6 Tactics for Securing Lucrative Event Sponsorships
When it’s time to plan an event, one of the main tasks for event coordinators is securing event sponsorships. Sponsorships are the lifeblood of many types of events, including corporate events, community engagement events, conventions, trade shows, charity events, and more.
Since sponsorships can make or break your budget and resources, it’s vital to create and execute an intentional strategy to secure top sponsors that align with your brand and event. Use this playbook to learn six top tips for securing valuable event sponsorships as you finesse your strategy.
What Is Event Sponsorship?
Event sponsorship is when a company supports an event by providing funds (or other goods or services) in exchange for exposure or something else of value. Companies that choose to sponsor an event do so with the intent of moving their organizations forward, but not every event needs sponsors.
Signs your event could greatly benefit from sponsors include:
- Budget: Your event goals require a larger budget than what you currently have access to.
- Goals: If the intent of your event is to increase your customer base, it can be wise to partner with other organizations whose customer bases would resonate with your product or service.
- Event Size: If you’re planning a large or high profile event with well-known guests, it’s wise to secure media sponsorship for coverage. There are instances where small events also need sponsorship to get up and running.
- New to the Scene: If your brand or event is on the newer side, you can benefit from partnering with more well-established companies in your field.
- Planning Components: Don’t have the bandwidth to organize and pay for transportation, catering, or a venue? Some restaurants, transportation companies, or even venues may contribute their goods and/or services to an event in exchange for exposure.
Benefits of Event Sponsorship
Is it really worth it to go through the work of creating sponsorship packages and pitching to event sponsors? It depends on the type of your event and if you resonate with any of the bullet points above, but generally, event sponsorship offers multiple attractive benefits.
Increased Budget
Perhaps the most tangible benefit of event sponsorship is additional budget to work with. Many event planners come up against budget restrictions at some point, and funds from sponsors can help alleviate the stress that comes with budgeting.
With an increased budget, you can not only get your event off the ground but also include more and better experiences for attendees— ultimately contributing to the overall success of the event. Another perk of an increased budget is that you may be able to offer discounted or free tickets to people whose personal financial circumstances may be a barrier to attending.
Increased Event Reach
Sponsorships are meant to be a win-win situation for both parties. When you partner with established companies and brands, their loyal customers may be interested in attending your event because of their dedication to the sponsoring company.
When you have sponsors, you have multiple outlets for publicity and promotion outside of your own in-house efforts.
Boosted Credibility
Partnering with well-known brands in your industry or adjacent to your industry helps boost your event’s credibility to ultimately attract more attendees. This can be especially beneficial for an up-and-coming company or event that isn’t as well-known.
Types of Event Sponsorships
Sponsorships aren’t limited to financial support, although it’s the most popular. There are multiple types of event sponsorships that generally fall into these categories:
Monetary
Monetary sponsorship is when a company provides money in exchange for exposure or other benefits.
In-Kind
In-kind sponsorships are when a company exchanges products or services (instead of money) in exchange for exposure. For example, a restaurant may provide catering services in exchange for you promoting their brand at your event.
Media/Advertising
Media, advertising, or promotional sponsorships offer free advertising services through the sponsor’s own channels in exchange for exposure.
6 Tips for Pitching & Winning Event Sponsorships
Securing lucrative event sponsorships requires finesse, intention, and persistence. It’s vital to come prepared for every conversation with prospective sponsors. Research their brand ahead of time, and confidently pitch what you’re offering.
Other helpful tips for securing valuable sponsorships include:
1) Identify Your Audience
To understand what sponsors would speak to your audience, you first need to identify what your audience base is.
If you’ve been in business for a while or you’ve prioritized your brand efforts, you may already have a clear understanding of your audience. If not, you can utilize tools to gain data insights into your audience:
- Google Analytics
- Your event ticketing platform
- Existing customer base
- Customer surveys
2) Pitch to Brands That Align With Your Audience
After you’ve solidified your audience, it’s time to choose which prospective sponsors you want to pitch to. These go hand-in-hand because you want to collaborate with brands that would resonate with your audience.
For example, if your audience appreciates outdoor activities, you’ll want to reach out to outdoor adventure brands. If they love to travel, start conversations with travel & tourism brands.
3) Offer Different Sponsorship Packages
Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, consider offering different tiers or packages for prospective sponsors. You can take a “good, better, best” or “bronze, silver, gold” approach to give sponsors options for different tiers of investment.
For example, a “bronze” package may be lowest in price, and it may allow your sponsor access to things like:
- Their logo printed on promotional material
- A social media post or two
- A small pop-up stand
While a “gold” package may require a higher financial investment, it would also come with more perks for the sponsor, which could include:
- A speaker session
- Multiple social media promotional posts
- Logo on the cover of printed materials
- Guest blog posts
- A large exhibition stand
- Access to a networking event
- Visibility on your website
4) Prioritize Design & Visuals
When you’re asking a prospective sponsor to contribute thousands of dollars or valuable goods and services to your event, it’s best practice to go above and beyond a stale PowerPoint presentation or PDF.
Prioritize design and visuals during your pitch to capture your prospect’s attention and demonstrate your commitment. To accomplish this, many top event coordinators and hospitality professionals leverage the presentation platform DIGIDECK for interactive multimedia presentations that standout from PowerPoints.
5) Use Data in Your Follow-Up
Where the sales process gets trickier is after the initial pitch. It’s rare for a sponsor to instantly sign on the dotted line after your first conversation, so it’s vital to be intentional with your follow-up conversations.
When you present with a PDF or PowerPoint, you don’t gain any insights into what your prospects look at after the first conversation. With a presentation tool like DIGIDECK, you can see who opens your presentation, when, and how long they view each slide so that you can tailor your follow-ups with specific information and questions.
6) Offer Incentives
Consider sweetening the deal by offering an incentive to your prospective sponsors. You can either offer the incentive off the bat or later in sales conversations if you think an incentive would bring a partnership across the finish line.
Incentives can include:
- Additional or more ideal logo placement
- Advertising materials about their business (social posts, emails, blogs, etc.)
- Event-related discounts
- A verbal shout out at the event
Anything that demonstrates that your sponsors will get the most for their money or contributions will help make a partnership more attractive.
Win Big Event Sponsorships With DIGIDECK
It’s clear that event sponsorships are a huge contributor to successful events. No matter the size or intention of your event, if you’re still pitching to sponsors with a PowerPoint or PDF you’ll be missing out on valuable data insights and failing to accurately demonstrate the scope of your partnership.
That’s why hundreds of brands of all sizes and industries leverage DIGIDECK for their sponsorship pitch decks. DIGIDECK not only blows PowerPoint out of the water with attention-grabbing visuals, but it also comes complete with viewership analytics, time-saving automations, and robust CRM integrations to help your team save time and increase sponsorship wins.
Schedule a quick demo today to learn more about how DIGIDECK can support your event sponsorship efforts.
