The sponsorship package, what would an event be without it? It’s that all-important, mutually beneficial relationship between an event host and sponsors who contribute to an event. Sponsors give hosts an increased budget to pull off a top-notch event. Hosts, in return, give sponsors an opportunity to get their name out there and increase their customer base.
But how does an event planner go about finding sponsors and convincing them to participate in their event? Start with an irresistible event sponsorship package. Here’s how.
Find the Right Event Sponsors for Your Event
Do your research on potential sponsors first. Understand how they want to market themselves so you can explain how your sponsorship package will help them. You also need to nail the explanation of your event in a way that captures its main purpose and complements your target sponsor’s objectives.
Base your sponsor search on how well their business aligns with yours, meaning you should focus on the quality rather than the quantity of sponsors.
Social media platforms can prove useful tools in searching for sponsors.
Make Potential Sponsors an Offer They Can’t Refuse
That irresistible sponsorship package needs to outline clear-cut, tangible benefits for each sponsor, and that starts with a great pitch. The proper way to go about it includes pitching verbally in person or on a call or sending a written proposal.
Pitches should be engaging, comprehensive in scope, and specific about what the event has to offer the sponsor and how your event in particular sets you apart from the competition. When possible, provide testimonials from past sponsors.
A good pitch provides a detailed event description, attendee demographics, like age, job title, and location, and specific examples of how sponsors will gain attendees’ attention to increase their visibility.
Make Sponsors the Center of Attention
Visibility, visibility, and more visibility. Ways to offer sponsors more visibility through partnership with you:
- Access to new customer leads in event attendees
- Speaking opportunities at the event
- Access to attendee data to plan new marketing campaigns
- Including sponsors on event management apps that feature them in flyers, banners, notifications, and splash screens
- Opportunities for direct conversations between sponsors and attendees at booths with products on display, during Q&A sessions, or during breaks in lounges
- Live product demos
- Swag with sponsors’ branding on free products
- A spot on your website that includes a list of event sponsors that may also include call to action buttons for scheduling meetings between attendees and sponsors
- Game apps where attendees who visit sponsors’ websites get to play games and win prizes
You can also take a more creative approach in offering sponsors the spotlight, especially if your sponsors are in creative industries. This may look like art installations and exhibits to show off their products, a chance to entertain the audience if they’re from the entertainment industry, or food recipes or workout sessions for attendees to take part in.
Communicate a Clear Return on Investment (ROI)
You can offer sponsors a good explanation of your common interests and how you’ll increase their visibility, but you also need to give them investment options for their comfort levels and clear-cut examples of the return on their investment in your event.
You can take a couple of different approaches when asking them to invest: the tiered model or the a la carte model.
The tiered model lets sponsors pick from a sliding scale how much they wish to contribute. At higher contribution levels, sponsors get better access and promotional opportunities. By doing so, a tiered model gives sponsors a chance to feel more exclusive, can bring in a wider range of sponsors since it gives them varying levels of participation, and provides a clear distinction between different sponsor packages and pricing.
The a la carte option is more flexible and isn’t on a set scale. It lets sponsors customize their package to suit their individual goals and can make it easier for sponsors to track their ROI based on those goals.
Whatever approach is taken, when pitching your event to potential sponsors, make sure to be as specific as possible with ROI talk. Tell them what percentage of attendees are projected to become customers, estimate the lifetime value of each customer, give figures on how much they can expect to make through the increase in customer base.
Be direct and detailed on what your event can offer your sponsors, and you’re sure to have that irresistible event sponsorship package that sets you apart from the rest.