Event Sponsorship Guide: How to Find the Right Event Partners

Hosting an industry-leading event can get expensive quickly. But with a well-crafted event sponsorship strategy, your event programming doesn't have to drain your organization's marketing budget.

Learn how to find potential event sponsors and get our tips to cultivate strong partnerships with sponsors—so you can make the event planning process easier and host events that create tons of buzz.

What is event sponsorship?

Event sponsorship is a strategic partnership that allows a business to provide funding or resources in exchange for promotion during an event. Both the event organizer and the event sponsor benefit from this partnership:

• Organizers receive financial support or essential resources that allow them to improve the event's quality or expand its scale.
• Sponsors receive promotional benefits like logo placements on event banners and verbal acknowledgements before event sessions.

Corporate sponsors are typically organizations—including companies, nonprofits, and foundations. They can provide a wide range of support, which is why organizers often create packages with various sponsorship levels.

Types of event sponsorship opportunities

Event professionals can create several different types of sponsorships.

Financial sponsorship

Corporate sponsors offer monetary support and receive promotion in exchange.

Media sponsorship

Media companies (e.g., TV networks, social media platforms, or magazines) promote the event in exchange for an increase in viewership, traffic, or subscribers.

In-kind sponsorship

Sponsors provide resources (e.g., venue rentals, event catering, or event technology) in exchange for the chance to get their products or services in front of attendees.

How to find event sponsors

Use these steps as a guide to find the right sponsor for your next event.

1. Clarify your event goals and audience

Before your event marketing team is ready to solicit sponsorship proposals, you need to get clear on the event you plan to host and what kind of event audience you intend to invite.

What kind of event are you planning?

Is it a large-scale conference with multiple sessions and keynote talks? Or is it an intimate roundtable event or a lively panel discussion designed to engage event attendees?

What is the event format?

Are you planning a virtual event that attendees can access online or via a mobile event app? Are you hosting an in-person event that requires a physical venue? Or a hybrid of the two?

Who will attend the event?

How large will the event be? Do you intend to host an exclusive, invitation-only event for industry leaders? Or will you open up attendance to a wider group of industry figures?

What is the goal of the event?

Do you want to bring attendees together to propose solutions to a major problem? Are you hosting an annual event where attendees can network and share knowledge?

What makes your event unique?

Is your event the largest or most exclusive of its kind? Does it promise an event experience that attendees can't find elsewhere? Is it an essential event for your industry?

2. Identify potential sponsors

Once you're clear on the specifics, you're ready to begin looking for sponsors to support your event. For best results, focus on organizations that are the same industry or that have sponsored similar events in the past.

Start by reaching out to past event sponsors, especially if you already have a strong relationship. Then, look for organizations that have sponsored other brands' events of a similar scale—or seek out their competitors.

Before reaching out to potential sponsors, do your research. Make sure their brand and mission aligns with yours.

3. Use digital tools to find sponsors

To expand your scope, use online tools to find more potential partners. These tools can help you connect with organizations that may be open to sponsor an event for your business:

• SponsorPitch has powerful filters to help you find the right sponsors and provides contact information to help you make the right connection efficiently.
• SponsorMyEvent is a marketplace that helps organizations find events to sponsor for better brand visibility and promotional opportunities.

4. Create event sponsorship packages

The more you standardize your event sponsorships, the easier you'll make the process for both sponsors and event management. Develop packages or sponsorship tiers that unlock certain opportunities or benefits based on the amount of support.

Here's a sponsorship idea for a major industry conference:

• Gold ($50,000): Includes premium logo placement and mentions in all conference promotions, a 60-second brand video before keynote speeches, a premium virtual booth, and a sponsored breakout session.
• Silver ($25,000): Includes second-tier logo placement in all conference promotions, a 30-second brand video between select sessions, and a sponsored 30-minute breakout panel discussion.
• Bronze ($10,000): Includes third-tier logo placement in all conference promotions, a complimentary virtual booth, a dedicated social media post, and the ability to book meetings with attendees.

In addition to creating a sponsorship program, you can also include à la carte options like sponsoring individual networking opportunities, conference sessions, or coffee breaks.

5. Develop an event sponsorship pitch

After clarifying all the details, you're ready to secure sponsorships. Improve your conversion rate by creating a standard pitch that you can send to potential sponsors.

In addition to listing the sponsorship tiers, offer an idea of what to expect when sponsoring the event. Provide an event overview, an audience analysis, and the event data you'll measure. Share mockups of how the event will look and provide photos or screenshots of similar events you've held in the past.

Add a personalized section at the end of each pitch. Tailor it to the sponsor by detailing how your brands align and how the sponsorship would lead to a strategic partnership.

Tips for securing the best sponsors

Not just any sponsor is a good fit for every event strategy. Use these tips to find the right sponsors to make your event a hit.

Know what sponsors want to achieve

Event sponsors typically opt to participate in events that fit with their marketing strategy and help them achieve specific goals. Survey potential sponsors or ask directly so you can create relevant packages.

For example, some sponsors may want to focus on lead generation and get access to attendees. They can be great event sponsorship candidates for top-tier packages that include a premium booth.

Others may want to improve visibility and awareness with specific audiences. These sponsors may be a better fit for lower-tier packages with less direct access.

Clarify the value your event will deliver

When deciding about funding your event, many event sponsors make decisions based on the numbers. As you develop your pitch, include data that demonstrates the value the event will provide. Be clear about:

• Anticipated attendance
• Event materials you plan to distribute
• Number of sessions and speaking opportunities
• Number of other sponsors that have already signed on to various tiers

For event planners who have run similar happenings previously, include data from last year's event. Make sure to specify how the current event will be different in terms of scale and scope.

Help potential sponsors estimate the return on investment (ROI) they can expect from the event. Discuss the anticipated number of booth visitors, video viewers, breakout session attendees, and social media post viewers.

Establish long-term relationships

Finding sponsors for an event can be a major undertaking. To reduce the time and resources it requires, seek out organizations that are likely to sponsor your events in the future, too.

To build these long-term relationships, find organizations that truly align with your brand's mission or target audience. Be open to brainstorming event marketing examples together and adding more value to make sure the event ROI makes sense for both sides.

Why event sponsorships are so important

Sponsorships are critical for many organizations' event marketing strategies. Here are some of the biggest benefits of securing a compelling sponsorship for your in-person, virtual, or hybrid event.

Expanding your event budget

Finding an event sponsor (or 10) can help you invite more high-profile speakers, share more valuable resources, or even upgrade your venue or event technology.

Attracting more attendees

When your event provides more value, it can attract more attendees. A larger audience can make your sponsorship packages more valuable, as it offers more promotion opportunities.

Improving event credibility

High-profile sponsors can add credibility to any event. This can help your organization secure more registrations by converting attendees who may have been undecided.

Livestorm for virtual events

To plan a successful virtual event, you need the right sponsors, audience, and virtual event software. With Livestorm, you can easily host large or small live events with up to 3,000 attendees.

Livestorm also makes it easy to set up virtual booths with sponsor branding, breakout sessions for smaller discussions, and email sequences to share sponsor details with attendees before or after the event.

Curious how your Livestorm event will look? Sign up for a Livestorm account and set up your first event in minutes.