Before you dive in, if you are interested in event sponsorship, check out these titles in our “sponsorship for events” series:
- How to Find Corporate Sponsorship for an Event
- How to Ask for Sponsorship for an Event
- The Six Step Event Sponsorship Checklist
- 5 Things to Include in Your Event Sponsorship Proposal
- How to Measure Event Sponsorship ROI
- Why Sponsorship is Important for Events: Using Sponsorship to Make Events Awesome
- Sponsorship During Times of Crisis: Cancelled Events, Postponing and Refunds
- Why Sponsorship Is Important for Events: Using Sponsorship to Make Events Awesome!
- How to Display Sponsors at an Event (That People Will Actually See)
- How to get Media Sponsorship for an Event: A Practical Guide
Event sponsorship often seems like one of those unobtainable, too good to be true options. It’s hard to imagine a company would be willing to provide a large chunk of the funding needed to run your event. We need to change the way we think about sponsorship, from that of begging for money to offering a real partnership opportunity and charging fair market value for the opportunity.
When you can prove you offer value to them such as increased brand exposure with their ideal target audience, you’d be surprised how many major corporations are ready to loosen their purse strings. Sponsorships offer brands the chance to get in on some quality experiential marketing, not to mention some pretty impressive post-event data that can help in their marketing efforts.
The problem is, finding the right sponsor is not easy, especially for event planners who have never considered sponsorship in the first place. However, nothing provides you with better optics or backing then a partnership with the right sponsor. Seeking sponsorship doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Instead, once you understand what you need to know about event sponsorship you can master the process and find yourself sitting pretty for your next big event. Here’s everything you need to know about event sponsorship.
Why Companies Seek Event Sponsorship Opportunities
If you don’t see the value in event sponsorship yourself, you’ll be hard-pressed to convince a major brand to invest in your event. Consider this: your event will bring a large group of people sharing many things in common to one place. You are creating a captive audience with an ideal target for many different products and services. These products and services are looking for ways to spread their reach. You are the one with the opportunity here, which means with the right strategy you will attract major partners.
Of course, not every event will be major brand-worthy. However, across many areas from charitable events, to local sports teams and private sector associations to public community events, with the right audience, you can find sponsorship opportunities, big and small. If you learn how to leverage your community, you can open yourself up for a wider selection of ideal partnerships.
The benefits of event sponsorship are valuable for four reasons:
Cashflow:
With a few good partners you can help fund your event. Not only will you have a highly viable event, but also be able to sell tickets at a more reasonable rate. This, in turn, will attract more guests, which will increase your ability to attract better sponsors at your next event. You won’t just break even, but also become profitable. This goes for both not-for-profit and for-profit events.
Name Brand Credibility:
People are far more likely to attend events with recognizable sponsors as these brands offer instant credibility. An event presented by a company like Coca-Cola will attract more people than a non-sponsored event, regardless of the content. People won’t be worried about spending money, because they already trust the event will give them what they want. Of course, out of the gate, a major sponsorship like Coke is unlikely. However, you will find respected brands that will resonate with your attendees.
To Think Big, Sometimes You Have to Think…Small:
Don’t underestimate the power of smaller local businesses. Especially for community events, working with companies that can bring more resources to the event come in handy. They might not be able to fund you financially, but instead contribute something of value such as a venue, food, activities, or even keynote speakers. All of these things add to the value of your event which in turn attracts more attendees.
Shared Publicity:
When working with partners you also get additional publicity from their marketing efforts. In most cases, sponsors will want to get the word out to their followers that something exciting is happening that they are a part of. Whether it’s social media, radio ads, digital marketing efforts or even word of mouth, you will get more exposure pre, during and post-event. This raises awareness to attract more people this year, and for future events.
So how do you find the right sponsors to support you in these four areas? Planning and strategy.
