This article has been provided by
Krista Baker of Morning Star Multimedia. For more
information about Morning Star and the marketing
services they provide please visit

www.morningstarmultimedia.com

Obtaining funding
and corporate sponsorship is fundamental to the success
of many events. However, it can be challenging and
sometimes downright frustrating to secure funding for
your event. Here are some tips to make the process a bit
easier.

Setting the Foundation
Before you begin looking for sponsors, you should
construct a foundation for sponsorship. This includes a
list all the details of what does and does not
constitute sponsorship, and any issues that may come up
as you seek sponsorship, such as companies and
industries you may need to exclude.

Some key issues that should be addressed include:

Define Your Target Audience

While your marketing plan should be targeting people
that may be interested in your event, your sponsorship
strategy should focus on obtaining sponsors who wish to
communicate with your target market. This may mean
focusing on a brand area for a specific product within a
company instead of going directly to the corporate
sponsorship department, which is usually swamped with
requests for sponsorship. Keep in mind that the company
itself probably sells many different products with a
target area far greater than the one you are providing,
so if you can offer niche marketing to the marketing
department of a specific brand, they may be more willing
to sponsor you.

Research Potential Sponsors

Before you contact potential sponsors, do some
research via business magazines, websites, annual
reports, etc. It is good to know what each company’s
current marketing objectives are, what new products
they’ve just released, who their competitors are, what
their current sponsorship policy is, and if they’ve ever
sponsored an event similar to yours. Many companies do
publish sponsorship guidelines, so make sure their
policy fits with your conference objectives and
benefits. You may even want to talk with a potential
sponsor either by phone or in person to obtain more
information and to establish a personal relationship
with the company before presenting a sponsorship
request.

Sell Your Organization

Some things to heavily promote when asking for
sponsorship:

Setting Sponsorship Levels

There are a couple of different strategies for
setting levels of sponsorship. Ultimately, you want to
offer your sponsors a choice, but you should make sure
that when developing levels, you are not offering all
levels the great benefits with the lower levels
receiving less of the supporting benefits. The most
common approach to sponsorship includes “gold,”
“silver,” and “bronze” or something similar, with gold
receiving the maximum benefits offered.

Another approach may be to offer two completely
separate packages of relatively equal price (one might
be a marketing package while the other may focus
participation & involvement in the event).

A third option would be to provide a standard package
with the opportunity to upgrade to a premium package.
Don’t forget about media sponsorship – you can save
yourself a lot of money by asking for free advertising
from companies (especially on the web) in return for
sponsorship benefits.

Developing a Proposal

A proposal should give your potential sponsor enough
information to make a decision. You should include:

Time Frame

Try to approach sponsors 6-12 months in advance to
allow them to participate fully in the benefits you
offer them. If you are offering your sponsors a timeslot
for speaking, keep in mind that people plan their
schedules well in advance, so ask early to secure a
prominent speaker.

Planning ahead is also very important in getting
sufficient funding to continue with your event planning
and marketing. You don’t want to find yourself falling
short on funds early on in the game.

About Morningstar

Morningstar Multimedia LLC is a marketing
communications firm established in 2000 by
Krista Baker and James Balaguer in Philadelphia,
PA. They specialize in strategic marketing analysis
and planning for professional service firms. They also create the marketing tactics such as identity,
print, and web design to put that plan into action.

More information can be found at

www.morningstarmultimedia.com

Please feel free to contact us if you have any
questions or comments about this article.

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Defining the purpose of the sponsorship
(marketing, fundraising, establishing long term
partnerships).
Who will be responsible for seeking sponsorship
and to whom they should report and how frequently.
What benefits will be provided for each level of
sponsorship (number of participants that can attend,
policy on company promotional materials, invite to
speak at event).
Policy for payment and deadlines for any
materials such as company logo and speaker bios.
How will the sponsorship funds be used? What are
the fundamental costs? What are the monetary goals
for sponsorship?

Having a strong brand associated with your event
really aids this process greatly, so build your
brand and promote awareness as much as possible!
State your purpose and objectives for the event
as clearly as possible.
Include all sponsorship levels and benefits
you’ve defined including marketing and promotion,
hospitality, public relations and media, special
access to events, number of attendees invited,
category exclusivity, networking opportunities,
speaking opportunities, if the contribution is
tax-deductible, etc.
If you’ve held events in the past, use past
speakers, topics, sponsors, and past success to
promote your current event.
Don’t just stress who will be attending your
event, but to whom you will be distributing
pre-event advertising and promotions, and the amount
of publicity you expect to obtain.

A description of your organization.
Information about your event including date and
location, speakers, proposed topics, sponsors,
preliminary agenda, ticket costs, background
information, and anything else you can include.
An overview of your marketing plan and a profile
of the demographics of your target audience.
Your list of benefits and their corresponding
monetary values.


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