Sponsor Order in TIMS

[Madison]

This is a simple question for the other mentor-folk who have access to TIMS, I think, but I've been making sure all of our ducks are in a row and it got me to thinking.

Do you list 'larger' sponsors at the beginning or end of the list? That is, if GM gives your team $100,000 and Toyota gives you $50,000, would you list things as GM / Toyota & Random House HS or as Toyota / GM & Random House HS?

[Cory]

We list our largest sponsor first.

[Joe J.]

We have always listed our largest sponsor first.

[Don Wright]

Large sponsors first.

[GaryVoshol]

If XYZ corp gives you $10,000 and ABC corp gives $12,000, but XYZ supplies 2 engineers, you might list XYZ first. Contributions to the team are more than just monetary.

[Joe J.]

Originally Posted by GaryV1188

If XYZ corp gives you $10,000 and ABC corp gives $12,000, but XYZ supplies 2 engineers, you might list XYZ first. Contributions to the team are more than just monetary.

A very good point, another thing to consider would be how long a certain company has sponsored your team, placing their name first would show that you as a team acknowledge and respect the length of their sponsorship. Also how involved the sponsor is for example which would you consider the "larger" sponsor,a company that gives you tons on money and says good luck, or a company that gives less money but provides engineers, tools, materials? I would personally go with the second choice.

Money, Mentors, Length of Sponsorship, and involvement of sponsor (at least to me) would define the "size" of a sponsor. Since FIRST doesn't give any rules regarding sponsor orders its up to each team to decide the order in the name, basically which company you think did most to earn the #1 slot.

As with other things in FIRST there really is no "right" answer, because all sponsors do a lot for their teams, and each team may choose a different answer, so pick the one thats right for your team.

[Greg Needel]

I agree with most in the thread saying that the largest sponsor first if it is so cut and dry, but if you have multiple large sponsors you could always just do it alphabetically to show no bias.


I also would like to make a plea to teams not to list every $10 donation in your team name. While I understand that teams have to get money from where ever they can I really think you should set some standards. Such as you need to donate over $1,000 to get your name listed. As an announcer and someone who goes to many events nothing gets me more then teams that list all 20 of their sponsors so that the announcer has to speed through them (there are time constraints for introductions) so that it becomes difficult to comprehend any individual one. I think that it shows your larger sponsors more respect if everyone at the regional can actually hear their names. Along with the fact that with shorter sponsor/team name lists they are more likely to be read more then once, as apposed to long ones which are only required to be read once a day. Please consider this when listing your sponsors this year.


On a side note: If you know your school or sponsor has a strange pronunciation go up to the announcer early in the event and let them know, as they will appreciate it.

[Barry Bonzack]

Here is a similar question. If you have multiple large sponsors and a multiple school team, how do you boil it down in the Short Name in 21 characters?

Sure Harmony High School and Saint Cloud High School could go to HHS & SCHS, but no one outside the school would know. How do you also then include Disney, The Harmony Institute, Siemens, and DeVry University?

[Madison]

...resurrecting my thread from last fall.

Does anyone have any insight into why FIRST opts to list non-profit sponsors before all others and if there's any significance to the difference where FIRST is concerned?

It seems weird that, given the consensus here to list your largest sponsor first, that your long team name might first name a smaller donor simply because of their non-profit status.