How to Choose Targets for Your Event Sponsors
Finding sponsors probably seems like the greatest hurdle. However, you will be surprised how many companies are happy to participate in events that will get them in front of their target audience. Your only challenge is to make sure you are going after the most logical partners and knowing how to present yourself as the answer to their marketing prayers.
Here are the basics of finding event sponsors:
Know the Strengths and Purpose of Your Event
You can’t convince a sponsor you are the right choice for them unless you understand what your event is all about. Prepare a sponsorship prospectus that explains:
- The vision for your event and what you plan to achieve
- Who will be attending your event
- What you are doing to make your event stand out from similar events
- The assets of your event including keynote speakers, special presentations, other attractive sponsors that might attract partners, a special location you might have chosen, points that will attract more traffic to your event, etc.
It won’t be enough to make a few bullet points. Do your research and use your own data to show the details that will prove they have something to gain by participating. With this list you are further ahead to getting your event sponsorship proposal written and will also be able to get a better picture of what kind of sponsors you want to approach.
Target Logical Partners
Make sure you are targeting logical partners that align with your brand and your event. For example, if it is health-focused you don’t want to have a donut franchise or hamburger chain behind you. Instead, it makes more sense to look at a health food store, water company or athletic wear brand. You want a good fit so people who attend the event don’t get confused, or worse angry when they see you partnering with companies they don’t feel comfortable supporting.
It always boils down to your audience, and who cares about your brand. Who do you interact with through your e-mail lists and social media? Which companies want to connect with that group? How does your event offer them the opportunity to interact with that group? Who do your competitors partner with? Who is the competition for your competitors’ sponsors? All these questions will help you create an excellent list of prospects.
Consider the Types of Partnerships Available to You
The types of partnerships can include:
- Media sponsors: Media sponsors offer the backing you need for widespread publicity. They invest in media coverage whether it is a major newspaper or local paper, TV commercials or online campaigns. They offer this benefit in exchange for major positioning with your event such as a major booth, their name appearing as the main sponsor on all ads and event marketing materials, and other things they might request such as a keynote speaker.
- Financial sponsors: A certain amount of money is contributed to your event in exchange for any number of benefits for the sponsor including shared exposure in ads, booths, promotions, etc.
- In-kind sponsors: This sponsor will donate products and services which can come in handy depending on what they offer. From water to hotel rooms and free samples to t-shirts, you can work with logical in-kind sponsors that will bring more value to your attendees.
- Promotional partners: These partnerships leverage the celebrity of an actual public figure to bring credibility to your event. Their fans and followers will see their names and want to attend your event to see them, hear them speak, etc.
Depending on your budget, you can approach each type of sponsor to assist with different areas of your event. For example, a financial sponsor might help pay for a major promotional partner.
Exclusivity
Also, remain open to the idea of exclusivity for certain aspects of your event. This can bring in a lot more money, as well as major corporate sponsors that add credibility to your event. Exclusivity can apply to one area of the event, or even be an exclusive single partner for the entire event.
Creating a Sponsorship Proposal
Once you have a list of who you want to approach for your sponsorship opportunity, you can start preparing your event sponsorship proposal. Follow these steps:
Sponsorship Packages
You will have different levels of participation from different sponsors. Because of this, you want to provide different levels or packages that allow sponsors to choose how much they want to invest for varying levels of exposure. Your packages will list your assets and inventory.
The simplest approach is to create levels such as Gold, Silver and Bronze. But it is also the most obvious and least appealing set up. Instead list your packages based on what your sponsors gain such as:
- Brand building
- Product placement
- Sampling
- Contests
- Growing their database
- Thought leadership
This tells sponsors at a glance what they get for their investment. Simple points can be used to tell them how each package helps them meet their goals. The key is reminding them why they should sponsor your event. With each package, list what they gain such as:
- Increasing social media impressions to elevate their social media presence.
- Collecting customer leads with the right demographic to grow their sales pipeline and increase prospective deals.
- Gaining access to a specific demographic through experiential participation at your event.
- If you show them the why, they will be more inclined to choose the package that suits their needs and budget, while providing you with the financial support and optics that improve the positioning of your event.
