EventMobi Guide to Sponsorship Strategy

How to Create a Sponsorship Strategy that Will Maximize Your Event Revenue

IntroductionAs an event planner, you likely depend on several streams of event revenue such as selling tickets, merchandise, hotel bookings, paid workshops or/sessions and sponsorship.

While it’s feasible to patch together money from these sources to cover the cost of your event, what can really make the difference to your budget is generating dependable, ongoing revenue through sponsorship. Developing strong relationships with sponsors who are interested in reaching your attendees can make the difference between having enough funds to run a decent event versus an incredibly unique, memorable event, while turning a profit.

The challenge is that today’s sponsors are becoming more discerning in the opportunities they choose to invest in. Some are overlooking traditional sponsorship benefits that can’t deliver clear return on investment, focusing sponsorship spend on more directly measurable activation opportunities like sponsored event games, wifi, or mobile-apps that can show a clear return on investment, whether it be increased attendee engagement or brand awareness.

7.1%

Brands are seeking a deeper relationship with properties ratherthan a transactional relationship. Additionally, they are lookingfor properties [associations] to present unique, creative ideas for activation

— IEG, The State of Association Sponsorship: What Sponsors Want and Where Dollars WIll Go in 2016

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But as you can imagine, developing creative, measurable sponsorship benefits and building new packages that are attractive to sponsors can take more time and energy than relying on traditional benefits or packages.

If your sponsorship packages have been virtually

identical or the same year-over-year, your sponsors

may be tired of the same routine offers, having

started to lose interest or pull out entirely.

Valuable insights from a Sponsorship.com survey

called The State of Association Sponsorship revealed

the following results:


Whether you’re seeking to attract new sponsors or looking to hold onto your well-established high-value

relationships, it may be time to redesign your sponsorships so they offer a range of creative options that help

sponsors achieve their goals.

Let’s talk about how event technology fits into the bigger picture of your sponsorship strategy.

As we noted, sponsor needs and expectations are changing. In response to this trend, many event

professionals are stepping up to the plate and developing new, creative sponsorship opportunities and

categories. And event technology is becoming a key focus for planners as a new revenue channel, and

enables them to redefine and expand their sponsorship offering.

Technologies that were previously unavailable, such as digital signage. mobile applications, games, social

media activations, and other digital platforms, yield data that is much more obtainable and immediate than

some forms of traditional sponsorship. Metrics such as downloads, click-throughs, and survey responses can

be delivered to sponsors in real-time (or soon afterward), providing proof of the return on investment and

actionable intelligence. And technology sponsorships can go beyond just achieving brand awareness

objectives. It has the ability to enable real engagement with a target audience.

So now you know that investing more time and budget in event technology will help you create robust, creative and measurable sponsorship packages that are irresistible to sponsors AND deliver the kind of results they’re looking for. But where do you start?

In this guide, we’ll start by discussing some key principles to guide you in crafting a sponsorship strategy that integrates event technology. You’ll get some ideas on how to incorporate and price event technology benefits into practical sponsorship packages. And finally, we’ll talk through how to write a killer sponsor recap report post-event.

Ranked presence in

digital/social/mobile

media the most valuable

sponsorship benefit

State developing new

sponsorship packages

was the primary

strategy to increase

sponsorship revenue

Are in the process of

developing new

sponsorship

categories

Are focused on finding

new sponsor benefits

that were previously

unavailable

46% 71% 56% 43%

3

Anticipate Your Sponsors’ Goals


Table of Contents

Section 1: Crafting a Sponsorship Strategy

Sponsorship vs Advertising

What are Sponsors Looking to Achieve?


Profile Your Attendees like a Target Audience

Elements of a Strong Sponsorship Program

Why Event Tech is a Critical Component of your Sponsorship Strategy

Questions to Consider

Section 2: Creating Event Technology Sponsorship Packages

Event Technology Sponsorship Ideas

Other Types of Event Technology

Section 3: How to Value/Price Event Tech Sponsorship

Section 4: Communicating Sponsorship Results Post-Event

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Section 1

Crafting a Sponsorship Strategy

Recent trends show that North American (and global) organizations are shifting dollars from traditional

advertising and marketing into event sponsorships. But why? Why are companies beginning to invest more in

event sponsorship than other forms of promotion?

For a few reasons in recent years the effectiveness of traditional marketing and advertising has diminished,

while the price has increased. With many more channels to reach consumers, audiences are becoming

extremely fragmented, and it’s becoming harder to reach specific demographic niches. Ratings and

readership of TV and magazines are in decline, while cost-per-view (and per-reader) has increased. And--as

we’ve all experienced-- consumers are becoming much more selective about where their attention goes and

are zoning out when they’re not interested.

By contrast, event sponsorship offers marketers an opportunity to align their messaging with a greater cause

and impact consumers in a way that’s interactive, emotional, relevant and immersive.

