Event Sponsorship is an effective marketing strategy for both small and large-scale events. Event sponsorship helps event organizers with financial support and offers valuable exposure and brand recognition for sponsors. Here’s an event sponsorship guide to help you secure sponsorships and plan mutually beneficial brand partnerships.
1. Define the objectives of your event and what you can offer sponsors.
2. Identify potential sponsors relevant to your event and research their brand values and marketing goals.
3. Plan an attractive sponsorship package that offers a variety of benefits, such as logo placement, speaking opportunities, and social media coverage.
4. Create a sponsorship proposal that showcases the value of sponsoring your event and highlights the benefits of your sponsorship package.
5. Follow up with potential sponsors and negotiate mutually beneficial terms for your partnership.
With this event sponsorship guide, you can create attractive sponsorship packages that offer value to sponsors and help your event succeed.
Table of Contents
Understanding Event Sponsorship
Event sponsorship can provide an excellent opportunity for potential sponsors to expand their brand and reach new audiences. However, it’s important to research and understands what event sponsorship entails before jumping in. This guide will explain the basics of event sponsorship and how to find the right fit for your company.
What is Event Sponsorship?
Event sponsorship is a form of marketing in which a company supports a particular event for increased brand visibility and exposure to its target audience. Sponsors can provide financial, in-kind, or promotional support for events to gain goodwill, visibility, and potential new customers.
Event sponsorship provides benefits for both the event organizers and the sponsors. The event organizers can leverage the sponsor’s resources to ensure the success of their event. In contrast, the sponsor can use the occasion to boost their brand’s reputation and visibility among their target audience.
To ensure a successful sponsorship, event organizers should:
- Identify potential sponsors that align with the event’s theme and audience
- Create a customized sponsorship proposal that outlines the benefits of sponsorship
- Provide clear deliverables for the sponsor
Sponsors should:
- Select events that align with their marketing goals
- Provide a clear return on investment.
In summary, event sponsorship is a mutually beneficial marketing strategy that leverages the resources of sponsors and event organizers to create a successful event while increasing brand visibility and goodwill.
Why Sponsor an Event?
Sponsoring an event presents a valuable opportunity for businesses to market their brand, increase visibility, and reach a wider audience. Here are some benefits of sponsorship:
- Increase brand awareness: Sponsorship puts your brand in front of a large and diverse audience, generating brand exposure and recognition.
- Cost-effective marketing: Unlike traditional marketing techniques, sponsorship is a cost-effective way to get your brand in front of a targeted audience.
- Build relationships: Sponsorship allows businesses to build relationships and partnerships with event organizers, other sponsors, and attendees.
- Differentiation from competitors: By sponsoring an event, businesses can set themselves apart from competitors and demonstrate their commitment to the community.
- Content creation opportunities: Sponsorship provides opportunities for content creation, such as social media posts, blog articles, or interviews that can be used to promote your brand.
Pro-tip: When choosing which event to sponsor, consider your target audience and align your brand with events relevant to their interests or values.
Sponsorship Objectives
Sponsorship objectives play a crucial role in determining the success of an event sponsorship strategy. Here are the five primary objectives of sponsorship:
- Brand Awareness: One of the primary goals of sponsorship is to increase brand awareness by exposing the brand to a larger audience through an event.
- Brand Image: Sponsorship can also position the brand as a thought leader and enhance its image in the market.
- Lead Generation: Sponsorship can help generate leads by allowing businesses to collect and manage their leads.
- Customer Loyalty: Sponsorship can also be used to retain loyal customers by creating exclusive event experiences.
- Community Engagement: Lastly, sponsorship can create a sense of community by bringing together individuals, businesses, and organizations with similar interests and values. By achieving these objectives, sponsorship can be a powerful marketing tool for businesses of all sizes, helping them grow and succeed in their respective industries.
Finding the Right Event to Sponsor
Event Sponsorship can be a great way to reach a larger audience for your business or organization. However, before you embark on finding the right event to sponsor, it is crucial to understand your goals. This guide will look at what event sponsorship is and the steps you can take to find the right event to sponsor.
Defining Your Target Audience
Defining your target audience is crucial in finding a suitable event to sponsor. Knowing your audience will help you choose the right event that aligns with your brand and ensures the maximum return on investment.
Here are some steps to define your target audience:
- Conduct market research to understand your brand’s core values and mission statement.
- Develop a customer persona by studying your existing customers’ demographics, interests, and behaviors.
- Analyze your competitors’ customer base to spot potential target audiences you may have overlooked.
- Map out the channels your target audience will likely engage with and tailor your sponsorship approach for maximum impact.
By following these steps, you can craft a targeted event sponsorship strategy that delivers the best results for your brand.
Choosing the Right Event
Choosing the right event category to sponsor can be a daunting task. Sponsors need to consider various factors before sponsoring an event. Here are some tips to consider before choosing a suitable event to sponsor:
- Determine your objective: Know what you want to achieve as a sponsor, whether to increase brand visibility, drive sales or create awareness.
- Identify your target audience: Consider the demographics of your target audience and find events that align with their interests.
