Module - 4

Event Marketing

Integrating a variety of communications elements behind an event theme

“the process of maintaining a match between the needs and motivations of an

event’s audience and its program of activities and supporting services”

The activity of designing or developing a themed activity, occasion, display,

or exhibit (such as a sporting event, music festival, fair, or concert)
to promote a product, cause, or organization. Also called event creation.

The Marketing Plan:

 framework for decision making

 identifies needs/expectations of target group

 sponsorship

 government funding

The use of traditional or new media to promote, market, or advertise an

event. Various forms of marketing and advertising are used to entice people to
attend an event. Event types could include anything from not for profit fundraisers
to sporting events, conventions, fundraisers, seminars, festivals, workshops, air
shows, and many more.

Event Marketing Type

LIVE EVENTS ARE a perfect opportunity for customers to meet and mingle with the
sellers of goods/services and other consumers of the products. The customers get a
chance to make a connection with the product that cannot be experienced by
watching a TV commercial or any other way. If you intend to use this method of
marketing you can consider the following options:

Launch or Demo of a Product

A customer is able to determine if a product is right for them if they see, touch and
feel it. A live event allows the customers to learn more about the products and all
of its benefits and features. As you demonstrate the product, ensure that you show
all the aspects and features. If there are people in the audience who have
experienced the product before, you can invite them to give an account of their
experience. You should have prepared sales sheets that have details of the product
and how the customer can be able to place an order. The sales sheet should not be
too detailed as to burden the customer with reading it. It’s usually a one-page
sheet of paper that the customer can read easily.

Grand Opening of Your Business

You can do this if you are opening your first business or if you are opening
additional branches of an existing business. You can invite people from the
community for a tour of your business. Your employees can be a good source of
ideas on what you can offer on such an event as they will likely be from the area.
Each kind of business has its own unique offers that you can use during this
event. If you have a web-based business, consider using an email blast campaign as
part of your virtual grand opening.

Workshops and Seminars

This is most appropriate with services such as accounting. In such an event, you
make an invitation to your prospective customers and educate them on what you
do and how the services can be of benefit to them. You can equip them with free
tips they can use in their businesses. As they disperse, distribute your business
cards among them. You can include a token that will remind them they attended
your seminar.

Trade Shows

These are specific to a given industry. Participants are given the chance to rent a
booth that they will use to showcase their products and/or services. These events
attract a wide range of potential customers as there are typically multitudes of
companies in attendance. The main drawback of this kind of event is that,
obviously, there are competitors who are vying on your customers as much as you
are after theirs. The risk of losing a few customers may not outweigh the
opportunity of interacting with your customers and cementing the bond between
you. There is no way you can shield your customers from advances from your
competitors; your only chance is to have products and services that satisfy them
fully. This is the reason why it’s important to know the needs of your customers
intimately so that you can tailor your products to suit these needs perfectly. The
marketplace, regardless of which one, is about competition. The only real way to
keep your customers is to out-perform your competition.

Promotional Campaign

A series of advertisements using various marketing tools that share the same
message and ideas to promote a business or event to a target audience.
The typical campaign uses different media resources including internet, newspapers
, television, radio, and print advertising.

8 Steps to Creating an Effective Promotional Campaign

1. Define the objectives for your promotional campaign

Are you looking to increase sales in current clients? Are you looking to turn warm prospects into
clients? Are you looking for a tool for your cold calls? Are you looking for an attention getter at
an upcoming Tradeshow/Expo?

2. Identify your target market for your promotional campaign

While most companies I speak to often remark on how everyone can be their client, none have
the billions of dollars it would take to market to that many people. Instead, pick a specific target
market, and focus your marketing effort on that group. Examples of target markets include:
Geographical: residents of a specific neighborhood or zip code
Industrial: i.e., Medical, Contractors, Dentists, School PTAs, etc
Demographical: women between the ages of 30 & 50, married, without kids.

3. Determine the recipients of your promotional campaign

Will this be people that you are meeting at a tradeshow? If so, what will be the qualifying factors
for a person to get the item?
Will this be going out to your:
Current clients
Prospects
Referral sources
Past clients

4. Determine the budget of your promotional campaign

By having a budget, you can make sure that you get the highest quality product that will fit in
your price range. Don’t make the mistake of buying the cheapest product in the category;
sacrificing quality will come across to the recipients of your promotional campaign.

5. Determine a theme, if appropriate, for your promotional campaign

To be effective, your promotion needs to tie into your marketing strategy. If you choose to brand
your company through shape, color, or what your message is, be sure to incorporate that into
your promotional campaign.

