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CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP: BRANDING YOUR BUILDING P.2

Corporate Sponsorship: Branding Your Building p.2

 

Getting the initial plan through the board had proven straightforward. After Tumminia broached it with the idea, the board passed a resolution empowering him to negotiate. "We have a very progressive board," he says. Negotiations took about two months.

"Try to come up with ways that a deal is not just about financial terms," Tumminia advises, "but also about how to get the co-op's name into the press in a positive light, and how to integrate your corporate partner into your community." The Seward Park deal included an obligation by Hertz "to do some local advertising in an effort to create awareness for car sharing," he says. "They ran an ad in a local publication, Grand Street News , where we also got a story out of it."

Comes the Contract

GreyPrius-facing-right

After negotiations concluded, Hertz presented a contract to Seward Park. The board's newly hired legal counsel, veteran real-estate attorney Arthur Weinstein, reviewed it and identified issues that needed to be clarified, including indemnification. Now, after some fine-tuning, says Tumminia, "If something happened to the vehicle we wouldn't be responsible — if, God forbid, the Toyota Prius had problems with the accelerator or if a car on Seward Park property got a dent, that's the responsibility of the [Hertz] corporation."

Then came the practical decision of where to physically park the cars. For that, the board turned to its property manager, Charles H. Greenthal Management. Explains Tumminia: "Our general manager is Frank Durant. We also deal directly with Jonathan West, the president of Greenthal. They were not involved so much in the review process, but in the operational side of the decision. Frank is the one who said, 'This is where cars can go, this is how management staff will support the effort.' For instance, we keep a spare set of car keys in the management office, under lock and key, so if there's any emergency need to get into the car, our management team has access. If there's an issue with the vehicle, our management has direct access to Connect by Hertz. If the cars get dirty, we can ask them to call Hertz and let them know."

RedSmartCar-Habitat

Outdoor spaces were chosen for security reasons, since any Connect by Hertz member, resident or not, can use the cars. "We didn't want people who were not residents to be able to enter our garage. The cars are outside our management office, where we put up a Connect by Hertz sign and on the ground painted in yellow 'RESERVED.'"

Moral of the Story

In this case, the story involves a corporation and rental cars. But it could involve beverage companies, communication companies, even playground-equipment companies. "Just find a way to reach a deal that benefits the shareholders both financially and from a quality-of-life perspective," Tumminia says.

And quality-of-life, in this day and age, includes your co-op or condo's brand. "I love the idea of putting our logo, our brand, next to an established piece of American corporate life.," the board president says. "I think that has a value to the corporation and a value to the co-op."

 

Adapted from Habitat May 2010. Join our Archive >>

 

 

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