Sponsorship vs. Advertising

Interactive

Creates a dialogue, while

sponsorship creates a monologue

Emotional

Taps into events, places, and causes

that consumers are passionate about

Relevant

Reaches consumers in places they

choose to be

Immersive

Makes an impact through multiple

touchpoints and components

5


“Done properly, sponsorship marketing can offer much more than mere affinity and eyeballs. As marketers continue their shift from building brands to activating them, sponsorship marketing’s ability to connect with people’s passions and deliver inherently social content is only going to make it a more important tool in marketers’ arsenals.”

Event Spillover Effect: Studying the Impact of Sponsorship on Stock Prices

There’s a fascinating study conducted a few years ago that aimed to prove the impact corporate sponsorship

from a sporting event had on stock prices and coined a new concept called “Event Spillover Theory.”

Researchers George Filis and George Spais looked at 28 listed companies, that had sponsored 15 major

sports events between 2000–2009.

In a nutshell, they discovered that stock returns and volatility changed significantly during and after the

sporting event, compared to the pre-event period! Ultimately, they proved that:

William Rosen, President & Chief Creative Officer of global marketing giant Arc Worldwide, foresees that

sponsorship marketing will continue to star a leading role in activating consumer behavior:

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“Sponsorships can help associate corporate and brand names with a specific event or experience, allowing

the organization or the brand to transcend its characteristics, values, and physical attributes and instill

additional meaning and value. Through sponsorship, an event’s image will become associated with the

sponsoring brand and/or corporate name”

— George Filis & George Spais, The Effect of Sport Sponsorship Programs of Various Sport Events on the

Stock Price Behaviour During a Sport Event (2012)

— William Rosen,

Six Steps to Successful Sponsorships,

Harvard Business Review (2011)

https://hbr.org/2011/07/six-steps-to-getting-sponsorsh


Now that you know that there are more sponsorship dollars to go around, to benefit from this situation you

need to get into the heads of your sponsors and understand what they want to achieve. While money is being

shifted away from traditional advertising and marketing channels, it’s important to remember that those

spending the money are still marketers. So, these individuals will be held accountable for justifying how they

spent their budget to their boss or executives, and for the business results they’ve achieved. To create

sponsorship packages that will truly be attractive to potential sponsors, you’ll need to be able to

demonstrate how the sponsorship can help reach their ideal target audience, and help enable the broader

marketing objectives and goals they’re trying to achieve.

What are Sponsors Looking to Achieve?

Sponsors are likely to be working towards one or many of the following goals. Your job is to ask strategic

questions to identify what they’re trying to achieve, and then start to formulate creative ideas for activation.


Increase awareness around a new product

launch

Reaching out to a new target audience

Increase brand awareness with an existing audience

Build relationships and engage with

community

Reposition or rehabilitate a

struggling brand

Social responsibility

/CSR

Another key piece of information you need to understand (and be ready to communicate to sponsors) is a

detailed breakdown of your attendees’ demographic and psychographic profiles. This may sound a bit

creepy, but marketers and advertisers are quite accustomed to accessing tons of data on their target

audiences that makes it possible to drill down and run campaigns to very segmented groups.

Profile Your Attendees like a Target Audience

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How to Create a Sponsorship Strategy that Will Maximize Your Event Revenue 8

Important attendee characteristics could include:

Demographics (age, gender, income, marital status, language, job, company size, academic background)

Psychographics (attitudes, aspirations, work/life challenges, work/life goals, workplace responsibilities, brand preferences, etc.)

If you don’t already have this information internally, you can capture some details in a pre-event or

post-event survey and use it to laser-target the attendee profile section in your sponsorship proposals. With

a clear understanding of how to articulate the profile of those with whom your sponsors could interact at

your event, you’re well on your way to crafting a solid strategy.

Next up, we’re going to look at the key elements that characterize a strong sponsorship program.

In The Future of Event Sponsorship, Julian Solaris of Event Manager Blog cites several traits of innovative

sponsorship programs. You should consider these principles as you’re building out your sponsorship program:

Elements of a Strong Sponsorship Program

Attendee Comes First

The best sponsorship programs start by looking at

the needs of attendees. For example, how can you

solve the issue of attendees walking too much on

your trade show floor? Get a sponsor to pay for

scooters. How can you solve the challenge of

attendees leaving the conference during breaks

to hit the local coffee shop? Have a sponsor pay

for a portable coffee bar. These are incredibly

practical ideas that add value to attendees while

delivering relevant sponsorship messages.

Clear Metrics

While traditional logo placement may still appeal

to some brands, most marketers/sponsors will be

interested in more measurable metrics like banner

ads clicks, sponsor profile views, leads generated,

game or survey participation, or booth visits.

Good Matchmaking

This connects back to the point in the previous

section: if you profile your attendees like a target

audience this will help your sponsors identify and

connect with the audience segment that is most

closely matched with their ideal customers.

A la Carte or Tiered Model

Some of your sponsors may want the flexibility to

pick and choose in which sponsorship benefits

they invest. Others are likely a bit more open to

the power of suggestion. That is why it’s smart to

have both an A la Carte as well as a Tiered model

for sponsorship packages.

Authority

The best way to set yourself apart is to run an

incredible, unique and memorable event that

delivers true value to the community. Of course,

this is easier said than done! The benefit though is

that it changes the dynamic from push to pull, so

instead of chasing sponsors, they’ll be breaking

down your door to be part of next years’ event.