6. Develop a message for imprint for your promotional campaign

Incorporate your company’s tag line or mission statement into your promotional campaign. If
you are creating a clever saying for every different campaign you do, it can be confusing to your
target market. Keep it simple, and have a consistent message.

7. Choose the appropriate promotional product for your promotional campaign

With tens of thousands of promotional products, the right product for your campaign is out there.
Instead of going to the internet, utilize a professional that knows promotional items. They can
give many recommendations and help you develop your campaign. (This is where Thread Art
can help!)

8. Determine how to distribute your promotional production for your promotional

campaign

A great way to get clients and hot prospects to your booth at a tradeshow is to have them pick
up the item at your booth; this will give you increased exposure.

Effective promotional campaigns can be a great way to increase the number of successful cold
calls. Leaving something beneficial to the prospect will keep you at the front of their mind (or at
least their fingertips).

Mailing items to a client is another way to conclude your promotional campaign; if you choose to
mail your item, do keep in mind the size and weight of your promotional product when deciding
on your promotional item. There are very creative ideas that can be mailed in an envelope (i.e.,
expandable sponges, blade style letter openers/rulers, and prize cards).
Promotion, Advertising
& PR
Whatever you're selling, you'll need to communicate about it with your target buyers. Most
businesses find that they need all three components of marketing communications (promotion,
advertising, and public relations), in some combination.
In order for your business to succeed, you generally need to promote your products or services
to the same buyers that your competitors are targeting. Even if your business is one-of-a-kind,
you still need to tell target buyers that your business exists with some kind of advertising or
promotional communication. Public relations (PR) activities are another way to promote the
image or reputation of your product. PR is similar to promotion and advertising, but can be more
indirect, since some or all of the publicity a company's products and services receive from public
relations activities may not be controlled by the company.

Promotion

Once a small business has determined both its business positioning strategy and the size of the
promotional budget, specific promotional activities can be selected. Promotion programs provide
direct purchase incentives in contrast to most advertising, which provides reasons to buy your
product instead of the competing brand.
Admittedly, some types of promotions can be expensive, complicated, difficult to execute, time-
consuming, and difficult to administer legally. Many small businesses are local or regional, so
some types of promotional activities will be too expensive or inappropriate for the type of goods
and services offered. The most important thing is to come up with a promotion that is unique and
that sends the right message about your business. And it is critical to monitor the effectiveness
of your promotions. If they don't generate results, they aren't worth the time or money you'll
spend.

Advertising Ideas

Advertising is impersonal, usually paid communication intended to inform, educate, persuade,

and remind. Advertising is a sophisticated form of communication that must work with other
marketing tools and business elements to be successful. Advertising must be interruptive _ that
is, it must make you stop thumbing through the newspaper or thinking about your day long
enough to read or hear the ad. Advertising must also be credible, unique, and memorable in
order to work.
Low and No-Cost Advertising
There are many things you can do in the way of advertising, promotion, and publicity that cost
little or nothing. And when you become successful enough to be able to afford more
sophisticated ad techniques, there are ways of measuring to some extent just how effective
these methods are in terms of your business growth. As always, the chief concern is that the
advertising do what it is intended to do: cause more people to purchase more from your
business.

Public Relations Ideas

Public relations (PR) efforts, like advertising, can help to build business and product awareness
among target buyers and end users, often at a fraction of the cost of advertising. Many small and
large businesses consciously utilize PR as a way to obtain free advertising about their products
and services. PR can be an effective way to generate valuable word-of-mouth advertising,
sometimes due to the greater credibility and availability of information provided in editorial
articles and interviews with your company personnel.
How persuasive is PR? Free media publicity was largely responsible for the brief (1989-90),
frenetic ground swell for consumption of oat bran as an anti-cancer food. Melatonin, a naturally
produced substance that aids sleep and may be an anti-aging product, is another PR craze, with
newspaper, magazine, and electronic media discussing positive preliminary research results.
Health food companies cash in on this free publicity, without spending funds for advertising,
promotion, or public relations.
PR can leverage advertising and promotion programs.
PR events can leverage the effects of advertising and promotion programs by tying all these
marketing elements together. For example, a local on-site PR event for an automotive service
company could include erecting a hospitality tent for company sales personnel to entertain key
buyers at a local auto race. The local chain store buyers and car-owner end users could be
exposed to ad messages on billboards, from announcers, and on race cars with the company
logo.
Buyers and end users could be given a free promotional sample to take home and try in their
cars.
Public relations is an ongoing process
Public relations is an ongoing process and must be worked at every day on every level of your
business from the way you deal with your employees to how quickly you shovel the snow from in
front of your establishment. Make it a habit to constantly consider the image you are projecting.
What is advertising?

