It was brought to our attention that our initial renewal policy on playbooks cast PMMI in a position of being perceived as giving some companies what many might consider to be an unfair advantage with the first-right-of-renewal policy with the design/build playbook. That is to say, with a key area such as design/build, the original policy advantages those initial sponsors who can choose to renew in perpetuity, in effect locking out other design/build and related firms who may want an opportunity to sponsor. Considering how foundational this area is to the field of food processing, and to PMMI’s strategic reach into this market, the original policy would deny opportunity to excessive numbers of firms in the market.
The reason we limit to five in the first place is to avoid having downloaders bombarded with emails and calls from huge numbers of sponsors.
As such, we are reversing our renewal policy. Instead of first right of refusal, the new policy prioritizes those companies who have bought a sponsorship and are on the wait list, in a first-come, first-served order.
Here’s how it works. Once the playbook is sold out, additional companies who wish to sponsor can approve a media plan in Media Planner, which will put them on the wait list. When the existing sponsors reach the end of their sponsorship, they go to the end of the wait list if they choose to renew. The first company on the wait list will become a sponsor for any sponsorship that opens up; everyone else moves up in line, accordingly. Over time everyone gets a chance to sponsor, and it prevents one company from locking up the sponsorship in perpetuity.
Existing sponsors can choose to renew (which puts them on the wait list, at the end of the line) no earlier than 80% fulfillment of their existing sponsorship. This gives time for other companies to go on the wait list.
While this policy won’t be popular with existing sponsors, we hope everyone understands that PMMI cannot be in any situation where it is even remotely perceived as playing favorites. This is especially important for an area as important as design/build.
This new policy gives as many companies as possible an opportunity to take turns sponsoring the playbook, while still holding the maximum number of sponsors to five at any one time, preserving the inbox (and sanity) of the people who download the playbook.
We hope you understand our position, and appreciate your consideration and support.