The founder of Innovative Partnership Group was retained by both the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH and the developer of the mixed-use development project (i.e. Hall of Fame Village) to secure a naming rights partner for the development project. The success of this endeavor was an important source of capital for the development of the project.

The challenge was creating alignment between two entities: 1) a not for profit entity and 2) a for profit company. These entities needed to come together and share their sponsorship assets in order to build one cohesive long-term naming rights partnership package. Because the Hall of Fame Village was not yet built, the team deployed IP/Asset Creation of new rights and benefits that had not been previously contemplated. Additionally, the project had public private financing. This meant that any prospective B2B partner needed to be carefully integrated for vendor sourcing because of the open bid process.

The team set forth to build a future “sports and entertainment” smart city asset package that included B2B walking tours, a global R&D Center, branded hospitality takeovers, and priceless experiences with the Hall of Famers. The technology integration and reimagined B2B technology sales experience served as a global showroom for the technology partner.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame and Hall of Fame Village found the perfect global technology partner in Johnson Controls who took the entitlement of the development project and title of the annual Hall of Fame enshrinement event. The partnership went beyond traditional naming rights as Johnson Controls secured business as the official Infrastructure Partner of the Hall of Fame and Hall of Fame Village.