Alberta Meeting & Event Guide Fall/Winter 2017/2018 | Page 31

Setting the stage
Building a better event
sponsorship program
Six steps to help you overcome challenges
By Brent Taylor
I
t is getting difficult for event man-
agers to secure event sponsorships.
It is an increasing struggle to keep
sponsors engaged in providing
much-needed financial and in-kind sup-
ports. Something needs to change.
It is time to bury the old idea of devel-
oping one-size-fits-all programs that
beautifully outline our event’s Platinum,
Gold and Silver sponsorship levels. These
packages are still being heavily relied
upon to secure revenue to help sustain
our events.
There is a better way.
During a panel session of sponsor-
ship buyers at the Western Sponsorship
Congress, a marketing executive for a
Fortune 500 company indicated that he
doesn’t even consider engaging in these
types of programs. The other buyers on
the panel were quick to agree and indi-
cated they all place these sponsorship
packages in the trash where they belong.
So what is the problem with these
programs? For one, these programs tend
to be very event-centric without taking
into consideration the specific needs of
the potential sponsor. A one-size-fits-all
sponsorship program cannot be effective
in delivering value to a sponsor in today’s
economy where every marketing dollar is
being scrutinized.
We have to understand that sponsor-
ship is a business transaction and must
generate a positive return on the spon-
sor’s investment. If it doesn’t, then it will
be viewed less as marketing, and more as
a donation or philanthropy.
The key is to make our
sponsorship programs spon-
sor-centric and to give greater
consideration to their market-
ing and investment needs.
When we open a dialogue
with potential sponsors we
will quickly understand that
they are looking for long-
term relationships and are
ready to invest in the right
opportunities.
Our job is to identify the
right sponsors for our event,
customize the right program
that meets their goals and
objectives, and help prove the
value in their investment.
How do we do that?
The sponsorship industry
has developed into a struc-
tured industry with a defined
methodology for managing
sponsorship programs. As event manag-
ers, there is so much we can learn from
sponsorship professionals who build pro-
grams on a daily basis.
The following are the 6 steps they
follow to develop and implement a spon-
sorship program:
1) Inventory and
Valuation
Every event has physical and non-phys-
ical assets or benefits that sponsorship
buyers have an interest in. We need to
catalogue these assets and individually
determine their market value. We need to
do some research to gain an understand-
ing of what value to apply to each asset.
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