At some point, many businesses are presented with an opportunity to sponsor a community event in their area. Some examples could include a charity event, cultural event or local fundraiser. While you may be reluctant initially because of the financial and time investment involved, there are several reasons to sponsor that can have a positive impact on your business. Show
1. Great PublicityEven if itâs only for a day or two, putting the spotlight on your business can have some major long-term benefits. Youâll gain significant exposure overnight and can get your brand in front of a much larger segment of your demographic. This will often result in an influx of new leads and ultimately customers. 2. Networking GaloreBuilding solid relationships is the key to opening new doors for any business. The more quality contacts you have, the more opportunities will come your way. If youâre looking to quickly expand your network and gain meaningful business relationships, sponsoring an event in your area is a great way to do so. The best part is that it requires very little effort and energy on your part, and most contacts will come right to you. 3. Improved ReputationReputation management is serious business these days, especially when you consider how quickly a brandâs reputation can spike or plummet because of online reviews and social media. A positive reputation is a fundamental component of generating initial leads and is integral to long-term sustainability. Sponsoring an event is great because it shows that your business has a legitimate interest in local causes and that you want to contribute to the enrichment of your community. 4. Stronger Brand EquityAn improved reputation almost always results in your business being perceived as more credible and trustworthy. In turn, your demographic is more likely to associate your brand name with something positive, which automatically strengthens your brand equity. This is important because it goes way beyond the day or two that you sponsor a community event and can have a long-lasting effect. In some cases, this can be the catalyst for increased customers and clients for years down the road. 5. Itâs Fairly AffordableWhile itâs true that this type of sponsorship comes at a cost, itâs pretty minimal when you compare it to many other forms of local marketing. For instance, print and radio ads can greatly exceed the cost of sponsorship and may only yield a fraction of the results. In many cases, sponsoring an event is a one-time thing. However, you can potentially reap the rewards for years to come. Itâs especially effective for local brick-and-mortar companies who are primarily trying to reach a limited demographic within their city or region. If your business is ever approached to be a sponsor, itâs definitely something you should consider. With five strong reasons to sponsor a community event, the pros vastly outweigh the cons. Not only can this help you forge valuable relationships and bring in immediate leads, it can boost your long-term brand equity significantly. Skift TakeHow do you attract sponsors to invest in your event? How do you persuade brands that you have the perfect event sponsorship opportunity for them? Your event needs to offer what potential sponsors are looking for, and come up with groundbreaking and worthwhile event sponsorship packages to attract more sponsorship revenue. You have one chance to impress. Seize the day and get more event sponsors signed up. All event planners know how critical event sponsorship is to your eventâs success. With strong sponsorships, you can accomplish much more than your original budget allows. But often it can seem that finding the right event sponsors, achieving the dollars you hope for and designing a sponsorship offering that will have them signing up and coming back again and again can be challenging or downright impossible. You know your event is awesome, right, so how can you get sponsors to listen, understand and invest? If you keep hearing âNOâ and havenât reached your sponsorship income targets it can be disheartening and frustrating. What are you doing wrong? (HINT: possibly lots of things, which will be revealed in this post) There is an easier way, dear event planners. It is possible to turn the rejections around and find sponsors that say âYES!â Read on to find a proven action plan for increasing your event sponsorship success: 1. Research: The Current State of Event Sponsorship 2. Chapter 1: The First Steps To Securing Event Sponsorship Deals (a blueprint experienced eventprofs follow) 3. Chapter 2: Keep Up! What Should Your 2018 Event Sponsorship Offering Consist Of? 4. Chapter 3: Understand the 8 Real Reasons Driving Event Sponsorship (and lock down more revenues) 5. Chapter 4: How To Reach Event Sponsors and Get Them To Sign On The Dotted Line 6. Chapter 5: 8 Secrets to Unlocking More Event Sponsorship Money 7. Chapter 6: Specific Tactics to Get Your Recurring Event Revenue Rocketing 8. Chapter 7: 50+ Awesome Event Sponsorship Ideas Guaranteed to Get More Sponsors 9. Chapter 8: 10 Event Sponsorship Case Studies All Event Planners Can Learn From (best practice for your events) While it requires creativity, successful event sponsorship is focused on data analysis, understanding sponsorsâ needs, and establishing a return on investment (ROI). In this step-by-step plan, weâll help you with all of that and more. Research:Event Sponsorship in 2019: In January 2018, we conducted one of the largest pieces of event planning research ever completed, with 2,400 contacts and over 1,000 respondents. Within the survey, we asked specific questions relating to event sponsorship. We are happy to release the results below. If you would like a copy of this research for publishing purposes, you can request it here: State of the Event Industry Research. FINDING SPONSORS IS A BIG CHALLENGE FOR EVENTPROFS When we asked eventprofs about their biggest challenges, finding sponsors was the second most popular response, agreed by almost half (49%) of respondents. SECURING SPONSORS IS A STRUGGLE FOR EVENTS The concern over finding sponsors is likely due to the difficulty in securing sponsorship faced by events. A majority of event professionals (53%) agreed that finding sponsors for events is a struggle. Less than a quarter (22%) said that they werenât struggling to secure sponsors. SPONSOR RETENTION RATES ARE ALSO SLIPPING While 10% of event profs feel that sponsor retention rates have stayed about the same, 17% say they are decreasing, and 53% of planners agree that finding sponsorship is a challenge. This is a concern. MEASURING SUCCESS WITH SPONSORSHIP Of those surveyed, almost half (42%) said that sponsor satisfaction was used as a measure of success. Sponsorship revenue was also an important factor for around a third (32%) of eventprofs. COULD EVENT APPS HOLD THE KEY TO EVENT SPONSORSHIP? When we asked our audience about the features they seek in event apps, almost half (44%) said they were looking for sponsorship opportunities. So how do you get a sponsor for an event? A great pace to start is by reading this post and following the guidance from event planners that have been successful in attracting sponsorship investment into their events. Whether you are an experienced event planner or whether this is the first time you have tried to secure sponsorship, we share lots of tips and tactics and mistakes to avoid. No one said that meeting your sponsorship goals would be easy â it needs a well-planned and thoughtful approach for the best chance of success. The eight steps and suggested action points in this section outlines the essential preparation you need to do well in advance of picking up the phone or sending an email to any sponsor. You donât want to fritter away your one and only shot at getting a sponsor on board so you need to lay the groundwork and get everything in order before you even attempt to make contact. Pro tip:Many companies have a long lead time in terms of approving sponsorship decisions (over 12 months for some) so the earlier you can start working on these initial steps the greater the chance you will have of getting sign off. For the best chance of event sponsorship success, start with these seven steps: Raise Your Game To Ensure You Are Sponsorship WorthyHow do I attract sponsors to my event? Events that show authority, independence and freshness will always be sought after for sponsorship. If you want to know the key of how to get sponsorship money, the paradigm shift here is to swing your event positioning from push to pull. Calling up, chasing, and sending proposals is perfectly acceptable when you are trying to push the idea to your sponsorship audience. The aim, however, is to reach a point where you are being chased, being asked, receiving inquiries about sponsorship opportunities, often referred to as inbound, or pull activities. Then, you are simply harvesting the good results of your amazing event and event content. Brands may run their own events but customers know there will always be a bias or a secondary objective. To set yourself apart, you really have to step up your event content game and be recognized as valuable in the community, which makes your event sought after and almost inevitable as a sponsorship decision. To set yourself apart, step up your event content game and become recognized as valuable in the community, industry, or the place to be for your target demographic. Strive to become a resource and THE event for your industry or audience. One of the biggest ways to up your game in the eyes of a sponsor is to harness the opportunities offered by social media to enable spontaneous communities to flourish around your event. Like-minded people are often eager to find the perfect platforms to connect in person. Your event is the perfect opportunity to give them space. Having communities showing up at your event presents incredible sponsorship opportunities. Think about the echo you can have online from individuals who usually connect online every day. How can you offer such opportunity to sponsors? How can you support a community while delivering a strong message? Raise your event game and capture the attention of sponsors in the following ways:
