If there’s one thing that most events organisers dread having to do, it’s writing event sponsorship proposals. The problem is, they’re an absolute necessary part of the job if you’re looking to bring companies on board with your event, and successful event sponsorship deals can genuinely make the difference between a highly entertaining, fully-stocked evening or weekend of fun, and a damp squib of an event with little to do or see.
We don’t want you to miss out on any great sponsorship opportunities, and we know that with a bit of practice, and some industry insider know-how, it isn’t difficult to write up perfect event sponsorship proposals which are going to bring you the success you deserve.
Here at Ultimate Experience, we know how important it is to have top-notch advice in this field. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to the seven secrets that every writer of an event sponsorship proposal needs to get those acceptance letters and emails flooding in. Sounds good? Then read on to find out more!
1. Selecting The Best Leads
There’s no point in sweating over an event sponsorship proposal – packed with tempting offers and all the benefits your event can bring – until you’ve put the work into researching who it’s going to reach.
Frankly, if you aren’t sending it to the right people, you’re essentially wasting your valuable time, and could end up with the wrong sponsors on the night… or none at all.
The best way to kick things off? By writing up a list of ‘warm’ prospects first; those sponsors who you’ve worked successfully with in the past, and who are likely to be responsive to your ideas.
Once you’ve listed those, it’s time to have a chat with other people in your team, and get them to pool their resources and ideas. What type of sponsors do you want to attract? Whose companies are in line with the vibe and theme of your event, and which sell products which would fit well in your setting?
It’s also worth taking a look at competing and similar events, and seeing who they have got on board. Once you have your initial list written up, whittle it down to a handful of likely respondents, and tailor your message to target them specifically.
2. Understanding Your Target Audience
One of the key skills to writing to a killer events sponsorship proposal is knowing and communicating to your potential sponsors exactly what type of person will be at your event.
These are the people, after all, who your sponsors will be looking to get on board with their product or message.
Now, you should already have a good idea who your target audience is – it’s a fundamental part of any business plan – and what sort of people you’d like to be attracting to your event, and the specific demographics of your audience should be easily communicable to your potential sponsors.
Make sure you include a section in your proposal about the most relevant demographics your sponsors would like to see. What is the age bracket of your audience members? Are you trying to attract people from a certain industry? What’s their purchasing power? Where are they coming from?
All of these points are going to be of great interest to any potential sponsor, as they want to be involved in an event where they can reach out to future customers.
3. Showcase Your Success
OK – you’ve decided where your event sponsorship proposal is going, and you’ve laid out all of the relevant demographics to pique the interest of your sponsors. Now it’s time to really flex your event organiser’s muscles, and let them know why you’re the event manager they want to get involved with.
You should be sure to mention all of things you’re most proud of in your proposal for event sponsorship, such as:
- Evidence of increased sales as a result of exposure your event provided
- A boost or spike in Facebook page likes, social media interaction and similar (you could reach out to past partners for the facts and figures on this)
- Even anecdotal evidence is relevant here, as long as you have plenty of detail to back it all up
Your aim from all of this is to demonstrate to your potential sponsors that they will be able to see real, empirical benefits to working alongside you, just as previous sponsors have done.
4. Let Your Sponsors Know The Benefits Of The Event
The events industry is booming. We know it, you know it, and your potential sponsors know it too. As such, companies are more interested than ever before in being featured in your events program, or being a physical presence at the event itself… but this boom in interest has also made competition fierce, and businesses are wary about spreading themselves too thinly.
Your job? To let your sponsors know exactly how and why your specific event will bring benefits to their company.
In a sense, by providing your target audience demographics and letting them know about your past successes will do half the job for you.
However, you can absolutely push this message further – really let them know what makes your event unique and special, and how being associated with the event can help push their brand to new and existing customers, and can help boost their exposure on your scene.
- Think outside the box and be creative – could you place a banner for their company on your website? Or have branded items at your event for people to see and appreciate?
- Social media has opened up thousands of possibilities in this sense… so explore the options, and put the best ones across in your proposal!
5. Emphasize Results!
Marketing isn’t everyone’s talent, and if you’re an events organiser, it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that you leave the marketing and sales side of things to another member of your team with a stronger background in this field.
However, it’s massively important to be aware of the language you’re using in your events sponsorship proposal, as certain words have a powerful impact on the reader and can encourage them to get on board with your ideas.
- Research has demonstrated that two of the most effective words you can use in any proposal are “you”, and “because”. By directing your letter to the specific reader, you are grabbing their attention and getting them involved with what you’re saying.
- By following this up with a reason and an explanation, you are bolstering your ideas, and giving them food for thought. Slip in other ‘power’ words to your proposal to push your event even further into their minds – these include words like “bonus”, “premium”, “create”, “save”, “exclusive” etc, etc.
- By constantly using powerful language and suggesting great benefits, you’ll have sponsors eager to sign up to your event without hesitation!
6. Customize And Tailor Your Proposals
While it would certainly be quicker and easier to send off hundreds of almost-identical letters to all the sponsors on your list, this isn’t the way to get the best results.
Sponsors like to feel special – and you are trying to get on their good sides, after all – so make sure that you’re tailoring and customizing your events sponsorship proposal letters as much as possible before you’re clicking the “send” button.
There are many ways you can do this. Consider the following while you’re customising your letters:
- Are you offering brand promotion (banners, posters, adverts), or a physical space and presence at your event?
- Are you offering specific benefits and bonuses for larger sponsors?
- Is there the possibility of growth and consistency with future events?
- What you don’t want is for your letter or email to end up looking like spam, and directed at nobody in particular. Companies can spot such letters a mile off, so take the extra time, put in the extra work, and reap the benefits down the line!
7. Offer App Integration
Mobile technology and smartphone apps have made a massive difference to the way sponsorship works. With the right apps and tools, you can enormously increase the interaction your sponsors have with your target audience before, during and after your event takes place.
Your sponsors can bring coupons, discounts and tailored adverts to your attendees via apps and mobile sites, and this is something you should absolutely put across to potential sponsors in your proposal.
The same apps will be able to show the sponsors the impact their presence at your event has in real time, too – something which definitely adds value to their involvement.
Do It Right And See Results
It can take time and effort to customise an event sponsorship proposal, as well as to include all of the valuable pieces of information mentioned in this article.
However, the difference between a good proposal and a poor one is the difference between a successful and unsuccessful event… and that’s why we’re so keen to get this idea and these skills across to you! Ultimate Experience has years of experience in this field, so if you’d like any further advice, we’d be more than happy to assist you.
We hope you’ve found this article useful. As ever, we’d love to hear your own tips and pieces of wisdom in the comments below, so don’t hesitate to get in touch today!