Are you looking to get your next membership program or event sponsored? Or maybe you want to receive sponsored goods for your non-profitable organization?
Sponsorships help your brand build stronger connections with organizations and companies that will support your business’s goals over time. However, landing a sponsorship for your brand can be challenging, especially if this is your first time doing so.
In this article, we’ll look at what exactly sponsorships are and go over some useful tips that can help you land a few for your brand.
What is sponsorship?
Before we jump into ways to land a sponsor for your brand, it’s important first to understand how a sponsorship works.
Sponsors or sponsorships work when businesses provide resources or money to events or programs in exchange for their promotion. For example, Coca-Cola can sponsor a big event like SuperBowl to promote their drink or make it the official drink of the event. The event management team will receive sponsor money (or other resources such as drinks) from Coca-Cola to offer to everyone attending the event free of charge.
In exchange for allocating resources towards your business, sponsors will expect to have their names on things like shirts, banners, brochures, social media posts, or event merchandise. The major goal for smaller brands to get sponsorships is so they don’t have to allocate resources themselves but instead let a larger-scale organization step in. In return, you can offer promotional value to the sponsor, and it helps both brands grow their audience reach.
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The different types of sponsorships
While there may be custom sponsorship deals depending on the nature of your brand and the one you’re looking to get a sponsorship from, most organizations offer some common types of sponsorships.
Let’s take a look at the top four most common sponsorship types in detail:
- Money or cash is the most common type of sponsorship that most companies will offer in return for promotional value. It’s an easy way to make an exchange and is one of the major needs of smaller businesses that are looking to take on a new project or host a large event but cannot generate the budget themselves.
- Services or goods. Some service or goods-focused companies will be more interested in offering their products as part of the sponsorship deal. For example, a football manufacturer company might be more inclined towards offering free footballs for your football match event rather than cash or money.
- Media coverage. Brands already well-established in the media industry, like TV news stations, will offer media coverage as sponsorships. This way, your event will gain free promotion or be able to get your message out to a wider audience.
- Promotional partner. A promotional partner sponsorship is aimed at helping you promote your brand’s products or upcoming live events. For example, you can invite a social media influencer to your next event as a promotional partner or ask them to post about your product or service to their audience via social media.
5 tips to help get sponsorships
Here are some useful tips that can help your business get sponsorships.
#1. Research sponsors
One of the first things you should consider is finding the “right” sponsors for your brand. This means you must research and find sponsors that align with your brand’s goals.
For example, if you’re hosting a charity event to raise funds for disabled athletes, contact sports brands or supplement manufacturers to sponsor the event. It’s an effective way for your sponsors to promote their products or services to their target audience and helps your brand gain sponsor benefits for your event, like cash or free products.
In addition to this, sometimes reaching out to specific brands can help you get in touch with the right person. For instance, if a sports shop cannot sponsor your next football charity event, they might be able to help you land a sponsor with their sports equipment supplier brand. It’s a great way to build connections with brands in specific industries and helps you find the right sponsors.
One way to research sponsors that can work with your brand’s goals and requirements is by contacting the brands you’ve already worked with. It can help you discover other brands or organizations that are willing to sponsor your next event or send you free products so you can write a review on your blog page. Depending on your brand’s industry, it’s best first to research the sponsor organization and see whether they are a good fit and if it’s easy for you to work with them.
#2. Communicate your goals and sponsor benefits clearly
To successfully get sponsorships, it’s important to clearly communicate your brand’s goals and the benefits the sponsor will get. Ideally, you want to highlight why your brand is special enough for the sponsor to choose you over other applicant brands. This is why it’s essential to emphasize and focus on the benefits the sponsors will get. It not only helps grab the attention of more sponsors but is also a great way to convince them to listen to your brand’s story further and, hopefully, make a deal out of it.
It’s also crucial to communicate your brand’s goals when pitching to sponsors. This way, your sponsors know what exactly your brand wants from the deal or what they have to provide in exchange for the promotion they’ll receive. For instance, if you’re looking for sponsors to raise money for a children’s hospital, you need to mention that you’re looking for resources in terms of money or cash so your brand can donate. You can also mention what the sponsor benefits are like their logo on your brand’s t-shirts, social media posts, or merchandise promotion of the sponsor brand.
Communicating your goals and sponsor benefits helps develop more realistic expectations between you and the organizations that offer sponsorships.