Now that you’re starting to piece together a strategic framework for your sponsorship program let’s talk

about how event technology fits into the bigger picture. As we noted earlier, sponsor needs and expectations

are changing. In response to this trend, many event professionals are stepping up to the plate and developing

new, creative sponsorship opportunities and categories. And many are exploring event technology to

redefine and expand their sponsorship offering.

Valuable insights from a Sponsorship.com survey The State of Association Sponsorship revealed that:

Why Event Tech is a Critical Component of your Sponsorship Strategy

Of respondents ranked

presence in

digital/social/mobile media

as the most valuable

sponsorship benefit

Of respondents’ primary

strategy to increase

sponsorship revenue was

to develop new

sponsorship packages

Are developing

new sponsorship

categories

Are focused on finding

new sponsor benefits

that were previously

unavailable

46% 71% 56% 43%

If your sponsorship packages have been virtually identical or the same year-over-year, your sponsors may be

tired of the same routine offers, have started losing interest or are even pulling out. Whether you’re seeking

to attract new sponsors or looking to hold onto your well-established high-value relationships, it may be time

to redesign your sponsorships to offer a range of creative options that help sponsors achieve their own goals.

“Brands are seeking a deeper relationship with properties ratherthan a transactional relationship. Additionally, they are lookingfor properties [associations] to present unique, creative ideas for activation.”

— IEG, The State of Association Sponsorship: What Sponsors Want and Where Dollars Will Go in 2016

With new forms of communication and technology from social media and event apps becoming the norm at

many events, this can be a great time to refresh your offerings and deliver more value to sponsors.

http://www.sponsorship.com/Resources/What-Sponsors-Want-and-Where-Dollars-Will-Go-in-20.aspx


Before you roll up your sleeves and start rejigging your sponsorship packages, read through the following

four questions and start jotting down some answers. This will help you apply what you’ve learned about what

sponsors want and who they want to reach.

Questions to Consider

What are your sponsors’ goals? Do they see more value in pre-event exposure, prominent onsite logo placement, or engaging with their target audience?

Are your sponsors interested in reaching or engaging with your entire attendee list? Or just certain segments?

Are your sponsors interested in becoming a tiered title sponsor or would rather choose sponsorship opportunities a la carte?

Do you have an opportunity to obtain an exclusive event technology sponsor, or will you split event technology benefits into tiered packages?


Section 2

Creating Event Technology Sponsorship Packages

To get your creative juices flowing, next, we’re going to look at some creative ideas on how to leverage

sponsorship opportunities in your event app, registration or digital signage. At this stage, you’ll also want to

consider how you’re going to measure the ROI of each benefit. This is so you can let sponsors know from the

get-go what type of results they can expect.

Try and view these ideas through the lens of your sponsors’ goals. If they’re more interested in building brand

awareness with your audience, banner ads and sponsored registration might be the right suggestion. But a for

a sponsor who is interested in engaging with an audience, sponsored surveys or live polls may be a better idea.

Event Technology Sponsorship Ideas

Before you start creating sponsorship packages that integrate event technology benefits, you need to have a

clear understanding of the following factors.

Your sponsors’ goals

Whether they’re seeking shared vs. exclusive partnership

Whether they prefer an A la Carteor a Tiered model

Which segment of your attendees are most similar to their target audience


Every app has a customizable Home Screen that

serves as an introduction to the app, often

featuring core event details like an agenda and

speaker bios. With every attendee starting his or

her mobile experience on this page, there’s no

better place to offer exposure. Putting your main

sponsor’s logo on the Home Screen will ensure

that every attendee who accesses the app will

have a direct, impactful interaction with the

sponsor’s brand.

Event App Homescreen:

Make a Powerful First Impression

HOW TO SELL IT TO YOUR SPONSOR?

DESIGN TIP

“First impressions are lasting impressions. Maximize your exposure by being the first thing everyone sees.”

Don’t be afraid to change branded images each

day. When attendees go to their app on the

second or third day of the event and see a new,

eye-catching graphic, it may pique their

curiosity to engage further.

HOW DO I ADD BRANDING TO THE HOMESCREEN?

EventMobi provides easy, drag-and-drop

Home Screen creation that allows you to

upload dynamic images that can link to

information about the sponsor, either within

the app or the sponsor’s website. You can

even underscore the impact by adding their

branding to the loading screen or by using it in

a splash screen.


On-screen banners ads are the standard in

mobile app sponsorship. You see them

everywhere, it’s true, and for a good reason:

they’re impactful. Banner ads give your sponsors

an opportunity to generate brand awareness by

sending attendees a strong message on the pages

where they’ll be spending the most time.

Whether static or rotating, banner ads are

powerful and dynamic, allowing you to link to a

sponsor’s profile, website, or promotions, along

with a custom-designed image and message.

Banner ads can be placed at focal points

throughout the app – at the top of a menu,

throughout long lists, and at the bottom of other

high-traffic sections.

Banner Ads:

Every Page can be a Pointof Contact


HOW MANY BANNER ADS SHOULD WE RUN?

