How to Get Sponsors For Your Next Event
Photo by britt gaiser on Unsplash
Sponsors can help you achieve the event of your dreams. When reaching out to potential brands sponsors, make sure to highlight your value. With what you ask?
A sponsorship deck.
You have an event coming up--a charity event, music festival, or a professional networking event. But let’s be real, events are expensive and it all adds up. There are a ton of overhead costs you’d like to offset including food and beverage (to keep your guests happy), rentals (keep your guests comfortable), production and decoration (things to make your event cool), graphic designers, and your promotional marketing budget (to spread the good word). Most importantly, you want to create an event that people keep returning to.
Sponsorship decks are important because they describe the “who, what, when, where, and why” companies should sponsor you. Here, I outline the important components that go into making a sponsorship deck so you can approach companies with the right arsenal to get what you want.
What is a sponsorship deck?
A sponsorship deck is formal pitch that allows the brand to get to know more about your event and how the partnership would benefit them. Brands like to partner with companies who deliver unique and custom activations that align with their mission and values, and reach their target audience.
Why are sponsorship decks important?
In your deck, you want to showcase why you would be the best fit for their brand and why they should put money into your event.
I’ve created sponsorship and partnership decks that have been pitched to small businesses and Fortune 500 companies for in-kind donations up to $1M. No matter what dollar amount you’re looking for, a brand will always want a deck to gain more information about you.
What goes in a sponsorship deck?
I recommend you include the following sections in your deck:
Cover Page
About
The Why
Estimated Impressions
Sponsorship Levels
End Page
Cover Page
Start off your sponsorship deck with a cover page. Make sure you include the name of the event/campaign, your logo, the brand’s company logo, and the date of the proposal when you submit. If you have them, pictures of your event would be great to have on your cover page.
About Your Event
This is the informative section of your sponsorship proposal. Include the date, time, venue location, event theme, event purpose, any important influencers or professional speakers, and the goal for your event. You should also include the number of attendees you will be expecting and their demographic. For example, are they male, female, millennials, or young professionals? What are their interests and where do they work?
The Why
When brands partner with other companies, they are looking for the following things: brand lift, brand awareness, brand alignment with targeted audiences, and the ability to reach new audiences. This section is your selling point, and they want to know where their marketing dollars are going and how they would benefit from partnering with you. You should also include how your company and event aligns with their mission and values.
Estimated Impressions
Event statistics are a crucial selling point for brands. I highly recommend providing total impressions from previous events. If this is your first one, an estimated amount of impressions will do.
Impressions are the number of times your content is displayed, or the amount of time someone sees the displayed content. If you’re recognizing a brand by their logo you can include: day-of attendees seeing the brand, the reach or estimated number of people who have seen the logo from pre-promotions and post-event recaps, or across any digital platforms. Impression benchmarks can include the number of people at the event, website unique views, your email recipient list, social media followers, and total reach.
Sponsorship Levels
This is the most critical part of your sponsorship proposal because this outlines the exact benefits and offerings that a brand would receive in turn for their investment in your event. I recommend at least offering 3 different types of sponsorship packages from lowest to highest with a different range of benefits for sponsors to choose from. For pricing, I would consider your event budget and operating costs. For example, if your event costs $10,000 overall, I wouldn’t ask for a $100,000 sponsorship level.
The sky's the limit for what you can do with sponsors, but most look for tailored activations that speak their brand. Benefits can include custom activations such as selfie backdrops, custom photo walls, VIP lounges, sampling/giveaway opportunities, or packaged online activations with influencers and contest giveaways. Digital cross-promotion can include social media, e-comms, blogs, or website.
End Page
End your sponsorship deck simply on a high note. I suggest including a clear photo, “THANK YOU” text, your contact details, and email.
Last Notes
Sponsorship decks can be as long or as short as you want, depending on the design of your deck. However, you want to make sure it’s concise and straight-to-the point. Remember, brands need a lot of important information but they also don’t have a lot of time on their hands to read through pages and pages. I also recommend filling it with captivating and engaging photos so you can give your sponsors an idea of what they’re putting their money into.
Most importantly, brands want to see the most authentic you! Don’t forget to tell your unique story and what sets your brand apart from others.