In a blog post on the Sparkhound website, I laid out the strong case for a sponsor's Return on Investment (ROI) for sponsoring local SQLSaturday events. Part of my argument in favor of sponsoring SQLSaturday events are the diversity of attendees and their responsibilities, and particularly, the presence of decision makers.

Attracting the Decision Makers and Influencers

At a large-tent event like SQLSaturday Baton Rouge where we have tracks for IT management, server admins, and .NET developers, the cross section of responsibilities in the registrants skews heavily towards developers and especially decision makers, as evidenced in the below graph:

I believe the percentage of attendees in a decision-making capacity in their workplace is understated at SQLSaturday events, broadly. This is a fact that should be emphasized by SQLSaturday organizers and promoters to potential sponsors.

What about small SQLSaturday events?

To sponsors, the size of the event is a factor, but it shouldn't be the only one. Significant ROI can be returned merely by a sponsor's presence at a local event, showing support for the local IT community. Whether the sponsor is looking to recruit, drive sales, or increase market recognition, the size of a SQLSaturday event doesn't necessary translate to higher ROI.

In fact, smaller SQLSaturdays may provide a bigger share of the spotlight, a more recognized local contribution, and more face time with local IT connections. There are SQLSaturday events held locally around the world almost every weekend of the year - meaning that at least one a year, almost any company has a local, authentic, home-grown opportunity nearby.

Job Title Categorization

If you're curious for how the job titles were categorized, I've included the relatively simple TSQL categorization logic below:

...  set JobTitleCategory = CASE

      WHEN [job title] like 'C%' and len([job title]) = 3 
       OR [job title] like '%Chief%'   
       OR [job title] like '%Director%' 
       OR [job title] like '%President%'   
       OR [job title] like '%Officer%' 
       OR [job title] like '%Owner%' 
       OR [job title] like '%CIO%' 
       OR [job title] like 'VP%'
       OR [job title] like '%Partner'
       OR [job title] like 'Founder'
       OR [job title] like 'Attorney%'
       THEN 'C-Suite'

      WHEN [job title] like '%Manager%' 
       OR [job title] like '%Senior%Associate%'
       OR [job title] like 'Head%'
       OR [job title] like '%manger%'
       OR [job title] like 'HR%'
       OR [job title] like '%supervis%'
       OR [job title] like '%coordin%'
       OR [job title] like '%Advisor%'
       OR [job title] like '%Legal%'
       OR [job title] like 'Managing%'
       OR [job title] like 'team lead'
       OR [job title] like 'Process Optimization%'
       OR [job title] like '%Mgr%'
      THEN 'Management'


      WHEN [job title] like '%dba%' 
       OR [job title] like 'data%admin%' 
       OR [job title] like '%data%base%' 
       OR [job title] like '%ETL%'
       OR [job title] like '%SQL%'
       OR [job title] like '%PASS%'
       OR [job title] like '%Chapter Leader%'
       OR [job title] like '%DB Admin%'
       THEN 'DBA'

      WHEN [job title] like '%BI %' 
       OR [job title] like '%Business Intelligence%' 
       OR [job title] like 'Data%Scien%'
       OR [job title] like '%analytic%'
       OR [job title] like 'Math%'
       OR [job title] like '%data%Architect%' 
       OR [job title] like '%report%' 
       OR [job title] like '%warehouse%' 
       OR [job title] like '%data%specialist%' 
       OR [job title] like '%data%analyst%' 
       OR [job title] like '%Informatics%'
       OR [job title] like '%Information%'
       THEN 'Business Intelligence'

      WHEN [job title] like '%Studen%' 
       OR [job title] like '%grad%'
       OR [job title] like '%Candidate%'
       OR [job title] like '%Intern'
       THEN 'Student'

      WHEN [job title] like '%Accounting%'
       OR [job title] like '%CPA%'
       OR [job title] like '%AP %' 
       THEN 'Accounting'

      WHEN [job title] like '%design%' 
       THEN 'Design'

      WHEN [job title] like '%access control%' 
       OR [job title] like '%security%' 
       OR [job title] like '%sec%' 
       THEN 'Security'

      WHEN [job title] like '%Instructor%'
       OR [job title] like '%Teacher%'
       OR [job title] like '%faculty%'
       OR [job title] like 'Research%'
       OR [job title] like 'Editor'
       OR [job title] like 'Librar%'
       OR [job title] like '%school%'
       OR [job title] like '%education%'
       OR [job title] like '%science%'
       OR [job title] like '%instruct%'
       OR [job title] like 'Fellow'
       THEN 'Academia'

