Event sponsorship has changed – has yours?

Most commercial and association events have some form of event sponsorship, whether that’s financial, direct or indirect support. Yet, the expectations of sponsors have changed!

You can’t hang your hat on giving these vital investors a logo on signage, advertisement in a programmes or the opportunity to provide corporate gift bags. Sponsors are looking at events to connect them with your attendees and begin a relationship.

The best way to help them achieve this is to give the the chance to help attendees, rather than selling to them. But how?

Know your attendees

An in-depth understanding of the audience profile will make sure that you target the right companies for event sponsorship. They usually look for access to decision-makers and a highly engaged audience.

Consumer brands treat potential customers as fans, and business events give sponsors an opportunity to meet attendees face-to-face, make a connection and build loyalty.

Managing the event sponsorship package

Your results won’t be as good if you outsource your sponsorship sales and management. You need to get to know your sponsor and find out exactly what they are expecting. If you build a long-term relationship, there will be less turnover and a more successful outcome for both sides.

Understand the sponsor’s objectives

Fact finding is an integral part of the negotiation process. How does the sponsor’s involvement in the event link to their organisation’s strategic, or tactical objectives? Build an environment of trust to help your sponsor find the right package to meet their goals.

Check how many people or departments are involved, as they may have different objectives.

Measure the return on investment or return on objectives

There are many ways of measuring success, but if you deliver to the sponsor’s objectives then they will be happy. Find out what information they need, update them regularly and make sure that they are informed if there are any changes to the event.

Talk to sponsors onsite and afterwards and check that everything is as expected.

Examples of event sponsorship

Sponsors need to be integrated into the event, so branded experiences are a great opportunity, for example:

• VIP networking events
• Innovation hubs
• Meeting pods
• Refreshment stations
• Wellbeing corners
• Sampling innovative food and drink
• A thought-leadership educational element to the event
• Or work with the sponsor to design a bespoke opportunity to engage with attendees at the event and afterwards.

The engagement must be meaningful and creative so attendees pay real attention!

What if things don’t go as planned?

We know things can change or go wrong at events. So make sure you know what to do if the sponsor isn’t satisfied and deal with it immediately. Have contingencies ready to go! If they are happy with their experience of how you deal with a problem, you’re more likely to resecure a sponsor’s support for your next event.