Volusia County Council selects firm to seek sponsorship and naming rights deals

Written by Anthony Bicy

Belden Communications News

The Volusia County Council approved a plan on Tuesday to sell sponsorships and naming rights to county buildings, facilities, and programs, in hopes of mining a new revenue source.

The plan is to have The Superlative Group, a sponsorship analytics and sales firm out of Cleveland, OH, market county facilities to businesses willing to pay the County for the rights to put their name on government assets. That includes parks, trails, buildings, and beach ramps. Council staff will then negotiate a contract with the company before bringing it to the council.

“I think it’s timely that we’re doing this,” Councilwoman Barb Girtman shared. “We’re talking about rebranding. We’re talking about taking our area to the next level. And to me, this is a part of that.”

The council went to several companies with experience in full-service sponsorship, but The Superlative Group was the only one to answer. The organization has a significant portfolio of public and private sector clients.

The Superlative Group plans to take three to four months to identify and place a marketing value on all county assets that can potentially generate revenue. Because of the agreement, Volusia County will pay the company $90,000 to perform the task, and they will also receive commissions for all generated revenue.

“We look at programs. We look at physical assets,” said Superlative’s Chief Operating Officer, Kyle Canter, to council members. “We look at any and all opportunity that we see as a sponsor-able asset.”

After the first task, the group will develop a strategic campaign to market the assets. Their team will handle the process, but Volusia County has the final say on all naming and sponsorship decisions.

Obtaining a revenue source this way is risky, and County Chair Jeff Brower acknowledged the concerns around it. However, the Superlative’s presentation convinced the council to agree.

“When I look at monetizing as much as we can, I look it as that’s money that taxpayers aren’t going to have to pay. This is money to run the County,” said Brower. “I think every one of us agrees up here that you will approach this very professionally, with great respect to our community.”