“Every page can be a point of contact – an opportunity to reach your attendees and expand your audience.”

Determining how many unique banner ads to

run in your app comes down to whether you’re

going with a shared or exclusive sponsorship

strategy. Whether your banners rotate on the

same page or randomly throughout the app, the

more banner ads you have, the less exposure

each will get. We recommend keeping the

number of banner ads under five.

HOW TO MEASURE ROI?

Because the objective of banner ads is typically

to generate brand awareness rather than

engagement, it’s best to measure banner ad

effectiveness by looking at the number of page

views instead of the number of clicks.


Most of your attendees will be opening your

event app frequently throughout the event to

help navigate to sessions, connect with other

attendees and participate in games and other

activities. This makes the app an excellent place

to deliver time-sensitive announcements which

offer another substantial opportunity to

generate revenue.

If one of your sponsors is looking to draw more

foot traffic for a live product launch or promo,

you can send out a sponsored alert with details

to direct attendees to their booth. Direct

Notifications also provide event professionals

with the ability to send notifications to specific

groups of attendees with special interests or who

are attending specific sessions. For example, you

may want to offer your technology sponsor the

chance to send a notification to everyone

attending the technology- specific sessions. This

is a sure way to help sponsors reach very specific

segments of attendees!

Notifications, Updates & Alerts:

Give your Sponsors a VoiceHOW TO SELL IT TO YOUR SPONSOR?

DESIGN TIP

“Send a branded, custom message to every attendee that they’re guaranteed to open. Or, you can go a step further and use Direct Notifications to reach the segment of attendees you care about the most.”

Direct Notifications allow you to include images

as well as a message. If your sponsors would like

to include a logo or branded image in the

message, you can charge a premium.


Whether they’re looking for the registration

desk or the route to their next session, attendees

will routinely reference your map. With all those

eyes looking for directions, you can place

sponsors’ logos near the title area of the map –

somewhere eye-catching that doesn’t interfere

with the map. Or, you can help drive traffic to

sponsor booths or tables by highlighting and

labeling them on your map, in addition to

including their logo on the map itself.

Map Sponsorship:

Eyes on Your Map = Eyes onYour Sponsor


HOW TO MEASURE ROI?

“Maps are consistently one of the top five most-used features! Attendees are constantly accessing the map to see where they’re going next, so why not take advantage and brand it?”

Check out the number of times attendees

accessed your map; that’s also the number of

times attendees saw your sponsor’s logo.


Many event apps offer the ability for attendees

to favorite sessions and exhibitors. Luckily, for

sponsors, as an event planner, you will have

access to all of this information. In turn, you can

export favorited session lists to see exactly who

went to what session. For example, perhaps

your AV sponsor would appreciate getting in

touch with everyone who attended the session,

“10 Things you Need to know About the Future

of AV’. At the event, you can offer sponsors

Direct Notifications, to reach out and end that

group of attendees targeted alerts from your

sponsors about deals and promotions on offer.

Or, you can export lists of session attendees

and share email addresses with sponsors for

post-event follow-up.

Lead Gen:

Converting Session Attendance into Audience Segments


HOW TO MEASURE ROI?

“Reach your target audience, segmented by personal or professional factors...like professionals interests or pain points.”

You can measure ROI through leads generated

for sponsors (email addresses and contact

names). If you do plan on using your app as a

lead generation tool though, make sure your

privacy policy reflects this and is duly

communicated.


To help increase app downloads before your

event, we suggest sending attendees an email

inviting them to access the app and fill out their

attendee profile. By simply including a logo in

the email template, you can introduce

attendees to one of your key sponsors right off

the bat.

Post-event when your attendees have taken

notes on sessions and highlighted attendees or

speakers to follow up with, they can use

EventMobi’s Quick Export function to send all

these details back to their inbox. This email is

typically a pre-built template, but a few tweaks

here and there and your custom email can

contain your sponsors’ logo too.

System Emails:

Showcase Sponsors inPre- and Post-Event Communications


HOW TO MEASURE ROI?

“Use branding to make every attendee touchpoint count--from downloading the event app to rounding up their notes post-event”

The number of emails sent pre-event will

indicate logo impressions to sponsors.


Maybe your sponsors need to capture customer

feedback on a new product that they‘re

launching at their tradeshow booth. Or perhaps

they’d like to continue a hot topic conversation

that spawned off a sponsored speaker’s

keynote. Either way, Group Discussions are an

invaluable attendee networking and knowledge

sharing tool that curates event discussions into

channels, so attendees can discuss the topics or

join the social conversations they care about

most. Used effectively, this private social

network can become a hotbed of insightful

conversation during your event.

Group Discussions:

Spark Conversations and Capture Insights


HOW TO MEASURE ROI?

“Imagine you had the opportunity to catalyze topical conversations with your target audience and discover actionable insights?”

As a quantitative measure, you can look at the number of participants in the Group Discussions channel. The most valuable insights are likely to be the qualitative learnings that will come out organically from these discussions.

WAIT, WHERE DOES SPONSORSHIP COME IN?

You could create sponsored discussion channels for attendees with common interests, professional specialization, geographic location or chapter membership.

