How to attract sponsors by creating events that people love

If your planning on hosting an event, whether you’re a novice or already adept in events planning one of the first questions that often comes to mind is how you’re going to fund it?

Chances are you’re going to look for guaranteed solutions and one of the main options is to seek out sponsors that will be willing to fund your event and groups or companies that are open to partner with you.

The next question is how will you be able to attract these sponsors and convince them to finance your project? In addition to that, how will you compel more attendees to turn up at your event?

If your a neophyte and haven’t yet established your name or reputation in events planning or even in events styling industry, it will surely be a challenging task to convince people to take your word for it -that you will have a fruitful event coming up. Most people still likely to live by the rule of “to see is to believe”

As for most people, looking for sponsorship may seem like finding a needle in a haystack.

In these kinds of situations, it would be practical to hope for the best, but also to expect for the worst. It’s like trying to find a job. You submit your proposals to numerous people, group, and companies. Some may decline or some may not even respond at all, and you might consider yourself fortunate enough if ever you’ll receive a positive response or an interest to your submitted proposals.

"The hope never dies."

It’s vital that your proposal has to be distinctive and eye-catching in contrast from the rest.

You have to keep in mind that the company will probably assess countless of proposals like yours on a daily basis.

Most likely the assessor’s question is why will their company sponsor you over the other applicants? To refrain situations like this to ever happen, you need to provide a “wow” factor to your proposal beforehand. For some, they include the description of what they do, how they started and their mission statement. You can also do that if that’s what you want, but then again you must also be able to showcase or explain why you or your event is unique compared to others. You need to set yourself apart from the crowd and step up your events planning or event styling game and soon enough aim to be recognized in this industry which will make your event sought after. Dare to be different, unprecedented and creative, it’s the sure fire way to stand out.

What do sponsors want to see at your event?

Your prospective sponsors are businessmen and they will usually want to see the bigger picture or the possible end result even before your event starts before they could decide if they will take the plunge in financing your event ideas. Sponsorship is a partnership between you as an event planner and your sponsors, it’s definitely a give and take relationship that entails your heartfelt interest in your sponsor’s intended purpose and how you can help them achieve their goals, so its paramount that you effectively assured and show them a win-win approach that will benefit both parties involved, with also a solid understanding of the sponsor’s potential needs and objectives.

Sponsors would want to see how you envision your event and how it will materialize on the day itself. It's crucial for them to understand the goal of your event and a clear guide to what would you like to achieve or accomplish. So what’s the better way if not the best, in convincing your sponsors that you really have a phenomenal event on your hand?

Virtual Reality (VR) the futuristic approach of Events planning

People, groups and even companies are drawn to original and invigorating new concept, and in addition, if you could incorporate the latest trends and innovation to your event then it will certainly be generally desired for partnership and sponsorship.

Using the cutting edge computer technology, Virtual Reality or VR places the user such as your potential sponsors, partners, and event attendees inside the simulated environment of your actual event, for them to visualize what ideas or plans you have for your upcoming event. They will also have the chance to immerse with the experience such as what your venue would look like, the events styling, the location and aesthetics of their sponsors' booth that showcases the brands marketing materials such as banners, flyers, roll-ups, and even the food and beverages that will be served.

This type of technique will be more engaging and will create assurance, confidence, and excitement towards your project, instead of just showing them a screen or a presentation.

A screen presentation of the sponsors possible brand placement on your event might still be appealing but having the opportunity to revolutionize and use a ground-breaking technique to your approach on your event planning will definitely up your game and attract forward-looking sponsorships.

Understanding the importance of brand positioning

A brand positioning strategy is to make customers perceive the brand in a specific way and how it is different from its competitors, by creating brand associations in the customers’ minds. But why is brand positioning important? Brand positioning strategies are directly linked and greatly affects customers loyalty and the willingness to procure the brand. Effectual brand positioning can be referred to which a brand is perceived as positive, different and trustworthy in the consumers’ minds by effectively shaping their inclination. Unlike other formats of advertising and marketing, your event can help modify the impression of the public to a brand in an incredibly impressive way.

Sponsors in one way or another aim for brand awareness. So if you can proactively demonstrate the arrangement of your plan a couple of months ahead, before the actual event will take place by merely showing them the 3d set up of how their brand will achieve a secured brand positioning on their target audience, chances are high that they will more likely sponsor your event, especially if they’re somehow new in the industry and want to introduce their products or services to your event attendees. although a known brand might also want to sponsor your event in an attempt to reach new target audiences if they’re introducing a new line of product.

The advantage of adding value for your audience

Programs like innovative sponsorship look at the needs of attendees first. You need to understand the core requirements of those who will be attending the event and to offer the opportunity to provide solutions to sponsors, and also solving the concerns that attendees might encounter that day, such as providing grab and go snacks to hungry attendees through partnership or sponsorship. These are also remarkable practical concepts that add worth to attendees while delivering relevant sponsorship messages.

In this strategy, you will be able to solve the predicament that might arise in your event and you can also provide an opportunity to your sponsors brand to reach their target audience and have the attendees experience their products and services by offering them free samples. It’s a plus if you can also exhibit a user-friendly experience for the partners, sponsors, and attendees and that they could get something out of the event.

As the famous saying of Luther Vandross “The best things in life is free”. Swag that companies provide in events are usually branded with the company's name and logo, great examples of these are Umbrellas, Planners, T-shirts and Reusable Water Bottles. Providing these swag giveaways is a win-win strategy for all. As the event planner you have something to give your attendees as a token of appreciation for attending your event, for attendees they got to attend and experience your event and able to receive free stuff, and for the sponsors, this is a very good form of an advertising campaign to reach their target customers.

When it comes to practicality, it’s considered beneficial to use VR technology in introducing the actual set-up and design of your upcoming event. The reason for this is you can work with your sponsors to create a better user experience for your attendees. This will also entice and produce anticipation for your target audience to attend your event. While you can also avoid the bad event design that can place attendees in a negative mood, it’s important because this will affect their desire to attend or to do business, which might also result to a bad sponsorship experience.

Sponsorship ROI expectations

At the end of the day, sponsors are ultimately businesses and not charity organizations. They will still want something in return for funding your event. The key is to be an effective communicator and shows clear terms what makes your event worth the sponsor’s marketing funds. Sponsorship requires mutual compromises and reciprocity.

What do the sponsors aim to get out of funding your event? Your agreement may include providing sponsors certain booths or placing their logo on event promotional banners and flyers. Sponsors may also expect more impact in their advertisement in return for their financial support

Just make sure to tailor your results to what your sponsors are looking for. If their goal is new product exposure, show them traffic or visuals that attendees are using their newest product .give them meaningful solutions and data in achieving their goals.

No one said that meeting your sponsorship goals would be easy. You just need to have a well-thought plan and implement it accordingly, for the best chance of success. It is recommended to hand out proposals to your potential sponsors starting with at least 100 prospective leads. it may seem like a large number, but only a small part of those 100 will turn out to actual sponsors, so you need to create a long list as a good starting point. With these lists, you will have more than enough to begin the prospecting process.

In case you're an event planner or event stylist that designs events for a wide range of clientele, and you’re thinking or planning to incorporate a mindblowing Virtual Reality experience in your next events, you can check us out here.

Youcanevent is the first marketplace where you can visualize your next event in Virtual Reality and simultaneously book the vendors needed to support your event. This is the future of event experiences by using Virtual Reality in real life.