Sponsorship is a key element of event planning as without financial backing, all you have are some great ideas with no way to bring them to fruition. There is a lot involved in attracting event sponsorship but arguably one of the most important elements is putting together the sponsorship package.
The sponsorship package is your elevator pitch. Your opportunity to convince potential backers that your plan can achieve its goals and deliver the results a sponsor would expect.
The package is also an agreement between you, the sponsor and the attendees. In it, you make certain promises to offer value to the sponsor and entertainment or value to the attendees. It will form part of the contract and should not be taken lightly.
There are two primary event sponsorship models we use, the tiered and the a la carte. Tiered sponsorship is where different companies can commit to a sponsorship tier in return for a given amount in return. Typically, you would name them Gold, Silver, Bronze or something else. Cost would increase as you climb the tiers but so would the rewards.
A la carte sponsorship is where a sponsor can select to sponsor an element of your event. For example, sponsoring the talent, a guest speaker, a photo booth, the catering or something else.
Before you approach sponsors, you will need to decide your sponsorship model and what tiers or options will be available at what cost. Only then can you begin creating your package.
The specifics of a sponsorship package should always be unique to the sponsor but the basic package outline is usually the same. It will include:
The design of the sponsorship package can vary a lot but you would initially want a snappy introduction worded to create curiosity or interest in the event. Next outline who you are, the event you’re pitching and why you want to hold this event. These elements can be short and catchy as long as they contain all the pertinent information.
Once you have communicated the who, what and why, you can cover the details. Outline the size and target audience and why that audience is relevant to the sponsor. This is where your sponsor research comes in. Make it all about the sponsor, what they want, what they have sponsored in the past and their vision for the future.
The closer you can link that research to your event, the more likely that sponsor is to agree.
A sponsor will quickly want to know what your event will feature and how it will benefit them. The what’s in it for the sponsors part of your package is probably the most important element. It means tailoring your package to each potential sponsor and listing the benefits that sponsor will receive in return for their money. To be able to do this, you need to research the potential sponsor and look at what they might want from such an event.
Potential motivators include:
There are many other potential motivations for sponsoring an event but brand awareness is usually top of the list. Don’t assume that though. Some companies want to generate leads or sales, overcome recent negative PR or even overcome negatives of their industry by sponsoring events.
Your sponsor research should already have given you an indication of the resources the sponsor may have or the tier they are most likely to want. You can build that into your event sponsorship pitch but also be prepared to be flexible. The tier you pitch at may not work or the a la carte choice you offer might not fit the current goals.
Show the tier model or a la carte list as part of the package and give the sponsor time to digest and assess. They may want a lower tier, they may want a higher one. Giving them the choice sets the scene for a partnership rather than a simple request for money. That will be very important going forward.
You can round out your sponsorship package with a little more information about your company, the events you have held in the past, highlight their successes and make yourself seem as competent as possible while being completely truthful.
You then need to finish by showing how you will measure the success of the event. This is where event evaluation comes in. You can list the KPIs you will measure, offer visibility of your measuring tools and include any projections you didn’t cover in the features and benefits section.
There are hundreds of great examples for event sponsorship. The tiered model speaks for itself but a la carte options provide huge scope for creativity. Here are a few ideas you could use.
A lounge or chillout area sponsored by a soft furnishings company, soft drinks firm, lighting company or something else matches the intent of the space with the needs of the sponsor.
Experiential events are huge and still growing. You could approach tech sponsors with links to VR to sponsor an experience. It worked immensely well for Dell when they sponsored the VR World conference. It could work equally well on any scale.
The livestreaming of events is another growth area and something that could be sponsored by almost anyone. Whether you’re planning an entire event to be livestreamed or are offering a live stream of the event, you can use this to promote your sponsor. A logo can be placed in a corner of the stream and short intro and outro ads can be included in the mix.
Sponsored WiFi or phone charging is another growth area thanks to our dependence on phones. If you could approach a phone manufacturer or network, all the better, otherwise it could work with a local electronics company, power company or something else entirely.
Mobile phone network EE did this at Glastonbury in 2019 and it worked immensely well for the brand.
