Sponsorships in the Middle East

Sponsorship as a sales and marketing tool is well established in the United States. In the Middle East, its use is still burgeoning. Enter T. Bettina Cornwell, the director of research for the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, who was an invited guest at the Arabian Sponsorship Forum 2010 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on December 8. One of the world's leading authorities on sponsorship and sports marketing, Cornwell hosted “Introduction to Sponsorship," a workshop for more than 150 students. She also served on the panel of judges doling out awards for the region's best sponsorship practices. Other panelists and speakers at the forum—attended by thousands—included executives from Mercedes Benz, adidas, and Saatchi & Saatchi.