Optimizing event sponsorship program performance
How a leading digital manufacturer revamped its event sponsorship program to exceed revenue goals and transform the stakeholder experience.
Examining Sponsorships Through a Discovery Session
A consultative discovery session with organization leaders and ITA Group’s sponsorship and trade show team informed the sponsorship program redesign. The session helped identify the need to develop a targeted sales goal and restructure the sponsorship approach to create a more profitable event and elevated sponsor experience.
Together, we first created a financial model. Then, an expense analysis found areas where the brand could immediately scale back. The analysis included a review of each sponsorship tier to account for hard costs and reimagined inclusions to create a more suitable margin.
Developing an Elevated Sponsorship Prospectus
Simplified sponsorship packages offered partners clear sponsorship tiers and streamlined management. Top sponsorship tiers leveraged networking and education aspects of the event. Buying in at the higher tier meant more attendee badges and exclusive sponsor benefits—like riding a parade float with sales winners on their way to the evening event.
Designing the prospectus as a digital-first, editable presentation cut down on printing costs and gave potential partners quick access to the package options. A new prospectus template created efficiencies and allowed for easy updates, too. Instead of starting from scratch each year, the team refreshes the prospectus design to align with new event theming and location.
Tying Sponsor Visibility to Experiential Opportunities
Including several á la carte add-ons for co-branded exposure helped upsell each tier. Organizers and the ITA Group Sponsorship Manager conducted pre-event site visits to finalize enhanced sponsorship inclusions and immersive activations to increase sponsorship engagement and revenue, and provide a can’t-miss attendee experience during the event. Connecting brand recognition with fun and memorable moments was a win for client leadership.
Consultative support helped identify high-visibility opportunities such as:
- Sponsor tables, event activations and branded signs at a soccer-themed networking event
- Presence at a social impact give-back activity
Sponsors Arrive in Style for Ultimate Attendee Visibility
Platinum sponsors made their way to an event celebration aboard a Mardi Gras parade float for maximum exposure and visibility.
Photo Booth Sponsors Create Lasting Memories
The entertainment sponsor helped attendees capture the event with a 360-degree camera, complete with an Instagrammable music video for an unforgettable event experience.
Supporting Sponsors With A Full-Circle Strategy
Working with a trusted, consultative partner for sponsorship and trade show management ensured the digital manufacturer consistently served sponsors’ needs well and strengthened the sponsor relationship. Promotional and deadline reminders, plus two webinars (“Understanding Sponsorship Packages” and “Know Before You Go”) helped sponsors:
- Understand the packages in advance
- Prepare for on-site logistics
The revamped sales kickoff exceeded expectations for both earned revenue and sponsor experience. Through our partnership, the organization created efficiencies and stayed on track toward goals by expanding their capacity from pre-event planning and design to on-site conference management and post-event reporting and reconciliation. The results and positive initial engagement inspired the organization to annually renew and globally expand the profitable partnership.
Results
*Percentages based on sponsors that completed the post-event survey.
98%
of sponsors* agreed that attending the event was good for their business
92%
of sponsors* felt satisfied with overall event logistics