Every community has many yearly events. These events don’t happen without the support of sponsors. But with so many events, the competition for sponsors is getting stiffer and stiffer.
Event organizers struggle to come up with ways to attract new sponsors. Here are some rules of thumb to follow if you ever get involved in attracting sponsors to your event.
One common mistake is that organizers overprice their sponsorship levels. You have to sit down and take a look at what the market will bear. Think about what your company would spend to become a sponsor of an event and make it affordable. Most times it is much easier to get two $5,000 sponsors than it is to get one $10,000 sponsor.
Load up your sponsorship program with lots of perks for the sponsors. If a company has a budget for sponsorships, make sure your event is more attractive than other events. Load it up with lots of tickets and advertising opportunities. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and be creative in your approach.
Make sure your sponsorship document is the best it can be. It has to professionally done to reflect the quality of the event you are putting on. Potential sponsors can tell if the event is going to be worth it by the care that’s put into the document. Don’t just list the sponsorship levels and contact information; explain the benefits of being a sponsor of the event, projected attendance figures and the demographics of the attendees. Give them a reason to be involved.
The main reason I wrote on this particular subject is because of the increased number of clients coming to us for help with their event sponsorship. Organizers are starting to up their game when attracting sponsors. Make sure you get it right if you are involved in putting on an event.