Your sponsorship packages should list everything you have to sell, but then take it to the next level. Research what other successful, like-minded events have accomplished and then do that and more. This will raise the value of your event in the eyes of potential sponsors and can also provide valuable proof your event will help them achieve their own goals and initiatives.
Assigning the Cost for Sponsorship Packages
Knowing what to charge for the assets in your sponsorship proposal is as important as the proposal itself. If you don’t charge enough, the purpose of your sponsors is lost. Charge too much and sponsors will fail to see the value in partnering with your event.
Look at your list of sponsorship opportunities and then assign a dollar value. If you aren’t sure what to charge, look at what other fees are being charged for marketing opportunities. This can help you calculate a dollar value. Some examples would be:
- Ads in trade magazines
- Google Adwords
- Local paper ads
- Banner ads
Look at how much exposure, views, readers, etc. each marketing opportunity offers and do the math to find out how much the target audience is worth. You can then use this based on the estimated number of people you expect and the exposure each of your assets and inventory offers for your sponsorship packages. How much to charge sponsors for an event requires careful attention to detail. You want to list prices that show value, offer support for the value it will bring to sponsors and list benefits each level of sponsorship brings for sponsors.
How To Ask For Event Sponsorship: Reach the Right Contact
All the work you put into your event sponsorship proposal won’t be worth a hill of beans if you don’t get it in front of the right person. You can target people with titles that make sense, but every company has their own special titles and buzz words. Look at corporate sites or search on LinkedIn for people with titles that include:
- Brand
- Marketing
- Sponsorship
- Business Development
- Communications
- Product development
- Sales
When you are uncertain, add a little line in your mail, or conversation requesting that should you have reached the wrong person, is it possible they please provide you with the best contact within the company. Most people will be happy to oblige.
Personalize Each Proposal
Once you get to talk to the right person, ask them some questions so you can personalize the proposal you send them. Every sponsor will have their own marketing goals and you want to make sure you show them you can help them meet those goals. Some questions to ask:
- Who is your target audience?
- How do you normally engage in sponsorship?
- What does your target market value?
- What can you tell me about your sales goals for the coming year?
- What would you consider to be the most important elements of a sponsorship proposal?
- You can then fine-tune and customize your proposal before setting up a meeting to present your proposal to them.
What’s in a Sponsorship Proposal?
Your proposal should consist of no more than five or six pages and include:
- Title Page/Letter: Simple cover page that will include your logo, the event name (avoid the words sponsorship package or proposal) and your event tagline.
- Audience/Target Overview: Let them know who will be attending and why it is ideal for them.
- The Opportunity: Why should they participate? This page should concisely cover the following using concise paragraphs for each point:
- Your cause, event or brand using plain and simple terms to get the message across.
- Talk about the opportunity, program or event.
- Menu of opportunities: You want to present your menu of opportunities, without actually saying it is a menu or the levels of sponsorship you offer. Instead, focus on the opportunities using statements such as “Engage Leaders in Industry X” or “Reach out to People of a Certain Age or Geography” or “Come and Meet X Sector.” State your philosophy about working with sponsors and then offer suggestions of how they can participate. List all your assets and opportunities.
- Sample Activations: As discussed above, list your ideas to help bring your audience and sponsor closer together. Make sure they see how you help them achieve their goals using the various options available such as branding, sampling, attendee experience and contests. This is a conversation starter to encourage them to think of ways they can become part of your event.
- The Contact Page: Use a clear call to action such as “we want to hear from you!” This is where you encourage sponsors to get in touch, tell you what’s missing and tell you what they want to add or change. You want them to reach out, so a form with check boxes and modes of payment is not required. Instead, provide your contact information to get them to continue the conversation so you can sell the sponsorship on the best mutual terms.