Advertising is a powerful communication force and vital marketing

tool helping to sell goods, services, images, and ideas through channel of

information and persuasion. It is highly visible force in the society. Today

all of us receive many advertising messages daily. Now it is essential to the

success of any type of business and industry. Furthermore, advertising

strategies are employed more and more by non-business organisation such as

government, college and universities, public service groups and

characteristics. It is one of the parts of the marketing and communication

process. Advertising convince people to buy products. All advertising

contains both information and persuasion. Today we can say advertising is a

communication, marketing, public-relation, information and persuasion

process. Advertising reaches us through a channel of communication

referred to as a medium. It is usually aimed at a particular segment of the

population - the target audience (Consumer and business).

Definition

The word advertising came from the Latin word' advertere' means "to

turn the mind toward".

The American Marketing Association (AMA) recommends the

definition, "Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and

promotion of ideas, goods and services by an identified sponsor"

Classification of Advertising

The nature and purpose of the advertising differ from one industry to

another or across situations. Marketers advertise to the consumers market with national, local and
direct-response advertising which may involve

stimulating primary or selective demand. They use industrial, professional

and trade advertising for business and professional markets. To better

understand the nature and purpose of advertising it can be classified by the

following criteria:

1. National Advertising: Advertising done by a company on a

nationwide basis or in most regions of the country and targeted to the

ultimate consumer market is known as national advertising. The companies

that sponsor these ads are generally referred to as national advertisers. Most
of the advertisements for well-known brands that we see on TV or in other

major media are examples of national advertising. It informs or reminds

consumers of the brand and its features, benefits, advantages and uses or

reinforces its images.

2. Retail/Local Advertising: Another prevalent type of advertising

directed at the consumer market is classified as retail/local advertising. This

type of advertising is done by major retailers or smaller local merchants to

encourage consumers to shop at a specific store or use a local service such as

local financial companies, bank, hospitals, fitness club, restaurants, show

rooms etc. While the national advertisers sell their products at many locations, retail or local advertisers
must give the consumer a reason to

patronize their establishment. Retail advertising tends to emphasize specific

customer benefits such as store house, credit policies, services, atmosphere,

merchandise assortment and other distinguish attributes.

3. Direct-Response Advertising: Direct-response advertising is a

method of direct marketing whereby a product is promoted through an

advertisement that lets the customer purchase directly from the

manufacturer. Direct response advertising has become very popular In recent

years owing primarily to changing life-styles. The convenience of shopping

through the mail or by telephone has led to the tremendous increase in

direct-response advertising.

4. Primary and Selective Demand Advertising: Another way of viewing

advertising to the ultimate customers is in terms of whether the message is

designed to stimulate either primary or selective demand. Primary Demand

Advertising is designed to stimulate demand for the general product class or

entire industry; Selective Demand Advertising focuses on creating demand

for a particular manufacturer's brands.

Primary demand advertising is often used as part of a promotional strategy to help a new product gain
acceptance among customers. Products in the

introductory or growth stages of their life cycles often have primary demand

stimulation as a promotional objective because the challenge is to sell

customers on the product as much as it is to sell a particular brand.

5. Business to Business Advertising: Some times the ultimate customer

is not the mass consumer market but rather another business, industry, or

profession. Business-to Business advertising is used by one business to

advertise its products or services to another. It is categorized in three basic

categories like industrial, professional, and trade advertising.

a) Industrial Advertising: Advertising targeted at individuals who buy or

influence the purchase of industrial goods or other services is known as

industrial advertising. Industrial goods are those products that either become

a physical part of another product, or used in manufacturing other goods.

Business service, such as insurance, financial services, and health care, are

also included in this category.

Industrial advertising is usually found in general business publications or in

trade publications targeted to the particular industry.

b) Professional Advertising: Advertising that is targeted to professional

groups-such as doctors, lawyers, dentists, or engineers-to encourage to use

the advertiser's product or specify it for other's use is known as professional advertising. Professional
groups are important because they constitute a

market for products and services they use in their businesses. Also, their

recommendations influences, many consumer purchase decisions.

c) Trade Advertising: Advertising with in a trade to attract the

wholesalers and retailers and motivate them to purchase its products for

resale is termed as trade advertising.

Company sales representatives call on resellers to explain the product,

discuss the firm's plans for building demand among ultimate consumers, and

describe special programs being offered to the trade, such as introductory

discounts, promotional allowances. Trade advertise usually appears in

publications that serve the particular industry.

These classifications of the various types of advertising demonstrate that this

promotional element is used in a variety of ways. Advertising is a very

flexible promotional tool whose role in marketing program will vary

depending on the situation facing the organization and what information

needs to be communicated.