Know Your Audience Profile Inside Out to Harness Big(ger) BucksHow can you ask a company to invest big money in your event if you cannot succinctly explain who will attend your event? Itâs surprising how few event planners truly understand their attendees. Before attempting a sponsorship sales pitch, planners should know specific information about the lifestyle habits of their event attendees. For example, it might be a B2B event, but wouldnât it be interesting to share with a sponsor what the audience like to do outside of their working hours too? Is health important to them? Are they homeowners? Do they have a family? There are many more products and services consumers will use during their non-work day and this can provide a compelling reason for a sponsor to want to connect with your event. A savvy sponsor looks less at numbers and more at the value when it comes to your attendees. Do you have 20,000 potentials or 500 well-targeted, exact fit to their needs attendees at your event? Most sponsors donât want 20,000 tire kickers. They want easy conversions, people who will be interested in their product or service and are on the market to buy. Itâs up to you to make these introductions and turn your mass traffic into valuable leads for them. Marketing professionals LOVE such data and are far more comfortable allocating marketing dollars when they know exactly who the promotion will reach. Get to know your audience better to find a perfect sponsorship match:
1. Age 2. Male/female ratio 3. Household income 4. Education level 5. Where they live 6. Hobbies 7. Holiday destinations 8. Political ideology
Look At Information Right at Your Fingertips to Guide Your New StrategyIf the event has run before you will have a wealth of valuable information that you can use to your advantage. From standard registration data and attendance numbers, through to surveys and sponsorship deals, there is a lot of useful information to crunch. Pay particular attention to exhibitors and attendees that have come to the event previously and that could be a good sponsorship lead for the future. Several benefits come from working with past sponsors/exhibitors/attendees, including spending less time prospecting and working with someone with whom you already have trust and that already has knowledge of the event and what to expect. Learn from the past to create better sponsorship deals in the future:
Brainstorm and Research Prospects to Approach: Your Secret Weapon To Converting More SponsorsWhether this is an established event or the first time it has run, the chances are that you are keen to secure more sponsors. This means that you need to build a list of well-matched organizations to approach. What is a sponsor for an event? There are a few clues that can help you assess the companies that are more likely to listen to your sponsorship approach and those that will be a waste of time. We recommend starting with at least 100 potential sponsor leads. 100 may sound like a big number, but it is very achievable for almost any event. Only a small fraction of those 100 will convert to actual sponsors, so you need to create a long list as a good starting point. With these lists, you will have more than enough to begin the prospecting process. Itâs clearly much easier to convince a prospect if they are already companies willing to sponsor events and predisposed to buying sponsorships. It is a not a particularly good use of your time to try to convince companies who have never sponsored an event of the benefits of a sponsorship generally. It is one thing having the ideas but you also need a way to contact them. In most cases, the responsibility of sponsorship activation usually falls to the marketing team. Prospecting to the marketing department is your best bet unless the prospect has a specific sponsorship person or department. LinkedIn is likely to be your top resource finding out who you need to speak to and fleshing out the contact details on the list ready for an approach in the future. Build your hit list and get off to a flying start:
Understand All The Complexities of Your Event to Get to the Right Place to Sell, Sell, SellTake time to review all angles of your event. What are the cornerstones of your event offering, what do you own, which elements give value, what metrics and data do you have, what do you hope to achieve for the next and future events? Understanding the full picture can trigger ideas for sponsorships going forward. Analyze in terms of past sponsorship deals, how did you perform? Put together evidence of how your event has provided good returns for sponsors, whatever their specific goals were. Pour over event feedback and particularly any feedback from sponsors. Good or bad, use this insight to refine your offering going forward. If you have asked the tough questions, such as, âWhat didnât go as well as you had hoped?â or âHow could we do better next time?â this will be extremely useful in refining for the future. Start developing and crystallizing your ideas for sponsorship activations:
1 Total event attendance 2. Number of interactions recorded by the sponsor 3. Data in terms of attendee behavior, actions and demographics 4. Clicks and social media interactions 5. Number of leads gathered 6. Total sales of related product 7. Total number of samples distributed 8. If live streamed, how many views 9. Measurement of different touchpoints 10. Locations of signage and other brand exposure elements 11. Feedback received
Calculate the Value of Your Event Inventory To Make Smarter DealsDetermine your event budget so you know the financial position of your event. Sponsorship can be a way to identify funds and make items on your wish list to happen. For instance, if you want to bring in a top-notch speaker but their fee is out of reach or you want to add a new lounge area to your conference, by identifying the cost and working with a sponsor you can enhance your event and achieve things that would otherwise be impossible. You also know better what is the lowest viable offer you can accept to get a sponsor on board. Successful events are aware of the worth of their inventory and allocate it knowing exactly the demand levels for each item. Too often, a few sponsors get too much, leaving a little for others. This harms your event because it precludes you from having healthy relationships with more brands willing to engage with your audience. Plan ahead of time:
Create a Better Sponsorship Offering. Or Fail. Period.Innovative sponsorship programs look at the needs of attendees first. They understand the core needs of those attending events and they offer the opportunity to provide solutions to sponsors. How can you solve the issue of attendees waiting in line for hours? Get a sponsor to pay for registration at the airport. How can you solve the issue of attendees walking too much on your trade show floor? Get a sponsor to pay for scooters. How can you make hungry, attendees happy: by offering packed grab-and-go snack packs through a sponsorship. These are incredibly practical ideas that add value to attendees while delivering relevant sponsorship messages. Design creates a user-friendly experience where attendees, sponsors and all stakeholders get something out of the event. Bad event design can place attendees in a negative mood. This will affect their desire to do business, which will yield a bad sponsor experience. Instead, work with your sponsors to create a better user journey for attendees. The real question is, can you get sponsors to work with you on creating value? Lounges, games, food⊠the elements that can deliver a sponsor message are endless. Innovative sponsorship leverages experiences. Innovative sponsorship programs look at the needs of attendees first. The real question is, Can you get sponsors to work with you on creating value? Think differently to entice your sponsors:
Harness Metrics to Reel In Sponsor Interest (and Fast)Logo placement, though still appealing to some, definitely does not belong to the sponsorships of the future. Of course, logos on branding are nice to have but thatâs all. What sponsors want is solid data. They are after profiles, clicks, leads generated, how many people passed through their stand, how many people hung out around the booth. Do you have the technology in place to provide this data to your attendees? Have you taken advantage of the incredible number of developments in technology to support better event ROI metrics? As we all know, one of the biggest challenges for any marketing department is being able to justify the âspend.â Itâs often difficult to draw a line connecting certain marketing activity to a particular sales result. In such cases, marketing departments have a more difficult time convincing the finance department to approve the campaign. So, if you can show your prospect that your offer will yield âXâ dollars, it will be much easier to secure that sponsorship activation. Have you taken advantage of the incredible number of developments in technology to support better event ROI metrics? If you can show your prospect that your offer will yield âXâ dollars, it will be much easier to secure that sponsorship activation. Metrics say it all. Sponsors want the evidence that their investment paid off. Understand the data:
If you have followed the steps outlined above you will now be in a good position of knowledge. We know you are raring to go, but â hold it â there is still more work to be done before you contact any potential event sponsors! Your thoughts need to focus on: how do you get a company to sponsor you? Before you send your first email or pick up the phone you need to know what specifically you can and canât offer to sponsors and what value you expect to receive in return. You will have one chance to convert a potential sponsor so you need to be 100% ready and prepared. Furthermore, event sponsorship has changed and your sponsors are much savvier than ever before. The way you did things in the past probably doesnât cut it anymore. You need to up your game to keep in front of the pack. Traditional sponsorship deals based on logo placement and name drops are no longer sufficient and it is long overdue to shake up the options. The future of event sponsorship requires innovative ideas, strong commitment, accountability and deep knowledge of the new opportunities technology brings. Banish bronze, silver and gold event sponsorship packages right nowThe traditional way to offer sponsorship was generally in the form of packages; predefined placements for a predefined price. Gold, Silver, Platinum, became the default way of outlining the cost for each sponsor offering in a one-size-fits-all approach. Obviously, you could add more packages to better accommodate sponsor needs but increasingly thatâs unlikely to give you the flexibility your sponsor desires. There is no value in a standard proposal. Innovative sponsorship programs start with the sponsor in mind, not with the dimensions of your booth or the logo size. Would you discuss the dimensions of your apartment on a first date? Instead, shift your attention to how your event can help sponsors achieve their objectives. That is why collaterals are quite worthless if mass produced. They immediately disengage your audience. They are a generic attempt to just sell. Customization, conversation, and flexibility in inventory make sponsors happy. Shift your attention to how your event can help sponsors achieve their objectives. Customization, conversation, and flexibility in inventory make sponsors happy. Create tantalizing sponsorship opportunities that stimulate the interest of the most demanding brands. A shout out on the main stage often isnât even heard. Is that the best you can do? Make sponsors look like heroes: Create sponsorship opportunities that can help your help sponsors shine. You want attendees to remember their contributions and not just assume everything is brought to you by the event. Align a sponsorship with the mission behind the brand. For instance, Nike has an ad campaign where they have removed the sitting part of city benches and stenciled the word âRunâ with the swoosh on the back. This is both memorable and fitting of their active brand. Look for opportunities that fit in that way. Investigate what others are saying on social media about your sponsors. It can give some greater insights into what type of sponsorship activation could be right for them.A new way to approach event sponsorship that guarantees better conversionsThe new way of approaching sponsorship is different. To be truly flexible you need to be able to offer your sponsors a range of ideas that can be shaped to better suit their needs. Many sponsorship professionals validate this approach. Some sponsors may know you and your audience. They also know what they want. Give them the flexibility to pick and choose what they want (and price it accordingly). A la carte, wins over fixed menus, especially in times of budget cuts. You can always upsell but start by giving them the freedom of choosing what they think works best for them, rather than what you want to sell them. Often theyâll be more enamored of a package theyâve designed and theyâll work harder at making it effective because they had a hand in building it. Also, create some custom ideas designed specifically to meet their exact needs. You really have to work hard to create appealing sponsorship opportunities that stimulate the appetite of the most hard-to-please brands. Make your inventory creative! Think about how you can deliver better experiences by means of more innovative opportunities. A shout out on the main stage or logo placement on your event collateral is worth zero. Think about that. Customize your approach: Research the mission of the company youâre approaching. What are they looking to do, traditionally and this year? Get your thinking in line with their mission. Study their social media streams. What they share is often what they value. Talk with them and find out their needs. Then create your offering based on that conversation.Never make this big event sponsorship mistakeThere is one thing you donât want to do. EVER Never say, âWe can do anything.â While you may think it sounds accommodating, it can be construed as putting all of the work to design a sponsorship on the person whoâs already writing the check, instead of coming up with appealing ideas to inspire them. Itâs important to convey flexibility on sponsorship package design. After all, you may have the occasional sponsor who has very exacting needs or vision for a package. But in most cases, you have the analytics and understanding of your audience and are best placed to offer tempting solutions. How to get the balance of being accommodating just right: Encourage them to make a suggestion to you about what theyâd like to do but provide suggestions based on your audience and whatâs worked (or hasnât in the past). For instance, donât go along with a sponsored video arcade if someone did that last year with less than positive results. Allow them to bounce ideas off you so you can get a better idea of what theyâre drawn to. You want them to use their creativity but ensure they know you are using yours. If they have something in mind, work with them. If theyâre stuck, help them out with suggestions based on their needs.Itâs up to you to marry sponsor needs and the needs of your audience. If you can do it successfully, you can build a long-term valuable relationship for all involved, including you. Why are sponsorship opportunities often so hard to secure? This is primarily because event planners are often not comfortable with the sponsorship process and finding the right sponsors. Or, often, they fail to understand what the potential sponsor is looking for. Before you can approach and apply tactics to get more money from your sponsors, itâs critical to understand their reasons behind the sponsorship deal and use it to your advantage. The true motivations for event sponsorship you need to address in your sponsorship approachTo better understand how sponsors think and what they actually want from a sponsorship relationship, letâs look at the specific reasons companies invest in events. Here are the most common: Motivation. To Increase Sales and Market ShareYour sponsor wants to sell their product. Companies who want to sell a product at a particular venue will often seek a sponsorship relationship because they can negotiate terms such as exclusivity or guaranteed exposure to the attendee. This is the most important objective for food and beverage sponsors, whose interest in the sponsorship opportunity is to be able to serve or pour product at your event. Pro tip:pay special attention to whether or not the venue has an exclusive contract with another brand that may prevent the sponsor from serving their product. Motivation. To Increase Awareness with their Target MarketYour sponsor is launching/testing a new product. Companies releasing new products love testing new products at entertainment-related events. Putting products into the hands of thousands of happy event-goers is very appealing to sponsors. Pro tip:include them in goodie bags, as toys on chairs during sessions, or free samples at the booth. Motivation. To Target a New Customer GroupYour sponsor wants to expand its customer base. One powerful feature of event sponsorship is that event planners understand the demographic and economic makeup of the audience. Think about the difference in the audience makeup between a tennis tournament and a NASCAR race. If your sponsor wants to promote its product to âmiddle Americaâ, they might choose to partner with NASCAR. Pro tip:consider your main market and become known for it. Market it accordingly. Eventually sponsors interested in that demographic will come to you. Motivation. To Enhance General AwarenessYour sponsor wants to stay in front of consumers. Due to the hyper-competitive industries they operate in, brands such as Pepsi and Nike sponsor hundreds of different types of events each year. Everything from cricket tournaments to the Super Bowl to local little league baseball games. These brands feel their customers need to be constantly reminded of them. For most sponsors, the reality is that brand awareness is difficult to measure and therefore often not an important factor. Having said that, explaining to the sponsor that âXâ number of attendees will see the sponsorâs signs and message, is always a positive. Pro tip:show the sponsor historical data such as how a certain attendee demographic will be in attendance, that will resonate even more with the sponsor. Motivation. To Enhance Trade Relations/In-KindYour sponsor wants to build relationships. One strategy companies use to break into new markets is building relationships with the community. For example, a dairy company