Effective event sponsorship
Event sponsorship = business marketing
Event sponsorship is a marketing tactic for a business, and a part of a business’ marketing plan in the same way that holding a competition or paying for radio advertising is.
If a business is looking at sponsoring an event, it will be assessing how the event can help it achieving its marketing objectives such as
increased sales
new or increased product or brand awareness or loyalty
launch a new product or service
access a new market
growth of its email database and social media followers
community engagement
awareness of the business as a good corporate citizen via meeting its social obligation (goodwill)
third party endorsement of the brand by the festival
Contemporary sponsorship prospectuses
Businesses consider closely their investment and the value proposition offered by the marketing opportunity your event provides (i.e. the marketing benefits it will receive through your event).
So no more gold, silver and bronze sponsorship tiers, please!
It will be strategic and well thought out partnership models that will garner support for events.
Instead of using tiers, provide potential sponsors with a list of ways they could sponsor your event such as naming rights of an activity, a venue, your market, the stage, the VIP marquee, the competition arena, the foodie precinct, the kids play zone, the volunteer team, your event’s signature dish, essential services (e.g. security, set up and pack down, power), or a photo competition.
Make in-kind sponsorship work for you - reducing expenses is just as good as increasing revenue! Look at your expenses in your budget closely and think about what in kind support could help reduce expenses. In-kind sponsorship could include providing
competition prizes for drumming up interest in the event or to get responses to a visitor survey
printing
loan of equipment such as marquees or AV equipment
labour - especially for setting up and packing down the event
Let potential sponsors know that the sponsorship agreement will be tailor-made; that the two parties will figure out together how the event can help the sponsor meet their goals.
Marketing benefits your event can provide, aside from the obvious marketing benefits like signage at the event and mentions in social media, include
product use at the festival
opportunity to provide samples (giveaway, trial, sample bag, branded merchandise)
opportunity to run an activity for attendees to participate in
opportunity to network and build relationships with other sponsors, local businesses and government representatives
opportunity to open an event
cooperative paid advertising
Some not-so-obvious benefits you can offer a sponsor include
sponsorship leverage kit with tips on how to get the most benefit from the sponsorship
opportunity for its staff to volunteer together as a team-building experience
contribute to the festival’s economic benefit for the town
contribute to the immense pride locals feel in their successful event
contribute to the festival’s investment in infrastructure for the community
support one of Australia’s uniquely special events
association with an event seen positively by both locals and visitors
join in the fun!
Check out these examples of sponsor brand activations at festivals
Your sponsorship prospectus
Put together a sponsorship prospectus that provides options and opportunities that businesses can explore with the event’s Sponsorship Coordinator.
Include in your prospectus
The vision of what the event is trying to achieve
“Our vision is that the festival puts our town on the map, strengthens our town’s sense of community, and attracts overnight visitors to our region.”A description of the festival, including its unique selling proposition – what can attendees of your event experience there that they cannot experience elsewhere (and hence why they come)
Last year’s results – be loud and proud! How many visitors came? How many came from outside the region? What were their demographics? How much did they spend on average? How many participants took part? How many community groups fundraised and how much did they raise? What award did your event win? Include a quote from a satisfied visitor.
Improvements for this year – including new stronger organisational foundations, financial transparency, risk management improvements, site improvements, new elements, etc
The event’s target markets, in detail, including info on your current visitors. If you have an Ideal Event Attendee, be sure to include this information. The business is trying to see if your attendees are the kind of people who would buy from them.
Your marketing tactics to promote this year’s events – how you will connect with your target markets and tempt them to get in the car and come. Provide info on how effective your tactics were last year (you should always be measuring your marketing tactics to ensure you get the best return on your investment)
Remember to let your sponsors know, that though there are numerous opportunities available at the festival, the number of major sponsor partnerships will be capped to prevent saturation and ensure that there is exclusivity for major sponsors.
Once sponsors have had a taste of your event, and how well you look after your sponsors, ask for a two- or three-year partnership arrangement to save you the effort of negotiating every year.
A team approach to regional recovery
Festivals and events can help support regional businesses to rebuild, if a strategic and smart alignment is formed – particularly as events are such important drivers of tourism into regional areas there may be an opportunity for events to consider a team approach to rebuilding a local economy. For example, for an event to work closely with a group of local businesses to attract people to the event and to the businesses, forming a partnership to help rebuild the local economy and destination brand awareness.
Revenue streams beyond sponsorship (and grants)
In saying all of that, events must not to be dependent on sponsorship and grant funding. Events with a much more diverse income base are likely to survive for the long term than those that are dependent on external funding bodies.
There is a role for sponsorship and grant funding but not as core operational funding. Use these as additional funds to add value to your event, develop a new element, grow a new market, etc
Events need to consider new revenue streams. Create NSW developed this comprehensive toolkit to get you started. Post COVID crowd funding may be a good model for events to rebuild with loyal fans and community supporting events to ensure they aren’t lost forever.
Mastering event sponsorship
DIY Templates
Streamline the sponsorship process with these DIY templates
Master Class webinar: Developing sponsorship proposals that sell (11 October 2021)
In this master class you’ll learn a simple but effective approach to event sponsorship, that will provide a focused approach to securing corporate partnerships.
Master Class webinar: Identifying, securing and retaining quality sponsors (watch on-demand)
In this master class we explore the modern approach to sponsorship, where a targeted and well researched pitching process is key.
Master Class webinar: Revenue streams beyond sponsorship and grants (watch on-demand)
In this master class on 16 November 2020 we will explore the fundamentals of event finances and discuss revenue streams and opportunities for events to become self-sustaining and commercially viable.
Online Training Module: Event Finance – Show me the money
Learn event finance management skills in our online training program with
On-demand training video
Supporting resources, tools & templates to help you action learnings
Successful case studies and examples to highlight how others do it
Links to further supporting readings, podcasts and blog articles to extend your knowledge
Access to Q&A sessions to allow for further discussion on the topic
Lesson 1: Do you have a pathway to financial sustainability?
Lesson 2: Making the event budget your new BFF
Lesson 3: Revenue streams for events
Podcast: Making event sponsorship and grant funding fun!
In this podcast regional event expert Linda Tillman explores how you can be more effective (and efficient) at attracting funding support for your next event.
Podcast: How community sponsorship can build a powerful brand
Alistair Flower of Flower Hotels is your textbook definition of a publican. However, his love of a good yarn and building relationships extends well beyond the front bar. Alistair or 'Flowery' has a real knack for knowing how to tap into a local community and to build an incredibly strong brand.
His penchant for community engagement has seen him win multiple national awards with the Australian Liquor Association and the Australian Hotels Association including Best Community Hotel in Australia for his flagship pub based in Port Macquarie.
So how does he manage to engage his local community beyond the four walls of his pubs? Sponsorship!
Flowery is very strategic about how he approaches his sponsorship opportunities. He sets clear objectives, he very actively manages the sponsorship deal and he measures like a ninja.