Your sponsor could pay for the privilege to moderate topics of conversation around specific insights they’re looking for from this audience.

Suggested topics can range from brand-specific to broader industry topics, including product feedback, Ask the CEO, industry best practices, what’s broken in ___(your industry), biggest challenges as a ___(job specialization), etc.


At any event, exhibitors are competing for

attention to promote themselves and any new

product launches. Here are a few strategies to

enhance the profile of main sponsors within

your event app:

Exhibitor Profiles:

Make your Exhibitors More than Just a Booth


HOW TO MEASURE ROI?

“An enhanced exhibitor profile sets you apart from other exhibitors and transforms your profile into a valuable resource for attendees. It can also help generate interest and drive foot traffic to your booth.”

Check the number of times attendees have

accessed your exhibitors’ profiles.Reward higher-tier exhibitors with a competitive edge by offering enhancement packages that allow them to improve their presence in your exhibitor listing.

Offer exhibitors richer profiles, which might include their logo, social media links, ribbons, and attached resources.

Bolster their profiles with product presentations, PDF brochures, inventory lists, flyers, and videos.

Enable sponsors to pass around exclusive coupons and discount codes, which have been a hit at many consumer shows.


Highlighting the top sponsors or exhibitors in

the listings is a great way to raise their profile

with your attendees. Offer them the chance to

enhance their appearance in the list with

ribbons, category banners, and placement at

the top of the list. Remember, mobile users

normally spend just 3-5 seconds looking at a

page before selecting what to do next, so

anything higher up the list stands a better

chance of being seen.

Sponsor Listings:

Stand Out From the CrowdHOW TO SELL IT TO YOUR SPONSOR?

“A small change can make a big difference! And a splash of color is all it takes to stand out from the competition in sponsor listings.”


The Attendee Networking feature allows

attendees to create and manage their own

online presence at the event. Since profiles can

be built out with everything from social media

links to a profile picture, personal interests to a

professional title, this is where attendees go to

see who else is coming to the event.

This functionality also makes one-to-one

in-app chat more engaging. While viewing

another attendee’s profile, one can simply click

“Send a Message” and a private chat box is

opened between the two parties. At the same

time, both attendees’ information is protected

as the messenger service functions through

the app without sharing a phone number or

email address.

Attendee Networking:

Creating a Personal Connection with Sponsor Staff


DESIGN TIP

“Instead of being just another brand, give your on-site a name and a face so that attendees can create real, lasting relationships.”

Check the number of times attendees have

accessed your exhibitors’ profiles.

WAIT, WHERE DOES SPONSORSHIP COME IN?

While this feature is usually exclusive to

attendees, for a price, you may want to allow

sponsor staff to create profiles. You can even add

a link from their personal profile directly on their

company’s exhibitor page too. This can make it

possible for sponsors to follow up directly with

attendees who stopped by their booth and

expressed interest in their product or service.


Sponsors need to understand their customers.

To do so, they love to ask questions and collect

important data that will help them understand

the needs and desires of prospective clients. As

the event organizer, you can greatly enrich your

sponsors’ experience by providing them with a

platform to engage attendees.

Allowing your sponsors to design and promote

their own survey provides them with a tool they

can use to engage attendees in fun and exciting

ways while at the same time collecting valuable

customer data that helps them in the future.

Sponsored Surveys & Contests:

Engage Attendees and Collect Qualified Leads


“Gain valuable insights into your customers by asking key, defining questions. With that data, you’ll be able to segment customer profiles for future marketing opportunities!”

HOW CAN I INCENTIVIZE SURVEY PARTICIPATION?

It can sometimes be a challenge to elicit survey

participation, but we’ve seen great success with

draws for a prize to incentivize survey

completions. “Answers 5 quick questions to be

entered into a draw for an iPad!” With attendees

participating and entering details, sponsors will

have a wealth of information to work with.

Remember to be clear with your attendees by

indicating that it’s a sponsored survey.


You’ve probably heard of event gamification,

or maybe you’ve even participated in games

at a recent event. The idea of applying gaming

mechanics – like points, badges, and

leaderboards – has been growing in

popularity in the world of events. Think of

gamification as a tactic to guide attendee

behavior, and you’ll be sure to come up with a

whole host of ideas on how sponsors may

want to prompt attendees to take action at

your event. Our event app offers a high

degree of customization, and there are

endless possibilities for creating games and

challenges pre-, post- and during your event!

Expo Games:

Directing Attendee Behaviour


“While all the other exhibitors attempt to attract eyes, attendees will have a reason to come straight to your booth first.”

CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME EVENT GAME IDEAS?

One exciting way you can integrate a sponsorship strategy into your event games is by incorporating your top sponsors in the games.

DESIGN TIP

Use QR Codes in your scavenger hunt as a visual cue for attendees to engage and to promote the game to those passing by exhibitors.

Create a check-in style challenge to drive traffic to specific sponsors’ booths or ask questions about a top-sponsor’s product presentation.

While all the other challenges in your event game might be worth 10 points each, attach 50 points to a visit with your sponsor.

