A successful sponsor relationship is about so much more than displaying a logo on your site or designing sponsor backdrops for events. At the core of a long-lasting partnership is a strong connection formed through a mutual understanding of values.

To stand out in a crowded marketplace, you’ll need to come up with unique collaboration ideas and sponsorship packages that align with a brand’s message. It’s not just about how to display sponsors at an event; it’s about attracting and retaining sponsors with key offerings before, during, and after the big day.

Before your event

To effectively promote your sponsor and encourage attendee engagement, it’s key to grow sponsor awareness before your event takes place. Wondering what to offer event sponsors in the run-up to your event?

Here are some ideas:

  • Hold social media contests. Consider how you can involve your sponsors in giveaways and competitions on your social media channels. Reward likes, follows, and engagement with exclusive merchandise or products from the sponsor. These contests can be promoted on your own accounts and those of your sponsor for maximum exposure.
  • Create an event app. Giving unique opportunities through a purpose-built app helps to build awareness both for your sponsor and your event. For example, for their long-standing relationship with media company TED Talks, Rolex created an app that selects personalised videos based on the amount of time a user has.
  • Give discounts via your event app. Promote your sponsor within your event or ticketing app by offering exclusive discounts and offers for attendees.
  • Support charitable causes. Team up with your sponsor on charitable initiatives, boosting awareness for a particular organisation or fundraising for a cause. The DISRUPT information exchange event, which is sponsored by several companies, will support Hope for Justice, a non-profit organisation that works to end human trafficking and modern slavery.

During your event

On the day, it’s key that you bring your sponsor’s name front and centre (whether your event is taking place in-person or virtually). This is how you can achieve tangible results for them in terms of promotion and how you build the foundations for a productive and long-lasting relationship.

Here are some inventive ideas for really showcasing your sponsor at the event itself:

  • Invest in RFID technology. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) wristbands are a popular (and contact-free) way to admit attendees. Not only do they speed up event entry, but they can also provide valuable data that you can offer to sponsors post-event. Plus, guests can enter competitions and access digital downloads about your sponsor with a quick scan of the wrist.
  • Hold an Instagram hashtag competition. You and your sponsor can run competitions on social media or at your event for the chance to win prizes. Take the Wild Indie Sci-Fi & Fantasy Film Festival, for example. Sponsors are offering prizes such as time in a film-making studio and a travel lighting kit, boosting their brand awareness and potentially leading to new customers.
  • Put together an experience. Creating one-of-a-kind experiences at your event that tie in with your sponsor, such as art installation walls and branded charging stations, gives partners a hands-on role and a way to naturally integrate their logo.
  • Try out gamification. Adding games to your event is a unique way to involve your sponsor and make your event more immersive. Including your sponsor in a virtual reality game or theming a simple quiz around their services offers attendees a fun and memorable way to remember the brand. And it provides even more data – including demographics and reach – your sponsor can analyse to calculate their ROI and increase their chances of working with you again.

After your event

Work with your sponsor doesn’t end just because your event has. Now is the time to thank your sponsor, both publicly and privately, to further cement your relationship. It’s also key to take away whatever learnings you can from your cross-promotional activity.

Help with their analysis by sending over post-event sponsor survey questions and all the relevant data you’ve gathered. This might include attendee demographics, sales figures, and social media engagement.

Here are just a few more ideas you can use to engage with your sponsors post-event:

  • Hold a second networking event. Make the most of the relationship and momentum you’ve built by hosting a second networking event following your main activation. Open it up to a smaller group of previous attendees and allow them to build connections. It’s a particularly useful technique for events centred around business or entrepreneurship and can easily be held online.
  • Post social media highlights. Collate the best bits of your sponsor relationship for a highlights reel that can be shared across your social media channels (and by your sponsor, too). This will also provide a reminder of the successes you’ve achieved together and the benefits of sponsorship, increasing their likelihood of working with you again.
  • Send a thank you gift. Create a lasting impression by thanking sponsors officially with a gift. As well as showing your appreciation, gift-giving also keeps you front of mind.

Working with sponsors: a three-step process

Prioritising sponsors before, during, and after your event means they’re more likely to work with you on an ongoing basis. Keeping them in mind during the event promotion and wind-down phases as well as during the event itself will set you apart from the competition, as will the creative, collaborative ideas we’ve explored above.

Don’t forget though that honesty is the best policy. It’s better not to over-promise and under-deliver. Taking a realistic approach will create much more of a positive impression.

To help spark an initial connection with your dream sponsors, take a look at our handy sponsorship letter templates.