ROLE OF ADVERTISING

Economic Social

New product Life-style

New usage Values

Competition Family life

Price Self-image

There are five roles of advertising to social welfare

ƒ Efficient source of information for both consumers and industrial

buyers for product quality, new material or merchandise, new

technology and cost.

ƒ Reduces distribution costs through personal selling.

ƒ Encourage competition. It increases product quality through solid

brand identity.
ƒ It creates publicity for material and cultural incentives of a liberal e

ROLE OF ADVERTISING
Economic Social
New product Life-style
New usage Values
Competition Family life
Price Self-image

Promotion - the Advertising Budget

Introduction

“I know that half of my advertising budget is wasted, but I’m not sure which
half”

It is notoriously difficult to measure the effect of advertising on a business’ sales.

Advertising is just one of the variables that might affect sales in a particular period.
These include:

• Consumer and business confidence

• Levels of disposable income
• Availability of product (e.g. does the retailer actually have stock to sell?)
• Availability of competing products
• The weather (often blamed by retailers for poor sales!)

How can a business know whether a specific advertising campaign was effective?

As a percentage of sales, advertising expenditure varies enormously from business to

business, from market to market. For example, the leading pharmaceutical companies
spend around 20% of sales on advertising, whilst business such as Ford and Toyota
spend less than 1%. An average for fast-moving consumer goods markets (“FMCG”) is
around 8-10% of sales.

In practice, the following approaches are used for setting the advertising budget:

Approaches to setting the advertising budget

Method (1) Fixed percentage of sales

In markets with a stable, predictable sales pattern, some companies set their
advertising spend consistently at a fixed percentage of sales. This policy has the
advantage of avoiding an “advertising war” which could be bad news for profits.

However, there are some disadvantages with this approach. This approach assumes
that sales are directly related to advertising. Clearly this will not entirely be the case,
since other elements of the promotional mix will also affect sales. If the rule is applied
when sales are declining, the result will be a reduction in advertising just when greater
sales promotion is required!

Method (2) Same level as competitors

This approach has widespread use when products are well-established with predictable
sales patterns. It is based on the assumption that there is an “industry average” spend
that works well for all major players in a market.

A major problem with this approach (in addition to the disadvantages set out for the
example above) is that it encourages businesses to ignore the effectiveness of their
advertising spend – it makes them “lazy”. It could also prevent a business with
competitive advantages from increasing market share by spending more than average.

Method (3) Task

The task approach involves setting marketing objectives based on the “tasks” that the
advertising has to complete.

These tasks could be financial in nature (e.g. achieve a certain increase in sales, profits)
or related to the marketing activity that is generated by the campaigns. For example:

• Numbers of enquiries received quoting the source code on the advertisement

• Increase in customer recognition / awareness of the product or brand (which can be
measured)
• Number of viewers, listeners or readers reached by the campaign

Method (4) Residual/Outstanding

The residual approach, which is perhaps the worst of all, is to base the advertising
budget on what the business can afford – after all other expenditure. There is no
attempt to associate marketing objectives with levels of advertising. In a good year
large amounts of money could be wasted; in a bad year, the low advertising budget
could guarantee a further low year for sales.

The Five Ps of Event Marketing

1. Product

2. Price

3. Place
4. Public Relations

5. Positioning

Identifying Funding Resources

Now that you have identified your budget needs for your marketing plan on the expense side, you have
to cover those expenses

through revenue. There are three revenue areas from which to

draw:

■ Internal

■ External

■ Client

Internal Sources

Cash reserves (advanced as seed money)

Discounts (organizational bulk purchasing power can lower

the overall price paid for a product or service)

External Sources

“Loss leaders”

Ticket sales

Merchandising

Licensing

Loans—lines of credit with lenders

Concessions

Donations

Vendors

Sponsorship

Promotional partnerships
Back-end revenue—selling attendee mailing list, for example

Client

The event covers all expenses. The event may recoup investment

through the use of external sources. Sometimes this type of funding is called “HIC,” or “hope it comes,”
funding.

Usually, you will see a combination of these sources used on

the revenue side of the event budget. It is not uncommon for an

entity to undertake the financial liability for an event (internal or

client) and then recoup that expense through external sources

such as a loss leader. A loss leader is basically taking the risk of

losing revenue in one area, such as providing complimentary or

discounted registration fees to increase buyer attendance, in order

to increase exhibitor demand, greater booth sales, and enhanced

net income.

Identifying Funding Sources

Grant funders can generally be categorized into one of four types of organizations. These include
government agencies, foundations, professional organizations, and corporations.