seeking to displace a powerful incumbent brand in Las Vegas recently began sponsoring a wide variety of events, including wine and food festivals. Due to their aggressive approach to building local relationships, the dairy was recently rewarded with a multimillion-dollar contract that had been held by another dairy for decades. Pro tip:offer the brand a way to get seen doing things like giving back and connecting. Spreading their mission is more important to them than their logo. Motivation. To Alter Public Perception/Re-positioningYour sponsorâs brand is hurting. An effective method of rehabilitating a struggling brand is to associate that brand with prestigious events. During the 1990s, Hyundai had a lackluster quality reputation in the US. Although their reliability ratings were higher than some other brands, the perception of American consumers was that the Hyundai family of cars, including KIA, were poor quality vehicles. As part of a strategy to counter this perception, Hyundai began sponsoring prestigious events like PGA golf tournaments and the Australian Open tennis tournament. It worked, now Hyundai is competing directly with Toyota and Honda. Pro tip:exhibiting your reputation as a quality event is key to landing a sponsor like this. Show that the demographic theyâre suffering with (or lagging behind with) is well represented at your event. Motivation. To Block CompetitionYour sponsor is preoccupied with its competitors. There are some industries which can be characterized as âhyper-competitiveâ, like car insurance, soft drinks, beer, and apparel. To these industries, being able to displace a competitor is a major focus and advantage. Brands often will sponsor an event simply to block one of their competitors from doing so. Pro tip:exclusivity sells with this type of sponsor. They may even be interested in multiple years or multiple events if you can promise exclusivity or making them the âofficial ____â of your event. Motivation. For Social Responsibility and Corporate PhilanthropyYour sponsor promotes (or wants to create) a caring image. Most brands, even smaller ones, set aside dollars each year to spend on corporate social responsibility. Why do they do this? They have a goal of social responsibility ingrained into their brand message. Remember brands do not âdonateâ money when sponsoring events. In fact, you should never refer to it as a donation. A sponsorship decision is often a lengthy and thoughtful process. The decision to invest in your event will only happen when the brand (big or small) believes doing so will help it achieve one or more of the objectives listed above. Pro tip:If you are approaching a brand that cares about certain issues, emphasize how a sponsorship relationship with your event can help achieve this goal. It also is wise to show how your event is in line with their mission. For instance, if they are âgreenâ â point out what youâre doing to create a sustainable event as well. Hopefully, by now you have a pretty solid idea of what will be valuable to sponsors, the unique opportunities your event can offer and what you expect to receive in return. With sponsorship programs, you want to create win-win partnerships that deliver value for all those involved. You have put in the hard work and research and have given some serious thought to what you have to offer sponsors and at what price. The next step is to create your event sponsorship collateral and to reach out to all of the potential leads you have identified and convince them your event is worth their investment. There are two main things you need to accomplish in an event sponsorship proposal: show a return on investment and; build the confidence of the sponsors that you can achieve what you are telling them you can.Todayâs marketers are charged with understanding data and analytics and they will ask the tough questions because their CEOs are reading Forbes and Harvard Business Review and theyâre being told data is king. If you donât help them by at least showing a preliminary estimation of the possible return on investment, they wonât present it to their boss. They donât want marketing to look like a non-revenue generating department. They want to work with an event organizer that can help them shine. And that means producing a sizeable return on the investment. The perfect personalized pitch deck to impress and snare your sponsorHowever you are presenting the sponsorship opportunities, you will be most successful if your approach is personalized to the sponsor. The days of one-size fits all are over. But donât worry, all the information you need is at your fingertips. Do your research on LinkedIn and Google. Read press releases. What is the company targeting and what do they seem most concerned with? Whatâs going on in their industry? Use this information to create a personalized approach using the data you learned and crafting a sponsorship opportunity that will meet their needs. Make sure you explain this is not your regular âGoldâ sponsorship. This is something that was created specifically for them. This document should be: designed well visually appealing professional grammatically correct, and tailored to the potential sponsorâs priorities and pain points.It will be used to âshopâ your ideas around and while you may be lucky to have received a face-to-face presentation initially, you wonât be there when a decision is made. You need this document to speak for you. Some of the areas youâll want to address include: The AudienceIn order to show them a return on investment, you need to present them with numbers on how many attend, what level of decision maker they are, whatâs your main demographic and any other insights that can better help them understand whether their ideal customer is represented in your attendees. The CompetitionIf your potential sponsorâs main competitor has been coming to your event for years, you need to tell the potential sponsor. The presence of their competition suggests that itâs a worthwhile event (companies donât come if thereâs no return). It also helps you play on the potential new sponsorâs fear of missing out. The ExposureYouâve explained who will be there, and theyâre delighted, but now they need to know how they will reach your attendees. You need to spend a lot of time on this. Many vendors have been burned by sponsorships that donât get them the attention they expected. Be specific. Walk through the scenarios. Think of potential questions they will have before they bring them up so youâre ready.Visuals The first several things you include in the proposal affect their decision making in the investment. But that data is not beneficial if they glance at it or miss key information. Thatâs why you should take the time to do at least minimal formatting. Keep in mind they will be scanning the information at this initial stage, so make it easy to read and visually appealing. If you have statistics about your attendees (and we hope you do), create graphics that make them easy to digest. Adding graphics also breaks up the visual monotony of text.You can include images of the event (or video) but try to keep them as pertinent as possible and not just generic marketing shots. Another fun addition is attendee testimonials in the form of social media posts. If the potential sponsor believes thereâs a greater chance of their message being shared on social media, this will add an avenue of additional exposure and presents them to an even wider audience. Storyline Keep this section brief, but stories are often a good introduction. One of the most effective ones you can tell in a sponsorship proposal is how your organization helped another sponsor have their most effective return to date. Set the stage by introducing the challenges they faced and how you helped, but ultimately they did the work.The reason you take this tack is that it will help them easily envision their own success. It places the head marketer in the hero seat, which is a much more intoxicating thought than merely paying money to your company. You will help them shine, and that is very appealing to most employees. Less Is MoreLess is more in the perfect sponsorship proposal. You need the items and details that will convince them to sponsor your event (or a portion of it) but you neednât place every detail of the event in what you give them. They donât have the time to dedicate to reading a complete history of the organization and the event. Instead, provide the details theyâll care about; the ones that will make them money and help them gain exposure. Thatâs all they need to make a decision.Need more sponsorship revenue? Try these ideas: Tell your event story better.Think of sponsorship as a courtship. Sure looking good on paper is important but so is romance. Putting some effort into telling your event story will help you woo larger sponsors because theyâll see youâre serious about marketing and making good use of best practices. Upsell your sponsors.If they like what youâre offering, consider approaching them with additional opportunities that provide even greater exposure. Align your mission statement with the potential headline sponsor.This is not something you can do with every sponsor but if youâre looking at a lucrative, top-tier sponsorship deal, consider rewording it to be more in-line with them. Show them the technology that will help you/them calculate ROI.Take the time to explain your reporting so they can feel confident in your method. Speak their language.Concentrate on providing them things like âcost per impression. Offer to collect additional information from attendees when they register that is super important to your sponsors.They will see you as a