PCO ASSOCIATION
Making sponsorship work
Many events struggle with sponsorship. It is not that they struggle to get sponsors, it is
more that with the ever-evolving events industry, sponsorship does not work like it used
to and we need to get better at making it work, writes Warwick Merry.
Here are some key elements to keep in mind
when dealing with sponsors.
It’s not about you
While it is your event, it has your name on it;
the sponsorship is not about you. Sponsorship
is all about the sponsor. What value can they
get, what leverage does the event give them
and how can they use the event to increase
their market share, their position in the
market or their brand awareness?
Be crystal clear, when you are approaching
sponsors, you are doing them no favours.
Positioning your event is all about how
you can create a great opportunity for your
sponsor. This in return will be advantageous
for you and your delegates. You may be trying
for a “win – win” but you must understand it
from the sponsor perspective first.
There has to be a return
Sponsors don’t have bottomless pits of
money. High level promises of “it’ll be
really great branding” used to work but not
anymore. Smart brands want to calculate
their return on investment, return on
objective and return on energy.
If they are investing $50k with you, they
want a multiple of value. For example, if they
only get $50k of value, their return is 100 per
cent which is barely worth it. Sponsors will
want an increased payback.
For example, if a premium car brand sponsors
your event for $20k and they make $10k
profit on each car sale, they will want at least
two car sales to cover the cost of the event
and then give some return. How can you help
make that happen?
Help sponsors be successful
Many sponsors struggle with sponsorship.
They spend a lot of money for the brand
awareness but then do very little to take
advantage of the event. They send the
wrong people to the event and then do very
little follow-up.
We are successful when our sponsors
are successful. As part of your sponsor’s
package, it is important to educate the
sponsor on how to take advantage of their
sponsorship. Too often sponsors invest their
money, don’t get the outcome they were after
and then don’t partner with you again. Some
of this is due to unrealistic expectations but
mostly it is because they have not decided
before they started on how they will measure
if this is a successful event.
It is so important to be focused on a long-
term relationship with your sponsors. It is far
easier to have them sign up for a multi-year
deal or to eagerly re-sign the sponsorship
deal year after year.
What that means for us is that we have to
make sure that they know how to measure
their success. We need to work with them to
decide what they want from the event.
If we can help our sponsors get concrete
measures of success, then we can have them
sign up with us time and time again.
PCO ASSOCIATION NEWS
Pollie meet up broadens opportunities
The recent high-level Canberra meeting organised by Business Events
Council of Australia will hopefully lead to the Federal Government
maximising the opportunities provided by the business events
industry’s ability to attract the world’s smartest investors to Australia.
“While it is critical that strong and secure investment be maintained
for Tourism Australia – to position the country globally as a premium
business events destination – other government departments must
understand that they can use business events as a mechanism
to achieve their objectives,” said Barry Neame, president of the
Professional Conference Organisers Association.
“We bid for and secure these conventions often years in advance
and therefore have time to best maximise the opportunities that they
present for Australia beyond tourism visitation.
“It will be a shame if the industry continues to attract the world’s
smartest and brightest investors to our shores and government fails to
squeeze every opportunity out of them.”
He says that if government departments understand the broader
picture, they might