Re: [Debconf-team] sponsored tracks?
On 27/07/12 10:27, Moray Allan wrote:
> On Thu, 2012-07-26 at 21:49 +0000, Daniel Pocock wrote:
>> Has there ever been any variation to the existing sponsorship model, for
>> example, having sponsors for particular tracks?
>
> We have had sponsors pay for specific elements. This year one sponsor
> wanted to be listed only for Debian Day, which is effectively a single
> track within the overall conference. (But eligible sponsors have rarely
> taken up the offer of a special talk slot, so I'm not sure how much
> enthusiasm they would have for the chairing job part.)
These things should just be seen as random ideas on the `sponsored
track' concept - they may not be optimal, just ideas to get people
thinking about it
> Note that the most concrete feedback we've had on our sponsorship
> options was that they were too complex. The more special options have
> rarely been taken up by sponsors, and more recently we have tried to
> simplify the main set of levels somewhat.
It is also about communication: we may not emphasize such options up
front. Right now, we don't even know what the tracks will be anyway.
Later, once we know about the tracks, we could seek out sponsors for
each track
We would probably need to drive the process a little bit anyway - I'm
sure Skype wouldn't be comfortable sponsoring a track that included my
slides about privacy. The people contributing to the track would
probably know what type of sponsors are appropriate, and the options
could then be tailored to those businesses.
> We have also previously had the principle that most special options
> should be *in addition to* some base level of sponsorship. The
> intention behind this is to avoid, for example, upsetting, a plain
> Platinum sponsor by another sponsor giving money solely for one
> high-profile but cheap conference social event (getting more immediate
> visibility while financially helping the conference much less).
I agree with that: the sponsors would have to commit to a base
sponsorship package and an extra `premium' payment to sponsor a track.
It wouldn't be some kind of shortcut for them.
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