Follow Up
Give your sponsors a few days to absorb the proposal before reaching out again. Following up is par for the course and they will expect to hear from you. Ask them how they feel about your request and if there are any thoughts or questions. Ask if they can offer advice on how you can improve your offering to better meet their needs. Don’t be afraid to reach out a few times to discuss the proposal and find out more about how they are feeling.
Working for Sponsors: Brand Activation & ROI
Getting the money from your sponsors is just the beginning. You have made a commitment to help your sponsors meet certain goals, based on the services you offered them. You need to ensure you can deliver results for your sponsors which means tracking how you get their sponsorship into action and then showing them some numbers that show they did get what they paid for. This usually involves two things:
- Event sponsorship activation
- ROI measurement
Event sponsorship activation allows sponsors to add some value to your event through experiences, while ROI measurement will prove to be one of your most powerful selling tools for your next event.
Brand Activation
Here are some brand activation ideas to make your event more successful:
- Try Something New: Allow attendees to check some things off their bucket list. What can you offer them that is relevant to your brand and event, that will entice people to do something new?
- Tell Authentic Stories: Offer opportunity for attendees to tell a story about their experiences. Testimonials offer credibility after the fact, but if you provide a way for people to share their experiences live at the event, they tell their stories, create a buzz and experience your event on a more personal level.
- Create Worlds: Create an imaginary backdrop that immerses people in a new adventure relevant to your event goals. Make sure the experience is interactive and indulges the senses.
- Use Technology: From virtual reality to real-time postings to Instagram and other social media platforms, find ways to include technology at your event. It provides deeper experiences while allowing people to relate to your brand in a way they understand. It can even be as simple as charging stations with free coffee.
- Offer Relaxation/Stress-Reducing Experiences: Depending on your brand and event, offering a way to relax and feel indulged can make meaningful connections. Onsite massage therapists, makeovers, wine tastings, pop-up whiskey bars… what will connect with your audience?
- Play Games: This doesn’t work for all events, but games equal fun. Because people don’t have to participate, those who want to can, no pressure on the others. You can also just have some contests to offer some great prizes while also collecting names for leads.
- Embrace Wellness: Show people you care with yoga or meditation rooms, free workouts, massages, or free consults with life coaches.
- Sampling & Demos: This goes without saying, but sampling and demos are key to successful sponsorships and events.
- Livestream Opportunity: A sponsorship with exclusive rights to livestream aspects of the event can help sponsors engage with their audience.
- Take every aspect of your event to the next level, so that no matter where attendees travel at your site, they are completely immersed in the theme of the day. With creative event sponsorship ideas, you open up more possibilities for your attendees and partners.
Measuring ROI
Following your event, you owe your sponsors a fulfillment report providing proof you delivered on your promise. You match what you offered to what you delivered so you can avoid complaints while also encouraging participation for your next event.
Your fulfillment report should include:
- A simple chart showing what you promised sponsors, and what was delivered
- Stats on event attendees
- How many people participated in the sponsor’s activities
- Social media data, web traffic, and other engagement metrics
- Examples of what your team did to ensure success
- ROI calculation
If you are lucky you overdelivered and can encourage participation in years to come.
Renewing Sponsors and Leveraging Past Sponsor Relationships
With one event under your belt with your sponsor, you are positioned to renew sponsorships and use your past sponsor experiences to attract new sponsors. You can use these strategies to help you grow your sponsorship options:
- Collect testimonials from past sponsors as social proof your event was a success.
- Create case studies with your top sponsors to illustrate how your event helped.
- Use positive ROI to prove sponsorship works.
- Improve your sponsorship opportunities using feedback from past sponsors.
- Expand your event by attracting better keynote speakers, performers, thought leaders, celebrities, etc.
- Include success stories in your newly developed sponsorship packages to demonstrate how it will help sponsors meet their goals.
- Leverage videos, web pages, social media posts and all media generated at your last event to make your sponsorship marketing more enticing.
Through sponsorship you allow your events to improve year after year, using proof of success to generate better opportunities.
