How to find and secure event sponsorship
Many events rely on securing sponsors to cover the costs and break even. Whether you're running a large conference or a small networking event, you can look for sponsors to provide either a set amount of monetary investment or other benefits, such as free event services or catering.
What is event sponsorship?
Event sponsorship is when an organisation financially supports an event by providing money or products and services. A great marketing opportunity for you and the sponsor, this is generally a type of promotion that will offer mutual benefits within the agreement.
Sponsors not only help to fund events to make them a great experience for attendees, they can also help to raise the profile of the event and enhance its overall reputation. By having a well-known sponsor, you can boost ticket sales and reach out to a wider audience.
How to get a sponsor for an event
When asking for sponsorship, it helps to have a proposal you can send providing information about who you are, your event, your target audience and roughly how many people will be attending. This is the first point of contact with your potential sponsor, so you need to use an appropriate tone of voice and speak their language. Think about the brands that you are talking with to ensure that sponsorship of your event would be relevant to them and try to personalise the offering to best fit their needs.
Within the proposal you will also need to include a cost of investment. To estimate how much you will need, you need to have a sponsorship idea and evaluate what you can offer in return.
Sponsorship ideas
Your event is a chance for sponsors to promote their brand and advertise their name, logo and message. Here are some sponsorship ideas you could suggest:
- Banners throughout the event
- Logo and name on promotional information and marketing
materials
- Brand awareness within event programme
- Product giveaways
- Mentions on your website and social media platforms
- Mentions in your newsletters and email marketing
- The opportunity to speak at the event
- The opportunity to exhibit at the event
Follow up
After the event, be sure to follow up with your sponsors to see if the partnership was a success for them. Get feedback on what worked well and what perhaps might need improving. If you have a recurring event, follow up is a great way to try to retain sponsorships for future years.