Entertainment venues and organizers are on a constant lookout for new event sponsorship opportunities for their entertainment events. Many employ sponsorship companies like TSE Entertainment to do sponsorship sales and help them attract regional and national brands to their entertainment venue or to specific events. Others depend on their own staff for finding sponsors for their events.
Often those seeking to find event sponsors don’t fully understand how much the event sponsorship sales process has evolved from their efforts of finding event sponsors and their own approach to sponsorship sales. Event organizers and concert promoters approach event sponsorship sales with little understanding of the issues or concerns of brands as they look at potential sponsorship opportunities.
Understanding the perspectives of those who would sponsor entertainment events can help craft event sponsorship opportunities for brands in a way that reflects their issues and concerns better. Doing so will significantly increase the likelihood of rights holders finding sponsors for their events.
Sponsorship Marketing and the Evolution of Event Sponsorships
Without belaboring what you already know, event sponsorship marketing is characterized differently from traditional advertising and marketing. Most traditional advertising we are exposed to are interruption-based marketing messages. This type of advertising redirects consumers’ attention to a product or service and away from what they were doing or thinking.
Sponsorship marketing is permission-based marketing. Permission based marketing is customer centered. The target audience is an active part of marketing communications, not just a passive recipient. Permission-based marketing costs less than interruptive marketing because the campaign is targeted and more measurable.
Event sponsorship gives brands permission to deliver marketing messages to consumers in a more natural, integrated, and emotional context. The right event sponsorship opportunities allow brands to become part of the overall experience of the events they sponsor.
The Evolution of Event Sponsorship: Industry Perspective
Today’s brands are much more sophisticated in their approach when evaluating event sponsorship opportunities. Not so much with many entertainment event organizations involved in finding sponsors for their events. Many fairs and festivals are still stuck back in the day of logo placement and brand mentions based on sponsorship tiers when it comes to sponsorship sales. Being stuck in the past just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Most event organizers, whether they be for entertainment venues, concerts, fairs, or festivals would greatly benefit by using sponsorship companies like TSE Entertainment. Experienced sponsorship companies will work with them to create the kinds of sponsorship opportunities, assets and activations that would appeal to today’s sponsoring brands.
The sponsorship sales landscape for sponsoring companies has evolved along with consumer expectations, technology, and the availability of data and analytics. Some of the more significant changes include:
Making It More Experiential and Immersive: Sponsoring brands want more than visibility at events they sponsor. Today’s consumers expect more, and brands are listening. The result is that brands are looking for sponsorship opportunities that provide more immersive experiences and are both meaningful and memorable for those attending the event in person or a hybrid event.
Making It More Personal: Event organizers have access to a large amount of data about those attending their events. This data is very important in finding sponsors for their events. Brands want to find sponsorship opportunities that align with their target markets and their brand culture. Having the data not only helps align brands with your event, but also allows sponsoring brands to customize the sponsorship activation to the demographics, values, and interests of those attending the event. Businesses know that such personalization tactics increase the effectiveness of their sponsorship activations.
Making It More Digital: Event sponsorship opportunities are no longer confined to the physical event space or venue. Brands expect to be part of digital platforms and messaging channels to engage the event’s audience and “look alike audiences” before, during and after the actual event. Event apps, social media, websites, etc. are now expected to be part of the sponsorship activations associated with event sponsorship opportunities.
Event rights holders need to understand the present state of event sponsorship marketing and adapt their efforts accordingly. We see far too many event organizers stuck in the past, conducting their sponsorship sales efforts the same way they did years ago. They need to adapt or start using sponsorship sales companies that utilize current sponsorship industry trends to best advantage to attract for brands to their events.
Addressing the Concerns of Sponsoring Brands
If you understand and address the issues that brands face in sponsoring events, you have a much better chance of finding sponsors for your events. Take the time to walk a mile in their shoes.
When brands seek sponsorship opportunities, they are seeking to raise their brand’s visibility and awareness to a specific audience. They are looking for positive and emotional connections to enhance their brand’s reputation. Their goal is to increase sales and revenue, and a strong return on investment (ROI) in exchange for providing resources needed by the event’s rights holder.
To make that happen brands are looking for unique sponsorship activation opportunities that resonate with the event’s audience and create memorable experiences with high engagement levels. They also want to be viewed as a partner with the rights holder and have the freedom to design elements of their assets and activations to better engage them based on their knowledge of the audience involved.
An exception to these sponsorship goals is businesses or brands that sponsor events as part of their social responsibility and community goodwill efforts. They may support local community events, charity fundraisers or education initiatives. Their goal is not to increase sales or revenue but enhance their reputation to those exposed to the event.
Event Organizers Must Align Sponsorship Development with the Goals of Brands
Event Organizers Must Align Sponsorship Development with the Goals of BrandsIt’s important to review your sponsorship approach based on the goals of potential sponsoring brands. How well do your sponsorship assets align with them? While exposures, VIP access and receptions are nice, they do not replace the need for engaging sponsorship activations and assets that are experiential and memorable.
Other Important Brand Concerns For Sponsoring Events
Any sponsorship by a brand for an event is a risk and those looking to find sponsorship brands need to understand them and find ways to minimize those risks when possible. Addressing the concerns and frustrations of brands’ marketing and C-suite executives in an open way early in the process can establish trust and significantly increase the chances of finding sponsorships for their events. Sometimes a simple reassurance is enough to move forward.
The biggest issue with any brand is that they will squander a portion of their sponsorship budget on sponsorships that fail to deliver results. The other is that their reputation would be negatively impacted through bad publicity, poorly received events, or events that end up not being aligned with their core values. That’s where existing longer-term sponsorships can be reassuring. If existing brands renew their sponsorship to your event, that builds credibility with other potential sponsors.
Your goal is to address common concerns of brands when considering your sponsorship proposal. You can do this by:
- Providing as much data as possible about your target audience, including demographics, interests, and values.
- First time events require that they make a concerted effort to show that their event aligns with the values of the brands involved.
- Reassure brands that your event will deliver on promised benefits of event sponsorship.
- Let them know that you recognize them as a partner and give them a significant role in designing the assets and activations for their sponsorship.
- Offer them exclusive sponsorship opportunities so that competitors will not overshadow them.
- Share your plans for a post-sponsorship evaluation and seek their input.
- Be flexible, honest, responsive and transparent in dealings with sponsors.
Conclusion:
Remember that brands are going to be cautious about committing to sponsoring an event. They may have doubts or confusions about sponsoring specific events. Your goal is to minimize those doubts and confusions with a good proposal and audience data that reflect a well-planned event and a sponsorship approach and activations that demonstrate to them that you will be an excellent partner for an event sponsorship and deliver real value.
Make the time and effort to understand the issues and concerns of brands when evaluating event sponsorship proposals. Being proactive in addressing their potential concerns goes a long way in building trust and long-term partnerships with brands
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Sponsorship Marketing?
Sponsorship is a dynamic marketing strategy where a brand aligns itself with an individual, organization, or event to create mutually beneficial outcomes.
Why Do Brands Sponsor Events
They get exposure to a highly targeted audience that aligns with their customers and culture. They also get credibility and brand equity by being associated with great events.
How Does an Event Organizer Overcome Doubts or Confusions as Brands Consider Their Proposal?
Minimize any doubts and confusions with a good proposal and audience data that reflect a well-planned event and a sponsorship approach and activations that demonstrate to them that you will be an excellent partner for an event sponsorship and deliver real value.
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What Brands Look for In Potential Entertainment Sponsorships