1. Government agencies will provide funding for a wide variety of efforts. The larger funded
programs are generally from federal agencies. For example, the National Institutes of Health has
a budget of over $27 Billion dollars, and more than 80% of the budget is awarded to researchers
through competitive grants (NIH, 2007). The U. S. Department of Education (DOE) administered
a budget of about $88.9 billion in 2005. Approximately 65% of the funds were discretionary
appropriations and 35% were in mandatory appropriation. The funds from this department
operate programs that impact every area and level of education (DOE, 2007).

State and local government agencies may also provide opportunity for grant funding. Usually these
agencies will fund projects that support local efforts and programs. Consequently, the applicants are
often required to reside in the jurisdiction of the agency.

2. The second major source of funding is private foundations. A foundation is a nonprofit

organization that gives money and other resources to organizations or people for a specific
 purpose. Foundations determine what they will fund. The determination is based upon the
mission or purpose of the foundation. Often foundations will specify what they will fund. The
submission procedure may vary, so it is important to contact the agency before submitting a
proposal.

3. Professional organizations may also provide opportunities for funding. It is typical for the
organization to require that the applicant be a member of their organization. Professional
organizations are interested in funding projects that further the goals of the organization and/or
support the membership. For example, as one of the AAHPERD Research Consortium's strategic
goals is the facilitation of research, the Consortium provides funding opportunities to support
the research of student and professional members of the Consortium. [For more information,
visit the Research Consortium Grant Program Web page].

4. Corporate sponsorship may be another avenue for support. Corporate sponsorship can help
support community health efforts in a variety of ways. For example, the American Cancer
Society's Relay for Life fund raising effort receives support from a variety of different
corporations in the form of materials, personnel, and prizes, as well as monetary pledges.
Automobile dealers might support driver/pedestrian safety efforts through grants or by
providing a location for safety education programs.

1. Create an event within an event. "We try to create an event within an

event where we can touch a consumer one-on-one, where you can engage
directly, and teach them about your product, and do so by interacting in a
quality way. I just got back from Sundance, and we were doing VIP and
celebrity shuttling to events in our vehicles, and the goal for us is to create an
event within the vehicle. For Ray Ban we did a truth-or-dare themed campaign.
We have video within the shuttles, and asked the passengers truth-or-dare
questions, and were giving away free sunglasses. We had people dancing in the
middle of the street, we had people telling us their biggest secrets. And that
was not only fun for participants, but became a huge hit online after the event.
We try to make it almost mass media, where they're telling their friends to go
here, or watch this video, and we create a whole social-media event around it.
Why does it work? People go to these things to experience new things, and
we're giving them that. They want to share it with their friends naturally when
they see something cool."
—Ian Greenberg, senior vice president of Show Media, an advertising agency
based in New York City, which ranked No. 236 on the 2010 Inc. 500 | 5000
2. Employ GPS and real-time event tracking. "I think one of the things that
we've been playing around with Real Good Chair [a documentary in which 25
chairs by Blu Dot were placed around New York City and tracked by GPS and
film crews] is location and GPS. It's something that someone can participate in
and watch and see in real-time. You don't have to be there in the streets of New
York to see it—you have a whole other community that can go along with that
experience. That connection with another event, is really new and the power of
new is huge. If it feels like a different experience—if it captures your
fascination, that's what really gets passed along, and builds the press and
community around it. It's what flash parades were two years ago—that's the
scramble in many ways. Has anyone done this before? Will this be felt like a
copycat? It's all about staying new."
—Michael Hart, founder of Mono, an agency based in Minneapolis

3. Add another dimension. "A lot of the technologies that are potentially
transformative to events today are essentially invisible. People have gotten
used to 3-D technology, projections, and augmented reality that to have them
at events feels a lot more natural today. I'd say augmented reality is a great
technology you can use in the live space for project demonstrations. A couple of
years ago it would have felt a lot more awkward, forced, and generally very
Minority Report. QR codes are pretty invisible at this point, too, becoming
much less awkward, more natural, and that lets them become sparks for
natural interactivity. H&M and Samsung have done very beautiful projection
mapping on buildings in Europe. It's the kind of thing that's not what people
think of as traditional event, but it's experience in the public domain that gets
attention, and really can have the potential to get the attention online just
because it's cool to watch."
—Liz Bigham, senior vice president and director of marketing for Jack Morton
Worldwide