Always Ask for a Referral
Before you end the fulfillment report meeting, ask your sponsors who else they think you should be talking to. Ask them if there is someone in their network or who they do business with that would enjoy your approach to sponsorship and want to reach your audience. Not only will you keep your sponsors with this approach but you may find you’ve met your new business goals before the new fiscal opens.
Event Sponsorship Examples
Let me make it clear – event sponsorship is big business! With the most popular events in their genres raking in millions of dollars, there’s money to be had if you gain success running one or more of these types of events:
- Music festivals and concerts
- Arts and crafts shows
- Local community festivals
- Sports shows
- Trade shows
- Workshops
- Conferences
- Comic conventions
- Video game conventions
- Fashion shows
- Amateur races
- Job fairs
- Tournaments
- Floral shows
- Vehicle conventions
Event Sponsorship Ideas to Launch Your Aspirations
Stumped on where to start with your event sponsorship activations? Here are some of my favorite ideas and examples that have popped up at events of all kinds over the years that are sure to inspire you.
Human Car Wash with Vitamin Water and WILY
As an event organizer, you know how hot it gets when throwing an outdoor summer music festival. However, summer is peak time for concerts, and if you don’t want to be usurped by your competitors, you need to be out there, sweating it with the best of them.
The classic activation idea between consumer engagement service WILY Global and Vitamin Water one year at the WayHome festival was a human car wash. Yes, you read that right. A human car wash.
I mean, why not, right? WayHome is three days of fun, but that’s also a lot of sweating, and access to a shower isn’t always right around the corner. Cooling off and getting clean was made very fun thanks to Vitamin Water, and the activation was also on-point for their products.
RFID Contests
A popular sight at sports events, RFID technology makes it easy for attendees to engage before, during, and after the event. Running surveys, quizzes, or contests that require only a scan of the badge to enter will surely get your attendees in a spirited mood before the game even starts!
Sports Megaplex with Coca-Cola’s Beats, Cleats & Eats
Although you need a sports-sized budget like Coke to pull off an activation like this, the Beats, Cleats & Eats event in Washington D.C.’s Transit Pier was a smashing success.
Coke paired with DoorDash, JLab, Bodyarmor, Smartwater, Campbell’s Snacks, and Captain Morgan. DoorDash had a sponsored game, Snyder’s and Goldfish a sitting tent, and Smart Water a drink tent.
This exclusive spot over the pier that appeared in summer 2023 featured 14 sample variations, so it’s no wonder that over 4,000 samples were handed out to D.C.’s finest.
Strategies for Finding Event Sponsors
Tracking down your first event sponsor doesn’t have to be a massive struggle that slows you down and has you risk meeting your event-driven deadlines. Here are my top tactics for uncovering new sponsorship opportunities.
Referrals or Recommendations
Who better to ask for sponsorship than your former sponsors? Even if you aren’t working together in a sponsorship capacity anymore, if you kept the relationship cordial, you can rest assured they’re looking out for your best interests, and vice-versa.
If you ask them to connect you with a potential sponsorship partner, they might have a few names they can suggest for you. Just remember to return the favor if they ask for a hand.
And if you don’t have any past sponsors, that’s okay. Chat up your vendors and other business partners. Don’t forget to also ask internally. You never know who your staff and talents know, and they could open the door for an awesome sponsorship opportunity.
While referrals don’t guarantee you’ll snag a sponsor, they do make it likelier than you can get a prospective sponsor to talk to you, so they’re worth their weight in gold in that regard.
Networking
You can always afford to expand your network, especially ahead of your next event. Although it’s tough to squeeze another task in there, dedicate some time to networking.
You don’t have to attend expos if time won’t allow, but at least put a few hours per week toward digital networking. It will pay off.
This is beneficial beyond your sponsorship aspirations. Building your network ensures you can always find great caterers, talent, venue owners, and lighting technicians when you need them.
Social Media
Hop on social media and make something happen. You can think of social media as an extension of your digital networking efforts. Tapping into your professional (and even personal) networks could yield new sponsorship opportunities.
