Making Experiential Marketing and Sponsorships Work

Making Experiential Marketing And Sponsorships Work

Whether you are an event organizer or are considering sponsoring an event, the combination of experiential marketing events and sponsorship can improve your business and make you money. That is a confident claim, but here is how you can maximize the return from your event by getting sponsors, and how you can get a return if you are the one doing the sponsoring.

Why Should You Get Sponsors For Your Event?

Many people make the mistake of thinking the main benefit of getting a sponsor for an event is to reduce the cost. This is a simplistic way of considering sponsors, and often leads to poor execution where sponsors don’t get as much from the event as they could have, which in turn makes it harder for you to engage them in future events.

The main benefit of getting a sponsor for your event is an improved return on investment. After all, you are running an experiential marketing initiative to promote your business. This could be building brand awareness, increasing sales, attracting new customers, or getting new business leads. A sponsor will help you achieve your objectives.

They do this through the financial support that they offer. This is crucial to any deal, but you should not leave it at that. This is another mistake that many event organizers make – they get sponsorship money, include the sponsor’s logo on all marketing materials, and they’re done. When a sponsorship arrangement is set up well, this is only part of the process.

When done right, the money that a sponsor provides will help you enormously, but there are other benefits too. They won’t all apply in all situations, but the more that you can utilize the more successful your event will be.

The other benefits that a sponsor will bring to your event include:

  • Expertise and services – the sponsor might be able to provide services or expertise that you will have to purchase anyway. They could provide this for free, or at a reduced cost, as part of the overall deal. Using a sponsor as a supplier is also an intelligent business decision as they have a direct involvement in the event so will go the extra mile to ensure it is as successful as possible.
  • Kudos – a sponsor can also raise the profile and enhance the reputation of your event
  • Increased exposure for the event – through the sponsor’s social media channels and other marketing initiatives, and directly to the sponsor’s employees and customers
  • Additional revenue streams – in many situations you can create shared revenue streams as part of the event. This could be through selling your sponsor’s merchandise at the event, for example. You could also set up a partnership where your merchandise is sold through the sponsor. You could also create shared apps, websites, or other products that could bring in revenue for both you and the sponsor.
  • Enhanced business relationships – an event which brings a substantial ROI for both you and your sponsor will deepen your relationship and open up opportunities for you to work with them again in the future. This could be through other events or alternative marketing initiatives, or as a supplier or customer.

When approaching a sponsor you should try to think out-of-the-box as to how you can get as much out of the relationship as possible. Focus on the monetary value of the sponsorship, of course, but don’t limit yourself to the money consideration. Instead try to work as much into the contract and agreement as you possibly can.

Why You Should Sponsor An Event?

Sponsoring an experiential marketing event can bring huge benefits to your business. It is a bit like that old saying “no man is an island”. No business is an island either, so associating yours with a suitable event can bring huge rewards. This is why large brands like Coca Cola, Nike, and Ford are involved in sponsorship deals. They are all hugely successful and respected global brands, but they still recognize the enormous benefits of partnering with events through sponsorship. You can do the same.

Everything should come back to a return on investment. This could be a financial return on investment as well as returns that are measured in other ways.

Here are the benefits that sponsoring an event can bring to your business:

  • Brand awareness – increasing your brand awareness and getting customers to choose you instead of a competitor.
  • Credibility – enhance or develop credibility in your industry, and with a wider audience.Kudos – get positive PR, often at a much cheaper cost than trying to generate the PR on your own.
  • Customer loyalty – reinforce customer loyalty through association with an event
  • Generate sales or leads – depending on the event and your relationship with the organizer, you don’t have to be a passive participant. You could use the event to directly get more sales, or to generate new leads.
  • Goodwill – some events will also generate a lot of goodwill for your business. Sponsoring events run by charities or community organizations are two examples.
  • Stand out from your competitors – sponsoring an event can differentiate your business from your competitors. You can establish yourself as an expert in your industry, or reach a younger demographic, for example.
  • Provides a showcase for products and services – sponsoring an event is a low-cost way of showcasing what you have to offer. This includes helping with the launch of new products or services.
  • Market and product research – you can use events that you are sponsoring to conduct market research, or to gather customer opinions on your brand
  • New revenue streams – you can also work with the event organizer to create shared revenue streams. These partnership arrangements can even extend beyond the end of the event.
  • Staff benefits – you can use free event tickets for staff too as an inexpensive reward or bonus

Capitalizing on just some of these opportunities will generate huge returns for your business. Are you ready to get involved in experiential marketing? Sponsor an event today.

Comments are closed.

CASE STUDY ACCESS

X