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Unit 4: Marketing and Promotion of the Event

1. Determine the financial level of sponsorship you require. Not every sponsor can make a Notes
five- or six-figure decision.
2. Review trade journals such as Advertising Age and Sponsorship Report to track sponsor
activities.
3. Review the local business tabloid in your area to search for prospective sponsors.
4. Network with advertising and public relations agency officials to find out if their clients
have an interest in your event.
5. Conduct a focus group with prospective sponsors to solicit and later analyze their opinions
and attitudes toward your event.
Once you have developed a list of prospective sponsors, the next step is to qualify them for
solicitation. Do not waste your valuable resources by making endless presentations to sponsors
who do not have the interest or resources to support your event financially. Instead, qualify
your sponsors by contacting local organizations such as the chamber of commerce, board of
trade, banks, and other centers of commerce to inquire about the financial viability of the
prospective sponsor. Next, thoroughly review the sponsor’s past marketing efforts to determine
if the sponsor’s overall marketing plans are conducive to sponsoring your event. Finally, talk to
advertising and public relations executives and attempt to forecast where your prospective
sponsor may put his or her marketing dollars in the future. Perhaps the logical place for
investment is your event.

4.6.2 Selling Sponsorships

Always do your homework regarding the sponsor’s needs, wants, and desires prior to attempting
to sell a sponsorship. To make the sale, the sponsorship offer must be an exact fit with the needs,
expectations, goals, and objectives of the commercial sponsor. Customize the offer to achieve
these goals and objectives prior to your presentation.
Constructing a successful proposal is equal parts of art and science. As an artist, you must design
an attractive, enticing, and aesthetically pleasing product that the sponsor will want to purchase.
Therefore, describe the capability of your organization and past sponsors (if any), incorporate
testimonials and references from leading individuals, and package the proposal in a professional
design. Avoid being clever. Remember that the sponsor will be making a business decision and
will prefer a serious business plan over hokeyness. The science part involves carefully identifying
your target market and linking all sponsorship activities to sales or recognition that will benefit
the sponsor. List the benefits and activities the sponsor will enjoy as a sponsor of your event. For
example, the sponsor may be able to provide free samples of his or her product or service and
conduct marketing research. He or she may be able to offer his or her product or service for sale
and measure the results. Or the sponsor may benefit from public relations exposure. Regardless
of the benefit or feature, detail each potential activity that may result from the sponsorship.
Include in the proposal sponsorship terms for payment and any requirements the sponsor may
have in addition to these payments. In some events, the sponsor is allowed to provide an exhibit
at his or her own cost. In other events, the exhibit is provided as part of the sponsorship costs.
Describe any additional costs or services the sponsor is required to contribute to avoid any
future surprises. The following list summarizes the key elements in a winning sponsorship
proposal:
Describe the history of the event.
Include a capability statement about your organization’s resources.
Incorporate testimonials and references from other sponsors.

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