Event Sponsorship: Tricks of the Trade
Tricks of the trade in courting sponsorship – Event planners need to step up efforts to win relevant and targeted sponsorshipsEvent sponsorship is becoming an issue for event planners, especially over the last 18 months as budgets are a lot tighter. Companies want more for their money; they really want to make sure that the events they attend are very relevant and well organised.
In the past they would be willing to sponsor dinners and a boat ride – part of a social programme – but those days are long gone. Interested companies are now asking a lot more questions about aspects of the meeting and the delegates who will attend.
Sponsors are still investing in the right ideas and platforms, but if you want to be successful selling sponsorship it has to be done strategically.
You can be creative in your approach and positing but the business case still needs to be strong. The way sponsorship is bought these days is based on how it can deliver for a brand and impact the bottom line.
You need to be extremely diligent in your preparation before you even approach a brand, so you know potentially what they are looking for and you can make sure that you have something that is relevant to them. Try to find out their objectives and requirements then tailor a package to suit their needs.
Organisers have to put their thinking caps on and develop ideas to makes sponsors stand out from the crowd. However, not all the ideas have to come from the organisers involve the sponsors as well. In bigger sponsorship deals, the companies might want much more decision making power, like choosing the venue and destination. Take into consideration what they have to say and their views are considered – they are not just the money providers sometimes.
From C&IT Association Events
© Brunel's Old Station is the trading name for Empire Museum Ltd, a company limited by guarantee and incorporated in England & Wales.
