Securing sponsorships for a music festival can help expand your event budget and reach. Music festivals attract millions in the U.S. every year, making them appealing to sponsors looking to showcase their brands, products, and services. Read on to learn more about music festival sponsors, including why you should find them and how you can attract sponsors to your event.
Table of Contents
Why secure sponsorship for a festival?
How to get sponsors for a music festival
How to put together a festival sponsorship proposal
Host your music festival with the help of Eventbrite
Why secure sponsorship for a festival?
Sponsorships offer benefits for both event creators and sponsors. Understand how you can benefit from sponsorship and see how to sell the benefits to potential sponsors.
Benefits for event creators
Sponsorships are an effective way to expand your event budget. You can charge businesses a sponsorship fee, which you can then roll into your budget to help cover your expenses. They also help you network within your community and strengthen relationships with local businesses. When you do this, you’ll be able to tap into that business’ network and expand the reach of your next event. So, consider sponsorships an effective marketing technique to help access a market you may otherwise not have reached.
Benefits for sponsors
Events can help the sponsor’s image, especially if your event is a fundraiser or supports a good cause. Sponsorship allows businesses to promote their brand at the event and connect with a new audience. This marketing can generate leads or even increase product sales or services.
Before you start recruiting sponsors, find out what event sponsors want.
Who sponsors music festivals?
Finding willing festival sponsors requires reaching out to the right businesses and organisations. When deciding how to get sponsors for a music festival, first understand what types of organisations typically sponsor these events. Often, you’ll find that sponsors align with the music festival’s vision: they’ll have a shared audience base or want to promote or sell their product at the event. This is why food and drink companies often sponsor festivals, setting up booths or radio stations to play the artists performing.
How to get sponsors for a music festival
Securing music festival sponsors begins with a well-designed plan featuring sponsorship packages and incentives. Have your sponsorship opportunities clearly defined before reaching out to potential sponsors, so you can answer any questions they may have.
Be clear on the goals of your event
As part of your proposal, clearly outline your event’s goals and sponsorship aims. These may include raising money for a charitable cause, showcasing the best local music, or hosting the largest music festival in your region’s history. Sponsorship goals can target raising money to pull off a successful event, building relationships with local businesses, and fostering long-term relationships with sponsors.
Consider how your festival will offer value
Define how your festival can be valuable to your sponsor. To find willing sponsors, clearly outline the benefit for the organisation — not just your event. Value comes in many forms and includes opportunities to build brand awareness, market to a new audience, showcase new products or services, or give back to the community.
Highlight the ways sponsors can incorporate brand activations into your event. These include selling food, drinks, or merch, hosting VIP experiences, lounges, photo booths, and more. Check out these 10 brand activation Ideas that engage fans.
Know your audience demographic
Identifying your audience demographic helps you find sponsors that align with the values of your event and your attendees’ interests. Look back on previous event data to tap into any audience information you can share with potential sponsors. Were most of your ticket sales to locals or out-of-towners? What age groups are you targeting?
Incorporate a data-driven audience profile into your sponsorship proposal so potential sponsors can evaluate whether they’re a good fit for your audience. Share demographic information if you’re hosting your first music festival and don’t have any data. Write a description of your target audience, complete with their age range, income level, location, and other relevant information sponsors may need.
Think about ROI
Sponsoring a festival or developing a brand activation can be expensive, so potential sponsors need to see the ROI. This comes in many forms; it may include profits from selling food, drink, or merchandise, and leads and sales generated from exposure at the event.
The key is allowing sponsors to maximise their ROI. High-profile naming rights at the event can build interest in their brand. Make sponsorships appealing by showing potential sponsors how their businesses will benefit from your event.
Know what metrics to track
Potential festival sponsors will want to know all about your event to determine whether it’s a good fit. Track data from past events — or project data for your first festival — to inform and attract sponsors. The more data you offer, the better. Share these key metrics with potential sponsors:
- Audience demographics: Let sponsors in on all the info you have on your audience: age range, location, professional background, and interests. If you’ve hosted a festival in the past and sent out a guest survey, you’ll have plenty of info to deliver!
- Audience size: Share how many guests you expect to attend your festival.
