Recently a client asked me what I thought of participating in a sponsorship of a ‘City Guide’ put together by her local chapter for the annual convention coming to town. What she would get for her generous donation would be her tiny tiny logo printed somewhere on the printed piece. They were clearly looking for suckers to pay for the cost of printing and design. Think about it for a minute…when have you ever picked up an invitation or program and taken notice of all those tiny logos and said, “Wow, these people support our industry…I should do business with them!”
Pri-Med did a study a couple of years ago which showed the value of sponsorships when combined with exhibiting at medical meetings. Sure enough the exhibitors who participated in a sponsorship had a better ROI than non-sponsors in booth traffic and name recognition. What they did not specify were what types of sponsorships people were participating in. There are great sponsorships out there limited only by the organizations creativity. People who like buzz words like to call these sponsorships ‘experiential’…they probably also ‘think outside the box’ when creating them.
Organizations have to wake up and understand that placing a banner in the exhibit hall or meeting room and plastering a logo on a printed piece or web site is NOT a sponsorship. I recently looked at the sponsorship opportunities for an organization I’m involved with and had to laugh at how clueless they were by offering 1980’s sponsorships…but even worse were the companies who were lining up to pay for them. Levels ran from $500-$20,000 with very little difference between them…other than the size of your logo and number of registrations. For $10,000-$20,000 they would additionally call out your company name at the opening ceremonies. They also ever so creatively called the levels bronze, silver, gold and platinum and diamond. Total number of convention attendees??? 1400 and that figure includes exhibitors.
When you choose to participate in a sponsorship you have to make sure it is in alignment with your show goals. If you are there to brand yourself as the industry leader…and you already hold this position…no upstarts here please…then by all means go for the show bag sponsorship. If you are there to get your sales reps in front of the movers and shakers of the industry, talk to show management about sponsoring a VIP cocktail party inviting members who have been involved in the association for 10 years or more. The sponsorship would allow you to give a quick 5 minute welcome announcement by your CEO. Your sales reps and c-level execs can mingle with these industry fixtures during the cocktail party.
Some meeting organizers do a great job at working with their potential sponsors and others are not so good. Exhibitors should make it their job to reach out to the show and start suggesting sponsorships they would be interested in. Show organizers should be putting more effort into their sponsorships and actually crafting unique sponsorships that align with their key prospects’ corporate goals and values. Be willing to negotiate with them until you have a package that suits both the sponsor and the show’s management.
Sponsorships are marketing, not charitable donations. It should be treated like any other marketing expenditure. If an magazine rep called you to buy and ad I’m sure you’d be asking some questions and weighing the benefits of a placement with the publication. You’d want numbers and you’d want them to come from an outside auditor. So why are you not expecting as much from that sponsorship sales person?
What creative sponsorships have your organization come up with? Sponsors…what sponsorships have given you the best bang for your buck?
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The fact that sponsorships are marketing, not charitable donations is so important! Even for charitable events, sponsors need to remember that this is part of their overall marketing program and consider these donations as carefully as any other marketing buy. Thanks for a great article!