partner in their success and will want to invest more heavily in your event. Help sponsors target messaging to your audience by providing important data.Encourage them to personalize things and not send out giant email blasts to everyone. Again, this shows an interest in their success, which will make them want to do the same for you. Offer bundling options.Encourage them to personalize things and not send out giant email blasts to everyone. Again, this shows an interest in their success, which will make them want to do the same for you. Do you run a recurring event? If so your sponsorship approach will be a little different to a one-time event, or one that runs once or twice a year. Read on for specific strategy for regularly run events. Recurring events come with their own set of challenges when creating sponsorship packages. If the recurrence is annual or biannual, itâs easy enough but what if those events are monthly or weekly? How do you create sponsorship programs? Do you sell out the entire season as one sponsorship? Or sell them individually on a per event basis? Follow these tips for creating knockout sponsorship programs for your recurring event. Seek to Establish Partnerships Rather Than SponsorsIdeally, when it comes to weekly recurring events, you want a sponsor to sign on for the duration of your event season, assuming itâs not an ongoing activity for as long as you can imagine in the future. If thatâs the case, youâll probably need to divide the sponsorship request quarterly or have some other way of designating a set time commitment. But if your event runs for a set number of weeks or a season, looking for sponsors who will become true partners will save you the headache of the administration of switching horses midstream. Find sponsorship partners through:
Make It Easy to Say Yes to SponsorshipYou should never treat a potential sponsor with the same familiarity you do a date, and you should never say anything along the lines of, âI donât care. Whatever you want to do.â In order for them to become partners, they may need to see certain actions on your end. An event planner who will help them smooth out whatever needs they may have with local government commissions or the city for recurring events would be the type of person theyâd enjoy partnering with. While these activities donât normally fall to event planners, when it comes to recurring events sponsors, these organizations become more like business partners because a commitment to an entire season is much harder to accomplish than a one-time donation. Look at these sponsors as business partners and youâll be more successful in landing them. Try to:
Provide Helpful Event Data Throughout the Event Life CycleBefore signing them, ensure they have the data they need to understand the value of your event in the eyes of their demographic. Ideally, they will sign a contract to be part of your event for the entire season but even if they donât, itâs a good idea to continue to provide them with this critical data throughout the timeframe that youâre hosting the event. People do business with, and sponsor, those they know, like, and trust. Providing this information in near real-time will help them trust your operation. Keep communication open by:
Concentrate on Sponsor Visibility To Entice New SponsorsIf you are approaching a business for the first time, a business who has not sponsored something previously or over the long term, it may not have all of the materials it needs. Look for ways in which you might be able to help by calling in business contacts and minimizing the friction involved in them being able to support you and your event. This can also be true if youâre trying a creative new event sponsorship idea, one thatâs out of the box. The proposed sponsor may not have the necessary branding and collateral to make it advantageous for them. Look for ways you can help them obtain these things at a reasonable price.
Be Honest About Your Recurring Event Audience ProfileIs your recurring event the type that draws a new crowd each week or is it the same old group each time? This will be important to sponsors. Sponsors who sell a product or service that has a long sales cycle may enjoy having the same crowd visit each week because they can begin to build a following and reach out. Sponsors who are looking to create brand recognition may also enjoy the same group. However, some sponsors will shy away from weekly recurring events because it is the same old group of attendees. These sponsors will often be businesses who do not deal with repeat business. Once theyâve satisfied the need of the consumer, they wonât get their business in the future. Be honest about your crowd so your sponsors are not under any delusion about attendees. Itâs better to have someone bail in the planning stages than mid-way through your sponsorship agreement. Ideas on how to see your audience from the sponsor perspective:
Study the Event CalendarWhen you are approaching sponsors for recurring events and hoping for a seasonal or multi-week commitment, youâll be well served to check the local event calendar. What else is going on during the time you are hosting your events? Are the sponsors you are approaching involved in any of these other events? Does it preclude them from participating in yours? If it does, you donât need to walk away before even approaching them. Instead, come to the meeting with ideas for them on how they could do both, perhaps a sponsorship that didnât require any manpower or one that required very little. Being prepared for this by doing your homework means youâre more apt to walk away with some sort of sponsorship deal. Examine and understand:
Go for the Long-term Sponsorship CommitmentLong-term costs will be lower if you can secure sponsorship commitment for the full event duration. If not, try to secure the largest time possible such as a month or six week commitment. The added security is a huge benefit to your event and will save you money in printing, showcasing the sponsors, and other administrative and marketing concerns. Make it:
Now that you know what sponsors want, how to make them happy, and how it should be a symbiotic relationship that benefits everyone, here are 50 event sponsorship ideas to get you started: Use Lounges and Charging Stations to Convey Sponsor MessagingGive your sponsors the option to sponsor a lounge or charging station. This will put their branding and messaging front and center whilst providing a convenient service for attendees. Seize the Sponsorship Opportunities in TravelThere are several travel-related sponsorship opportunities available to events. These include airport pick-ups and transfers, hotel pick-ups and transportation to and from external events. In-Kind SponsorshipEvent sponsorship doesnât always have to be cold, hard cash. If your prospective sponsor has a product or service, like AV or an event app, that could be donated in lieu of cash, this can help you save costs or entirely cover the cost of key elements of your event. Sponsors may also provide volunteer event staff to help with event management and logistics. Partner With Sponsors to Personalize the Attendee Hotel ExperienceWork with sponsors to make attendees feel welcome when they get to their hotel room by leaving a helpful welcome package or gift. Sponsored Live StreamingLive streaming offers events to reach a much wider audience. This opportunity could easily be extended to sponsors with branded feeds. Sell Space on Your Website for AdvertisingAdd ads and/or banners to your event website. Since real estate is at a premium here, you may need to offer rotating banners to accommodate more sponsors or charge for the exclusivity. Cater for Busy People With Meals to GoProvide meals or snacks to go in sponsored goodie bags for those attendees who just canât seem to make it to meal time. Sponsored WellnessHealth and wellness areas and massage bars can be an opportunity to associate brand messaging with a positive, feel-good attendee experience. Use Sponsored Cabanas for a Party VibeCabanas can be a great sponsorship opportunity if your event is held at a resort. These also make great places for meetings and creative sessions. Reach Peckish Attendees Sponsored SnacksA sponsored snack service is a great way to give attendees instant gratification whilst delivering sponsorship messaging. Use Mini-Events to Attract SponsorsMini-events like after-parties and dance parties can create several sponsorship opportunities. As well as sponsored bars and signage, you could use decor that matches sponsor branding to increase the overall presence. Other sponsorship opportunities at these mini-events could include a sponsored cocktail hour or food and drink tasting. Alternatively, you could invite the sponsor to sponsor the whole affair and invite an exclusive crowd of qualified leads. Feature New Tech to Create Novel Engagement OpportunitiesAugmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology are still relatively new and exciting at events. Let your sponsor create an engaging AR or VR experience to wow your attendees and create a lasting impression. Projection mapping isnât new, but itâs also not widely used and offers a lot of novelty. Allow your sponsors to turn a mundane surface into an animated scene to delight attendees. Sponsored City ToursIf youâre looking for bleisure (business/leisure) activities to give your attendees a better experience, sponsored city tours can be a nice relaxing and entertaining departure from a brain-taxing event. Highlight Sponsors With Branded Hotel Key CardsWork with hotels to seek out branding and sponsorship opportunities. Simple things like branded key cards can