4. Use ubiquitous social networking as a conduit for exclusivity. "The

giant gorilla in the room is how do you use Facebook through your event and
on-site activity? The first thing that's happening is that I'm seeing a lot of
brands encouraging people to become fans right there on site. It used to be
that you'd have to have a computer there and encourage people to sign directly
on your machine. Now, you can offer a direct reward, a prize, a premium, for
fanning the product right then and there on their smartphone or mobile device.
It's giving them some real immediate value. Immediate liking and friending is
becoming more popular. I've also seen a lot of exclusive access to existing fans.
You promote the event you're going to be at on Facebook—and you say, 'hey, if
you're going to be there, here's an exclusive thing for our fans,' whether it's
parking, a free T-shirt, meeting a musician or DJ. We're beginning to see,
taking whatever's happening at your event, a video game event, a concert, a
snowboarding contest, you're seeing not only being able to have physical
access to it, but there would be content exclusive to Facebook. You can pick up
about a million new brand fans by a good strategy of creating exclusive
Facebook content. Do you want to see an interview with Sean White, or some
neat snowboard footage? You can only see that on Facebook."
—Issa Sawabini, a partner and owner at Fuse, a youth-marketing agency based
in Burlington, Vermont

5. Hire outside experts. Lots of them. When working on a campaign for

Mafia Wars, in which an explosion of an armored truck would be staged in the
Nevada desert, David Moranville, creative director and executive vice
president of Davis Elen Advertising, said: "We were hoping to
get MythBusters involved with us so they'd do a show. In the meantime, we
started looking into different detonations and different companies that
obliterate things." Turns out, Los Angeles has quite a variety of companies that
detonate blasts for hire. Moranville picked a company in Burbank
called WESTefx, which had worked with special effects and blast technology
in Apollo 13, Transformers, and Batman. The first thing Davis Elen learned
was their armored truck … didn't actually need to be armored. It was stripped
of a lot of the interior weight, including armor, engine, and interior detailing.
Blasting caps were added to the interior of all the doors, so at detonation each
flies 20 or 30 feet. The truck was filled with artificial money, also rigged to
blast away at the first explosion. Also, he knew that when there's fire, there
should be fire officials. And an EMT. And some hired police. The number of
officials you'll need to hire depends on geography and how many civilians will
be nearby the stunt. In this case, where about 75 people would be present,
Moranville needed between two and four Fire Marshalls, between four and six
hired law enforcement agents, and an EMT. The total cost was less than
$10,000.

6. Don't fear consumers' brutal honesty. "We did a ride and drive campaign
for Hundai Sonata this part year, which was part of a bigger campaign called
Sonata Uncensored. The cars had cameras in them, and we invited people to
give the cars test drives. So the drivers and passengers, once inside, could
record themselves giving uncensored feedback on the car. It was used as part
of a Facebook campaign, and a lot of that content—and content like it—was
used for TV ads. The insight: Events are not just a moment in time, they are
content that can be used in lots of ways, whether that's online, or on TV."
—Liz Bigham, senior vice president and director of marketing for Jack Morton
Worldwide

7. Mash-up your technology. "You have to be in tune to what has been done
before. It's trying to mash up things that haven't been mashed up before.
Bringing a couple of technologies and mediums together that haven't been
brought together before is the key. Old media with new media, or new tech
with more comfortable older tech. And with that, you build a fascination with a
new way the world can work. It's increasingly true that tech and creativity are
becoming one in the same. I think they was a period of time where technology
was a platform, and it was a group of people who solved problems for systems
and machinery. There was a creative group, separately. They didn't get
together. Now there are minds that come from a technology background and
have creativity. The great melding of those worlds is right now. Geek has been
cool for a while, and is only getting cooler."
—Michael Hart, founder of Mono, an agency based in Minneapolis

Ways to Evaluate Your Marketing Plan

Business owners often find it difficult to know whether their marketing tactics are working.
This can be especially tricky when you use a combination of marketing activities
simultaneously, or if using personal-contact tactics such as networking.

No matter what business you're in, your marketing should be accountable. So here's a few
ways to evaluate how well you're doing.

1) Look at your sales (or fee income). They should be going up! But be careful about
what you measure. Some firms have a longer sales cycle than others. To get an accurate
picture you might need to also measure the number of new leads being generated, or the
number of appointments, or the number of billable hours achieved. Remember discounts or
variances in fees will affect total sales values.

2) Ask your clients. Check to find out where they heard of you. Most businesses never ask
this question and miss out on gleaning valuable insights into how clients select a service
provider.

3) Does your advertising and/or promotional activity produce direct responses?

It should. If your answer is "I don't know" then you've got some work to do. In addition to 2)
above, there are some things you can do to improve response rates.
 Firstly, make sure you are advertising in the right media. Choose media to suit your
selected audience. Be as specific as possible. And avoid rejecting options just because they
don't look "exciting", such as trade journals that might have relatively small readership.
Importantly, check with your audience to make sure they actually do read the publication.

Use a strong headline that asks a pertinent question, or gives a solution-oriented

statement.