      WHEN [job title] like '%programmer%'  
        OR [job title] like '%software%developer%' 
        OR [job title] like '%Software%Engineer%'
        OR [job title] like 'App%Dev%'
        OR [job title] like 'Dev%'
        OR [job title] like 'Comp%Scien%'
        OR [job title] like 'App%Dev%'
        OR [job title] like '%developer%' 
        OR [job title] like 'Tech%Lead'
        OR [job title] like '%application%'
        OR [job title] = 'P/A'
        OR [job title] like 'Program%'
        OR [job title] like '%Architect%' 
        OR [job title] like '%software%' 
        OR [job title] like 'Code%' 
        OR [job title] like 'Analyst%' 
        OR [job title] like 'pgmr%' 
        OR [job title] like 'E-%' 
        THEN 'Developer'

      WHEN [job title] like '%System%Ana%' 
       OR [job title] like '%Comp%Ana%'
       OR [job title] like '%Sys%eng%' 
       OR [job title] like '%Sys%admin%'
       OR [job title] like '%Net%Admin%'
       OR [job title] like '%IT%Tech%'
       OR [job title] like 'IT%specialist%'
       OR [job title] like 'tech%specialist%'
       OR [job title] like '%Engineer'
       OR [job title] like 'MCT%'
       OR [job title] like 'Implement%Spec%'
       OR [job title] like '%technic%'
       OR [job title] like '%Administrator'
       OR [job title] like '%Network%'
       OR [job title] like '%integration%'
       OR [job title] like '%repair%'
       OR [job title] like 'helpdesk%'
       OR [job title] like  'IT%Pro%'
       THEN 'Server Admin'

      WHEN [job title] like 'Customer Support Specialist'
       OR [job title] like 'Tech%Support%'
       OR [job title] like 'Dispute Resolution%'
       OR [job title] like 'Specialist'
       OR [job title] like '%IT%Supp%'
       OR [job title] like '%IT %'
       OR [job title] like '%Support%'
       OR [job title] like 'field%service%'
       OR [job title] like 'desktop%'
       OR [job title] like 'service desk%'
        THEN 'Customer Support'


      WHEN [job title] like '%QA%'
       OR [job title] like '%Quality%' 
       OR [job title] like '%test%' 
       THEN 'QA/Testing'


      WHEN [job title] like '%SharePoint%'
       THEN 'SharePoint'

     WHEN [job title] like 'Acc%Exec%' 
      OR  [job title] like '%Sales%'
      OR  [job title] like '%Account rep%'
      OR  [job title] like 'Business%Dev%'
       THEN 'Sales'

      WHEN [job title] like  '%Recruiter%'
       THEN 'Recruitment'

      WHEN [job title] like  '%Admin%Assistant%'
       OR [job title] like  '%Assistant'
       THEN 'Administrative Assistant'

      WHEN [job title] like '%Admin%'
       OR [job title] like '%systems%'
       OR [job title] like '%engineer%'
       OR [job title] like '%technolo%'
       OR [job title] like '%operat%'
       OR [job title] like '%IT%'
       OR [job title] like '%server%'
       OR [job title] like '%system%'
       THEN 'Server Admin'

      WHEN [job title] like '%Business%Analyst%'
       OR [job title] like '%Analyst%'
       OR [job title] like '%Auditor%'
       OR [job title] like 'BSA%'
       OR [job title] like '%process%'
       OR [job title] like '%product%'
       OR [job title] like 'BA'
       THEN 'Business Analyst'

      WHEN [job title] like 'Self%Employ%'
       THEN 'Self Employed'

      WHEN [job title] like 'Social Worker'
       OR [job title] like '%nurse%'
       OR [job title] like '%dental%'
       OR [job title] like '%health%'
       OR [job title] like '%clinic%'
       OR [job title] like '%medical%'
       OR [job title] like '%nutrition%'
       THEN 'Medical'

      WHEN [job title] like '%legal%'
       THEN 'Legal'

      WHEN [job title] like '%Project%' 
       OR [job title] like '%PM%' 
       THEN 'Project Management'

      WHEN [job title] is null 
       OR [job title] = '' 
       OR [job title] = 'Mr' 
       OR [job title] = 'NA' 
       OR [job title] = 'n' 
       OR [job title] = 'n/a'
       OR [job title] = 'not provided'
       THEN 'Not provided'

      WHEN [job title] like '%Consultant%'
       OR [job title] like 'Principal%' 
       THEN 'Consultant'

      ELSE 'Other'

      END