities, either through their own assets or via partner relationships, that can be brought to bear putting meaningful activations in place that will meet objectives and be measurable.
FastLane started with a small commitment to the St. Charles Oktoberfest and grew to be the presenting sponsor. There is a lesson here for everyone.
My final thoughts
Ryan Garner was not with the company when David Rachell initially sold the Oktoberfest to FastLane, so we didn’t get as much insight into the beginnings of the partnership from the sponsor side as hoped. Still, this story demonstrates how community and civic events are always going to be important to local brands when they are important to local customers. If you are selling for a local property, this is your edge. Make sure to take advantage of it.
Thank you for spending your time on Sponsorship Stories, and a special thanks to SponsorPitch for its support. Please do share to build this community, and comment on these stories so I know what to cover next.
Remember, angels fly because they take themselves lightly!