Take it a step further and create a challenge that prompts attendees to start a conversation. For example, “For ten more points, what’s the name of the new product the company is announcing today?”


One of the features that make our digital

signage solution, Live Display, truly unique is

that it offers real estate for five sponsor logos

within the rotating screens--from Agenda to

Social to Games and Partners.

Gone are the days of locking down a firm

sponsor deadline before so you’d have enough

time to print their logos on physical signage and

lanyards. With digital signage opportunities like

Live Display, you can accommodate even the

most last minute sponsorship decisions.

Because let’s be honest--you never want to

have to turn away an offer for event

sponsorship. Of course, it’s a great inclusion in

your planned sponsorship packages as well!

Live Display:

Make a Big Splash with the Partners Screen


“Want to sneak in as a last-minute sponsor and get some significant real estate? No problem --with Live Display, it’s still possible to make an impact!”

DESIGN TIP

While the Partners screen has room for up to

five logos, if you’ve gone with an exclusive

sponsorship model, you could also offer this

entire space to one sponsor, for repeated logos

or even an ad with event-specific messaging.


Attendees are always fascinated to see each

other’s opinions’ translated into stats on the big

screen. If a live audience response system is

integrated with your event app, you have a

golden opportunity to use it for revenue

generation. Poll results tallied on a large

presentation screen are great attention

grabbers and a well-placed logo is guaranteed

to attract some eyes.

Those few seconds of exposure are valuable,

and you can offer them to your sponsors at a

premium. Our digital signage solution-- Live

Display--integrates with our event app to make

this possible.

Live Polling:

Follow your Attendee’s Eyeballs


“Everyone likes to see the results of live polls! Get your logo up, front and center where everyone’s attention will be.”


You can offer branded registration to sponsors

who want to be in the spotlight from the very

beginning of your event. Adding a logo to the

registration site and the registration email

invite is a smart way to offer pre-event

exposure.

Registration:

Put Sponsors in the Spotlight


“Capture the attention of your target audience from one of their very first touchpoints with the event: the registration email and site.”

HOW TO MEASURE ROI?

To identify logo impressions, you can look at

number of emails sent and number of

registration pageviews.


Of course, in addition to registration, event apps, and digital signage, there are many more types of event

technology that you could turn into creative sponsorship opportunities. Here are some examples to inspire

you, but you should also look to your competitors’ events for more ideas!

Other Types of Event Technology

In this example from Britain’s Glastonbury Music

Festival, telecommunications company EE

sponsored a herd of life-sized fiber-glass cows,

which doubled as free Wi-Fi spots to keep

attendees connected. EE specializes in building

high-speed wireless networks for remote areas,

so choosing to created “Moobile Hotspots” was a

smart strategy to tie in their organization’s value

proposition with this zany tech sponsorship.

INSPIRATIONHigh Tech meets the Herd

Caption: Moobile Hotstops sponsored by EE at the Glastonbury Music Festival, 2014.

Source: New Atlas, 2014

Virtual Booths

Sponsors post video clips

and specification sheets

in online directories

Digital Gift Walls and

Goodie Bags

Sponsors provide coupons

and collateral for download

WiFi

Sponsor logo link appears

before user login on the

splash page, or in

designated kiosks.

http://newatlas.com/glastonbury-wi-fi-cows/32681/


At the 2013 Canadian International Auto Show,

Chevrolet Canada celebrated the limited edition

Hot Wheels-inspired blue Camaro with a

giveaway of a Mattel collectors-edition blue

Camaro die cast from a vending machine in

Chevy’s booth. At the “Hot Wheels

Camaro-matic Trending Machine” consumers

standing nearby tweeted what they liked about

the car with a hashtag and Twitter handle,

#ChevyCIAS and @HotWheelsCanada.

Consumers had a 1-in-2 chance of receiving the

die cast giveaway in a special acrylic glass

display case.

INSPIRATIONToy Cars for Big Kids

Caption: Moobile Hotstops sponsored by EE at the Glastonbury Music Festival, 2014.

Source: New Atlas, 2014

Interactive Show

Floor Plans

Sponsor logo links

appear on maps

Twitter Vending

Machines

Sponsors deliver gifts in

exchange for tweets

Social Photo

Booths

Sponsors post guest photos

on social media sites

http://newatlas.com/glastonbury-wi-fi-cows/32681/


Having access to a mobile charging station has

become a must-have at most events. The last

thing you want to happen is for your attendees’

smartphone or laptop to run out of batteries

while they’re on the go! You can strategically use

charging stations to direct foot traffic to some of

the less-frequented corners of the tradeshow

floor. The placement of these stations could be

even more impactful than the traditional food and

beverage station, because when people are

charging their phones, they have little else to do

besides walking around these dead zones and

visiting booths.

INSPIRATIONToy Cars for Big Kids

Caption: Drop-and-Go Charging Station sponsored by Sprint at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, 2012.

Source: FreshWata, 2014

Beacons

Sponsors deliver push

notifications and

content to attendee’s

mobile apps

Device Charging

Stations

Sponsors deliver video or

surveys as attendees wait

for phones to charge

http://freshwata.com/mobile-charging-stations-event-ideas/


With a solid understanding of how you can monetize event apps, registration, and digital signage to deliver

sponsorship benefits, now you can begin mapping your technology offerings to your sponsors’ objectives.

