A review of the Consumer Sponsorship Rankings should open the marketing eyes for all involved in the selling of properties and brands as well as those investing in them.  Here are a few interesting results from the study.

• In the sports category, automobile racing (Indy, Grand Prix, etc.) held three of the top 12 positions among most important annual sporting events. The Edmonton Indy ranked highest of the three and the Toronto Indy didn't even make the list of the top 12!
• Canadian consumers recognize the Canadian Cancer Society as the most important major charity or cause, followed by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and the Canadian Diabetes Association.
• On the arts and culture side, the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa and Festival du Voyageur tied as the most recognized arts or cultural event in Canada. The only film festival to make the top 10 list was TIFF and it was ranked number 10 with the Montreal Jazz Festival at number 9.
• Almost 40% of higher income Canadians attended a live professional sporting event in the last 12 months.
• Amateur sport, gala events and arts and cultural events deliver a strong proportion of the Canadian population.  The question then becomes: Who attends your specific event?

Brent Barootes blogs for The Partnership Group - Sponsorship Specialists. Read the full post at http://www.partnershipgroup.ca/blog/