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Maximize your Marketing with Sourcing Innovation Sponsorships

Are you an innovator in the sourcing, procurement, or related supply chain space? Do you want intelligent, progressive, and innovative practitioners to know it? Do you believe that end-user education is the best way to attract and retain customer focus? Are you ready for the social revolution?

If you answered yes to these questions, have a desire to be recognized by the sourcing and procurement leaders of today and tomorrow, and want to be associated with a site that gets regular, repeat, visitors on a daily basis, then a Sourcing Innovation sponsorship is for you!

Not only is the blog becoming mainstream – but it is becoming the news feed of choice of many Web 2.0 / social networking converts. More and more, people are checking the daily blogs first for up to date news, commentary, analysis, and education. They’re becoming so popular now that a significant number of online trade publications and vendors have recently started their own blogs to try and catch a piece of the wave.

However, very few of these blogs have the following of Sourcing Innovation or Spend Matters who figured out a while ago that the only way to grow AND retain readership is to have fresh, informative, provocative, analytical, useful, and, most importantly, independent content on a daily basis. Collectively, Sourcing Innovation and Spend Matters are the only two non-vendor or non-trade-publication independent blogs focussed on the sourcing and procurement space that have been around for over a year and publishing on a daily basis. Sourcing Innovation is proud to be one of them.

Besides brand recognition, respect, lots of goodwill, and assurances that the the blog will continue to churn out volumes of content, a purchase of one of the four available Sourcing Innovation Sponsorship will also net you:

  • a linked company logo on the topmost section of the right hand side-bar of the Sourcing Innovation blog
  • a “sponsor overview” post and one “sponsor insight” post in each subsequent quarter (the doctor’s choice)
  • unlimited permission to reproduce unedited blog content, with citation, for marketing initiatives during the sponsorship period
  • attendance, and blog coverage, of one sponsor event per year in Canada or the US
  • assistance with webcasts or podcasts (with a minimum sponsorship term)

In addition, a sponsor can also choose to upgrade sponsorship to the sponsor advisory program, which also nets you:

  • off-site advisory services on a monthly basis
  • free on-site advisory services (with a minimum term)
  • invitation to any private event sponsored or co-sponsored by Sourcing Innovation
  • an affiliate content link in addition to your logo
  • one original vendor-independent thought paper at a deep discount

For more information, drop us a line at the contact information in the FAQ. Sponsorships are on a first-come, first-serve basis and, as noted above, only four are available.

Furthermore, the sooner you make a decision, the sooner the slots fill, and the sooner we get back to our regularly scheduled programming. After all, don’t you want to find out if The Vendor in Black Comes Back?

Another Public Nomination

Astute readers will have noticed a comment yesterday by one Ron Holland of FreedomFest News, regarding the creation of the Free Market Hall of Fame where members of the Freedom Movement (not clearly defined or referenced on the site) will have the opportunity to initially vote on individuals contributing most to the success and advancement of free markets and free people around the globe during 2007. My first instinct was to delete it, since even if it wasn’t spam, it was obviously some sort of non-approved advertising, and more than likely in violation of at least one of the Sourcing Innovation Blog Comment Rules, and Rule #1 in particular (since it did not seem to have anything to do with the post).

However, I decided to check it out since I really couldn’t see too much harm leaving it as long as it did not put forth the views of any particular government party or political association. And although I’m still not entirely sure what it is, I am a bit intrigued. I’m particularly intrigued by the fact that write-ins are permitted and “journalists and writers” is a category. After all, I think the supply and spend management space needs all the attention it can get, and a few bloggers in particular definitely need more attention.

So it got me thinking. Specifically, it got me thinking that maybe if not a lot of people vote and maybe if a lot of sourcing and procurement professionals vote (for the same write-in candidate), maybe one of our own can get an honorable mention. (After all, you know Stephen Colbert is going to win once the Colbert Nation picks up on this, assuming it hasn’t already.) And that would make a great story.

So, even though he’d probably tell you it’s likely a big waste of time, if you have 30 seconds, please go to the Free Market Hall of Fame Survey, write-in Jason Busch for Question 1, and enter a valid e-mail address and zip code for question 2 and submit.

Then, if you have another 30 seconds, as the comment instructed, please e-mail ron@freedomfest.com and nominate Jason Busch for a Free-Market Hall of Fame Position under the “journalist and writer” category. To aid you, I’ve created a short nomination that you can cut and paste.

For the last two years, Jason Busch, a pre-eminant thinker in the supply and spend management space and author of the Spend Matters blog, has been diligently blogging multiple times a day on issues, events, best practices, and thought leadership in an effort to raise not only the profile of the space, but to inform each of his readers - peers, consultants, vendors, and general practices alike - of it's, and their, potential.

As one of the first practitioner's to realize that procurement is undergoing a transformation into a strategic supply and spend management function that will cross all boundaries and borders of the business, Jason's thinking is second to none. He was also one of the first to realize that forward thinking organizations not only need to consider long term price hedging contacts to insure supply and spend stability but also need to consider securing, and securitizing, raw production capacity, which they can then trade on a new type of open market if they secure more, or less, than what they need. (For example, see his great post "Sourcing Innovation: Securitizing Direct Materials"* on August 28, 2006.)

He is a firm believer in free markets who strives hard to get the message across that as procurement evolves into the most strategic supply chain function, so does it's position and recognition within a corporation. Considering that good sourcing and procurement can save an average billion dollar company tens of millions while bad sourcing and procurement can cost them tens of millions, or more, it's important to have such a forward thinking journalist embrace the web, the new medium for content delivery, and blog almost religiously in an effort to simply open the minds and increase the understanding of others. And in this regard alone, he is a thought leader of the Free Market Movement and deserves to be recognized as such.

He may not win, but if the Colbert Nation can convince Google that Stephen Colbert is the Greatest Living American by overloading the system, maybe we can do the same and finally get this sector a little limelight!

* All posts prior to 2012 were removed in the Spend Matters site refresh in June, 2023.

Supplier Performance Management Webinar

Hopefully after reading yesterday’s post which pointed out that only 49% of organizations have bothered to implement a supplier performance measurement and risk management program, you’ll want to do something about it. If you do, you might want to take advantage of Procuri’s [acquired by Ariba, acquired by SAP] well-timed webinar on Jumpstarting a Supplier Performance Management Program. Moderated by Tim Minahan, editor of Supply Excellence [WayBackMachine], the featured speakers include Chris Herbtst, Supply Chain Program Manager of Constellation Brands, and Dawn Tiura, Partner at Denali Consulting.

According to the messaging, this webinar will cover:

  • How to organize for effective supplier performance management
  • The right supplier performance metrics for cross-company measurement
  • How to assess and select the right solutions to help your company achieve its supplier performance measurement and improvement goals
  • Sure-fire approaches to speed performance management program system deployment and adoption

All very important topics.

Sourcing Innovation Sponsorships: Your Questions Answered

(1) What are Sourcing Innovation traffic levels?

On average, on a daily basis, unique page views are in the 1700 – 1800 range and specific article views (i.e. a direct click-through to an article from a link) are in the 600 range. They are still increasing month-by-month, and often week-by-week.

(2) At our company, we have different budgets for everything. Can the “sponsorship” be billed separately from the “sponsorship advisory services”?

Yes.

(3) I only have authority for marketing/PR/advertising. Can I just buy a sponsorship?

You can start off with just a sponsorship and add the advisory services at a later time, as long as you continue to sponsor the blog (since the sponsorship advisory services program is only offered to sponsors).

(4) I’m not in marketing/PR/advertising and do not have a budget for sponsorship, but I am interested in the sponsor advisory services program. Do you have a non-sponsorship advisory program?

Not at this time, but I do make a living as an independent consultant, and you are free to contact me in that regard at any time.

(5) What are the sponsorship benefits vs. the sponsorship advisory program benefits if I choose to start with just basic sponsorship (and pursue the advisory program at a later time, when I have the budget)?

