Do you know what benefits event sponsors are looking for? Without that information driving your sponsorship proposal, it’s impossible to win the right sponsors because you won’t be addressing your potential sponsors’ main concerns. This is especially important in the wake of a pandemic that has upended the events industry, leaving it less secure but also with more possibilities (hello, hybrid events!).
The fact is, sponsors don’t provide funding just because they want free tickets to your event. They have their own strategic business goals, so to have any success in attracting sponsorship to your event, you want to make sure your proposal lines up with their goals.
Read on to discover five coveted sponsorship benefits you can offer to hook big brands.
Sponsorship benefit #1: Access is key
What sponsors want is access to new and bigger target markets. The better you know your attendee demographics, the more you can prove that your event attendees are that target market.
Once you know your attendees are a sponsor’s target market, be sure to highlight how events provide a level of access to customers that very few other forms of marketing can even touch. Your attendees have proven that they’ll spend money in a given market, which means they’ll likely continue spending money in that market. Events with a personal nature can also make a more direct and memorable impression. A sponsor’s message isn’t left to passive advertisements on social media that people scroll past or commercials on broadcast television that viewers skip – instead, it’s integrated into an entertaining and memorable live, in-person event.
In your communications with potential sponsors for events, offer to tailor the sponsorship in a way that gives the brand a unique form of cut-through with their target audience. For example, you could offer to have a brand ambassador introduce a musical or comedy act on stage, or have a grand prize in a contest or raffle “presented by” the brand.
Tip: Dig deep into your attendee and event data to find meaningful ways sponsors can connect with your audience. The right activation will enhance your attendees’ experience of your event – which is a win/win/win scenario for you, your attendees, and your sponsors.
Sponsorship benefit #2: Exclusive market research
Some companies go to extraordinary lengths to develop a comprehensive profile of their ideal customer. Lucky for you, you’re sitting on a goldmine of industry-exclusive data that the right brands would love to get their hands on.
When guests register on Eventbrite for your events, you can gather key data, such as contact information, what days of the week tend to sell more tickets, what price points tend to see a bigger response, and what advertising leads to conversions. You can even gather tailored information by creating a survey and emailing it to guests, either pre- or post-event. From demographics and firmographics to purchase behaviours, your insights into their target audience can influence a sponsor’s business strategy and pave the road to success.
Tip: Consider offering sponsors the opportunity to add some key marketing questions (ones they really want the answers to) in your next follow-up survey. Or, create focus groups with willing event-goers, so they can get the granular data on the target market they’re looking for.
Sponsorship benefit #3: Value from beginning to end
While branding opportunities during your event likely take centre stage in your conversations with potential sponsors, don’t overlook the opportunities available both before and after your event takes place. Sponsors are most interested in the ROI, or return on investment. That means they are looking to convert their sponsorship spend by gaining new customers who will make up for the cost of sponsorship.
Sponsorship investment can take the form of branded promotions of your event on social media channels or, after the lights have been turned off and the exit gate has closed, with reusable content such as branded photo collections or video compilations. Break these opportunities out as separate sponsorship buys to expand your rank of sponsors, or bundle them together to create a sponsorship package.
Tip: Use surveys and focus groups to establish initial benchmarks of how well a sponsor’s brand is perceived by your attendees. Use this data to help your sponsors set goals for improvement post-event, then retest the same metrics after the event.
Sponsorship benefit #4: Measurable outcomes over promises
Sponsors have outcomes they’re seeking to achieve, like increased brand exposure or new customer acquisition. No matter the outcome, they’ll want to measure every aspect of their sponsorship to ensure they’re enjoying the benefits of being a sponsor for an event.
Fortunately, you can provide your sponsors with both hard and soft data from the event as it happens, with real-time numbers that can prove the effectiveness of their sponsorship. You can show them how the data has changed from the first announcement through the event and right through to clean-up. Illustrate the increase in brand awareness with social media reach and event attendance. Show your conversion rate by detailing the social click-through rate and on-site sales numbers. Finally, document your attendees’ views on the sponsor’s brand with post-event surveys that calibrate the impression the sponsor made on your attendees.
Tip: Make sure your proposal explains how their sponsorship will achieve their specific objective. Don’t just assume they’ll make the connection themselves. If their goal is to increase their brand awareness, don’t just say where you’ll showcase their brand. Instead, detail how you’ll track social mentions, measure on-site engagement, and track brand preference post-event so they’ll get results.
Get the tools that capture data to impress your sponsors
Let’s face it. To get sponsors to buy into your event, you’ll need to offer them something that other marketing avenues can’t. What you have to offer stems from your customers: the data you have about their demographics, the data you have about their spending behaviours, and the data you have about their conversions. When you use Eventbrite, gathering data about your attendees is an integral part of the process.
From event registration to Eventbrite Boost and a host of additional functions, Eventbrite gives you the tools you need to gain the sponsorships that allow your events business to thrive. Get your event started and put our tools to use today.
