Partner activities must add value; no billboards, no paper, no distribution.
principle — attributed to Sandy Safi
Safi's rules for partner brands at Diner en Blanc are strict and operational. Partner activities must add value to the attendee experience. No billboards. No paper. No distribution. Partners have to bring an actual experience, not a promotional artifact. The Champagne brand can bring extra bottles to a press area. The cruise line can rebuild a component of its onboard experience on site. The rules protect the format from becoming a sponsorship-laden activation that attendees would learn to resent. The principle generalizes. Sponsorship programs that prioritize sponsor visibility over attendee value erode the experience that made the sponsorship valuable in the first place.
For format owners, sponsorship managers, and experiential agencies designing partner programs. The principle is most useful as a refusal criterion when sponsors are pushing for distribution rights the format cannot absorb without damage.
sponsorship-rules, experiential-partnership, value-add, brand-protection