Emma Knight talks all things Snailspace

Emma Knight, Head of Corporate and Major Donor Giving, Martlets Hospice, talks to us about Snailspace, a major sponsorship opportunity for Brighton business next year. 

  We’ve had an amazing response to the launch of Snailspace in October. Obviously it is much easier to sell the concept of a sculpture trail made up of giant snails, because Brighton businesses     saw the success of the Snowdogs in 2016, so understand how being part of this event can benefit their bottom line.  Businesses can use their involvement in the campaign in so many different  ways, from driving footfall & consumer engagement, to delivering CSR objectives and boosting staff morale and productivity.

We’ve found that many of our previous sponsors have signed up again which is a great endorsement of the campaign. We were particularly pleased to have Snowdog sponsors, Griffith Smith Farrington Webb back on board as they developed innovative ways to activate their sponsorship last time, such as running the ‘Selfie Challenge’ and are great ambassadors for the campaign. In fact they are so excited about their involvement that they have already named their snail, ‘Paisley’.  (Find out more about this further on…)

This time we’re also finding that businesses realise the huge benefits to signing up early. They understand that signing up is just the beginning of the process and that to maximize the return on their investment it works best to integrate the event into their 2018 marketing strategy. For some it has also helped that the sponsorship fee can be spread over two financial years, making it highly cost effective. 

We’re also really excited that for the 2018 event there is an opportunity for one business to become Snailspace ‘Presenting Partner’, a unique way for a business or organisation to become synonymous with Snailspace and benefit from its profile within the city at every stage.  We are talking to a number of organisations about it and would encourage anyone thinking about it to get in touch as soon as possible. We are also looking to secure a sponsor of the Learning Programme, launching in January 2018, which proved to be a hugely popular part of the Snowdog campaign. The ambition is to ensure that as many schools and youth groups within the city as possible engage with Snailspace’s creative educational activities and resources.  Again, we have a few possible candidates but nothing has been finalised yet, so again I would say, ‘don’t be too snail’ if you’re interested.

For more information about sponsorship of Snailspace in aid of Martlets Hospice contact Emma Knight, Head of Corporate and Major Donor Giving on 01273 718 785 or email Emma.Knight@martlets.org.uk

We wanted to find out more about why Griffith Smith Farrington Webb had signed up again and why they’ve been so quick to name their snail. Nadia Cowdrey, Head of Tax Trusts & Estates at GSFW told us more:

“Businesses have to spend budgets wisely and actually it’s the best £5,000 we could ever spend as a business. We would have to spend four or five times that amount for the amount of PR coverage that you get from doing one of these events. So we’re doing it again, without hesitation.”

“Why ‘Paisley’? Well, if there is one ‘juicy’ legal case read at university that sticks in the mind of most solicitors, it’s the tail of the snail in Donaghue v Stevenson! A lady ordered a ginger beer in a café in Paisley which included more than she bargained for – a decomposing snail! And so he became known as the Paisley snail and it paved the way for much of our consumer protection law.”

What a brilliant story and what a clever way to link a giant snail to their core business. We’re intrigued to see which artist they work with and how they will bring the story to life next autumn.

For the latest update on Snailspace visit their website – https://www.snailspacebrighton.co.uk

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk