Hall of Famer
in Experiential Marketing

5

“Bruce’s insight, professionalism and analytical skills have been invaluable to the International Council of Air Shows and its members. And his ability to effectively pass along much of his knowledge to our members in a workshop setting has helped to educate hundreds of air show professionals on sponsorship tactics and strategy over the last 15+ years.

Bruce has been a critical part of our education and training team for nearly 20 years because he delivers precisely the kind of information we want to our members in a style and format that makes the information relevant and useful to them.”

5

“Bruce Erley has arguably changed the face of global sponsorship over the last several decades – on all sides of the equation. As the founder of Creative Strategies Group, using his direct, first-hand experience with festivals and events, experiential marketing, and the creation of sponsorship strategies that raised the bar for everyone, we have all benefitted from his skills and insights. Aside from winning multiple IFEA Haas & amp; Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards for his achievements, he successfully set new expectations and possibilities for everyone to consider and aspire to, as he continues to do today.”

5

To have the fortunate honor and privileged of working closely with Bruce Erley with CSG since 2009, has truly been an exceptional experience.  An experience of absolute professionalism, dedication, guidance, and most of all FUN when working with Bruce and his team.  A team he has led that is comprised of masterful marketers, producers and managers of highly successful events.  Events like the Coldwell Banker Denver Century Ride, The Parade of Lights and The Cherry Creek Arts Festival to name just a few that I’ve interacted with him on.  Bruce’s attention to detail, extraordinary communication skills and follow through are paramount but above all, his persistence is what makes Bruce the amazing advocate and ally for his clients. For that, I am very grateful to have had Bruce on my side for so many years and I’m confident all those who engage with his services will find the same to be true.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference in the businesses, communities and lives you touch, Bruce Erley!

5

We worked with Bruce to evaluate our corporate engagement program with the goal of creating improved tools for corporate sponsorship solicitation. From the start, Bruce was responsive and thoughtful and generous with his expertise. He spent time visiting the museum to get to know the programs and campus, and met with our staff throughout his evaluation process. He provided invaluable guidance and insights and created tools forus to better assess each sponsorship opportunity and create compelling proposals. We use the tools and ideas Bruce provided nearly every day. We are happy to recommend Bruce’s consultation services to any non profit that wants to build a sound foundation for securing corporate sponsorships.

5

"Bruce is a deeply seasoned executive with many years of strategy, research, sales, and contract experience with corporate branding partnerships.
Recommended by a friend at Pollstar Conference in LA, McCaw Hall reached out to Bruce with a complicated, heavy lift to assess Seattle Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and McCaw Hall's corporate partnership potential.
After many weeks of work, Bruce met all three organizations with confidence and consideration. When he left, we fully understood our strengths and weaknesses, and now possessed a blueprint for each organization's full sponsorship potential.
In addition, Bruce drew up templates and strategy plans that our teams could put into motion, with an option to retain Bruce's council as we moved forward to engage our new plan.
Having run concert venues for 20 years including the Fillmore Auditorium and Warfield Theater in San Francisco for Bill Graham Presents - I would recommend Bruce to anyone, in any market, because he knows his business and cares about yours.

5

"I have known Bruce for more than 20 years. He is absolutely the best there is in the sponsorship and event business.  As our sponsorship consultant to the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, he provided extremely valuable analysis and spot-on advice for its two iconic events, the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Game and how to better monetize them.  I am deeply grateful for his advice and assistance."

5

“Early in my bank marketing career, sponsorship management was added to my job description. Not a wise decision as I knew absolutely nothing about sponsorships or event marketing. The better decision was to hire Bruce Erley as a consultant to evaluate all of our current sponsorship properties and options for investments to align to achieve our goals. I didn’t even have goals. Bruce helped us with that too!

His 40+ years in festivals, events and experiential marketing created a sponsorship portfolio that made our investments work harder to build brand equity, provide clients with unique experiences and showcase our products and people. I’ve since tapped into Bruce’s expertise in every company that I’ve worked with over the last 20 years. It’s not exaggerated praise to say that everything I know about sponsorships and events has been learned from Bruce. I’m incredibly grateful for his kindness and patience as a mentor and guidance as a practitioner.”

5

I cannot think of a more passionate expert in the field of sponsorship and experiential marketing than Bruce Erley. Working with Bruce transformed the Cherry Creek Arts Festival sponsorship program and was a game changer in supporting CherryArts and its’ nonprofit mission to support artists and arts education.

Bruce brings a wealth of creativity and ingenuity to the table when it comes to actionable sponsorship development and implementation. His can-do attitude is contagious, he is a strong strategic thinker and his genuine desire to help his clients flourish and execute upon their mission is apparent.

I would strongly recommend working with Bruce if you are looking for someone who is results oriented that will take your sponsorship and marketing goals to the next level of engagement and action.