Event sponsorship is one of the most untapped marketing channels in the U.S. Done well, it offers a significant and unmistakable opportunity for businesses to achieve a host of competitive advantages while showing support for the event. Many organizations use sponsorship support to reach specifically targeted niche markets and to complement their other marketing campaigns.
For sponsors, there are plenty of benefits:
- Enhances their image and shape consumer attitudes.
- Showcases their products or services to drive sales.
- Create positive publicity as a “good neighbor” and heightens brand awareness.
- Differentiate themselves from the competition.
- Enhance business and consumer relations.
Sponsorship is a two-way street where, in exchange for a business’ financial support, you offer an unparalleled opportunity to be seen by their target audience. Making sure your sponsorship packets have unique offerings is crucial to creating a successful event for both your sponsors and your organization. Creating effective sponsorship packets is an art. It requires a clear and distinct vision of what your organization stands for, as well as a sixth sense of which businesses are likely to be interested in becoming sponsors.
One of the best ways to create sponsorship packets that will get businesses to sign up for your event is to put yourself in their shoes. Go beyond and above the typical packages and think about what benefits you would be willing to spend money on for a sponsorship. What can you offer that will make the sponsor’s business stand out from the crowd and align with their current marketing strategies? Then figure out how you can best tell a sponsor’s story and include offerings that meet that goal. From there, you can put together tiered levels that offer real value, no matter what the sponsor’s budget. For example:
- Develop bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond level packets (or tiers that match the theme of your event).
- The higher the level, the more exclusive the opportunity should be and the more benefits should be included.
- The highest tiered packets should be kept to a minimum to justify the higher investment and to give the sponsor the most targeted exposure.
Generate competition and early buzz around the exclusivity of your higher levels, offering them for a limited time to just your previous sponsors before opening them up to new sponsors.
WHAT SPONSORS WANT FROM SPONSORSHIP PACKETS
For most businesses, sponsorships are about attracting new leads to their products or services. Often, they know exactly what they need from you to do that. It’s your job to provide them with sponsorship opportunities that get them where they want to be. Whether it’s workshops, roundtables, presentations, golf tournaments, parties, or other social events, your sponsors want to make a splash to be impressive.
LEARN MORE
The effectiveness of your sponsorship packet is often the difference between securing that lucrative sponsor relationship or being passed over in favor of another organization that offers better exposure. To learn more about why and how sponsorship packets can help your organization attract new sponsors, contact us today. Our experts can help you create the best package to serve your needs.