be an easy way to extend sponsor messaging beyond the event plenary sessions. Golf Tournament Sponsorship OpportunitiesIf youâre running a golf tournament, invite your prospects to sponsor a hole or maybe a drinks oasis somewhere on the course. You could also consider sponsored golf carts. Sponsored WayfindingEvent attendees rely on signage and staff to make their way to events. Wayfinding is a major problem at events, but it can also be a sponsorship revenue goldmine. The idea is youâd place either staff in branded clothes or branded signage at vital wayfinding spots to help attendees with direction. Even better, you can do the two; position branded signage and staff at wayfinding points to the event. This is going to be memorable as attendees would inevitably see the sponsorâs message and branding as they use these wayfinding sources. Create Sponsor-Branded Photo Opportunities and Props for AttendeesAttendees enjoy photo booths and sponsors can benefit from this interest. Images from these photo booths are shared on social media. Sponsors can benefit from these activities by branding the photos and booth experiences that are shared on social media. You can also offer sponsor-themed professional headshots service to interested attendees. Like other photo opportunities, attendees can share these professional headshots on social media to draw attention to the event. You may decide to capitalize on this photo experiences by including props. The bigger you make this part of your event sponsorship, the better. Use Brand Dollars to Pay for Star SpeakersSponsored keynotes are a great way to put your sponsorâs message front and center at your event and the revenue could help to pay for celebrity speakers. Use Branded Badges for Increased Sponsor PresenceBranded badges and lanyards can be a great way to put sponsor branding right in front of your attendees. Sponsored Privacy CapsulesPrivacy capsules are fully enclosed booths for attendees to make phone calls and hold meetings. They can quickly become useful for encouraging networking at your event when used for meetings. These capsules range from phone-booth-sized, one-user spaces to larger four-user capsules. Privacy capsules are usually made of glass and fitted with power sources and WiFi, so you can put your sponsorsâ branding on these booths. Partner with Sponsors on Rental Equipment and Your Mobile Event AppMost event apps welcome brand sponsors. If you have a big event, your sponsor revenue may completely cover your app costs. Furthermore, technology rentals like AV equipment and laptops could be subsidized by sponsors. Itâs always worth a shot for any aspect of an event that can pay for itself. Sponsored White Papers, Research and Attendee SurveySurveys help planners justify their event ROI, discover new opportunities, and uncover attendee sentiments. But sponsors can benefit from these studies too. Interested sponsors may insert their questions into organizersâ surveys, share data with organizers, or even sponsor entire studies. In exchange, participating event attendees would get sponsored white papers. This arrangement gives sponsors potential opt-in access to meaningful data and allows them to package some value for the attendee in return. Sponsored Exercises and ActivitiesTeam-building exercises and activities are a great opportunity to associate a sponsor with a positive attendee experience. Let Sponsors Bring Playtime to Your EventLet your sponsors bring some fun and games to your event with mini-sporting-events like kickball tournaments. Official <Insert Industry Here> Sponsor of Your EventGive your sponsorâs status a boost by making them the official sponsor for their particular industry. Pamper Attendees With Sponsored Care PackagesSponsored body care packages are a great way to make attendees feel pampered and loved. Thatâs a great feeling to have associated with a brand. Long Live the Classic Swag BagSwag bags are a classic sponsorship opportunity, and theyâre still one of the greatest too. Alternatively, a virtual swag bag lets sponsors monitor the interest in their deals more scientifically. Event attendees want to have memorable experiences from events. While organizers should use content, gamification, personalized messaging, and other forms of memorable attendee engagement tactics, a swag bag can be a tangible, memorable experience. In the video here, youâll find ten highly brandable and useful swag bag ideas that your sponsors and attendees will like. You may consider renting a keychain engraving station or custom t-shirt printer. Customized swag that also carries sponsor branding is a great way to get exposure. Water is Essential and Ripe for SponsorshipMake sure your bottled water is sponsored. Events go through a lot of bottled water so it would be silly not to exploit the opportunity. Having bottles in the hotel room is an additional touch that goes a long way. Make Your Sponsor a Source for Information and HelpConsider a sponsored concierge desk or chatbot to help provide your attendees with useful information. Sponsored Returnable Power PacksThis is a simple sponsorship idea thatâs also helpful for keeping attendees engaged during the event. Event attendees need their phones and other mobile devices to receive push notifications, interact with the eventâs content, and more. Hence, the need for mobile power packs. Organizers can arrange for sponsored portable power packs that attendees can borrow with a returnable security deposit. Sponsors can get their brands in the hands of event attendees while getting joy from solving a critical problem. This idea has been used successfully at the European Pirate Summit. Take Advantage of Branded Rooms or StagesMake your sponsor literally center stage by branding the stage or room with their name and running videos and images in any downtime between presentations. Engage Attendees with Sponsored Projection MappingProjection mapping, also known as spatial augmented reality, allows you to transform a 3D object into a visually stimulating lightshow to engage your event attendees. According to 39% of planners, engaging attendees is the most crucial element of planning live experiences, so this technology can help you deliver engaging and memorable brand experiences. Sponsored No WiFi ZoneA branded no WiFi zone is great for fostering event networking without the distractions of mobile gadgets and other connected devices. But it doesnât stop at networking. With fewer distractions from internet connected gadgets, attendees at the no WiFi zone must pay attention to their environment. So your sponsorâs branding gets the attention it deserves. KitKat ran a popular campaign with the no-WiFi-zone idea. Sponsored Parking Spaces and Priority Access to VenueOffer sponsors the opportunity to make a first impression as visitors arrive at an event. Visitors with VIP tickets may be given priority access via a sponsor branded gate and VIP area. More so, the general parking area could be fully sponsor-branded too. So as guests arrive, they instantly interact with the sponsorâs brand. Sponsored Event Push NotificationsOrganizers will send push notifications to attendees during their events. These push notifications could be branded by a sponsor. This arrangement could give sponsors maximum exposure as attendees interact with these notifications. Sponsored Self-Check-In ExperiencesHaving designated self-check-in areas fitted with laptops, tablets, or kiosks can provide sponsors with valuable, intimate exposure to attendees. Self-check-in kiosks can provide sleek, personalized experiences that stick with attendees long after the event is over. Self-check-in can provide the opportunity for sponsors to deliver personalized messages to each attendee. Provide Sponsored DemonstrationsSponsored demonstrations are a great way for sponsors to engage with attendees and potential customers on the trade show floor. Brand Experiences at Vending Machines and Food StallsEvent attendees will need to buy food and beverages during breaks. Sponsors can take advantage of these designated food stalls in many ways: Brand the seats and tables at these food stalls Brand the walls Hold entertaining attractions on the corners of these spaces Share brand messaging on the food stall displaysFurthermore, sponsor-branded vending machines can help attendees engage with a brand. You can extend this idea beyond branding the body of the machines. Sponsors may also engage attendees with their brand messages on vending machine displays. Branded Restrooms, Waste Management, and Waste Disposal ContainersYou wouldnât think a sponsor would want to be associated with the eventâs garbage or lavatories, but a clever turn of phrase can go a long way, especially in a spot everyone has to visit at one point or another. Brand garbage bins, recycling bins, and the eventâs restroom mirrors, walls, and doors. If youâre having an open air event, then you may benefit from sponsor-branded portable toilets too. Your sponsor may also put its brand colors, logos, and messaging on the portable toilets. Provide a Different Viewpoint With a Sponsored DroneDrones give events an opportunity to provide branded live streamed video content in new and exciting ways. Get Crafty With Your SponsorsConsider providing a sponsored craft area to help attendees unwind whilst keeping them fully engaged with the event. Get Fit With <Sponsor Name>Fitness sessions, workout classes and 5ks are becoming popular with attendees, running alongside events. Get sponsors involved with the event fitness movement. Establish Lasting Legacies with Sponsored Tree PlantingSponsors want exposures that put them in a positive light and have ongoing value