Sponsorship – it’s a two way deal!
By Angela Fitch – Development Manager, Federation of Small Businesses
Marketing comes in many shapes and sizes: social media, advertising, brand and networking, to name a few. However, for small businesses, sponsorship is a very effective marketing tool, especially if you have a local customer base. Your logo, business name and website are valuable assets, use them wisely and they will pay for themselves several times over.
How sponsorship works
The sponsor provides something that the event needs, usually money, but it can be a venue, refreshments, transport, or print etc.
What you might expect to get
The amount you invest usually dictates what you get. Realistically, an entry level sponsor could expect branding on specific event marketing eg fliers, pop up banners and local advertising. The organisers can also include your Twitter hash tag, Facebook page or website homepage on social media and your business will be listed in the event programme. If it’s a ticketed event you can expect at least two complimentary tickets and as the value of your sponsorship increases you can expect all of the above plus extras, such as: the opportunity to present a prize, additional tickets, VIP dining, the opportunity to say a few words and to meet keynote speakers and so on.
The pitfalls
Decide what your objectives are before you commit. Understanding what you want to achieve is vital to securing the right deal for you. If you want to meet the VIP guests, or, capture contact details of attendees to use for your own marketing purposes, you need to agree this with the organisers before signing on the dotted line, especially with data as current regulation restricts the sharing of personal information, and that includes names, phone numbers etc.
In summary
1. Know what want to achieve.
2. Work with the organisers to meet each other’s objectives.
3. Be prepared to negotiate.
4. Make sure you create a ‘legacy’; possibly a new business contact or new customers.
Current local sponsorship opportunities include:
Evesham’s Medieval Festival www.battleofevesham.com
Sunshine Radio’s Pride Awards http://hm.sunshineradio.co.uk/