#3. Reach out to larger-scale, more established brands
Another important tip when getting sponsorships for your business is to only reach out to larger-scale, more established brands. This is because established organizations are more likely to give out sponsorships in return for promotional value. For instance, an organization like Pepsi is more likely to sponsor the next National Hockey Finals event than a local craft soda brand.
If you’re reaching out to brands that are not interested in spending lots of cash or resources on gaining promotional value, it will be hard to land sponsorships. Even if some brands are willing to work with you, the resources they’ll offer compared to large organizations will be much lower.
However, it’s still not a bad idea to work with sponsors that are also looking to grow their businesses, as it can help you build stronger connections with other businesses that are always supporting your brand’s goals.
#4. Use data to back up your claims
Most larger organizations only make data-driven decisions, especially regarding promotion strategies. In fact, more than 25% of enterprise businesses claim that all of their decisions are data-driven.
This is why it is even more important for you to include data to back up the claims you make or the sponsor benefits you offer to businesses. Depending on your brand’s goals, you can use customer review data, event audience attendance data, or social media analytics such as views or engagement to showcase the “value” your brand will add to its organization.
For instance, if you’re big on social media and want to offer a promotional video post to your sponsors, you can use the likes or followers data to showcase the value the sponsor will get out of the deal. Using data to back up your claims in your pitch is one of the best ways to convince potential sponsors to work with your brand.
#5. Aim to build a connection
While some organizations might not offer sponsorships to your brand right now or disagree with your requirements, for now, it doesn’t mean that’ll be the case forever. This means you don’t want to destroy important connections with brands that don’t offer you sponsorships immediately, as they might not be ready or don’t have the extra resources to support your business’s goals.
For example, an organization might not be ready to invest money into your brand until it can experience one of your brand’s charity events. Keeping in touch with your contacts and building connections with them can also help you get sponsorships.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is event sponsorship?
A: Event sponsorship is when a company or organization provides financial or other resources to support an event in exchange for promotional opportunities and brand exposure.
Q: How can I find potential sponsors for my event?
A: There are several ways to find potential sponsors for your event. You can start by researching companies that align with your event’s audience and objectives. Networking events, online platforms like LinkedIn, and industry-specific conferences are also great places to connect with potential sponsors.
Q: How can I create a sponsorship proposal?
A: Creating a sponsorship proposal involves outlining the details of your event, including its goals, target audience, and the benefits sponsors will receive. You can use a template or hire a professional event planner to assist you in creating a compelling sponsorship proposal.
Q: What should be included in a sponsorship package?
A: A sponsorship package typically includes details about the event, the different sponsorship levels and associated benefits, promotional opportunities, and any additional perks or incentives sponsors will receive.
Q: How can I convince a company to sponsor my event?
A: To convince a company to sponsor your event, you need to showcase the value they will gain by partnering with you. This can include reaching their target audience, enhancing their brand visibility, and aligning with their corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Q: How can I attract new sponsors for my event?
A: To attract new sponsors, you can leverage your existing network, explore partnerships with local businesses, enhance your event marketing efforts, and clearly communicate the benefits sponsors will receive by supporting your event.
Q: What are the benefits of event sponsorship?
A: Event sponsorship can provide several benefits to both the event organizer and the sponsor. This includes increased brand visibility, reaching a target audience, networking opportunities, and the ability to promote the sponsor’s products or services.
Q: How can I make my event attractive to potential sponsors?
A: To make your event attractive to potential sponsors, you should clearly define your event goals and target audience, provide compelling promotional opportunities, offer different levels of sponsorship, and demonstrate a track record of successful events.
Q: What do sponsors want from event sponsorships?
A: Sponsors want a return on their investment in event sponsorships. This can include brand exposure, access to the event’s target audience, networking opportunities, and the ability to promote their products or services.
Q: How can I promote a sponsor’s brand during my event?
A: You can promote a sponsor’s brand during your event by prominently displaying their logo and branding, mentioning them in event announcements and promotional materials, providing them with speaking opportunities, and featuring their products or services in event activities.
Conclusion
Sponsorships not only help build deeper connections with companies that can help you grow your brand or achieve a specific goal, but it is also a great way to tap into a wider audience and get more eyes on your business.
Landing a sponsorship for your business can be difficult, especially for niche businesses that operate in smaller industries. However, getting sponsorship for your business can be easier with the right sponsor research, a convincing pitch, and accurate data to help companies make quick decisions.
Do you know of any other tips that can help land more sponsorships? Let us know in the comments box below.