for them. Tree planting can be a great way to achieve these goals. Supposing your local laws allow it, you can organize a tree planting session with your attendees participating. You want to have branded signage of each participating sponsor right beside the trees. Feature them in a video recording of the event and posted it on your site and social media outlets, including YouTube. Use Creative Logo Placement to Drive Sponsorship ValueA sponsorsâ logos on the backdrop of a panel discussion is good, but you can push for great by getting creative. Logos from ice: CES Unveiled used this logo idea to catch its attendeesâ attention. Logos in the Pool: If your event venue has a pool place you may consider using the pool to draw attention to your sponsorsâ logos. Hereâs one example. Red carpet backdrops: Instead of just sponsorsâ logos, you can explore displaying their products on branded showcases right on the red carpet. Hereâs an example. And hereâs another example. Even walkways and doorways: Attendees will use walkways and doorways often throughout the event; you can use these highly trafficked parts of the venue to catch their attention for your sponsors. Hereâs an example from National Geographic. Sponsored Transport For Large Floor AreasIf your event covers a large area of floor space, consider using sponsored golf carts or Segways to help attendees get about. Exclusive Benefits for Attendees Provided by SponsorsTo add that extra bit of polish to your attendeeâs experience, consider sponsored health club or spa access. Get Sponsor Help With WiFiWiFi is often a problem for events. If your venue allows it, consider sponsorship in kind from a WiFi service provider. Another option is to use a white label WiFi service that can be sponsor branded. Sponsors Can Help You Give BackIf youâre giving back at your event, your sponsor may want to donate time or resources as part of the community. Sponsored Networking Activities and ExperiencesMost event attendees are there for the networking value they can get from the exposure. Your sponsors can seize this opportunity to deliver lasting impressions through sponsored networking activities and experiences. Many apps will allow you to place sponsored banner ads below attendee listings or in-app chat services. But sponsor opportunities go far beyond apps. Since networking is such a pivotal part of an event, you can use tons of networking ideas from those weâve shared to drive sponsorship revenue. Branded Seats, Benches, and Tops at Trade ShowsTrade shows can be pretty intense with a lot to see and experience and attendees going from booth to booth. But trade show attendees eventually sit down. They stop between booths to take notes or talk with fellow attendees. Your sponsor can get on those seats your attendees will be using. The benches and chairs can be branded with the sponsorâs products or messaging. Hereâs an example from a MASCC event. Hereâs another example. Get Sponsor Help With Social Media AdvertisingYour eventâs social media advertising could be a great opportunity for your sponsors to get more exposure. Have Your Sponsors Provide Necessary ReliefGet your sponsors to provide a bit of comfort with VIP toilets. Attendees love this idea, particularly for music festivals and other outdoor events. There is nothing like an extra fancy toilet unit compared to a plastic portaloo. Sponsored Lockers for Attendee UseLockers, or a place to stash things safely on the exhibit floor are handy things for attendees carrying a lot of baggage or event swag. They also make a good opportunity for sponsorship. Offer Extended Sponsorship Opportunities Post-EventOne of the benefits of a modern event is that you are not limited by distance. You can continue connecting with your attendees online via your forums, closed memberships, and email lists. Luckily, you can bring sponsors along. Interested sponsors can continue to feature in your email list messages, forums, breakfast meetings, post-event surveys, meetups, discussion groups, and other ongoing attendee-facing channels. Make Video Interviews and Content Marketing Part of the Sponsorship PackageSXSW writes articles about the innovative things their top sponsors are doing and what visitors can expect to see from them. Donât forget to promote them on your social media channels. Make Use of Movement Space With SponsorshipStair or elevator wraps (placing branding on the risers of the stairs) are an easy way to put a sponsor message in front of attendees in otherwise unusable areas. Of course, this is impossible to measure, but it is a nice to have, as part of a wider package. Put Your Sponsorâs Name in LightsElectronic signage at the event can be used to convey sponsor messaging in a highly-visual way. Sponsorship Presence at the AirportGet your sponsor to provide a welcome banner at the airport. The banner could convey information to help your attendees get to the event. Signature Cocktails are a Fun Sponsorship OpportunityAdd a bit of glamor to your event with signature cocktails wearing the name of your sponsors. Centerpieces are Easily BrandedCenterpieces are a classic branding opportunity. Consider extending the theme to your event decor for more impact. Sponsored Backdrops for Shareable MomentsSponsored photo backdrops are a surefire way to reach a wider audience through attendee social media channels. Donât Forget About The Floor â One of Your Biggest Sponsorship OpportunitiesDonât forget about the floor⊠itâs everywhere at your event. Consider using brand logos or messaging on the carpet or flooring. Engage Attendees Directly With Sponsors Through GamificationQR-code games and scavenger hunts are a great way to engage attendees whilst capturing useful data. Why not also take the opportunity to make some sponsorship revenue. We know that event sponsorship raises brand awareness for both the event and sponsors and event planners have been utilizing sponsorship to make bigger events a reality for years. We take a look at some of the most successful event sponsorship examples, identifying partnerships and long standing relationships that brands have had with events for powerful and lasting impact. By learning about magical event partnerships and some of the most long-standing sponsorship agreements, and following the tactics in this post, we hope that some of their good fortunes will rub off onto your own event projects. Mastercard at the brit awardsThe Brit awards have just ended this year and if you arenât aware itâs a UK annual event to celebrate British pop music and artists. The sponsors of the event are Mastercard, who are in their 20th year of being the headline sponsors of the awards, showcasing the long-term partnership that has been mutually beneficial for two decades. This yearâs event saw the tagline âLet Music Start Something Pricelessâ which is a key branding phrase for Mastercard to integrate showing the uniqueness of their sponsorship deal. The signature circles of their logo were also incorporated into the Brit Awardsâ branding at the venue, invitations, online presence and on social media. Each year Mastercard use brand activations to create an impact for attendees and 2017 saw a fun installment where they converted a red phone box, a popular British icon, into a âlistening boothâ that popped up and traveled in the lead up to the event. This allowed the public to listen in to some of the nomineeâs music undistracted while being branded and designed specifically for the event. Coca-colaâs long-standing olympic partnershipWhen you consider long-standing partnerships and sponsors, you canât miss the iconic Coca-Cola and the Olympics relationship. The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics marked the 90th year for this partnership, as Coca-Cola has been sponsoring the games since 1928. There have been many examples of unique sponsorship opportunities over the years and as the official non-alcoholic beverage of the Olympics their product placement is off the charts, being readily available to staff, attendees and athletes (not much different from their original sponsorship offering 90 years ago). During their first sponsorship at the Olympics in 1928, it took several drinks crates and had official rights to sell them to spectators but aside from a few banners, that was about all. Luckily, event sponsorship has evolved since then. This year, for example, the âCoca-Colaâ branded truck transported prominent athletes including South Korean figure skaters on the torch route, with large branding and their recognizable colors to showcase the torch on its journey to open the games in front of fans, front and center in the action. They have also been cleverly integrated into the Olympic event app by creating incentives and prizes allowing you to scan the barcode of their products to win. At Rio 2016, they also created an immersive teen lounge in the heart of Rio to appeal to the younger demographic while encouraging them to get involved in the spirit of the Olympics. With each event, Coca-Cola creates new and interesting ways to use their sponsorship opportunity to their advantage, whether itâs the mini events and pop-ups they create or the original recorded song they created. Plus, as theyâve signed an extended sponsorship agreement, they will continue to be supporting the games until at least 2020. Bell canada at the toronto international film festivalAn excellent example of how sponsorships can be lasting, even when the event is over. Bell Canada has been the lead sponsor for TIFF since 1995. This lengthy relationship goes hand in hand and as an online media company, they have a variety of platforms and channels they utilize for marketing, especially