Sponsoring of events
4 types of partners:
- Investing In cash
- Investing In kind
- Investing In a reduction
- Corporate partners
- (Authorities)
1) What is sponsoring?
“Event sponsoring is investing in an event in order to get certain benefits from the event”
- For companies, sponsoring is one of the mktc tools.
- Some have foreseen a sponsoring budget J, some haven’t L.
An event manager SELLS a sponsorship: you offer something and in return you ask for a correct price!
(be it money or in exchange)
The price should be calculated as correct as possible, based on the (real or estimated) ) financial
value of all return elements.
Marketing communication tools: point of sales, one way communication ( you pay a medium to send
info), advertising
2) Understanding the perspective of the sponsor
1. What do sponsors invest?
- Financiel (money=cash OR in exchange)
- Products
- Services
A mix => negotiation. As an owner you like cash (money).
1) But sponsors like to give their own product. Because it causes the sponsors less.
2) Also you could ask if the event organiser would like to show your sponsorproduct.
If you really just want cash, than you always can go somewhere else. It depends on how strong you
are.
2. What do sponsors expect in return?
- Free publicity
- Rising sales (NEW CLIENTS)
- Brand awareness
COMBINATION
1) Brand awareness & brand attitude:
-Awareness: make people know the brand
Outside the event: logo in mkt communication: event ads, website…
At the event: logo on stage, on banners, on screen, etc
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,-Attitude: make people love the brand:
live interaction needed!
Branding has only result on the LT à sponsor looks for consistency in supporting a certain type of
event and a certain event!
The same as “kennis, houding en gedrag”
Kennis = awareness
Houding = attitude
Gedrag = sales
You have to play with your audience so you create a game/story. Communication is really
important. When you experience something than there comes attitude “positive brand
awareness”
2) ‘Association with a value’
sustainability, ecology, charity, solidarity, integration, fairness, social relevance, tolerance, health,
community building, education, social diversity, authenticity, etc
Growing importance of values in event mgt
More and more companies are trying to look for human values. A company wants to be seen as a
positive/human side. That’s good for the planet
Exampel:
Coca cola tries to associate with human values.
Sponsoring companies have a list of criteria. Event values is important
What would be on the criteria list of Coca-Cola:
- Size of your event
- Weather they are going to make sales
- -…
This is how it goes for all the company’s. They have those list with their criteria and then they will
decide how far they want to go.
Maybe a no, maybe some cash, maybe some cash and products,.. Etc.
3) Short term sales: 3 types
Sales Sales
Short Long
Term! Term?
1) sales deal, made
between organisor thanks to
and sponsor!
1) branding
2) on site sales
actions 2) ass. with a
value
3) off site sales
actions
First column is measurable the second is not.
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,3) Off site sales actions: it doesn’t take place at the event. Ex. Lotus maker who says Buy 3 and get a
free afternoon ticket for your kids playgarden. So the lotus man sales more coockies. But what’s in it
for the event organiser? People are more tempted, the event gets awareness and people buy more
tickets (for partners or other kids)
Long term:
Branding:
more people knowing my name, more people will buy my product. But how can you proof it? It’s not
measureable
4) Hospitality
1. client relationship
2. employer relationship
Being able to be kind to people. Two kinds of people; clients and employers.
Why relationship with employer? Because it’s for long term. Hospitality is about inviting people,
talking to them.
You can’t invite all the clients, so you must make selections. Same goes for employer relationship.
Employers, they all feel the same way.
3) How to measure impact? (Some sponsor do, other’s don’t)
1. They measure the financial value of sponsor-driven media coverage versus what they’ve paid.
logo in mktc campaign logo in articles, newsitems
of event about event
Mix of excpectations. Some companies have more expectations towards hospitality or more towards
branding and sales,…
The more money is involved the more companies will watch wat’s out of it. Most cash goes to sports
sponsors. With sports there is the focus on the outside.
They measure how much time your brand name was on screen. => Then they’re going to calculade
how much visibility you have gotten for free.
That’s why you see 20 of sponsors on tv after a athlete has won. Free publicity
2. They measure the change (before-after) in
-awareness of the brand
-attitude towards brand
Expensive and hard to measure
3. They measure the change (before-after)
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, in ST sales
Easy to measure . Short term sales
4) From my perspective as event manager
1. Do I need sponsors?
Event revenue -tickets
-sponsoring
-catering
-(subsidies?)
-Maybe you also need services & products?
When => No I don’t need sponsors?
Company events for your staff, Where does the money come from?
Dealerships
When the event is a marketing communication tool, the goal isn’t about money. It cost money and
the return comes later.
2. Which direct benefits can I offer?
1. Right to visiblity (branding) in the marketing communication campaigns of the event
2. Right to visibility (branding) at the event itself
3. Right to ‘name giving’ or name connection
4. Sales rights: direct sales to visitors
5. Media rights (for tv station)
6. Hospitality rights
7. Exclusivity rights in his branch
->Make these ‘rights’ more concrete
->Combine ‘rights’ into packages
Make sure it’s clear what these rights are. Make packages of rights and then they say. If you pay 1000
euro you get these five rights.
It’s in packages and not often in rights.
3. Which indirect benefits can I offer?
1. Logo rights: right to use the event logo
2. Personality rights: have a special guest
3. Possibilities to do ‘Sponsorship activation’ : activating yourself as a sponsor. You’re going
to do more. Ex., Lotus sponsoring a family event. They have paid money to be a sponsor but
they loop their own benefits.
§ ‘Sponsorship activation’ is everything a sponsor does and organises, to bring his sponsorship
alive, to both visitors and non-visitors.
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