New South Wales Government
Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority

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Sponsorship

Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority owns and manages a portfolio of some of the State's most significant assets worth more than $1 billion, including Sydney's most popular cultural, heritage and entertainment precincts, The Rocks and Darling Harbour.

As part of our commitment to these significant waterfront locations, we develop and deliver a series of free major events, festivals and cultural activities.

In 2008, 1.3 million people from all over Australia, and around the world, attended the Authority's free events, including Australia Day, Fiesta, Jazz and Blues Festival, Aroma Festival and New Year's Eve, in Darling Harbour and The Rocks. For event sponsorship information, including a marketing profile and visitor snapshot, see Related Information on this page.

Having been voted the city's most popular destinations by Sydneysiders in the 2009 Sydney Chamber of Commerce survey, The Rocks, Circular Quay and Darling Harbour provide enviable locations for commercial sponsorship opportunities every day of the year. Together The Rocks (13 million) and Darling Harbour (27 million) attract more than 40 million visitors every year.

Our festivals and events already appeal to a wide range of major sponsors including Ford, Coca-Cola, Dairy Farmers, Yellowtail and Nestle Peters, because we offer unique, customised marketing opportunities at various levels of sponsorship engagement.

Sponsorship packages are generally tiered and include opportunities to participate as a presenting sponsor, major sponsor or supporting sponsor.

They are structured to provide opportunities on several levels including general brand awareness, event-specific branding and themes, and activations for one-on-one engagement.

Some examples of how sponsors have leveraged their investments at previous events include: 

• Access to event marketing collateral for customised sponsor messaging
• Access to media promotions and advertising
• On-ground product sampling and displays
• Experiential marketing activations
• Creating event-to-brand profiles
• Access to the stage and MC
• Access to artists during an event
• Competitions and giveaways.

At the 2009 Aroma Festival, in conjunction with event sponsors, we created an installation of the Mona Lisa made from more than 4,000 coffee cups. The resulting media exposure was not only massive locally, but also received coverage throughout the world, including more than 50,000 views on YouTube, and an appearance on Good Morning America!

Measuring effectiveness

We believe our partners deserve evidence that their investment is working.

The Authority works with a number of research companies to develop quantitative and qualitative research projects to help us provide you with detailed assessments of sponsorship programs. A proportion of these programs are focussed on the effectiveness of sponsor activities and overall sponsor recall.

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Kate Deacon on +61 2 9240 8681 or Kate.Deacon@shfa.nsw.gov.au.