Meet in Ireland gave branded jackets to attendees at Northstar's Global Incentive Summit. Photo Credit: Matt Klinger, Mad Pix Pro
As the event industry evolves, so do the ways in which organizations engage with sponsors. In a recent webinar, three experts – Karen Gonzales, director of global businesses development for the International Association of Exhibitions and Events; Ksenija Polla, director of international development at Talley Management; and Robyn Duda, cofounder of RacquetX — shared best practices on maximizing value for both sponsors and attendees. Watch the full webinar now. Following are highlights.
Know your audience
When it comes to sharing a message that will resonate, sponsors and event organizers need to understand who the attendees are.
"There's a plethora of types of sponsorships that are out there, but you have to know your audience before you start doing the selling," IAEE's Karen Gonzales said. "You have to have that data in mind, so when you speak to your sponsors, you know you can give them percentages, you know you can give them statistics."
RacquetX founder Robyn Duda said it was crucial to interact with attendees directly to get to know them, describing it as "hand-to-hand combat." She recommends communicating personally with registrants — such as by DMing them on Instagram — and suggests attending other industry events to see what's out there and what's missing.
"In my opinion, the 'build it and they will come' days are kind of reversed," Duda said. "You have to understand who you're building it for. Build it with them and they will come, and then your dollars come."
Having a simple feedback mechanism also is crucial.
"If you have an easy way in your event app for them to just add a word, a sentiment, 'aha' moment, challenge or solution, you can gather that very simply," said Ksenija Polla of Talley Management. "And there's so much technology out there that can really help you immediately have the pulse on your audience."
Create urgency and meaning
One of the tactics that Gonzales has seen make a comeback is creating a sense of urgency. "Urgency to register, urgency to buy branding, urgency to exhibit," she added.
When it comes to traditional sponsorships, logo placements are still popular, but there's a growing recognition that these strategies are not as effective as they once were. Instead, the panelists recommend sponsoring breakouts that delegates will enjoy, such as guided meditations, nap pods and other wellness-related activities.
"What we are seeing is really the face-to-face interaction is coming back with much more meaningful connections," said Polla. "Personalization is paramount in today's day and age."
Extend brand reach
To prolong the lifespan of both an event and a sponsor, consider custom merch. But mass-produced, generic giveaway items are not what audiences want. Today, partners are opting for high-quality, on-trend apparel that have a timeless appeal. For their annual event in Miami, Duda's team had an apparel sponsor that sold clothing at their booth and printed shirts on-site with a discreet logo.
"We didn't do this to make money or to be cheap," she said. "We did this to have really quality products that were reflective of our brand that were very classy and chic, that don't go out of style, that people want to wear."
At IMEX Frankfurt this year, the entire IMEX team wore custom sneakers from BrandYourShoes. The shoes were multipurpose: serving as comfortable footwear for the long days and highlighting the organization. Plus, the team wore them again in October at IMEX America, and the shoes can make more appearances at the biannual trade show for years to come. Attendees were also able to visit the BrandYourShoes booth to learn about making their own custom kicks.
When it comes to quantity of merchandise, less is more — not only to be sustainable, but also to drive demand, Duda pointed out, citing annual t-shirts or posters created by a local artist as examples. "Exclusivity is a beautiful thing," Duda said. "Because if it's limited edition, people want it; if you have a million, nobody wants it."
To be even more sustainable, allow attendees to select their merch in advance to avoid having excess products. "And digital swag shouldn't be underestimated … because they then are in charge of what they really value," Polla added.
Even if planners are organizing an event for an industry that might not have use for typical merchandise, there are other options. The key is finding relevant products that match the lifestyle of your audience.
"There's other merchandise that you can buy that can be beneficial for them," Gonzales pointed out. "Look at what your industry uses, and then see if any of that product can be branded."
Seek out the new kids
In order to diversify your portfolio of partners, allow space for startups that don't have the funds for a high-level sponsorship. Larger corporations will sometimes underwrite companies that are in their infancy stages within their industry. For example, mammoth organizations like AWS or Google have been known to finance a tech startup to have a presence at a relevant conference.
"Just because they don't have the amount of money for a big sponsorship with you, it shouldn't exclude them from your industry or from your event," said Duda. "Then as they grow, they grow with you, and that's a great way to keep your pipeline of sponsorship moving throughout the years."