Why get a sponsor and how does that benefit your event? Having a strong sponsor for your event can help with so many things including financial backing, a wider network and reach, credibility as well as practical elements like volunteers, speakers, suppliers and even merchandise or prizes.
Targetting – Once you’ve identified the need for a sponsor for your event, it’s time to start thinking about who you could approach. You’ll need to collaborative closely with your sponsor which is why your values alignment is so important. You should put some real thought into this part, it will save a lot of time and heartache later! Also look at criteria such as budget, reach, industry, credibility and other ways in which the partnership can be mutually beneficial.
Messaging – This is where you get down into the detail and start putting values on the parts or all of your event. Categorise the most sellable items and portion your event into a selection of different parts, with a diverse range of costs, to appeal to larger and smaller sponsorships. It doesn’t have to be professionally put together if you don’t have the budget – you can make a very professional powerpoint deck or even put together something based on a canva template. Try to always personalise the branding in your brochure, so that the sponsor can immediately see the brand synergy.
Approach – Reaching out to your prospective sponsor can be the most exciting part of the process. You’ll have all your ducks in a row, including a fantastic list and a great value proposition for them to peruse. The approach is key at this point – getting the communication tone right on the overarching email or communication is so important. You could have a fabulously professional sponsorship booklet in the world, but it won’t be opened or looked into if the opening message isn’t right. Make sure to personalise, mention the company, talk about the synergies and help the sponsor to visualise themselves as part of your event, including their branding and highlighting areas that are important to them.
Continuity – This is the last piece of the puzzle on sponsorship. After a successful event, it’s important to keep the momentum going immediately while the event is fresh in everyone’s mind. Gather feedback both good and bad and arrange a debrief with your sponsor to ensure the sponsorship reached it’s potential in their eyes. If it didn’t, you still have time to repair and plan for the next time. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming all is ok – always do a debrief with the sponsor and together work on ways in which to improve the impact for them and for your event.
That’s it on sponsorship for now – be sure to follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for more tips on sponsorship and be sure to reach out to us if you need any help in this area.
Brand Activation
Brand Storytelling
Brand Campaign, Branding
Event Strategy, Event Design
Event Execution
End to end event management
Event Management
Event Management Cork
Event Manager
Event Manager Cork
Event Consultant
Event Consultant Cork
Event Training, Events
Sponsorship service
One to one consultation
Event Management Workshop
Event Management Consultation
Sponsorship