Event Sponsorship Ideas for Organizers to Take Note of

What is one of the most pertinent concerns for organizers when hosting university events? If your answer is securing enough funding, then what we are about to discuss might be of use to you. In the process of booking a venue, sorting out equipment, and arranging for catering services, you find that you’re running out of funds too quickly. This is the reason why most event organizers choose to look for sponsorship opportunities for their events. 

Getting sponsors for your events helps you maintain a mutually beneficial dynamic. This means the sponsors would be more than willing to support your event if it gives them a chance to capture newer consumers for their brands. 

Now you may ask, but how do we get the right sponsors for our academic events? How to negotiate a deal with them? We’ll get there right away. Spare us a few minutes as we take you through the right ways to attract sponsors and secure funding for your event.  

Why is Event Sponsorship Essential?

Sponsorships play an important role in turning an event experience from boring to engaging. The right sponsors don’t just bring funds; they bring marketing, credibility, and trust. For event organizers, effective sponsorships lead to media exposure and attendee satisfaction. With the right sponsorship, your event secures considerable ROI.  

However, attracting the right sponsors doesn’t work by sending a few outreach emails. Most brands are selective and careful about where they invest. You need more than a well-designed logo placement to attract and hold the attention of the brands. It requires a thoughtful approach and that’s why you need a solid strategy. 

Event Sponsorship Ideas for Organizers

Looking for the right sponsors is a long and tedious process. It isn’t about finding just any sponsors willing to offer money. It requires careful consideration. The steps shared below will help in this process.

Think from the Sponsor’s Point of View

You need to have complete clarity about how your event can help your sponsor. This helps attract your sponsors with your pitch. It’s about presenting a sponsorship offer they can’t refuse. 

Sponsorship is an approach that brands use to grab the attention of customers. This means the sponsors you’re looking for have an objective in mind. Their objective must align with your own event goals. Events are great for bringing people with shared interests under one roof. Sponsorships allow brands to reach out to their target consumers. These opportunities are useful for advertising to clients that brands won’t otherwise reach out to. 

Find Brands That Your Attendees May Resonate With

This requires you to conduct a bit of research on the types of companies or brands that your attendees may be interested in. You can check out these companies to see if it’s possible to partner with them. 

For instance, attendees in academic events may be interested in exploring a STEM-focused online learning platform. Or, they may be interested in a brand that sells gadgets or devices that will be helpful in their research. 

Your audience can sense when your event doesn’t align with the sponsors. Check if your attendees already engage with the brands. This is the most pertinent way to find out if your sponsors are the right fit for partnering with you for the event. 

Make Your Sponsorship Pitch Hard to Ignore

Spend time personalizing your sponsorship pitch. Make sure to include these essential elements in your pitch: 

• • A complete and accurate description of the event. This ensures you and the sponsor can focus on relevant questions, instead of wasting time later trying to get past the basics. 
  • The reasons why the sponsor should invest and examples of the visibility the sponsor expects in return from the event. 
  • Attractive sponsorship packages and any other relevant details that you need the sponsors to know. 

As we discussed in the first point, think from the point of view of your sponsors to anticipate the questions they may ask you. This helps convince the sponsors of a partnership. 

Attract Event Sponsors With ROI 

Here’s a hard pill to swallow for organizers: sponsors won’t respond to outdated proposals. Hence, you need to understand the objectives the sponsors are interested in. Moreover, you have to make sure to meet the expectations of your potential sponsors. 

In essence, sponsors are companies that want to sell more. This means they are looking for a steady ROI to measure the success of their sponsorship. The math is quite easy to figure out. If a sponsor invests $10,000 in your sponsorship package, then they may expect more than 100% ROI. Anything less than that may not serve the sponsor’s objectives. 

Show sponsors the data from previous events as proof of your next event’s potential. The data may include: 

• • Attendee demographics 
  • Number of attendees
  • Average engagement time at booths or branded spaces
  • Social media impressions or engagement rates
  • Attendance for sponsored sessions 
  • Email open rates and click-throughs on sponsored content
  • Testimonials and positive feedback

Dryfta’s event platform helps you track the real impact. Our platform offers customized solutions to measure attendee engagement at every touchpoint. 

Utilize Digital Platforms for Sponsorship Visibility

Digital platforms play a significant role in ensuring your event’s sponsorship opportunities are visible and easy to activate. In the context of virtual and hybrid event sponsorship, they are essential throughout the event. 

Event website: Add a detailed sponsorship page on your event website describing available packages, insights, and benefits. Displaying past sponsors and testimonials builds trust. 

Email outreach: Create campaigns to start engaging and help sponsors move to the next steps. 

Social media: Use LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X to promote sponsors, share updates and generate interest through spotlights or targeted posts. 

Check With Sponsors and Develop Lasting Associations

Moving from interest to conversion requires follow-up. After a few days of emailing the sponsorship proposal, send a message to request a brief meeting. In this meeting, prepare to discuss the following aspects: 

• • How does the event add value to their brand?
  • How will you determine the success of your event?
  • What makes this opportunity stand out from others?

Maintaining a connection with the sponsors matters as much as the offer itself. It isn’t over once the sponsorship deal is done. Your sponsors should have all the details about the event’s progress. Send them regular updates that show that you value your association with them. 

After the event, share results and performance metrics to highlight the ROI. This helps set the stage for future collaborations and secure an early commitment for your next event. 

Types of Sponsorships to Choose from

Now that you have some idea about developing a solid sponsorship strategy, let’s help you decode the different types of sponsorships. 

Financial Sponsorship

Financial sponsorship occurs when a company agrees to fund the event. It can cover expenditures such as speaker fees, venue, equipment, or marketing. In return, sponsors get brand placement on multiple channels. 

For example, a tech company may pay US$15,000 to become the primary sponsor of a university event. This allows the sponsors to have their logo placement on all communication materials, such as banners, website, signage, and brochures. 

Promotional Sponsorship 

In this type, a brand or a company supports an event by promoting it through its own marketing channels. They may use social media or email campaigns or partner networks for promotions. It doesn’t require monetary contributions.

Media Sponsorship

This type of sponsorship involves substantial media coverage from digital platforms, newspapers,  or TV channels. In turn, media outlets get brand visibility or exclusive rights to cover the conferences. 

For example, a tech magazine may promote a university conference through banner ads in exchange for on-site branding or a media booth. 

In-kind Sponsorship

This sponsorship entails non-monetary contributions where sponsors offer services or goods that the event may require. This helps minimize the operational expenses without compromising on the quality of the event. This type of sponsorship is usually best for non-profit events. 

Wrapping Up

Event sponsorships, when done right, present a win-win situation for both the organizers and the sponsor brands. With the ideas we have shared in this blog, you can put together a successful event while offering value and considerable ROI to your sponsors. 

You may have to be part of lengthy discussions and negotiations that often lead to dissatisfactory results. This is when these ideas will be useful. But in the end, it’s important to remember that you’re not seeking sponsors just for the money; you’re seeking sponsors to forge a lasting partnership. 

If you need assistance with getting sponsors or conducting any kind of marketing activities for your event, Dryfta’s event marketing platform, Eventboost, is a wise choice. It allows you to promote your upcoming events across 100+ event listing sites with a single click.