There are two main approaches to creating sponsorship packages: A la Carte model or a Tiered model. The

traditional approach is to bundle technology sponsorships into a Tiered Model, where different features

are included or excluded, depending on the sponsorship level. But some sponsors will seek out more

flexibility and customization, and so you should also be ready to offer sponsorship benefits in an A La Carte

model as well.

Tiered vs. A la Carte Sponsorship Models


Platinum Gold Silver Exhibitor

Company Profile - Name, Logo, Description, Website, Social Media Links

✔ ✔

Sponsor Ribbons - On sponsor listing page ✔ ✔

Downloadable PDFs - On company profile ✔ ✔ ✔

Live Display - Dedicated screen with company logo ✔

Live Display - Shared screen with other sponsors ✔ ✔

2 Banner Ads - Shown throughout the app (speakers, agenda, main menu)

✔

1 Banner Ad - Shown throughout the app (speakers, agenda, main menu) ✔ ✔

2 Alerts - Sent to all attendees (can include sponsor logos and links)

✔

1 Alert - Sent to all attendees (can include sponsor logos and links)

✔ ✔

Home Screen Advertisement - Custom home screen ad (links to company profile)

✔

Audience Response - Logo on Live Polling results page (displayed at opening ceremony, sessions, etc.)

✔

Questions - Included in post-event survey ✔ ✔

Booth Information - Logo, Description, Interactive Mapping

✔ ✔ ✔

Downloadable PDF - Included on Sponsor profile ✔ ✔ ✔

Gamification - Included in check-in game ✔ ✔ ✔

If you’re looking for some ideas on how to split out event tech benefits across a tiered sponsorship model,

here’s an example of how it might work.

Tiered Sponsorship Model


Pre-Event ExposureIf your sponsor is seeking…

Offer these sponsorship options:

Logo on event registration site

Logo and/or mention in your pre-event registration invite emails

Social media shout outs (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc)

Promoting your sponsors’ speakers

Competition and giveaways pre-event by your sponsors

Caption: Event Registration Invite with Sponsor Logos

Pre-Event Exposure

Brand Awareness in Mobile

Event App

Engage with Attendees and Gather Insights

Brand Awareness

Onsite

Direct Messaging to Targeted Attendees

Post-Event Mentions

A la Carte Sponsorship Model


Brand Awareness in Mobile Event App

If your sponsor is seeking…


Short or enhanced company description

Highlighted or standard logo on sponsor section

Listing in sponsor tab

Sponsor ribbon

Link to company URL

Social media link (Twitter/LinkedIn)

Logo on Live Poll results on screen

Link to downloadable resources (brochures, company collateral)

Link to branded video

Banner ads

App banner placement on home page or map page

Link to special offers/giveaways

Caption: Sponsor Ribbon on Event App

Pre-Event Exposure


Event App


Brand Awareness

Onsite


Post-Event Mentions






Branded survey or poll to capture audience insights

Gamification points and prizes to encourage attendees to visit their booth and interact with sponsors onsite

Sponsored giveaways to be redeemed via gamification challenges and activity onsite

Profiles for sponsor staff to connect via chat with berbers one-on-one

Sponsored Group Discussion channels

Shoutouts and special messages in Group Discussions

Caption: Sponsored Challenge and Prize

Pre-Event Exposure


Event App


Brand Awareness

Onsite


Post-Event Mentions



Brand Awareness OnsiteIf your sponsor is seeking…


Logo on event registration site

Logo and/or mention in your pre-event registration invite emails

Logo on Live Poll results screens

Social media shoutouts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc)

Promoting your sponsors’ speakers

Competition and giveaways onsite by your sponsors

Logo on Live Display digital signage

Caption: Sponsored Live Poll Results Screen

Pre-Event Exposure


Event App


Brand Awareness

Onsite


Post-Event Mentions






Targeted segment or mass Alerts/Notifications with/without logo

Targeted segment or mass email

Caption: Branded Direct Notification

Pre-Event Exposure


Event App


Brand Awareness

Onsite


Post-Event Mentions



Post-Event MentionsIf your sponsor is seeking…


Logo/Mention in Post-event Email or Survey

Caption: Sponsored Live Poll Results Screen

Pre-Event Exposure


Event App


Brand Awareness

Onsite


Post-Event Mentions



Section 3

How to Value Event Tech SponsorshipOnce you have a list of event tech sponsorship benefits, organized into a Tiered or an A la Carte Model, next,

it’s time to assign a price to each asset, otherwise known as “valuation.” And according to sponsorship expert

Chris Bailey, it’s at this step of the process that many event professionals slip up.

"A majority of event organizers have no idea what the market rate is for their sponsorship properties, so they tend to guess their value.”— Chris Bailey

How Much Should you Charge Event Sponsors?