- Evaluate the event’s attendance: Look at the event’s previous attendance record, and check if it aligns with your target audience.
- Evaluate the event’s reputation: Consider its reputation, how it aligns with your brand, and whether it matches your values and objectives.
- Consider the budget: Sponsors should evaluate their budget and determine how much they can afford to spend sponsoring an event.
By considering these factors, sponsors can make an informed decision and choose the right event category to sponsor.
Pro tip: Always negotiate sponsorship packages and ensure the package meets your sponsorship objectives to maximize ROI.
Evaluating Event Metrics and ROI Potential
As a business, evaluating event metrics and ROI potential is crucial when deciding which events to sponsor. Here are some metrics you should look at when assessing event potential:
- Attendance: Determine how many people are expected to attend the event and if they fit your target demographic.
- Engagement: Look at how attendees interact with the event, including social media engagement, networking, and overall experience.
- Branding: Consider the level of exposure your brand will receive at the event, including logo placement and sponsor recognition.
- ROI potential: Determine the potential return on investment by evaluating the cost of sponsorship compared to potential revenue or brand visibility.
By thoroughly evaluating these metrics, you can decide which events to sponsor and maximize your ROI potential.
Building a Sponsorship Proposal
Sponsorships provide a great opportunity for event organizers to secure money and resources for their events. However, for sponsorship to succeed, you must build a solid proposal and understand the sponsor’s needs and desires. In this guide, we go through creating a winning sponsorship proposal.
Introduction
The introduction section of a sponsorship proposal is crucial as it provides a background on the company and sets the stage for the sponsorship objectives.
When introducing your company, it’s important to include the following information:
- A brief history of the company and its mission statement
- An overview of the products or services offered by the company
- Target audience and market reach of the company
After introducing the company, the sponsorship objectives need to be outlined. The purposes should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound) and aligned with the company’s marketing and branding goals. For example, the objectives may include creating brand awareness, increasing sales, enhancing brand image, or building customer relationships. The introduction section should be concise yet compelling enough to grab the attention of potential sponsors and make them want to read more.
Event Overview
An event overview that includes audience demographics, event history, and goals is essential when building a sponsorship proposal.
The audience demographics section includes information about the attendees, such as their age, gender, income level, and interests. Understanding the audience helps potential sponsors determine if the event aligns with their target market.
The event history section should include details about past events, such as attendance numbers, media coverage, and feedback from attendees and sponsors. This information helps demonstrate the event’s success and potential for growth.
The goals section should explain what the event hopes to achieve and how sponsorship can help. For example, the event might aim to increase attendance or raise funds for a charitable cause. Sponsors that align with these goals are more likely to be interested in a partnership.
By providing this information in the sponsorship proposal, you thoroughly understand the event’s potential value to sponsors.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Sponsorship opportunities are an effective way to generate revenue and support for your event or organization. As a sponsor, a business or individual can receive various benefits that can help enhance their brand and give them visibility. Here are some benefits of sponsorship and activation ideas for your event sponsorship proposal:
Benefits:
- Increased brand visibility
- Enhanced reputation by association with your event or organization
- Opportunity to reach new audiences
- Access to networking opportunities
Activation ideas:
- Logo placement on event materials
- Sponsored promotional giveaways
- Branded photo booths
- Sponsored charging stations
- Exclusive product demos
- In-booth interviews and content creation
Pro tip- Research the potential sponsor’s brand values and interests to create a tailored proposal.
Activating Your Sponsorship
Activating your sponsorship is key to getting the most out of your investment. You can extend your reach and gain more publicity with the right strategy and planning. There are many ways to activate your sponsorship, such as:
- Running contests
- Sending out press releases
- Hosting events
Let’s dive into the details of how to activate your sponsorship effectively.
Maximizing Sponsorship Visibility
One of the most critical aspects of sponsorship activation is maximizing the visibility of your sponsor. Here are some practical ways to increase sponsor visibility and ensure a successful sponsorship campaign:
- Leverage social media: Social media is a powerful tool for promoting your event and engaging with your audience. Use social media platforms to feature your sponsor’s logo and tag their account in your posts.
- Branding: Ensure that your sponsor’s branding is visible at critical locations such as the main entrance, food & beverage areas, registration desk, or any photo opportunities.
- Provide exclusive access: Give your sponsor exclusive access to VIP areas to engage with top clients, prospects, and partners.
- Sponsored content: Offer sponsored content opportunities such as a post-event article, speaker session, or workshop.
- Collaborate: Partner with your sponsor to create engaging content or activations that align with their brand values and your event.
Maximizing your sponsor’s visibility will ensure a mutually beneficial partnership that can deliver value to both parties.
Engaging Event Attendees
Experiential marketing is a powerful way to engage event attendees and create lasting impressions for your brand. Here are some tips to activate your event sponsorship using experiential marketing:
- Create interactive experiences: Encourage attendees to participate in immersive experiences uniquely showcasing your brand’s values.
- Be socially responsible: Incorporating a socially conscious element into your experiential marketing can positively impact attendees and create positive associations with your brand.
