“I can achieve the same thing without buying your sponsorship,” the sponsorship prospect told an event sponsorship sales manager last week.
If those words came from your prospect what would your next words be? Second thought, how would your sponsorship opportunity look if it was put through this kind of a filter.
No prospect can ever truly say that about any event I’ve represented for sponsorship development. Here are some reasons why.
First, the audience offered as part of any sponsorship sale is unique to the specific event. No sponsorship should ever be about reaching the “general public” any more than a podcast is about reaching everyone who can hear. Each event or venue has a specific target guest they reach just like every potential brand sponsor has a guest they want to do business with.
Fast food restaurants would love to have high six figure income, executive level, purchasers from the best part of town coming through their doors. Not going to happen. If the audience doesn’t match what you are selling, it is going to be a hard sell.
Sponsorship Sales Requires Understanding Your Audience
Having a deep understanding of your event or property’s audience sets you far ahead of most sponsor seekers today. Working hard to have an deep audience understanding beyond “they attended your event,” separates you from many in the marketplace.
Second, choice an American birthright. There are more than 40 automotive brands with an average of 20+ nameplates. It is obvious that not all brands or nameplates are going after the same buyers. Each auto brand has a unique buyer type and unique buyer proposition.
Each event or venue does too. When I produced country music shows in my venue, every heavy rocker fan in town complained there was nothing going on. When we had heavy rock, you guessed it, the country fans complained. If your event has the audience characteristics that align with your sponsorship sales prospect’s brand, and you can prove it, then highlight how you can help them meet potential sponsorship objectives, e.g., brand awareness, sales, etc.
Third, the brand value of the event increases the value of the sponsorship asset provided to the sponsor. Brand value is an intangible not readily priced on the open market. There’s only one championship game. Only one Masters week. Only one World Series. The brand value of these events pushes the sponsorship fees for the events higher. The audience is perceived and shown to have greater value because of the stature of the event. Brands are willing to pay more to reach an audience that they have determined is “their audience.”
This same idea holds true for music festivals, cooking events, bar-b-q cookoffs, state and county fairs, or crawfish boils. What is it about the audience that is so unique that a brand would pay to reach? What value does your event bring, that is more than a concert, a cattle show, or a parade of never-ending sales opportunities seem by potential sponsors? How are you different?
All is not lost if what you are putting in your sponsor sales program can be bought elsewhere. Most of what we sell in sponsorship development can be purchased. The prospect I mentioned at first was right from this point of view. Banners, signs, tickets, naming things, social posts, and web logos can all be had at a price.
Make your event and the sponsorship assets and activations something other than a commodity and you’ll never hear the quote that started this article.
Reaching and engaging an audience in a meaningful way can be done most effectively face to face. Why else would mega brands like American Express, Paramount +, Capital One, or Amazon Prime spend big money on sponsorships when they can buy anything?
Sponsorship activations done well give the audience a memorable experience they want from an activity, action, or attraction. The sponsor receives brand awareness, increased brand value and positive perception, which leads to future sales.
Sponsorship sales for entertainment venues and events is for professionals who work full time on sponsorship development. That’s what we do at TSE Entertainment, using the best practices for sponsorship sales to generate more sponsors for your event or venue.
TSE offers a free consultation to review your sponsorship program and offer suggestions as to how it could be improved. If interested, just click the link below.
Yes, I’m interested in growing my sponsorship funding
Related Posts:
Sponsorship Sales: Tips From a Pro
Venue or Festival Sponsorship Development: Thoughts from a Pro
