How Corporate Sponsorship Boosts The Lincoln Theatre

Sponsorship sounds simple until you ask the real question: what does a business actually get, and what does a community venue actually need? We sit down with Bob Watkins, Executive Director of The Lincoln Theatre to talk through how corporate partnerships keep a historic performing arts theatre thriving in Marion, Virginia and why the return is bigger than a logo on a flyer.

We dig into the practical benefits of arts sponsorship, including sponsor recognition on promotional materials, ads, and a pre-show video that runs before every performance. Bob explains how show sponsorship lowers the cost of booking talent, improves the theatre’s ability to reinvest in future events, and expands awareness since many ticket buyers travel in from outside the area. You’ll also hear real examples of impact, like the upgraded LED marquee downtown and how major annual support can help stabilize end-of-year finances.

Then we zoom out to community fundraising and access. Bob shares a new program built for schools, churches, and nonprofits: special ticket codes that reimburse $5 per ticket back to the organization, turning a night at the theatre into a win for local groups and a win for the arts. We also cover sponsorship tiers for different business sizes plus “sweat equity” options for anyone who can give time and labor instead of cash. 

If you care about live entertainment, community pride, and keeping a landmark venue strong, subscribe, share this with a business owner or group leader, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

To learn more about The Lincoln Theatre visit:
https://www.TheLincoln.org/
The Lincoln Theatre
117 E. Main Street
Marion, Virginia  24354
276-783-6092

Transcript

Welcome And Big Question

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to On Stage with the Lincoln Theater, where history and entertainment steal the show. Dive into the rich legacy of this iconic mind revival theater, from its 1929 debut to its starring role in Marion, Virginia's entertainment team. Guiding us through this journey is the man in the spotlight, our executive director, Bob Watkins.

SPEAKER_02 0:27

Corporate partnerships do more than fun performances. They help shape the future of the Lincoln Theater and strengthen the community around it. Welcome back, everybody. Skip Monty here, co-host slash producer, back in the studio with the star of On Stage at the Lincoln Theater, Mr. Bob Watkins, Executive Director. Bob, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Hey, thanks for having me, Skip.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

Well, glad to see you again. Hope you're having a good week. Yeah, so far so good. Very cool. Very cool. Well, Bob, I would love to hear your thoughts on today's topic. What are the benefits of being a corporate sponsor or a corporate partner with the Lincoln?

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Well, um benefits are are pretty good, especially in our community here, because uh we we go ahead and uh promote all of our corporate sponsors on every item that we send out. So we have all of our um sponsors to the theater on on all of the uh promotional items that we send out, all the ads. Um if a person does a uh um sponsorship for a performance sponsorship, then all of those marketing items um are sent out with with their name supporting that show. Um it helps us greatly because it it decreases our costs and and and expenses for the performance to where we can then recoup a higher return on that show and and reinvest that back into the theater and the upcoming events that we do. But um in regards to local sponsorships here, um you know everybody locally sees the support that they're doing to the community. And I just think in turn it it builds the community awareness and uh um camaraderie with the community to where we're all working together with the same goals in mind, which is to just improve everything that we have here.

Extra Recognition With Pre Show Video

SPEAKER_02 2:19

Very cool. Well, now uh you mentioned if you're a sponsor, you're you're listed on everything you send out. In addition to that, are there any other things that that that sponsors can get uh for uh the visibility and recognition that they receive for supporting the Lincoln?

SPEAKER_01 2:35

Uh yeah, we we have a uh pre-show video that runs from the the time that we open the doors until the show's time starts um for every performance. And all of our sponsors are also we we have different uh slides within that video that uh have all of the theater uh supporters. Um and that's uh we give a special thanks for for that as well. Um so that's just another form of recognition that uh patrons not necessarily local because a majority of our ticket sales are from outside of the area, so it's just uh it expands to uh to different areas to where they get a little bit more uh um uh awareness to their to their company and the support that they do.

Real Wins From Local Sponsors

SPEAKER_02 3:21

Very nice. Well, uh can you share an example of how let's say a specific sponsor has made a tangible impact for the Lincoln of like a specific sponsorship or project?

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Uh yeah, there's there's several of them here. Uh we did get a new marquee um that uh we went from just a uh an old style uh changed the letters out with a uh extended arm from the ground, changed the letters out on it to an LED screen that lights up, really pops in downtown. Um HS Williams, uh, which is a uh local uh operation here they they're in building. Um they sponsored that and uh gave a considerable amount of donation to that. Um so that was a big facelift um right from the the street side to where now we can go ahead and promote shows a little bit easier locally here. Um we also put different uh um uh messages that people in the community want us to do, like birthdays, uh anniversaries, things like that for uh community members as well. Um so that's that's one of them uh that's that's been a big support to us and helped our marketing uh side a lot. Um and uh the Bank of Marion, they donate annually. Um, so they usually always sponsor a major show, which it's usually a Christmas show. Um, so that really helps us at the end of the year to have a low expense for a show that is going to get a high return on uh revenue, so helps us close the year out with uh our final tax payments and things like that. So it's always a nice boost in the arm to help us get kick started into uh the new year as well. So the Bank of Marion is a big supporter as well, and and they always seem to to benefit us a lot with uh with their contributions.

Sponsorship Tiers And Sweat Equity

SPEAKER_02 5:10

Very cool. Now, uh pardon me, what options exist for businesses of different sizes? Because you know, I'm sure there are local uh you know small mom and pop kind of places that would love to support the theater, and then you've got, well, like you mentioned, the Bank of Marion, obviously a major sponsor, but uh what different options do peep do businesses have to get involved?

