Top 5 Event Sponsorship Tips

Event sponsorship is the most profitable way to finance your hybrid event. As any event organiser will know, a major chunk of the event’s budget comes from sponsors. So, providing value to them in return, automatically, becomes a top priority for event organizers.

Market trends also corroborate that. In a recent survey of event professionals, 66% of the respondents said adding value to sponsors was their foremost priority. However, they also identified it as the biggest challenge industry professionals are faced with. In this article, we offer five ways you can bring more value to your sponsors.

Why is Sponsorship Important?

First thing first, what makes sponsorship a crucial element to an event’s success?

Firstly, how big you can go with your event, and which speakers you can bring, all depends on the amount of financial assistance you can secure from sponsors.

Secondly, big names associated with your event also lend more credibility to your brand or association and help you create a buzz in the community.

Thirdly, your chances of getting future sponsorships hinges on high exhibitor ROI. Proven exhibitor ROI at your hand and testimonials from them are a sure-fire way to land heavyweight sponsors in your next event.

So, it’s fair to say that event sponsorships form the backbone of your hybrid event’s success.

5 Tips for Event Professionals to Provide Value to Sponsors

1. Offer Tiered-sponsorship

In the post-pandemic world, exhibitors and sponsors are more cautious about putting their money into events. Tiered sponsorship offers more flexibility & latitude to your sponsors and makes your event more inclusive. Sponsors can choose their suitable package depending on their budget. 

On one hand, event sponsorship slabs with exclusive features reserved for top-tier sponsors help you showcase the exclusivity while pitching to sponsors. On the other hand, even smaller businesses with limited budgets can take part in your event.

To give a practical example MOH-AMM, while hosting their hybrid medical conference, opted for five sponsorship slabs with varying degrees of features and benefits for each. Top-tier exhibitors had the opportunity to add an unlimited number of booth representatives for better traffic management, enhanced brand visibility with more spaces for showcasing banners and logos. 

2. Lead-generation Opportunities in Hybrid Booths

Generating leads is one of the top priorities for exhibitors and sponsors. In hybrid events, exhibitor booths become a deciding factor on that aspect. Exhibitors look for opportunities to showcase their products to the visitors, share informative resources to acquaint attendees with their brands. 

Most importantly, in hybrid exhibitions, a direct communication channel between the visitors and brand representatives is crucial, so that any interested visitors can get in touch with the representatives and book meetings.  

Another important factor is receiving real-time insights from the booth. Exhibitors need to track their booth product performance to understand attendees’ preferences and market trends. So while choosing a hybrid event platform make sure the platform offers these features for exhibitor booths.

Read More: 5 Ways Virtual and Hybrid Events Are Fostering Business Growth In 2022

3. Running Ads on Platform

Think of it in this way, what do sponsors aim to achieve from the event? Exhibitor ROI is linked to increased brand awareness and direct chance to connect with the audience. Banners help in increasing brand visibility of sponsors. Whereas, clickable ads let you direct traffic to your sponsors’ booths.

Place banners strategically in the lobby, exhibition hall and even in spaces such as networking lounge, gaming arena and breakout rooms. The more visibility you can offer to your sponsors, the better are the chances of their generating leads.

4. Providing Sales Opportunities

Lead generation is important, but don’t just stop there. Facilitate sales in your exhibition. Allow sponsors and exhibitors to sell their products. Integrate payment gateways to the exhibitor booth for quick buying options.

You can also tie this with tiered sponsorships and offer the sales opportunity exclusively to top-tier sponsors and exhibitors. Hybrid platforms can also help exhibitors secure meetings with potential virtual customers who could not attend the event in-person.

5. Allow Sponsored Sessions

Include sponsored session in your event agenda. There are different ways to include sponsors in webinars or conferences. One way is to involve them directly – you can invite a speaker from the brand, as a chief guest or the keynote speaker of your exhibition.

Conversely, allow sponsors to choose a specific session they want to be involved with. To showcase sponsor involvement, add the brand logo on the screen while live-streaming. During on-site sessions, have the moderator announce the brand name at the beginning and end of the sessions. You can also place banners inside the auditorium to enhance their brand visibility. 

Conclusion

The most important thing to remember is that sponsors fund your event hoping to achieve value for their money. So as an organiser, you must make sure that your sponsors are getting enough visibility and help them achieve a high ROI. We hope that these tips will help you do exactly that and build long-term business relationships with your sponsors. 

If you are planning to host a hybrid event soon, get in touch with our event experts. Samaaro is an award-winning hybrid events platform trusted by more than a thousand brands and organizations worldwide. Check out some of our previous projects here.