Prospecting
The last method for finding sponsors is the most time-consuming but worthwhile, as it’s an excellent way to begin strong partnerships.
Prospecting refers to using your audience data to build a list of potential partners. You should have highly segmented audience data generated from surveying your event attendees. If you don’t, you have to do that before you proceed any further.
You can email the survey in the interest of time. It doesn’t need to be long or overly involved. You want to ask questions that get to the core of who your attendees are. A few open-ended questions are fine, especially as it relates to the brands they use and enjoy and the events they attend.
Once you receive responses, look at the brands your audience mentions the most. This is like a wish list of sponsors your attendees would like to see, in a way.
That doesn’t mean you can secure every brand on the list as sponsors. It just means those brands make the list of your warmest prospects…after you do some research, of course. You need to look more into the brands to ensure they’re a good match for your event.
The Perks of Event Sponsorship (What Organizers Need to Know)
As an event organizer with tight deadlines to meet, you might wonder if it’s worth setting aside the time and capital for event sponsorship. To that question, I answer an emphatic yes!
Here is a rundown of the many advantages of event sponsorship for organizers.
Provides Funding for a Bigger Event
You put all your blood, sweat, and tears into your event…oh, and your money, too. It’s gotten you this far, but you can’t keep running the same kind of event year after year. Attendees grow to expect it, and they get bored without anything new to engage them.
However, if you’ve hit a financial wall, you can’t expand your event, or can you? Partnering with a cash sponsor will allow you to increase the quality, caliber, size, and scope of your event. You can continually create new ways to engage your attendees, keeping them coming back every year as they eagerly anticipate your next step.
Generates More Media Attention
Teaming up with a new partner (or several partners, as you can have more than one sponsor), will surely produce a media buzz. Prepare to see news articles, social posts, news feature videos, and other media published about your event and the sponsorship.
The media parade will begin once you announce the partnership, then reach a fever pitch around the time of your event. You’ll get some media coverage during the event, then some recaps after the event before the coverage naturally dwindles.
Increases Attendance and Engagement
If your attendance has sagged or remained the same for the past year or so and you want to expand, a sponsorship is an excellent way to do it. The curiosity your partnership with the sponsor will spark will surely draw some new attendees your way who might not have otherwise attended.
Those who like the sponsor brand might be inclined to go to your event. Others will buy tickets solely because your event has gotten a lot of buzz, and they don’t want to miss out on the hype.
Since working with a sponsor usually increases your available capital (when you partner with a cash sponsor), the additional money you have will make a higher-quality event that keeps attendees engaged and excited for next year.
Boosts Website and Social Media Traffic
The rate of social media and website attention you’ll get once the media train leaves the station should be far higher than what you normally receive, even around event time.
However, as I said before, these spikes are short-term at best, as once your event is over and you don’t generate news coverage, the traffic rates will go back to what they usually are.
Your website should be optimized, navigable, appealing, and ready to convert with opt-in forms and lead magnets. Otherwise, the traffic gain will have meant nothing.
Increases Email Subscribers
Your email subscriber rate will shoot up in kind as the curiosity and excitement for your event reach a fever pitch. If you don’t already have targeted, personalized email marketing strategies in place to connect with and engage your audience, you should spend some time on that before you seek sponsorship.
This way, when you capture new contact information for your email list, you can keep subscribers longer.
Makes Events More Interesting for Attendees
I know I said these are benefits for organizers, but this is one of the biggest and most important perks of event sponsorship: audience engagement.
Your event is nothing without your attendees. You have to give them what they want, or they’ll attend your competitor’s event instead, and you could lose them for good.
Sponsorship gives you more avenues to keep your event unique year after year. The presence of sponsors and their attention-grabbing activations will elevate the quality of your event, as will having additional money to spend on a bigger event space, more talent, or better vendors.
This hooks your audience in and ensures longer-term interest and attendance.
Provides More Qualified Leads
Sponsorship is a melding of audiences. The sponsor company wants a crack at your audience if it fits their target demo, but you will surely convert some of their audience members as well. On the road to conversion, you’ll have plenty of qualified leads.
A qualified lead is readier to buy than a lead who may enter your sales funnel colder. They could jump on your early-bird ticket sale for next year when your most avid customers buy.
Elevates Brand Credibility
The last advantage of event sponsorship is better brand credibility. You already have built up a trustworthy brand as an event organizer, but when other companies trust in your services enough to attach their name to your event, that sends out signals to people that you’re a credible, legit brand.
This gives you an edge over your competitors and might make it easier to secure future sponsorship deals.
When Are You Ready for Event Sponsorship?
Now that you better understand what comprises event sponsorship, the question becomes, when are you ready to seek your first sponsor?
Here are some signs you should pursue event sponsorship:
- You have deeply segmented data on your audience.
- You have a general idea of the financial value of your event.
- You have an idea of the unique services you provide that could be positioned as assets and activations.
- You have bigger goals for your event than you yourself can achieve.
If you checked those boxes, you’re ready to get your first event sponsorship underway.
The next question you likely have is “how soon is too soon?” Honestly, there is no such thing as too soon when seeking event sponsorship.
While I wish the sponsorship process was always smooth and linear, it isn’t. There are many people involved on both sides. You have a team, and the sponsor has a team.
Even if you make the final call on what goes as an event organizer, the representative at the sponsorship division you’re dealing with probably doesn’t have that same decision-making power.
They have to ask someone over them, who in turn might have to ask someone over them. This has to happen for every decision involved in working together, from approving funds to assets and activations.
That’s why you should begin planning for your next sponsorship deals as soon as your current event wraps up, especially if you have an annual event.
Although it seems insane to begin planning details for next year when you’re still getting over the fatigue of this year’s event, it’s the only way to ensure you don’t have that unenviable crunch near the deadline for the next event.
You can’t realistically pull off a high-quality event sponsorship deal in three or four months. It’s just not going to happen. If you’re reading this right now and that’s where you are in your event cycle, I would say wait until the next one to actively seek sponsorship.
You can still gather audience data and do some light prospecting, but it’s all for next year.
Event Sponsorship Pitching Tips to Seal the Deal
The time comes in most sponsorship deals where you have to pitch your offer. I say most sponsorship deals because sometimes, you can close the deal without a formal pitch. I’ve done it, and I’ve had clients do it too.
Since pitching can be one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the entire process, I’ve compiled these experience-driven tips to help you avoid common mistakes.
Don’t Put Too Much Reliance on the Sponsorship Proposal
Most sponsorship seekers wouldn’t dream of pitching without their proposals. While a proposal is important to most sponsorship deals, it’s not nearly as important as many beginners think it is. In fact, I may shock you when I tell you I’ve successfully secured many sponsorship deals without a formal (or even informal, in some cases) proposal.
Is it a handy outline of your opportunity? Yes. Is it good to provide the document if the sponsor asks for something in writing? Absolutely. But that’s about the only purpose the proposal really seeks to achieve.
If you’ve spent tens of hours on the proposal, drafting up your perfect assets tier list or spending pages reviewing your cause or passion project, you’re already going about sponsorship incorrectly.
Don’t Start with the Pitch Before Anything Else
Selling sponsorship is a natural process. I know, it may go against every fiber of your being to relax and let the process play out, but please, relax and let the process play out.
Sponsors naturally gravitate away from potential partners who go too heavy-handed with the sales pitch. If your first words are about pitching, reel it in a little and remind yourself that the clock is ticking for your next event. Don’t blow this opportunity.
Let the Discovery Session Be an Exploratory Meeting
The first interaction you have with the sponsor after prospecting and doing your research should be to set up a discovery meeting. Many sponsorship seekers erroneously believe that because this is the first meeting between them and their sponsors that they have to close the deal.