Sponsorship Collective (2017)

He notes that this “wild guess” strategy may help you win over a few sponsors, but you could be leaving

money on the table. Instead, here’s what he suggests:

Research the market value of similar assets

Why not take a peek at your competitors’ events? You can do a bit of research and find out how much they

charge for an exclusive branded event app or logo placement on digital signage, for example. Remember that

you’re competing for dollars that marketers are investing in campaigns on a daily basis, so they know exactly

how much an email or ad is worth. So should you.

Get into the heads of your sponsors

Once you have gathered your research and ballpark numbers around the market rate, it’s time to get into the

headspace of your sponsors. As a marketer, they’ll be thinking about this commitment like a business

investment. What value can they get out of it?

https://sponsorshipcollective.com/much-charge-event-sponsors/


Sponsors will spend money if they see that it will deliver value for their business. So as long as you can prove

a return on investment, the only barrier will be their budget.

Cost

Value-based Pricing Model

Price Perceived value

Why a brand sponsors your event

Your margin

This method also provides this side benefit: Instead of being focused solely on your margins, you’ll care more

about ensuring that your sponsor gets the value to which you’ve committed. Sponsorship is a partnership,

and it’s important that you genuinely care about your sponsors’ goals, and are willing to help achieve them!

If your sponsor’s perceived value is higher than your activation price, then they’ll decide to sponsor. And if your cost for activation is lower than that price, you’ll make money”.

— Chris Bailey

How Much Should you Charge Event Sponsors?

Sponsorship Collective (2017)

https://sponsorshipcollective.com/much-charge-event-sponsors/


Section 4

Communicating Sponsorship Results Post-EventAfter your event, it’s crucial to make sure you deliver on the value you promised to sponsors, by sharing the

results from your event in a well-structured report. But as you well know, the challenge is this: post-event,

you’re toast. After the event build-up, the last minute crazy changes, and the days onsite...the last thing you

feel like doing is exporting data! So, have a glass of champagne with your team and celebrate the success of

your event. But be sure to tackle your sponsorship reports shortly after that, so you can update your

sponsors within at least 30 days of your event.

“Post-event reports are absolutely necessary. Partnerships are harder to put together nowadays, and proof of performance is no different than when I buy media to promote my events. I want to get what I pay for, and something more.”

— Kevin Camper,

Sales & Marketing VP, Las Vegas Motor Speedway

The Key to Sponsor Servicing, 2013

Figuring out how to measure and communicate event sponsorship ROI to sponsors is a critical part of the

process and will help you build the foundation for future work together. These reports also offer the

opportunity to emphasize areas where you may have over-delivered on results. Here are some guidelines on

how to structure your report.

http://www.sponsorship.com/iegsr/2013/04/15/The-Key-To-Sponsor-Servicing--Post-Event-Fulfillme.aspx


Start with an executive summary

Outline a few paragraphs on the value of the event and summary of results relevant to the

sponsors’ goals.

Reiterate the attendee profile

Summarize overall attendee demographics, psychographics, attendance numbers, purchasing

habits and any survey results that help paint a clearer picture of attendee profile. Data

visualizations can help here.

Detail onsite exposure

Now that you’ve set the context include your event technology metrics to prove the value

delivered through this sponsorship, alongside other onsite results.

How to Write a Stellar Recap Report

Brand Awareness Metrics

Banner ad clicks

Clicks to company URL

Clicks to social media link

Clicks to downloadable resources

Branded emails sent/opened

Branded landing page visits

Exhibitor profile views

Branded map views

Attendee Engagement Metrics

Leads generated through session attendance

Survey or poll results

Game/contest/sponsored giveaway participants

Increase in foot traffic to booth

Sponsored activity participants

1

2

3


Celebrate off-site exposure

Social Media Print TV

Visuals

Don’t forget to include screenshots or photos of your event app, registration, or any other

branded collateral. Capture photos of attendees engaged in experiential marketing, screenshots

of social media posts, and any visual documentation that your sponsor may be looking for.

LinkedIn, Twitter,

Facebook or Instagram

posts that mention event

and feature sponsor

Ads or articles in which

sponsor’s name/logo

appears

Public service

announcements, News

coverage. Ratings and

rate card values

4

5

Conclusion

With sponsors seeking more measurable, customizable opportunities to interact with their audiences,

forward-looking event planners are exploring event technology as a way to build sponsorship into a more

robust revenue channel.

Designing and building out creative activation opportunities that demonstrate clear return on investment is

the key to building and maintaining strong sponsorship relationships. Be clear about what you can offer, and

be honest about the results generated.

Ready to see how an event app can maximize the ROI of your sponsorship strategy?

Sign up for the next product webinar to learn more.

https://www.eventmobi.com/product-webinar/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=guide2017_Sponsorship_Strategy_to_Maximize_Revenue_ROI&utm_content=product_webinar_registration

EventMobi provides technology that empowers event marketers and planners to create incredible event experiences. Founded in 2010, EventMobi has been the trusted event technology platform of over 10,000 clients in 72 countries. One of the fastest growing tech companies in North America, EventMobi has received worldwide praise for our people and our platform. From planning to marketing, management to measurement — at every stage of the event life cycle — we’re there when you need us.

For more information, visit Eventmobi.com.

http://eventmobi.com

EventMobi Guide to Sponsorship Strategy

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