The 2013 iD Dunedin Fashion Week starts in six weeks, and while there is still not a naming sponsor, the organisers have use of a final guaranteed $80,000 grant from the Dunedin City Council, chairwoman of iD Fashion Week Susie Staley said yesterday when asked about the annual problem of finding a major sponsor.
''The usual. No naming rights sponsor makes it very hard. We're very thankful for the council's grant.
''We've got everyone else [sponsors] back on board, some with increased sponsorship.
We are short a few $5000 sponsors, which would make us more comfortable,'' she said.
A decade ago, the iD budget was about $250,000, but next month's budget is $530,000 (exclusive of GST), with rising costs in travel and accommodation, but also more and larger events than a decade ago.
Otago people continued to be biggest supporters of iD fashion week and more than 70% of attendees came from Dunedin. But out-of-town numbers are growing. Almost 8% came from Canterbury and more than 4% from Southland.
Following the 2012 iD Fashion Week, three University of Otago third-year marketing students spent several months on a research project, outlining the impact of iD on the Dunedin community, economically, educationally and socially.
It was assessed to have benefited Dunedin by $1.87 million, including total consumer spending of $1.33 million for the hospitality, fashion and accommodation sector. Average spending per person grew almost 20%, to $193 on fashion items alone.
''Satisfaction with the event was very high - 98% of responses gave a rating of 7 or higher, with 42% giving the highest rating of 10,'' the report said.
The researchers said the event had ''strong levels'' of local support, including premier sponsors the Dunedin City Council and Golden Centre Mall in Dunedin, and unique single sponsorship opportunities, such as Redken for hair and Revlon for make-up.
The researchers identified ''weaknesses'', in the under-utilisation of social media; which has since been reviewed by the organising committee, and a lack of advertising nationally.
Of the $1.87 million spent, about $540,000 included spending at the events and accommodation costs for iD designers and emerging designers, the report said.
Ms Staley said social network use would be increasing, and while a marketing idea to promote pre-Christmas ticket sales was shelved, television advertising remained too expensive for the organisers.
Dunedin retailers had reported sales increases ranging from 30% to 300% during fashion week, and the researchers found retailers' vouchers in ''goodie bags'' had encouraged more retail spending.
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie said the event ''was now bedded in as one of the most significant for Dunedin''.
''$1.8 million is a significant contribution to the economy, but more than that, it brands Dunedin in the fashion industry, especially with all the international coverage,'' Mr Christie said.
He said all such events, in general, could ''struggle for sponsorship from time to time'', especially with high costs such as flying in and accommodating fashion experts from around the world.
''Increased sponsorship can only help grow the fashion event,'' Mr Christie said.
Ms Staley said media coverage, measured in cuttings and television coverage, had ''more than quadrupled'' in recent years.
Before the 2009 show, a Wellington consultant estimated the event achieved $1.6 million in media coverage.
The coverage was now ''conservatively'' likely to be $6 million. The researchers noted media coverage had increased significantly since 2009 in television and international coverage, including that of a journalist for The Daily Telegraph, visiting from London.
• For the 2010 iD, organisers faced a financial shortfall, but in late 2009 the Dunedin City Council granted the event $70,000. Aside from iD fashion week, eight other events from the festivals and events contestable fund, which are allocated once a year, received a total of $135,000 in grants. iD 2013 gets the final of three guaranteed grants, $80,000, and must reapply next year.