Thank goodness that’s not the case. There is no deal to close yet. Think of the discovery session as the first of several job interviews. It’s about getting to know one another. If you like what you hear, you can set up a second meeting (or interview, per the example) and then talk more about topics like money.
Sponsorship seekers who commandeer the discovery session and use it to close a deal often walk out empty-handed, unsure why the sponsor didn’t bite for their bold, forward-thinking approach.
Here’s the reason. Rather than get to know what makes the sponsor tick, including their individual successes and failures, so you can create tailored services for them, you went straight in with generic assets and activations, tiered sponsorship lists, and money forms.
There is no collaboration, no customization, none of it. You’re just pushing a one-size-fits-all solution, which the sponsor doesn’t want.
Speak to the Sponsor Like a Person, Not a Cash Machine
Sponsorship is a two-way street. When you walk into the discovery session guns blazing, ready for a sales session, you come across as money-hungry. The sponsor feels less like a person in your eyes and more like an ATM.
That doesn’t create the best impression, as I’m sure you can imagine.
Here’s the 411. If you treat your sponsor like a person, giving them the same respect you would anyone, you can still get money from them.
It’s not like they’re going to hand you wads of cash right away, but it could happen if the deal continues progressing smoothly. A little bit of kindness and respect go a long way.
Have Niched Audience Data Ready
I can’t stress enough the value of segmented, niche attendance groups. If you don’t have at least 25 unique data points on each audience group, you haven’t divided it down enough for a sponsor’s tastes.
Sponsors want as much segmented audience data as you can provide to give them insights into who your attendees are and where they fit into the sponsor’s target market. The more niched the segments, the easier it is for a sponsor to look at them and make a quick determination if there’s a need for your audience in their marketing plans.
If there isn’t, then so be it, but you need to know early, as you have an event to plan. If it’s not going to work out with that sponsor, it will work out with someone else, but you have to keep moving swiftly forward.
Key Takeaways for Successful Event Sponsorship
For successful event sponsorship keep the following tips in mind:
- Remember the value event sponsorship brings to your event including financial support and event credibility.
- Outline your event vision, purpose and audience so potential partners understand the benefits you offer and so you can target the right partners.
- Research the right partners and contact the right people to share your opportunities.
- Don’t just create event sponsorship packages, but instead present opportunities that help partners meet their marketing goals.
- Create a relationship with prospects then send them a vibrant, to the point proposal customized based on your conversations.
- Follow up to listen to feedback and look for opportunities to seal the deal.
- Be prepared to work hard once sponsors are required to ensure their involvement is a success.
- Collect data to prove event ROI to potential sponsors at your next event.
- Depend on past sponsors to participate in future events and provide testimonials and case studies to help expand your sponsor base.
Event sponsorships can open new doors to create meaningful experiences for your customers and community. With the right sponsors and partnerships, you can continue to grow your events, creating greatly anticipated annual happenings that raise brand awareness or further your cause.
FAQs
What Companies Are Easy to Get Sponsored By?
There are no specific companies that are “easy” to get sponsored by. If that was the case, you wouldn’t need my services nearly as much.
Rather than focus on whether a company is easy to get sponsorship from, choose partners based on audience interest and shared values.
Can I Get Nike to Sponsor Me?
You likely can, but not right out of the gate. Nike is a billion-dollar company that’s inundated with sponsorship requests every day. Working together would require building a strong sponsorship presence and having an audience interested in athletic apparel that appeals to Nike.
Can I Politely Ask for Event Sponsorship?
Sure, but being polite isn’t as important as having strong audience data that matches a sponsor’s target market. I’m not suggesting you act rudely, but it’s not so much about how you ask as it is what you have when you ask.
- About the Author
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Chris Baylis is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Sponsorship Collective.
After spending several years in the field as a sponsorship professional and consultant, Chris now spends his time working with clients to help them understand their audiences, build activations that sponsors want, apply market values to their assets and build strategies that drive sales.
Read More about Chris Baylis