Event sponsorship is when organizations provide financial or non-financial help for events in exchange for marketing opportunities. As much as 60% of leaders consider events to be an essential component of business success.  

As a company seeking sponsorship, you may have to be creative in creating sponsorship presentations that can influence your potential sponsors. But before we get into how to create an event sponsorship design, let us dive deep into understanding event sponsorships and their benefits.

What is Event Sponsorship?

Most companies use events to highlight specific causes they want to promote. In general, humans love to socialize with others. Even in a corporate-initiated event, there is an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals. It is an opportunity to introduce new ideas and spread the word about your product or service. The best example is the Tedx events where speakers promote their ideas to interested individuals. 

It is a form of social marketing and publicity that aims at increasing the reputation and awareness of an individual or organization. Anybody can seek sponsorship for their events. For example, sports leagues like Pro Kabbadi Teams can seek sponsorships from organizations and brands to bring awareness to the sport and maximize its impact on a larger audience.  

Event organizers can expect financial and other kinds of support from organizations, thus reducing some of their burdens. Sponsors need not plan or execute any event. Instead, the sponsors provide the event organizers with the support they need. In return, they can market their brand at the event.  

They usually do this by purchasing tickets and providing speakers and other services or items to ensure their brand and products are seen at the event​. However, there is a competitive market for event sponsorship and companies are always looking for new ways to improve their reputation and brand.

How Are Event Sponsorships Beneficial? 

Event sponsorships are two-fold. They offer benefits to the sponsor as well as the organizers.

For sponsors, events offer a marketing advantage. This can be in the form of advertising, sales or branding activities but can also include training, product sampling, talent management and others. In addition, sponsors can provide the audience with goodie bags, branded T-shirts, and other merchandise. Sponsors can also set up booths to market their existing and new products or services. This gets their name out to the audience and provides a chance to improve brand identity. 

For event organizers, sponsorships provide a chance to reduce the financial burden of the event since it can be split between many sponsors. They also get a chance to widen their network and form stronger connections with their sponsors in the industry. Depending on the type of sponsorship, there is also a chance of getting free advertisement and media exposure. 

Event sponsorships offer endless opportunities for event organizers, from an influx of additional funds to invaluable knowledge in their chosen field. Event sponsorships should not be overlooked in any event planning process as they can bring numerous tangible and intangible advantages to make organizational efforts more meaningful.

Successful sponsorships ensure that you get corporate support and are better positioned to drive greater success with events, leading to repeat bookings and higher attendance numbers from the public.

Let us take a look at how an event sponsorship helps exactly:

Provides Financial Assistance

Rather than spending your funds to make the event successful, sponsorships significantly reduce your financial burden. Most Not-for-Profit organizations and NGOs depend on income from multiple streams for conducting multiple events. Therefore, the funds from these sponsorships can significantly impact the scale of an event and its resulting ROI. 

Generates New Partnerships‍

As an organizer, you are not merely seeking financial or non-financial assistance for your events. Instead, you are trying to build a partnership with an organization with similar or complementary values and mission to your own. Once you get sponsorship from any organization, it opens up possibilities for future collaborations and ventures. For example, since 2008, Rolex has sponsored Ted talks. The company created a special 3-minute video explaining the company's history with innovation and keeping up with the times. The idea meshed very well with the basic premise of Ted talks which is ideation and innovation. 

Provides Support In Kind‍

Events do not require only financial support. Planning and executing a successful event requires that many logistical operations come together smoothly. For example, as an event organizer, you may have a particular vision or activity you want to include. However, if you do not have much experience in this venture - you can approach organizations that can provide you with the support you need and contribute to making the event a success. 

Exposure To New Audiences

An organization provides sponsorships to market and expand its brand identity. If you have decided to seek sponsorships from an organization, not in your niche, you get to expose your operations and activities to a new audience that came with your sponsors. 

Adds Credibility To The Event

Depending on who is sponsoring your event, it can directly impact the reputation of your event and you as an event organizer. If an organization has decided to sponsor your event, that means that they have done a thorough check on your operations and found your motives and operations worth their sponsorship. This gives your event company, NGO or not-for-profit a boost of credibility to your reputation. 

What Are The Types of Event Sponsorships?

Financial Sponsorships

Most sponsorships are usually financial. Therefore, the event will have a surplus of funds that can be used to make the event a grand success. Without sponsorship, the tickets for the event, and even for any of the shows would have to be on the higher side to compensate for the amount spent. However, with financial sponsorships, events can be made grand and, at the same time, have the tickets or event prices be more economical. This can help attract a more significant number of interested people to the event. 

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Barter Sponsorships‍

Barter sponsorships are in-kind support. Rather than money, organizations would barter their products or services in return for marketing their brand at the event. For example, if a sports league conducts the event, sponsorship from an athletic wear company could be T-shirts and other associated sportswear with the sponsors' logo for the players to wear. Or the organization could sponsor gift prizes, goodie bags, or free services for attendees in return for advertising their products and services. For example, if an event is being conducted by an NGO for eye health, an ideal sponsor would be an optician offering free eye checkups to the attendees. 

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Media Sponsorship‍

Sponsorships could also include media exposure. For example, media giants or bigger organizations can help sponsor advertisements in newspapers, television, and other social media platforms. Without spending any amount on publicity, the events would get exposure to multiple audiences and increase interest.  

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Influencer Sponsorship‍

This kind of sponsorship is relatively new. Social media influencers hold a lot of sway among their audience. Not only can influencers promote the event on their social media platforms, but they can also cover the events and post live videos of the event. They can also help build suspense and anticipation for the events among their subscribers. The influencer need not be affiliated directly with you - you can also seek sponsorship depending on the influencer you connect with.