- Incorporate technology: Utilize technology to create interactive exhibits or gamification experiences that attendees can participate in, such as using VR or AR.
- Provide shareable moments: Create experiences that are fun, visually appealing, and share-worthy on social media channels.
By following these tips, experiential marketing can create a memorable event that leaves a lasting impression and gains your brand exposure to leads and attendees.
Evaluating Sponsorship Success
Evaluating the success of your sponsorship involves measuring return on investment (ROI) and key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine the effectiveness of your sponsorship strategy.
ROI refers to the financial return that you achieve from your sponsorship investment. To measure ROI, consider the costs associated with the sponsorship and compare them to the revenue generated.
KPIs are metrics that help you track the success of your sponsorship in meeting its goals. KPIs include brand awareness, customer engagement, lead generation, and social media reach. To measure KPIs, establish performance benchmarks before the event, track your progress during and after the event, and compare the results to the established benchmarks.
By evaluating both ROI and KPIs, you can determine the effectiveness of your sponsorship and identify areas for improvement for future events.
Case Studies
Event sponsorship is an effective marketing tactic that can help bring attention to your business or organization. Case studies of successful sponsorships can help you develop the right approach for your initiatives. This section will cover different examples of successful event sponsorships that brands have done. It will discuss the strategies behind the success and the key takeaways you can learn from them.
Red Bull’s P and Felix Baumgartner’s Stratos Jump
Red Bull’s partnership with Felix Baumgartner’s Stratos Jump is an excellent example of successful event sponsorship. The energy drink company sponsored Baumgartner’s attempt to break the world record for the highest skydive in history, and the event generated millions of impressions and media coverage worldwide.
Here are a few reasons why this event sponsorship was successful:
- The partnership was an excellent fit for Red Bull’s brand image, and values centered around extreme sports and adventure.
- The event was ambitious and groundbreaking, making it a media sensation and capturing the public’s imagination.
- Red Bull created a content strategy around the event, producing high-quality videos and photos widely shared on social media and other platforms.
- The event showcased Red Bull’s product (the energy drink that fueled Baumgartner’s attempt) organically and unobtrusively.
This case study demonstrates the power of event sponsorship, when done well, and the potential for brands to reach vast audiences and generate buzz through association with unique and exciting events.
Samsung’s Sponsorship of the 2016 Rio Olympics
Samsung’s sponsorship of the 2016 Rio Olympics was a significant success, increasing brand awareness and consumer engagement for the company.
As a sponsor of the Olympics, Samsung was able to showcase its latest products and technologies to a global audience through various advertising and experiential marketing campaigns.
Samsung created several on-site experiences for Olympic attendees, including interactive pavilions showcasing the company’s latest products, such as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Gear VR headset.
The company also partnered with social media influencers to create engaging content showcasing Samsung products and the Olympic experience.
Additionally, Samsung’s sponsorship of the Olympics helped to position the company as a global leader in technology and innovation.
Overall, Samsung’s sponsorship of the 2016 Rio Olympics was a prime example of successful event sponsorship, showcasing the potential for brands to leverage major events to increase brand exposure and drive consumer engagement.
Lyft’s Sponsorship of the Governors Ball Music Festival
Lyft’s sponsorship of the Governors Ball music festival is a successful example of event sponsorship that created a win-win situation for both brands.
The sponsorship involved offering concert-goers rides to and from the festival grounds via the Lyft app. It provided a convenient and safe transportation option for festival attendees and increased visibility and awareness for the Lyft brand.
Lyft also had a branded pickup and drop-off zone at the festival, providing easy access for riders and further increasing brand visibility.
As a result, the sponsorship helped Lyft increase its user base and improve brand awareness among its target audience while providing a valuable service to festival-goers.
Pro tip: When considering event sponsorship, it’s essential to choose events that align with your brand values and target audience and offer opportunities for creative activation and engagement.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is event sponsorship?
Event sponsorship is a partnership between a business or individual and an event in which the sponsor contributes funding or resources in exchange for exposure to the event’s audience.
2. What are the benefits of event sponsorship?
Event sponsorship can provide numerous benefits, including increased brand awareness, lead generation, networking opportunities, and positive public relations. It can also be a cost-effective way to reach a specific target audience.
3. What types of events can be sponsored?
Almost any event, including conferences, festivals, sports events, trade shows, and charity fundraisers, can be sponsored. The key is to find an event that aligns with your brand and target audience.
4. How much does event sponsorship cost?
The cost of event sponsorship varies widely depending on factors such as the event’s size, the sponsorship level, and the event organizers’ promotional opportunities. Therefore, it’s important to carefully evaluate the potential return on investment before committing to a sponsorship agreement.
5. How do I choose a suitable event to sponsor?
The right event to sponsor depends on your brand and business goals. Consider the event’s target audience, location, and promotional opportunities. Don’t be afraid to ask event organizers for detailed information about their audience and past sponsorships.
6. How do I measure the success of my event sponsorship?
Measuring the success of event sponsorship can be challenging, but tracking metrics such as lead generation, brand awareness, and return on investment is essential. It’s also important to gather feedback from event attendees and analyze post-event data to identify areas for improvement.