Event sponsorship is the backbone of event organizations. It is the fastest-growing form of marketing in the United States. When done strategically, it offers significant benefits to both the sponsor and the organization–like improving return on investment or opening opportunities for sales.
In this article, we’ll show you the four different kinds of event sponsorships, their benefits to your organization, and how they can increase your visibility.
What Is Event Sponsorship?
Event sponsorship enables sponsors to give some sort of investment in exchange for marketing at an event.
When there’s a good match between an event and a sponsor, you can easily spread your organization’s message without the trouble of planning the event yourself.
Therefore, event sponsorship allows organizations to host bigger and better events faster and at a low cost–a win-win for both parties.
1. Financial Event Sponsorship
Financial, or sometimes referred to as cash sponsors, continue to be the leading type of event sponsorship. With this one, a sponsor offers money to an event organizer in exchange for promotions or other benefits outlined in their sponsorship agreement.
For large-scale events, you can create individual event sponsorship packages for those who agree to contribute to your organization.
Defining sponsorship level is the first step to take for an event to reach its full potential. Make sure to set ambitious but realistic goals. After that, you can figure out the donors, businesses to tap and select the sponsorship levels.
2. In-Kind Sponsorship
In-kind sponsorship provides goods or services instead of physical currency. Compared to financial sponsorship, it contributes more value to the event. Some examples of it are the following:
Venue Partner
According to a survey report, 72% of event attendees say that an event’s location is a significant factor in deciding whether they will attend the event or not.
Although planning plays a significant part in an event’s success, you have to make sure that your location suits your organization’s brand and caters to the right audience.
With this in mind, choosing the right venue partner is crucial for an event to be successful. It allows organizations to host events at their venue in exchange for a discount or a free rate.
Not only does this type of event sponsorship allow for the venue to gain exposure, but it also gives the organization a great place to host their event.
Prize Sponsors
Prize sponsors choose to donate specific items with their logos for event participants. They are a popular choice when you want to boost engagement in your event.
You may hand these items out as activity-based prizes for winners. However, you should customize them to suit your business needs.
For example, if you are a local gym membership-based organization, prize sponsors may want to donate customized weights or other gym equipment. It keeps your attendees happy while promoting the event sponsor at the same time.
Food Sponsors
An event isn't complete without food. Delectable meals can indeed elevate the attendee experience. You can even boost everyone’s interest by offering free food.
Catering is more expensive due to higher manpower. Therefore, it’s essential to find a food sponsor for your next big event.
It can yield significant results, like increasing event attendance and encouraging mingling among participants.
Digital Sponsors
You can usually find digital sponsors during tech-related events. They provide either an app for the event, poll questions, media walls, or live tweets.
With the recent switch in technology, digital sponsors are becoming increasingly popular in the event planning industry.
People enjoy fast response time and personalization. Event Venues can benefit from digital sponsors as there's a growing trend in digital event spaces popping up across the globe's most tech-driven cities.
Keep in mind that in-kind sponsorships are not limited to these four examples. There are plenty of ways to find the right ones that bring value to both the sponsor and the organization.
3. Media Event Sponsorship
The use of smartphones grows rapidly, which affects the global and localized forms of direct marketing. Technological advancements contribute to the recent shift in the appeal of media sponsorships.
A report says that 78% of the population are now smartphone users–compared to only 17% in 2008.
Due to the surge in digital activity from gadgets, companies are now advertising their events more through media sponsorships, primarily through social media.
Given the budgetary constraints that nonprofit organizations and events tend to face, this type of sponsorship most suits them.
Having readily available media sponsors is key exposure tactics for the advertisement and publicity purposes of smaller companies.
When media sponsors are present, the organizations spend less time and money on the advertisements.
Moreover, they and do not face the difficulty of purchasing the media coverage they often require.
Finding the right media sponsor for your organization is vital when determining the success of this partnership. Similarly, you need to prepare sponsorship packages that show how they can benefit sponsors to attract their interest more.
If you want to be your own media sponsor, Glue Up's CRM software allows you to keep all contact information and activity tracking up-to-date in a single location.
You can send out email campaigns to promote your events with ease using our reliable event management software.
4. Promotional Partners
Compared to media sponsors, promotional partners are individual people who have a large following on social media. They can promote your organization's event to their individual fan base.
Instagram has become a modern approach for brands to promote their products and drive sales. According to the photo and video app company, 60% of people claim they found new products on the platform, while 20% of users browse a business profile every day.
In line with this, research says 81% of consumers say they're more likely to buy products they have encountered on social media.
When it comes down to it, any kind of event sponsorship will be crucial if your organization wants to continue growing and promoting its business. Plus, it’s an excellent opportunity for your organization to reach out to other companies and create lasting connections.
Are you interested in leveraging an event management platform to make it easier for you to get your sponsorships on your web page, emails, and more? Book a demo and get a tour of the Glue Up platform!
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