Event sponsorship is one of the key features of event planning. Both physical and virtual events absolutely thrive on sponsorship packages.
Increasing sponsorship revenue is one of the most important aspects of ensuring virtual event success for event planners.
And while most event planners have event sponsorship for physical events figured out to a T, the same can’t be said for virtual events.
Virtual Event sponsorships differ in that sponsors often don’t know what to expect from the event, what their returns will look like, & what do they stand to gain from the investment.
For this reason, most virtual event planners often have to work very hard to instill confidence among sponsors to get the amount they need for the virtual event.
So what is it that makes sponsors want to invest in your virtual event?
For one, it is the prospect of gaining increased brand outreach, the opportunity to tap into the target audience, & enhanced sales prospects that makes sponsors wish to get involved with your event.
The sheer number & kind of innovative, creative networking & engagement opportunities you have created in your virtual event is another deciding factor.
However, in most cases, the decision to sponsor your event depends on the kind of audience that will be attending your virtual event.
The more refined & specific your virtual event audience is the higher your chances of getting the right event sponsorship for your virtual event.
In this article, we tell you the top 11 ideas that help you get the right kind of virtual event sponsorship revenue for your virtual event.
1. Align Your Goals & Motivations
It’s important to align the goals of your virtual event with those of your selected sponsors. If this is not done, the entire virtual event sponsorship deal won’t take off.
If it’s not a pre-designed sponsorship package that you’re hoping to get from your sponsors, it’s best to sit with them to understand their goals & ideas.
Ask them what they would like to achieve from your virtual event, & what they are willing to sponsor for the same.
Discussing sponsorship intricacies & individual preferences over a communicative meeting is the best way to achieve similar goals & ideas as your sponsors.
It is also your best shot to secure the sponsorship that you want for your virtual event.
Respect their wishes, take into consideration their worries & concerns, & provide them with the best plan that helps them fulfill their goals & motivations with your virtual event.
In this manner, by working with them to select the best possible course of action for the sponsorship deal, you will be able to benefit both yourself and your sponsors.
2. Customize Your Virtual Event Environment
Virtual event environments are the best way to attract sponsors & increase sponsorship revenue opportunities.
These environments allow you to design virtual event booths, event surroundings, & event environments in such a way that your sponsors can derive the maximum benefit from it.
From ultra-realistic 3D event environments that allow your attendees to walk around the venue as they would in a physical event, to sponsor signage, designated trade show booths, & drop-in appointments.
These designated spaces allow your sponsors to get traction for their brand, meet & interact with their target audience, potential customers, & increase their brand outreach.
They also allow your attendees to interact with your sponsors and help them find new products & services that might be of interest to them in the future.
3. Strategic Logo Placement
Where you place your sponsors’ logo in your virtual event matters a lot to your brand’s outreach.
If you place your sponsors’ logo at a place where not many attendees will be able to see it, your sponsors will not get as much traction as they wish to in your virtual event.
In contrast, if you place the logo on the home screen, more attendees will be able to see your sponsors’ logos & interact with the designated trade show booths more easily.
You can also include direct hyperlinks & easy navigation to your sponsors’ websites via your home screen itself.
Strategic logo placement & other information placements throughout the virtual event helps your sponsor get increased visibility & traction through your virtual event.
You can also include tracking cookies on your home screen to track your attendees’ click-through rate on the sponsor logos, & provide the information to your sponsors so that they can make better use of it.
4. Sponsored Sessions & Video Bytes
Sponsored sessions & video bytes of your sponsors provide a unique value & exciting opportunity to your attendees. They are able to see your sponsors in action, visualize their impact on their respective industries, & interact with the sponsors through such sponsored video bytes & sessions.
You can host Q&A sessions with your sponsors, host interactive one-on-one audio/video conferencing, sponsor signages, & games to win sponsored goodies to help your attendees relate better to your sponsors.
Video bytes of your sponsors will also help your attendees know more about the sponsors & their businesses, thus helping them make better decisions about becoming potential customers for your brand.
5. Sponsored Goodies from Contests
You can also try giving your attendees sponsored goodies for their participation & winnings in the competition. Sponsored goodies can include t-shirts, mugs, water bottles, kitchenware, household items, & other personalized items that help your attendees remember the sponsor & potentially become customers of it later on.
These can also help increase the brand awareness & outreach of your sponsors while also driving organic promotion for your brand through your attendees flaunting & using the sponsored goodies.
6. Attendee Networking Options
Attendee networking options like live chats, one-on-one conferencing, networking lounges, & breakout rooms, etc. all help your attendees interact with each other.
You can also design a sponsored networking environment by including your sponsors’ logos in it & allowing your attendees to visualize the sponsors and their brand message.
You can also try including virtual happy hours in your event agenda that include sponsors’ logos and sponsored goodies in it.
Have your sponsors host a virtual happy hour at the end or in the middle of the virtual event that pairs up attendees in small groups.
This way, your attendees can get in touch with your sponsors & form a meaningful connection with other attendees as well.
This helps increase your sponsors’ visibility and brand outreach, giving them better opportunities to be discovered & get on the radar of their potential target audience.
However, this option really depends on the kind of virtual event platform you’ve chosen for your virtual event, so make the choice carefully.
7. Personal One-on-One Video Conferencing with Attendees
In the world of B2C, leads are not easy to come by. This will undoubtedly form a bargaining chip for your sponsorship deals, as your sponsors will be more likely to give you deals if you can guarantee them adequate leads & returns in your event.
One way to do this is to provide your sponsors with an option to hold personal, one-on-one video conferencing with the attendees.
This ensures that they have an appropriate window of time to explain their offerings to your attendees, & personally connect with each of them.
You can also go a step further by matching your sponsors with only those attendees that seem to take an interest in your sponsors’ business/products/services/industry.
This will narrow down the prospective attendees & provide them with even more refined leads.
8. Set up a Virtual Trade Show Booth for Your Sponsors
Virtual Trade Show booths are the best kind of sponsored activity that you can perform for your sponsors. You can set up uniquely designed virtual trade show booths that consist of virtual booths that consist of information, product exhibits, downloadable resources, & lots of other branded stuff by your sponsors.
Your attendees can relax at these virtual booths, take a look around at the items exhibited, chat & interact with the sponsors, make purchases, & buy sponsored goodies at these virtual trade show booths.
9. Email Marketing Campaigns
Including your sponsors’ logos, brand message, & product/service descriptions in your email marketing campaigns for the virtual event is another great way to drive traffic towards your sponsors.
Email marketing has long been known as the most effective way to get peoples’ attention, & the same goes for email marketing campaigns for virtual events as well.
Your attendees are more likely to open your emails, & by including sponsored content in them, you’re providing organic traffic & sales leads to your sponsors as well.
10. Host a Recreational Ssponsored Session
People in these times are always looking for something new, creative, & exciting to make their days more fruitful.
If your virtual event provides them with this, you’re much more likely to engage & interest your attendees for the longer term as well.
You can try including sponsored cooking sessions, yoga sessions, poetry & writing workshops, art classes, & more to provide creative entertainment opportunities to your attendees, as well as give your sponsors some good quality sales leads.
11. Send your Attendees Some Sponsored Goodies
One great way to make your attendees remember your virtual event is by sending them sponsored goodie bags with some amazing branded stuff in there.
This will allow them to look back on your event fondly, as well as help your sponsors get organic traction on their websites, product/services/brand message.
You can also take this a step further by asking your attendees to post pictures of them wearing/donning/using the sponsored stuff on their social media, thus creating a huge amount of leads & visibility for your sponsors’ brands.
