Forced by venue Canadian National Exhibition to operate more autonomously, the Canadian International Air Show is knocking on corporate doors in the coming weeks seeking sponsors for this summer’s three-day event.

‘Sponsors able to act quickly will have all the benefits at a reasonably low level,’ says Don Duthie, president of the Toronto show. While the cne is still hosting the air show and so considered the largest sponsor, it has cut off additional financial support, according to Duthie.

Janet Kosawan, an independent consultant working with Toronto’s Christelle Marketing to develop sponsorship for the cias, says that air shows are fairly late in entering the sponsorship fray – especially in Canada. Not so in the u.s., according to Kosawan. She says u.s. air shows have been playing the sponsorship game for years, with food and beverage, beer and liquor, and auto and telecommunications categories well-represented at the more popular events.

In fact, she says sponsorship of air show events grew 44% over the four years from 1991.

Kosawan points to auto racing – a well-saturated sponsorship sport – as a model for Canada’s 36 air shows, particularly the largest in Toronto.

According to the International Council of Air Shows, of which the cias is a member, air shows are more popular than auto racing. In fact, figures provided by the Jackson, Mich.-based organization, indicated that air shows rank second only to baseball in terms of audience.

Over 50.4 million people attended pro baseball games in 1995, while over 27.3 million went to one of the 450 or so air shows, almost double the 15 million figure for auto shows and 14.8 million for nfl football games. And growth each year over a year earlier is between five and seven per cent – a sure sign of the health of the event, according to Kosawan.

Toronto air show packages will be customized for each sponsor, with levels ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 for title sponsorship, says Gerry DeLio of Christelle.

Components may include signage along Toronto’s lakeshore for one month prior to the show, on barges facing the crowd at the event, as well as program advertising, on-site balloons, and advertising banners on planes.