Blog Sponsor Benefits, as advertised previously, are:

  • a linked company logo on the topmost section of the right-hand side of the Sourcing Innovation blog
  • a “sponsor welcome” post describing your organization and offerings, and then one “interview”, (blogger) “commentary”, or sponsor “update” post each quarter (subject matter at blogger’s discretion)
  • unlimited permission to reproduce blog content, with citation, for marketing initiatives during the sponsorship period
  • attendance, and blog coverage, of one sponsor event per year in Canada or the US
  • assistance with two webcasts or podcasts per year
  • one affiliate content link

Sponsor Advisory Program Benefits, as advertised previously, are:

  • virtually unlimited off-site advisory services:

    (availability for four calls of up to ninety minutes each per month to discuss anything related to your technology, business, strategy, or market is guaranteed)

  • generous e-mail advisory services:

    the primary sponsor contact(s) may send as many e-mail inquiries as they like to the Sourcing Innovation Blog Editor throughout the sponsorship period; the Editor will attempt to respond to most requests promptly, subject to the caveat that responses that require time to construct a reasonable answer may be delayed due to availability or deferred to the next telephone conversation

  • one free day of on-site advisory services per six-month period
  • invitation to any private event sponsored or co-sponsored by Sourcing Innovation
  • one original vendor-independent technology, process, or solution white paper at half off (up to 10 pages)

(6) What is the minimum commitment for just a blog sponsorship?

Three months. (But note that certain beneftis require a six month or one year commitment.)

(7) What is the minimum commitment for the sponsor advisory services.

Six months. (And, if purchased separately from the sponsorship, the blog sponsorship must be continued throughout the duration of the advisory services.)

Innovate Your Marketing with Sourcing Innovation Sponsorships

You can spend foolishly or you can spend wisely. You can take out banner ads and placements on various websites, or you can take out targeted sponsorships on sites where you can reach thousands of highly qualified readers each month – including influential analysts, media, consultants, and end users. Furthermore, you can choose sites where readers come back monthly, or weekly at best, or you can choose sites where readers come back daily. And if you’re really lucky, you can find a site with daily readers focused on your target audience.

But if you’re in the supply management or spend management space … your options are limited. Yes, there is Spend Matters, but it has restricted the number of lead sponsors to four, and all slots are currently full. That’s why I’m pleased to provide you more details on the Sourcing Innovation blog sponsorships that will be available next month!

Not only will a sponsorship of Sourcing Innovation provide you with great value (and valuable advisory services if you commit to a year), but the value will increase over time. Sourcing Innovation is now the second most trafficked (independent) blog in the space (by a considerable margin), and growing in readership every week. Furthermore, I would not be surprised if Jason’s Spend Matters prediction that the leading blogs overtake the more traditional media publication sites (like Purchasing and Supply and Demand Chain Executive) this year comes true. At the very least we should come close!

Moreover, as I hinted last Friday, you will be associated with the only blog with the number one goal of end-user education. Over the last decade, I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how good your product or service is, or how good you market it, if your target audience does not understand what it is and how it helps them. This is where Sourcing Innovation will help you with its relentless goal of user education.

But for those of you taught to Spend Wisely by Spend Matters, annual sponsors will get even more than a good feeling in their investment. Annual sponsors will also get:

  • a linked company logo on the topmost section of the right-hand side of the sourcing innovation blog
  • a “sponsor welcome” post describing your organization and offerings, and then one “interview”, (blogger) “commentary”, or sponsor “update” post each quarter (subject matter at blogger’s discretion)
  • unlimited permission to reproduce blog content, with citation, for marketing initiatives during the sponsorship period
  • attendance, and blog coverage, of one sponsor event per year in Canada or the US
  • assistance with two webcasts or podcasts
  • access to the sponsor advisory program which includes:
    • virtually unlimited off-site advisory services:(availability for four calls of up to one hour each per month to discuss anything related to your technology, business, strategy, or market is guaranteed)
    • one free day of on-site advisory services per year
    • invitation to any private event sponsored or co-sponsored by Sourcing Innovation
    • one affiliate content link
    • one original vendor-independent technology, process, or solution white paper at half off (up to 10 pages)

If you are interested, please reach out using the contact information in the FAQ. Please note that Sourcing Innovation will only be accepting four sponsorships this year.