in the run-up to this annual event. Bell take branding and signage to the next level with Bell Lightbox, which is the venue and now the permanent home to TIFF. The first 5 floors become the epicenter of the event each year. The building hosts a Blue Room Memberâs Lounge which creates an exclusive area during the annual film festival and Bell have offered experiences each year. 2012 was particularly notable as Bell held a cinematic art exhibition with live street artists that also allowed them to integrate their products alongside the festival. Large touchscreens that responded to gestures had access to films and information being screened, specifically focusing on classical Canadian features and giving attendees the opportunity to focus on their favorites in more depth. Gopro and red bull extreme events partnershipThis sponsor partnership blurs the lines between who is actually sponsoring whom because they work so interdependently. Red Bull has been venturing into its lifestyle brand by hosting music and sporting events and as they focus on showcasing extreme sports and stunts, GoPro aim to capture them in detailed ways, having just solidified a sponsored partner deal. Both brand websites promote each other with both companies retaining footage rights so that they can share it with a demographic that are eerily similar and branding remains consistent throughout as they both share the spotlight. So far, over 1,800 of Red Bull (or Sponsored Red Bull) events have used GoPro cameras to capture the best footage to showcase. A great example of this is the Red Bull Stratos jump that saw Felix Baumgartner break records (as well as the speed of sound) by parachuting out of a floating helium balloon! Donned entirely in Red Bull branded apparel in his suit, watched by 8 million viewers, he had 5 GoPro cameras strapped to him to capture footage of the descent and history in the making. This is next level sponsorship and a beautiful partnership that is breaking barriers by successfully coexisting in the same event niche, bringing extreme sporting events greater coverage and powerful sponsorship opportunities for both sides. Sunglass hutâs three year deal for london fashion weekAs a fashion accessory provider, it makes sense that Sunglass Hut would be involved in LFW. Having signed a 3-year sponsorship deal to become the principal sponsor, the opportunities have been phenomenal and they have definitely utilized them, opting for different themes and ideas each year. During the event, the primary focus is on brand activation, often using influencers to drive sales and increase awareness of their product during this lengthy, high profile event. They, of course, use the traditional methods such as sponsored step and repeats at the designer entrances to ensure paparazzi photos capture their name alongside the high-profile guests. But they also offer other options, like in 2015 when they set up a photo booth to encourage customers to capture themselves trying on their products, promoting the event hashtag #driveintofashion. At each event, models are provided with swag to promote if they choose and just being seen with their label can boost ROI for these complimentary products which see customers wanting what is being showcased by runway models. In 2016, Sunglass Hut also created a pop-up shop in the center of fashion week in Brewer Street to engage directly with their demographic, answer questions and promote new ranges. They also specifically host competitions in these locations to drive hype and involve the winner by having a premium experience and tickets to the designer show, a swag bag and in previous cases a one-on-one with prominent fashion figures like Lola Chatterton. These arenât the only brands making a name for themselves using event sponsorship, here are 5 more to watch out for: Combining tech and music, hp at coachellaItâs a strange combination, but HP had one of the largest sponsorship presences at Coachella last year that went over well with attendees. It decided to use the popular music festival to showcase its new range of laptops, which are focused on an artistic demographic. Their tent lured attendees with air-conditioning and promises of creativity but had interactive activities that allowed you to use the new products to design and print a free bandana to take home. This innovative activity stands out, in a good way, in this environment and also offered a memento to raise awareness throughout the event. Thatâs not all, as the official technological sponsors of the event, HP, and Obscura Digital combined to create a large projection dome, similar to a planetarium, to create a comfortable art installation showcasing a digital show for wow factor. This interactive experience was specifically designed so HP could target their favored younger demographic Mercedes at the masters tournamentBig tournaments like the Masters need bigger sponsorship, and when youâre looking at $6million+ commitment, it better be worth it. Having started its partnership in 2008, Mercedes-Benz took the leap to become a global sponsor in 2014, after seeing great results. Not only do players (who are televised) wear the branding and logos on their apparel while playing, Mercedes also provide transportation at the event as well targeting a demographic of attendees that can afford their products. While TV advertising is limited (4 minutes shared across sponsors) the exclusivity afforded in this tournament boosts the awareness as The Masters only allows 5 sponsorship slots. Ten-x launch at sxsw interactiveAs major sponsors of SXSW in 2016, Ten-X brought it all to the event to provide as many offerings as they could to this popular event. The key elements that they used included a hologram booth that allowed you to create yourself into a hologram and then take virtual real estate tours of properties. They also had an outdoor selfie station and DJ booth which enticed attendees to come and speak to a member of their team to discuss their offerings as well as a networking âliving roomâ complete with charging stations. If that wasnât enough they used their expertise to appeal to guests by not only having a sponsored panel but also a career booth where attendees could come and talk to professionals in the real estate industry. Delta airlines takes on pridePride events are supportive of the LGBTQ community and held as a show of solidarity, so when Delta Airlines became an official sponsor they networked a variety of events throughout the US all at once. From the Boston Pride Festival to the NYC Heritage of Pride, their sponsorship had expanding reach due to the network of these events. It highlighted its own inclusion within its organization and culture of equality to improve customer relationships. It used sponsorship opportunities by encouraging branded staff to be part of the parades, start their own local initiatives to support their communities and fly flags, have branded apparel and large red signage balloons at the event themselves. Nikeâs basketball ambassadorsUsing strategic partnerships, Nike has secured an 11-year sponsorship deal with FIBA, the world body for basketball for both men and women. This allows them not only apparel branding, courtside branding and advertising but also a selection of top players to involve as ambassadors and influencers for the brand. It allows them to be a part of the world cup basketball events, as well as the qualifiers and shows a long-standing commitment to male and female sport. IN CONCLUSIONSuccessful event sponsorship packages contain something for everyone, you, your attendees, and your sponsors. They enhance the attendee experience and bring them value, while it allows you to do more with less. Your sponsors will have their specific needs met as well as the best packages take into account their business goals and key performance indicators. For the most lucrative packages for all stakeholders, you want to create something enticing that suits everyoneâs needs. This is not a time to offer the same thing to everyone. Instead, get to know your potential sponsors and look for ways to partner with them in order to make both of your dreams come true. Now onto you: Do you have a tip to make this page better? Send an email to . Do you have more tips and advice to add about how to get more event sponsors signed up? Comment below. Do you have a colleague who may benefit from reading this page? Share it with them.What are sponsor opportunities?Sponsorship opportunities allow you to increase your brand awareness, attract new clients and enhance your business relationships with current customers. As an IEDC sponsor, you will earn the recognition of your peers for your commitment to and leadership in the economic development community.
What are the 4 types of sponsorship?4 Types of Event Sponsorships That Bring Value. Financial Event Sponsorship. Financial, or sometimes referred to as cash sponsors, continue to be the leading type of event sponsorship. ... . In-Kind Sponsorship. ... . Media Event Sponsorship. ... . Promotional Partners.. What does it mean to have sponsorship for a large event?đ§ What does event sponsorship mean? Sponsorship of events is one of the most popular and effective forms of sponsorship. In a nutshell, it is a type of advertisement, where influential people and companies seize the opportunity to raise their brand awareness through events in exchange for financial support.
What are the 3 types of sponsorship in sport?The types of sponsorship in sports are classified into four categories: individual sponsorship, team sponsorship, association sponsorship and event sponsorship.
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