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Uh yeah, we we have um several different tiers of uh membership with with this to where it uh is as low as$1,000 for uh for a sponsorship, up to you know, ten to twenty thousand dollars for a sponsorship. Um obviously with those different tiers you get different uh perks to it. Um the higher sponsorships will give uh free uh free tickets for performances and everything. So they can go ahead and hand out to either employees if they wanted to do a uh um employee package or um prospective uh clients, things like that, they can bring them to some of those shows with some of the free tickets. Um and uh but but regards to uh smaller uh operations here in the area, um, you know, we also are more than happy to accept uh free labor. Um we've we talked about it in previous shows that uh ushering and and things like that and just helping with different programs and and events, it's not necessarily a monetary donation as much as a time, which I am well aware that time is the one commodity that we can't make more of. Um so I greatly appreciate that. And and uh the donations of time and support for uh different fundraising events and stuff like that is another uh means of uh just corporate sponsorship, in my opinion, as well.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Sweat equity.

SPEAKER_01 6:57

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

New Fundraiser Codes For Groups

SPEAKER_02 6:58

There we go. So um how do partnerships and sponsorships strengthen the theater's connection to the to the broader community, not just the business community, but to the to Marion as a whole?

SPEAKER_01 7:10

It's a good question. Uh one thing that we are getting ready to kick start is a new program that we are going to be working with local nonprofit organizations, uh, the school system working with the kids, uh, different churches with youth groups and things like that, to where uh we are going to create um special ticket codes uh for each event or certain events that are Lincoln Theater uh shows. And we are going to open it up to those different organizations to um pass that that code around and and anybody that buys a ticket with their specific code, um, they will receive a uh um reimbursement, uh$5 per ticket to uh to their uh fundraising uh efforts. So um, you know, I know the football team, the the band, the all the sports teams at the schools, um youth groups with uh churches that are always trying to raise money for different um projects and programs that the kids can participate in. I know it's sometimes very difficult to uh to generate those funds for those groups. So I'm thinking if this is an opportunity to go ahead and tie in with them and help them with their efforts and we get helped with our efforts as well, it's just a win-win for the community and and it just gets us to be a little bit more of a uh central piece with the community and and the efforts that we have for all coming together and uh and making our our goals reality.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

I guess that uh, you know, uh having children myself that are grown now, but uh I remember uh taking boxes of chocolate bars to work and uh to the office to sell and and pressure people into buying them to raise money for a school trip or something. So to me, this is uh definitely a win-win because the people aren't just buying it out of pity or or they're a chocolate. They they they're doing it because they're gonna get something out of it. You know, they're gonna get to get see a pretty cool show.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

So what could be a win-win for uh for both people, the people that are even supporting the donations and then uh the the school that's receiving them or the the children that are receiving them and and us as well, having the patrons come in and enjoy the show and and see the theater.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

Yeah, I'm I'm sure I still have some uh uh pizza dough in my freezer uh from 10 years ago, probably. Yep, yep. Um so uh for companies considering sponsorship for the first time, uh, or actually this this program specifically, uh what would be the first step to if they if there's an organization or a church or a school that that uh wants to do a fundraiser, how do they get started?

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Basically, all they have to do is just give us a call at the um at my office um uh and we can go ahead and talk about kind of what their goals are, what they want to do, what they um see as the opportunity for them to contribute, um, and and then we just go ahead and design a plan that that fits their needs and and what they want to see and and receive. So um it's it's kind of it's uh not everything is set in stone with it, so it's something that we can go ahead and uh cater specific to the organizations and and make it fit the way that it needs to fit for their operation.

SPEAKER_02 10:31

Very nice. And as far as uh corporate sponsorships where the they want to sponsor a specific show or uh uh a seat or you know, any of the opportunities that you have. That it sounds like there's tons of them. Um how do you get started to with that uh with a corporate sponsorship?

SPEAKER_01 10:53

Uh usually what what happens with those is I will reach out to the different sponsorships that I am pursuing. Um so I mean there's there's a good possibility that I don't get to everybody that would like to donate. And and you you know as well as I do, it's it's not as easy for somebody to just go ahead and walk up to you with money to give. Um it's it's a there always has to be an ask. Uh so I I might not get to them. So um if if there is an interest for uh corporation to to sponsor a show, if they have a specific show that they would like to sponsor, they can go ahead and reach out to me directly. I can research those uh performers, see how much they cost and kind of what the uh criteria and need would be, and then we can develop um the uh ticket tiers that they would would receive with that, and then also the um promotions for their business um locally as well. So um usually on on a larger show, we're we're paying around$15,000 to$20,000 for the performance. Um so we do uh usually have about a$10,000 um uh show sponsor for a for a large show. Um and uh that that ranges based on the cost of performance there. So we would just evaluate that with them and kind of see what they would like to contribute and then what we can secure for them.

SPEAKER_02 12:16

All right. Well, Bob, I appreciate your your time this morning for those uh listening or watching the podcast. If you'd like to get involved, you heard Bob give give him a call there at the Lincoln if you want to support the arts uh in in this great community. Um there's many, many ways to do that, and Bob will be more than glad to uh accommodate, right? Absolutely. All right, cool. Well, Bob, thanks for sharing your insights on sponsorship and all the opportunities you have. We appreciate it, and uh, we'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_00 12:47

All right, thanks, you thanks for tuning in to Onstage with the Lincoln Theater. Want more of Mary and Virginia's entertainment scene? Visit us online at thelincoln.org. Yes, that's thelincoln.org. Or drop by our theater at 117 East Main Street. Let's keep the arts alive and kicking together.