- Engagement opportunities: Outline how many social media followers you have across your platforms, what their engagement rate is, and your website traffic. An active social media presence will appeal to potential sponsors.
- Sponsorship recall: Are last year’s sponsors signing up again this year? A high sponsorship recall rate is worth sharing because it indicates a solid ROI for sponsors.
Learn more about how to evaluate your event’s success.
How to put together a festival sponsorship proposal
A convincing sponsorship proposal highlights the advantages of being a sponsor and outlines the various festival sponsorship packages you’re offering.
Develop your music festival sponsorship packages
Before writing your proposal, determine what sponsorship packages you want to offer. Tailor the packages to each potential sponsor to provide a customised, well-researched one that suits each brand. Pitch your package as a partnership — one that aligns the sponsor’s brand goals with the lifestyle and needs of your attendees.
Consider including the following items in your music festival sponsorship package:
- Exclusive rights: Tell your sponsors you won’t partner with another brand in the same industry if they sign on.
- Long-term sponsorship: Stay connected by integrating information about your sponsors on your social media pages or website in the months following the event.
- ROI: Clearly explain the ROI for your sponsor — when you highlight the benefits of the sponsorship, they’ll be more likely to commit.
Create sponsorship tiers
Sponsorship tiers let you connect with more sponsors; some may be willing to make a more significant financial commitment than others. Design sponsorship tiers that allow potential sponsors to choose how much they can commit to your event. These tiers will reflect the financial commitment of the sponsorship, and each tier will include a package detailing what’s included.
For example, offer gold, silver, and bronze tiers. Gold sponsors receive a large tent at the event in a prominent location, naming rights to a stage or VIP lounge, advertisements on your home page, and banners at the event. Silver sponsors get a medium-sized tent at the event with more subtle advertising options. Bronze sponsorships come in at the lowest price, with a small tent and fewer marketing opportunities.
Write your sponsorship proposal
Now you’re ready to write your sponsorship proposal. Include these key elements to compose a brief but persuasive proposal:
- Identify the sponsor’s goals and how you can help achieve them. If you’re reaching out to a brand looking to promote their new product, highlight how your event can put said product in front of a set number of attendees in their key demographic.
- Explain what your sponsorship package offers — a tent or booth at your musical festival, the opportunity to sell a product or promote a service, and any advertising on social media or your festival website.
- Describe the ROI. Work in key metrics that illustrate your music festival’s reach.
- Ask for feedback — are there specific requests your sponsor may have before partnering with your event?
How to find festival sponsors
Successfully acquiring sponsors starts with reaching out to those that fit well with your music festival. Follow these tips to seek out sponsors that align with your event.
Identify contacts within your network
Networking is key. Tap into your current network to connect with organisations you have a relationship with — and reach out to them for suggestions.
Look for companies that have sponsored other music events
Explore sponsors at other recent music events in your area and reach out to them. They’ve already shown an interest in partnering with a similar event, so yours may also appeal.
Use social media to identify sponsors
Do some social media research. If you already have a few sponsors in mind, explore their social media pages to see what brands they follow. This can help identify like-minded brands that are a good fit for your music festival.
Reaching out to festival sponsors
Your research is complete, and your music festival tiers and packages are ready to share. It’s time to reach out to festival sponsors and secure them for your event. Follow these tips as you propose your partnership.
Research the company or brand
Show you’ve done some research on the brand. Speak to their recent sponsorships, brand values, or target demographic.
Find contact information for potential sponsors
Explore the brand’s website to identify the point person for sponsorships, and write your proposal specifically to that stakeholder. Don’t be afraid to follow up with a phone call a few days after submitting the proposal!
Personalise sponsorship packages
Show a potential sponsor you want to land them by offering a personalised sponsorship package. Mention products, services, or features specific to the brand. The more customised the proposal, the more attractive it’ll be.
Mention mutual connections
If a mutual connection referred you to the sponsor, mention their name. Potential sponsors are more willing to listen to you if they know you’re connected to someone they trust.
Check out these tips to learn how to write the perfect event sponsorship email.
Host your music festival with the help of Eventbrite
Once you’ve secured your music festival sponsors, you’re ready to promote your event. Learn how to sell tickets online, reach out to your fans, and scan tickets at the gate with the help of Eventbrite.
