What’s an event without sponsors? Expensive. Not just for you, but your attendees, too! Sponsorship dollars allow you to increase the value of your event without increasing your budget or the cost of registration. But winning sponsors is easier said than done.
Other events, possibly similar to yours, are competing for a finite number of sponsors. So how do you get your foot in the door? The sponsorship prospectus remains one of the best ways to break the ice, pique interest, and get the conversation started.
What is a Sponsorship Prospectus?
Your prospectus is a highly structured and visual overview of your event. It includes relevant demographic information about your attendees, offers social proof from past sponsors, and provides hard numbers to demonstrate the ROI (return on investment) sponsors can expect.
In other words, it acts as a pitch deck for your event.
Dissecting the Sponsorship Prospectus
In Sample Prospectus: How to Write a Winning Event Sponsorship Prospectus, we walk through the prospectus for the fictitious “Neutral Ground” conference. Throughout each section, commentary points out how “Neutral Ground” built a compelling case for sponsoring their faux event.
Here are four things “Neutral Ground” gets right, and you should too:
1. Establish Credibility
Credibility leads to trust, which is something you’ll need a lot of in order to win sponsorships. You can do this by letting sponsors know how long your event has been around and how many people attend each year.
2. Visualize Data
Because a sponsor’s time and attention are limited, you may only have one shot to compete for their sponsorship dollars. That’s why it’s important to communicate your event data with charts and graphs when applicable.
3. Provide Social Proof
Often, your prospectus will end up in the hands of someone who needs buy-in from a decision maker before agreeing to sponsor your event. Providing testimonials, as well as a few logos, from past sponsors will help them pitch your event to a key decision maker.
4. Offer Customization
Tiered sponsorship packages are a great way to get sponsors on board quickly and easily. But in today’s event sponsorship industry, many would-be sponsors seek a more personalized opportunity. That’s why you should always let sponsors know that willing to discuss opportunities beyond what’s offered in your prospectus.
In the end, event sponsorships are won (or lost) by how well you can demonstrate the value of sponsoring your event. Take a look at the Sample Prospectus: How to Write a Winning Event Sponsorship Prospectus for more examples to use in your own prospectus.
