One of the major concerns for event organizers as they shift from in-person to virtual events is how to drive maximum revenue through sponsorship packages.
Unlike the established patterns of in-person events, creating sponsorship deals for virtual events is relatively uncharted territory. You will need to approach the process creatively to offer exciting value propositions to sponsors.
To secure sponsor commitments, your offerings should be tailored to creating experiences that enable sponsors to achieve maximum brand awareness, qualified-lead generation, sales, and relationship-building.
You can achieve those goals by re-evaluating the various aspects of your event. As a co-founder of a
1. Event Website and Marketing Templates
Build brand awareness for sponsors by listing them as proud partners on your event website and other marketing materials. For example, offer to place logos and other brand identities on your email marketing template and social media posts.
As visitors and followers learn about your event, they will also see the brands that are associated with it. That first contact prepares attendees for what they are about to experience during the event.
2. Banner Ads and Popups on Event Platform and Mobile App
Banner ads and pop-up messages can be placed on predesigned spaces on the event platform and mobile event app. Common locations for such brand placements include the event home screen, event schedule page, poll results pages, Q&A pages, and more. On the mobile event app, you can even include push notifications that deliver messages to attendees' mobile phones.
3. Sponsored Keynote Session or Thought Leadership
If your desired sponsors are leading the way in some area of innovation, you can offer sponsored sessions as a space for them to speak about their new developments and solutions. Those sessions serve a dual purpose of educating the audience and promoting sponsors. You can provide this opportunity as an exclusive—only for premium sponsors.
Alternatively, provide prerecorded sessions wherein your sponsor is interviewed about common pain points and the innovations the sponsor is bringing to the market.
You can also ask sponsors to create explainer videos so they can they share how their product or service solves a common problem. Such content can be placed on the event page as an additional resource for attendees.
4. Sponsored Video Ads
Offer to place sponsored video ads between your main event sessions. They can be aired before a new session starts or immediately after one ends. If you provide prerecorded content for attendees, you can also include video ads in that content as additional value to your sponsors.
5. Branded Virtual Breakout Rooms
If you are planning breakout sessions for your event, you can brand each breakout room after a different sponsor for even more attendee exposure. You can also allow sponsors to make unique offers to room participants.
6. Virtual Exhibition & Meet-Up Booths With Matchmaking Algorithm
Create virtual tradeshow booths where sponsors can meet with participants who might be interested in exploring sponsors' offers.