Six Motivations for Event Sponsors

We know that sponsorship is important to many of our clients. So, we’ve shared 6 key motivations for brands seeking sponsorship to keep in mind as you reach out to potential sponsors. By applying these unwritten rules of event sponsorship, you should enjoy more success with higher value sponsorships and better, long-term relationships with those sponsors you do bring on board.

What do event sponsors really want? …

1. Brand Awareness

Brands will sponsor an event to get in front of their target customer. So when putting together an event proposal, the first and most obvious step is to put together a list of companies who would benefit from sponsoring your event based on your potential event attendees - So know your attendees’ psychographics and demographics to match them carefully to potential event sponsors.

Often sponsorships will be easier to achieve with companies that are:

• Relatively new to the market - who will want to introduce your attendees to their product or service.

Or established companies who are:

• Launching a new product
• Rebranding
• Have a new decision maker

…Anything that will require a shift in branding/strategy. But remember, always be to the point! Confusing brands and setting out expectations that no sponsorship fee will be involved isn’t a good strategy, particularly if you don’t have months to tip toe build a relationship.

2. Increase sales of a product or service

For some sponsors, brand awareness isn’t enough. For a brand to sponsor your event there must be obvious benefits. So before pitching to a potential sponsor, ask yourself… “If I were in their shoes, what else would I want in return for sponsoring this event?” People always want to know what’s in it for them!

They’ll usually want to put their product or service in the hands of their new potential customers — usually by offering them free samples. This is particularly true for food and beverage companies, so check with your venue whether this is possible so that you can fulfil your agreement before promising anything.

Also, for brands focused on increasing sales through sponsorship, you’ll want to focus on metrics in your proposal – So collect data to paint a compelling picture – for example: 2 in 3 people who will be exposed to your brand at our event represent your target audience (but of course be more specific than that!).

Mention how exactly you will help them to measure their ROI - Social media can provide a huge amount of useful data about the reach of your event and how much your attendees interacted with one another and your brand.

And just as importantly, mention what you will do to support their efforts.

3. Reposition their brand

Unlike other forms of marketing and advertising, your event can help alter the public perception of a brand in an incredibly impactful way. With this in mind you can turn them into long-term strategic partner of your event.

How? Take the time to build a relationship with your sponsor - During your initial meetings, ask them about their goals and challenges, and really listen to their responses - You might discover a unique opportunity for them to paint their brand in a different light with your attendees; which consequently could equally benefit your own event strategy – Perhaps by including an exciting experiential marketing “happening” under the umbrella of your event.

4. Block competition

Understanding your potential sponsor’s competition is very important. Not only can your event help a brand reposition their product or service, it’s also an opportunity to get ahead of their competition.

Looking at your prospect list, consider their competition and find out if they’re sponsoring an event like yours. If a brand is in a hyper-competitive market, you can offer them a chance to reach their customer somewhere their competitor isn’t.

5. ego stroking

Some companies will sponsor things just because they want their name associated with it. Often these are things like sporting and cultural events.

This type of sponsorship is a way of showing the world they’re on top and doing well. It’s primarily driven by ego – It’s good to establish whether this is the case so that you can tailor your proposal effectively.

In this case imagery is a really good idea to help them to visualise how their brand would look in and around the event, including how often will they’re brand be mentioned in the marketing of the event.

Think about ways to feature them on your blog, across social media platforms, joint PR, pre-event webinars, taster sessions…There’s no limit to how you can boost a brands ego!

6. To show that they care

Last, but not least - A motivating factor for brands seeking event sponsorship can be about more than money.

Instead, some may want to sponsor your event simply because it will align their brand to a cause or mission their customers are passionate about, and which is clearly associated with your event.

Many brands will tell you that this is one of the key reasons they sponsor events. They want people to know that they care about their fans and are actively giving back to communities - It will be part of their corporate social responsibility strategy.

NEXT! Create the perfect proposal...

Sponsorship is actually a partnership between your event and your sponsors, which requires sincere interest in the sponsor’s objectives and how you can help them achieve goals. Once you’ve established what it is they want from the event, what kind of ROI they would be likely to experience, and hopefully more info on their budget and their decision-making process…then you can write a completely bespoke proposal for them.

This makes you look more professional, and gives them something they’re much more likely to say ‘yes!’ to because it’s based on what they value.

*Remember! Be sure to cover all attendee demographics and if you have past statistics to share, do so!*

Also, they will want to know your event strategy to have an idea of what your event will look and feel like. So have a clear concept to paint a picture they can visualise. Its also wise to discuss your marketing strategy including which forms of media you intend to use to market the event.

…Then follow up with them on an organised date and time – and stick to it!

Be prepared for some rejection – You can’t win them all! - But in this case, invite them to your event anyway in hope that they will attend - be impressed - and be more open minded to provide sponsorship the following year.

*Once you’ve gone through the hard work of winning a sponsor, don’t lose them!*

After the event, it will be just as important to include them in the evaluation of the event – let them know the ROI for their involvement, and ask them how they felt it went to offer a more fitting sponsorship deal for next years event… And finally send a thank you card with an invite to your next event - Keep that positive relationship going!