Include a clear call-to-action. Tell people what they should do. For example: Ring today for
your free appointment; Ask for our free information sheet.

Include multiple methods of contact. Phone, email, and web site are all important. Give
prospects a choice of how to contact you.

4) Do your networking activities create new opportunities for you? One of the major
principles of effective networking is to "give" rather than "sell". That is, you should look to
help others as you spread word about your services. But this softly, softly approach can
make it hard to measure effectiveness.

To measure your networking activities make sure you track the source of incoming
enquiries. Then see if any of your visible/tangible tactics can be credited with generating the
enquiry. If not, then maybe you can safely say it was a referral generated by networking.
This is made a lot easier if you're a member of a lead-generating club such as BNI or Leads.
You'll get specific feedback each week from these groups.

5) Do your marketing tactics make it easier to sell your services? To do this your
marketing activities and/or material should do the following:

Attract qualified prospects (who have shown a specific interest in your services).

Anticipate and diffuse potential questions/concerns from prospects.

Be easy to use when personally selling to prospects. For example: material should be
relevant; images/charts easy to understand; and be presented in a format the prospect will
be likely to keep.

Focus on your client needs and your points of difference (Unique Selling Proposition).

6) Check your sales conversion rate. The best approach here is to look at your historical
records and determine whether your conversion (or closure) rate has improved. "Selling" is
an important part of the "marketing" function, so make sure you assess your success at
closing the sale, rather than just focus on generating new leads.

7) Does your plan have a positive return on investment (ROI)? Does it bring in
enough new/repeat business to justify the expense? Rather than just look at the "marketing
budget" as one total, you really need to evaluate the cost effectiveness of each specific
marketing activity. Even if you think you're getting a great ROI overall, maybe you can do
even better by changing or eliminating unproductive tactics.

Attracting Corporate Sponsorship

"People give money to people," Mary Gomez said. "Attracting
corporate sponsorship means doing some introspection because
companies don't give money to companies -- the relationship is
more personal than that." Mary, now the Executive Vice President of
the New York City Association of Life Underwriters, and Kenneth
Adams, President of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, led the
discussion at the October 11th [1995] Executive
Directors'/Development Directors' Roundtable. Both Ken and Mary
honed their skills in their previous jobs at New York Cares, and their
advice was well suited to any nonprofit organization.

We have distilled their advice into six guidelines.

(1) Be introspective (and put it on paper). What are your

assets, both tangible and intangible? Inventory your organization --
What can you put up for sale? It may be a series of workshops, a
specific project, a special event, or it may be work you do regularly,
such as a newsletter, a scholarship or a web page on the Internet,
but in all cases you must carefully define what your organization has
to offer a corporate sponsor. Tangible assets are ones where the
sponsor has a very direct payoff, such as a name on a T-shirt or the
cover of your brochure. Intangible assets are ones where the payoff
is more in the form of good feelings that come from having
contributed to your organization. When it comes to this, you need to
think through your values and your boundaries, and decide what it is
that you want before you start your research. Then, go out looking.
Volunteers can be very effective in this search, in good part because
they aren't paid employees of your organization. A phone call to a
corporation from a volunteer will give your organization credibility.
Consider everything you do as a potential lead to a sponsorship; you
may not be able to talk to the president of a large corporation, but
you may find success with one of your vendors. Most important of
all, start to build relationships now. It can take as long as three or
four years to develop a connection. Also, don't forget to include
boroughs other than Manhattan in your prospecting. Brooklyn, for
example, has 35,000 businesses, from Mom and Pop stores to
Brooklyn Union; the competition for them may be less than for large
Manhattan-based corporations. Another idea is to think about the
health care industry and associations, such as the restaurant
association, as possible sponsors for your program.

(2) Define the natural media and vehicles that link your
event to your sponsor. For New York Cares' coat drive, subway
posters were a natural way to advertise the campaign. Television,
radio and print ads, as well as phone kiosks and bus advertisements
can be powerful ways to get the word out. Sponsors generally know
where they like to advertise from their own experience, and you will
need to negotiate this with them. Don't forget natural advertising
links with your sponsor. For example, Chase Manhattan Bank may
be able to advertise a program on their ATM receipts; Con Edison
may be willing to do an insert when they send out their monthly
bills,

(3) Define your natural audience. Think about your

constituency and those who already know about you; then consider
what market you bring to a potential sponsor. It's also worth
thinking about the audience you could create. The answers you
come up with will help both your research into potential sponsors
and your ability to win them over.

(4) Once you have identified potential sponsors, tell

them about your organization, but don't flood them with
paper! Give a potential sponsor the information he or she needs to
get to the next step -- which is to know more about who you are.
Introductory events are one way to do this. At a breakfast meeting
for potential sponsors, for example, your group can describe its
services in a short, informal session.