How To Find A Sponsor For Your Event? 

When choosing a sponsor, you need to approach organizations that have similar values as yours. When you have similar goals and values, you need not worry about opposite agendas affecting your event. 

For example, if you are a not-for-profit organization executing an event for cleaning up the ocean, your ideal sponsor is an organization or even a famous personality who has expressed an interest in sustainability and keeping the environment clean. 

For example, in conversation about the Emirates-Arsenal sponsorship deal, the Emirates President said that the football club’s overall values of ambition and their global influence reflect what Emirates was looking for in a partner. The sponsorship deal ensures that the Emirates logo is placed on the players T-shirts till the end of the 2024 football season.

Define Your Audience

Knowing who you're trying to reach and how they will benefit from attending your event is important. Think about your specific goals or objectives for the event. For example, if the purpose of the event is to raise money for charity, then you need to determine the price for tickets to participate in activities such as volunteering or donating money themselves. You can tier out the tickets based on value, with each tier providing more experience for the audience.

Once you know your audience, you can list the organizations you would like to partner with. You can also note down the ones you feel would not be the right fit for the event. For example, if the event is about raising money for children, you do not want to partner with a company manufacturing tobacco or any other vices.   

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Identify Your Sponsors‍

There are multiple ways to identify sponsors. The first is by looking into your existing network. If you have previously worked with any organizations, consider reaching out to them again. Another way is by approaching supporters who share your vision. 

If you want to approach someone new, list all your potential sponsors. 

When researching your sponsor, it's important to know who they are and what they do. What is their product? What does their mission statement say about how they want to be perceived in the industry? What can you learn from their history that might help boost your event or partner for future projects? It may also be helpful to look at your competitors or peers who have worked with specific sponsors. 

Create a spreadsheet noting down each organization. List out the data you have collected on each potential sponsor and write down the pros and cons of approaching them. You can also use this sheet to track your progress. 

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Create A Sponsorship Package‍

A sponsorship package is a written agreement outlining your sponsorship relationship's terms. It should include the following:

• The logo and branding of your event, including any colour palettes or symbols you plan on using.
• Your goals for the event and how it will benefit its sponsors. For example, specify where the funding will be directed if you're looking for corporate donations. Write down what the funds will be used for. 
• When building out your event sponsorship package, include past successes, demographics and referral partners. You can use this as a guide when creating your email template and research list of potential sponsors.

• Past Successes: What did you do that gave positive returns? How many people attended their event? Were there any glitches that impacted the actual event? These details will help potential sponsors know what collaborating with you would be like.
• Demographics: Who does this type of sponsoring appeal to most? Is it millennials or Gen Z, or is it men or women? What kind of sponsorship would the audience appreciate? Knowing these things will help build trust between you and the organization and ultimately reduce confusion about what kind of sponsorship would work well for the event. 

• Make sure you create a few different templates, either as presentation slides or PDFs, that include all details needed to sway a sponsor. Use the templates as a guide. You cannot use a generic template and copy+paste them for all your potential sponsors. 

• With the research you have done, you can personalize each email and copy with enough data to show the effort you have put in. Include past events, past sponsors, your success, and how you maintain warm relationships with your precious sponsors. 

If you need help putting together an appealing event sponsorship package, you can approach sponsorship presentation agencies to put together your packages. You need to provide details about what you want the package to look like. The agencies would present you with a few sponsorship presentation designs that you can customize further to highlight your vision.  

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Have A Media Kit Ready‍

A media kit is a comprehensive collection of promotional materials that can help you sell your event to sponsors. Your media kit should include the following:

• The event details include date and time, location, ticket costs, and special offers that apply only to sponsors.
• Sponsorship options like logo placement on signs or websites. You will want to specify exactly what sponsorship opportunities you are offering. Hence, potential donors know exactly how much their company will pay for its placement at the event. This can also help identify barter opportunities to utilize at the event. 
• Benefits for companies looking for ways to get involved with your organization's cause. This could include press coverage, other marketing opportunities like discounts on products or services from others participating in the event, or even exclusive access to behind-the-scenes information, etc. 

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Follow - Up On Your Sponsorship  

Once you have sent your media kits and sponsorship packages, you need to ensure that you get a response from the organizations. Ideally, you would expect a meeting with the organization's marketing department, where you can have a sponsorship presentation detailing the key features of the event and how sponsorship can help expand its influence. 

You might win over a few sponsors and lose out on a few. However, ensure that you send out thank you notes to everyone. Even if any organization has rejected your sponsorship request, sending a note leaves the communication channels warm. You can reach out to them in the future for other events. 

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Conclusion

Event sponsorship can be a great way to achieve various business goals, like increasing brand awareness or generating leads. But before jumping into seeking sponsorships, there are certain things businesses should keep in mind while choosing the right sponsors. 

The information in this guide can serve as a handbook for things you must keep in check while seeking event sponsorships. Your master key for influencing organizations to sponsorships lies in your sponsorship presentation designs. You need to ensure that the information you provide is brief and informative, with an overlay of attractive design to highlight your professionalism and passion. 

At INK PPT, our presentation design experts have the experience and creativity to translate your vision into sponsorship opportunities that can make your events successful. If you are looking for a customized sponsorship deck that can be used to drive sponsorships, you can contact us here and we can get started on your vision. For a quicker response, you can also WhatsApp us at +91 8766237945.