Top Five Best Tips for Attracting Sponsorships

There are numerous ways to attract sponsors to your event. Each of them works well, and if you follow them you should have success in attracting sponsors to back your events.

#1: Remember That Sponsorships are Partnerships

Your sponsors are looking for brand exposure and you are looking to either gain more revenue or receive goods or services in exchange for displaying their information. Be sure to understand what your sponsors expect to get out of the sponsorship deal and make it clear what you can do for them. You both should have a clear understanding of what you will be getting out of the partnership. Do not offer more benefits than the sponsor is worth, this will just end up costing you money, and that is not the objective in a sponsorship partnership.

I suggest viewing this Compete-At presentation on sponsorships to get a better understanding about how to deal with sponsors and their expectations…: (insert link)

#2: Acknowledge What Your Sponsor has done for you

This can be done in a multitude of ways. You can thank them in a letter after the event, during a speech, an advertisement in a newspaper, or on posters. You can also send photographs or videos to your sponsors showing them how you thanked them for their support. This ensures a good partnership and will make them more likely to sponsor your upcoming events.

I suggest reading this document on sponsorship do's and don'ts to get a better idea of how to deal with your sponsors: www.australiaday.gov.au/pages/images/Sponsorship.doc

#3: Guarantee Sponsorship Category Exclusivity

Multiple articles that I have read have discussed making sure that your sponsors do not clash with each other. Your sponsors will be more likely to back your event if their competitors are not sponsoring the event as well. If you are unsure about signing up an additional sponsor, discuss it with both companies to find out how they feel about it. It is better to talk with them first than to make them upset and potentially lose them.

Read more about the topic in this article that I mentioned previously: www.australiaday.gov.au/pages/images/Sponsorship.doc

#4: Do Research Before Approaching a Sponsor

Researching a sponsor to ensure that their interests and vision are aligned with the event that you are planning is important. Sponsors will look to see if the fit between you and their organization is a good one, so it is necessary to research the company and tailor your sponsorship pitch to each company that you are approaching. Also be sure to explain all the details of your event, so that they have a clear understanding of what they are dealing with. Look at their website and see what events they have sponsored in the past, see what other involvement they have had in the community, and use this informationin your proposal.

#5: Communicate Openly and Regularly with Sponsors

Communication is key when dealing with sponsors. They like to be involved in the event planning process, and this is important because they are such a big part of the competitions. It is good to talk with them regularly, ask them for their ideas about the event, and provide them with information about your event as the planning moves along.

LinkedIn provided great tips for attracting sponsorships and I suggest viewing the website to get additional information: http://www.linkedin.com/answers/marketing-sales/advertising-promotion/events-marketing/MAR_ADP_EVM/222880-2451743?searchIdx=70&sik=1211906710585&goback=%2Easr_8_1211906710585.

This website is also helpful withregard to sponsorships: http://www.planyourmeetings.com/advice/2008/04/01/tips-for-attracting-event-sponsors-part-i/

Compete-At, provides a free sponsor worksheet for evaluating and managing sponsors. You can request one here: http://www.compete-at.com/contact/contact.htm

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Note about this article: This article is part of a newsletter series from Compete-At.com. Compete-At provides online event management and online registration software for sports.