In recent posts we’ve shared information on the value of event marketing and how to optimize event opportunities. You can find links to these previous posts for background below.
Today we’d like to share information on custom sponsorships. Custom sponsorships refer to personalized partnership packages that are designed specifically for a sponsor’s goals, rather than pre-defined Good/Better/Best sponsorship tiers. These collaborative agreements between the event organizer and a sponsor result in sponsorship programs that are uniquely created to meet the sponsor’s specific marketing objectives, audience needs, and budget.
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Examples of custom sponsorships might include:
A Branded Experience: A beverage company might sponsor a VIP refreshment lounge with their drinks, logo, and interactive elements.
Tech Integration: A technology company might provide event Wi-Fi and get brand recognition on the login page and signage.
Content Partnership: A media company might sponsor live event coverage or a post-event podcast series.
Engagement Feature: A sponsor might fund a photo booth or scavenger hunt including their branding.
Another example might be a wealth management firm who seeks to partner with an event organizer planning a ‘Best Years’ +40 event. The target market for the event is a good fit for the wealth management firm, and they decide to approach the event organizer about a custom sponsorship. Instead of electing the pre-defined Gold Sponsorship package, they negotiate to co-brand the event, a speaker opportunity, hold wealth management, investment, and taxation seminars, and share a book recently authored by the owner of the firm in the goody-bag provided to all event attendees. They additionally negotiate to receive an email list of all attendees.
This results in great visibility, positioning, branding, and lead generation for the firm.
There are as many innovative approaches as there are companies with goals, aspirations, and the creativity to execute on them.
Custom sponsorship can result in great outcomes for all:
- For Sponsors: They achieve better return-on-investment by aligning engagement with their marketing objectives.
- For Event Organizers: They attract higher-value sponsors and create more meaningful partnerships.
- For Attendees: They get a more engaging, relevant, and integrated brand experience.
Custom sponsorships often emerge from discovery conversations between the event sales/marketing team and the sponsor, where they explore the sponsor’s marketing goals, their target audience, their desired level of visibility and engagement, along with their budget, timeline, and willingness to actively participate. From there the event team proposes a creative solution that meets both sides’ needs.
Data indicates the value of custom sponsorship to brand outcomes. Brands that sponsor events and engage meaningfully have better brand image outcomes and better buyer intention outcomes.
Further, a corporate sponsorship survey found that customized sponsorships tailored to corporate goals are more effective in delivering marketing potential. In one case study a company reported a 60% surge in app downloads from a tailored sponsorship vs. a generic sponsorship.
Tailored and experiential sponsorships tend to perform better than generic sponsorships. If sponsorship involves attendee interaction and meaningful engagement, data suggests stronger brand-equity and outcomes.
If you’re planning to utilize custom sponsorships here are some practical tips and recommendations to optimize your opportunity:
- Define Your Objectives Clearly: Are you seeking brand awareness, lead generation, product trial? The plan for your custom sponsorship should map to your goals and be sure the associated KPIs are in-alignment.
- Ensure Audience Fit: Confirm that the event and its audience align with your target.
- Build-In Tracking and Measurement from the Start: Consider using unique identifiers including QR Codes, custom URLs, and promo codes. As well, be sure you have baseline data to track against.
- Make The Experience Matter: Move beyond simply having your logo included on the event banner to something interactive for attendees. Research suggests this will drive stronger outcomes.
- Follow-Through Matters: Post event follow-up including leveraging your CRM for communications and analysis often distinguishes successful sponsorships.
- Be Ambitious but Realistic: Set reasonable expectations. For example, improvement in brand metrics will take time.
If you’d like to learn more about how your local business can use event marketing and custom sponsorships to distinguish your business and advance your marketing outcomes, give us a call here at Sentinel Solutions. We are experts in successful multimedia marketing strategy and can help you build a program that engages your audience and meets your goals.
Visit us at our website (here) or give us a call at 603-352-5896 or email Advertising@SentinelDigitalSolutions.com.
We’re here to help you succeed.
Disclosure: This post has been curated with AI assistance.
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