The festive period is all about building excitement. Whether you’re running a Christmas market or winter wonderland, your event can spread the magic and get the celebrations underway.

As a creator, you know the importance of partnerships. From funding to advertising and marketing, a sponsorship deal can take your event to another level. So when it comes to the festive season, securing event sponsorship can boost the customer experience – and benefits your profit margins too.

During the winter months, sponsors have a wide range of events they can choose to support. Having the right approach is crucial for getting your pitch heard above the noise. That’s why we’ve come up with six steps to follow to convince sponsors your festive event is worth their time and money.

Why attract sponsors to your festive event?

Working with sponsors makes great business sense because both parties benefit. Festive event sponsorship can help you cover costs, share risks, and make your event bigger and better. Plus, there’s access to a new audience and extended reach. Here’s a reminder of why sponsors and events go so well together.

Improve visibility and get publicity

The more people know about your event, the more tickets you’ll likely sell. Marketing and promotional costs can stretch your budget, but sponsorship eases that pressure and improves visibility. Using a sponsor’s publicity channels introduces another audience to your events. Not only does this create buzz around this year’s events, but it may also lead to returning customers for future ones.

Gain event funding

Securing additional funding gives you the chance to offer more at your event. For instance, finding sponsorship for your ice rink will leave more money for food and entertainment. When creating an event, costs can soon add up, but that extra revenue means no cutting corners. You don’t need to compromise on what you offer, and your audience gets to have more festive fun.

Prove the event’s credibility

Working with the right sponsors gives your event credibility. The key is to find sponsors that your audience relates to and respects. For example, to attract students to a winter wonderland event, choose your winter wonderland sponsors carefully – these could be clothing brands or drinks companies that you know students will recognise. For family Christmas events, sponsorship could be from a baby product retailer or a well-known food chain.

Attracting festive event sponsors: 6 steps

Now is the time to engage sponsors. Taking a planned approach helps you navigate the sponsorship process and makes your proposal more likely to succeed. Here are six steps to make things run more smoothly.

1. Work out your value

For an effective business partnership, your sponsors need something in return. That could be additional brand loyalty and awareness or help changing their image. Unless you demonstrate what’s in it for them, they’re unlikely to bite.

Understanding your value as a business partner helps sell your event. Why should a potential sponsor choose you? Begin by clarifying what they want, then show you meet their expectations. If they wish to access a broader demographic, provide details of your audience and data from previous events. If they’re looking for exclusive market research opportunities, show how questions can be added to your post-event surveys or shared with your focus groups.

Sponsors are naturally interested in a positive return on investment (ROI). That, and gaining new customers, makes up for sponsorship costs. Measurable outcomes speak louder than words, so the more data you provide, the better. It could be hard data like tickets sold or online conversion rates, or soft data such as attendees’ views on post-event brand awareness. Showing how you’ll track your event from first advertising to final clean-up keeps everyone satisfied.

2. Get specific with your audience niches

If your event attracts a niche group, approach sponsors who cater to that audience. The key is to show that your attendees fit the bill.

Collect as much information as possible at various points, including when they register, respond to an email, or complete a survey. Using integrated event management software, not only can you identify customer groups and preferences, but every interaction with your attendees before, during, and after your event can be logged. This information, like ticket sales data and customers’ path to purchase, enables you to show which sales and marketing efforts delivered results – music to your sponsor’s ears.

Examples of specific information

  • Name
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Location
  • Occupation

Examples of non-specific information

  • Number of tickets sold
  • Visits to event websites
  • No-shows
  • Social media engagement

3. Perfect your event sponsorship packages

Sponsorship packages don’t have to be one size fits all, so why not offer tiered packages? The more your sponsor pays, the higher the level of benefits and promotions.

More than one sponsor may want to support your event. That’s the beauty of tiered packages. For example, people coming to your Christmas extravaganza want lots of lights and hot food. Your main sponsor funds your light display, while a local restaurant contributes a tasty hog roast.

Accurately price each sponsorship asset. Incorrectly calculating the market value of your assets leads to undercharging or overcharging.

Here’s an example of how a gold, silver, and bronze system could work for your event.

Gold

  • Advertised as the primary sponsor
  • Brand logo on all promotional materials and tickets
  • Full page on event’s website
  • Exclusive distribution of products and services at the event
  • 20+ social media posts before the event
  • VIP marquee
  • Guest blog posts on the event website
  • Sole branding of freebies and goodie bags

Silver

  • Brand profile page in printed event materials
  • Small brand logo on promotional material and website
  • Entertainment area at the event
  • Joint promotion of products or services at the event
  • Ten social media posts leading up to the event
  • Free leaflet in goodie bags

Bronze

  • Brand profile page in printed event materials
  • Small brand logo on promotional material and website
  • Pop-up exhibition stand
  • Two social media posts leading up to the event

4. Prove that you can measure ROI

Recording ROI is a good measure of success, and a company can use this information to justify its financial commitment. Some sponsors focus purely on attendance numbers, others on social media interactions or how their brand is perceived. Demonstrate you’re ready to measure the data they need.

Start with the event technology you use to run your event. The right technology helps you capture quantitative data like the number of registrations, revenue from sales, and no-shows, as well as qualitative data, such as attendee satisfaction and social media engagement. Tracking your progress is easier when you have the right tools for the job.

5. Build relationships

Attracting a sponsor’s attention can make you feel like a snowball in a snowstorm, but building relationships is a great way to get noticed. Start by looking at job titles and reach out via email or phone. Aim to find the person who has the authority to approve your proposal and, where appropriate, leverage existing contacts and mutual acquaintances.

It’s time to get personal, so set up a meeting to clarify your sponsor’s objectives and establish a rapport. If they’ve sponsored similar events before, what did and didn’t work? The clearer you are about their expectations, the better your proposal.

After you’ve got the information you need, thank them for their time and keep the channels of communication open – you’re bound to have more questions later in the process. It might seem like hard work, but you’ll benefit when your proposal is accepted!

6. Customise your sponsorship proposals

Like all good proposals, your event sponsorship one should make sponsors say yes. It’s a brief document outlining sponsorship objectives, benefits, ROI, and the value of your event. A well-written proposal shows you’ve carefully planned your event, and customising it shows a brand where it fits in those plans. For example, offering tailored sponsorship packages allows for various levels of involvement, like donating free merchandise, providing brand ambassadors, or offering a grand prize.

Sponsors don’t want to waste their time on events that don’t align with their objectives. Go online and find out everything you can from their website and social media pages, identify where your interests and target audiences overlap, and customise your proposal accordingly. Including data on brand research adds a professional touch.

Make your festive celebration even better

Festive event sponsorship is a win-win situation for you, them, and most importantly, your audience. In the busy winter season, competition for sponsors is stiff, so your event must stand out from the crowd. Now is the time to get your skates on and secure that funding before somebody else does. Luckily, Eventbrite has all the event management and marketing tools you need to plan your event, sell more tickets, and make this festive season your best yet.