(5) Think creatively about sponsorships. While you may

have created a sponsorship plan and a budget for specific line items,
don't forget to consider in-kind donations or donations of time.-
Create the expectation that employees of the sponsoring
organization will also become involved in your program or event.

(6) Once you have secured a sponsor, manage the

relationship all year long. Err on the side-of inclusion and let your
sponsor turn you down. Ask them what will make them feel satisfied
with their relationship with your organization. It may be something
as important as logo placement, but it may also be as simple as the
CEO being publicly thanked for the company's contribution. Since
the company representative you are, working with is probably not
the head of the company, you can ensure success by asking what it
is you can do to make her boss happy with the collaboration. An
important part of maintaining a strong relationship with sponsors is
to make them your fans all yearlong.

The most important thing Mary and Ken emphasized was to be

ready at all times. Talk to everyone about your organization and
"connect the dots." Your conversations and enthusiasm for your
work can lead to surprising commitments from corporations.

1) Effective and Economical Invitations

The first element of a successful event is effective promotion

through email invitations, automated online event registration

and additional integrated marketing efforts such as direct mail,

outbound phone calls and an informative event web site. Meeting

Planners International has reported that close integration with

other marketing disciplines was identified as the primary means

to event success by over 80% of event planners in the 2005 Event

Review ‘05 trend analysis study.

Email invitations are the most economical event marketing

method and undoubtedly drive more attendance for planners

than any other marketing medium. Email invitations should

have a professional appearance, with eye catching graphics, an

effective subject line and relevant content. Properly bundling

emailed event invitations with an online event registration and

payment-processing system will dramatically increase attendance

numbers, reduce manual data entry and simplify attendee tracking

tasks. Post event data analysis on over 75,000 events shows that

planners can achieve up to three times the standard response rate

after implementing integrated email marketing, direct mail, and

outbound calling campaigns.

| White Papers

Secrets to Successful Event

Marketing and Management

The difference between good events and great events

is tight execution on marketing, automation of

administrative tasks, and good management of the

events. Over seven years of event consulting, our staff

has discovered effective best practices after assisting

over 5,000 planners launch and manage their [Link]@[Link]

US: 866.318.4358 | UK: 0808.234.4540 | Australia: 1800.502.529 [Link]

2
Introduction

The difference between good events and great events is tight execution on marketing, automation of

administrative tasks, and good management of the events. Over seven years of event consulting, our
staff

has discovered effective best practices after assisting over 5,000 planners launch and manage their
events.

Specifically through these 75,000 event experiences, my staff of event consultants has revealed the best

ways for event and meeting planners to fill the room, not overbook, and manage events efficiently.

Secret Number 1

Effective and Economical Invitations

The first element of a successful event is effective promotion

through email invitations, automated online event registration

and additional integrated marketing efforts such as direct mail,

outbound phone calls and an informative event web site. Meeting

Planners International has reported that close integration with

other marketing disciplines was identified as the primary means

to event success by over 80% of event planners in the 2005 Event

Review ‘05 trend analysis study.

Email invitations are the most economical event marketing

method and undoubtedly drive more attendance for planners

than any other marketing medium. Email invitations should

have a professional appearance, with eye catching graphics, an

effective subject line and relevant content. Properly bundling

emailed event invitations with an online event registration and

payment-processing system will dramatically increase attendance

numbers, reduce manual data entry and simplify attendee tracking

tasks. Post event data analysis on over 75,000 events shows that

planners can achieve up to three times the standard response rate

after implementing integrated email marketing, direct mail, and

outbound calling campaigns. INVITATIONsales@[Link]

Secret Number 3

Comprehensive Campaign Management

The third secret of great events is effective campaign management. Planners need to

track the number and status of their invitations to successfully monitor the campaign

launch and projected success. Invitation open rates and the number of undelivered

invitations or “bounce rates” offer valuable insight for campaign effectiveness. Email

invitations provide the sole solution to properly oversee campaigns and real time

invitation status. Email invitations allow visibility for these important response rates with

real time analysis. Planners can instantly take action with additional marketing campaigns

to boost response.

The status of invitations from a mailing list could have a high undeliverable rate. It is

much better to know the status of your invitations sooner rather than later in order to

reach your projected response. A good event marketing tool not only helps planners

manage their event promotion campaigns but also helps track response rates with real

time reporting, recognizes and notifies you of bad contact data and provides the ability

to cleanse the bounced emails from your address book.

Secret Number 2

Custom Communications Reach the Response

The second secret key to successful events is to support your event marketing efforts

with targeted and personalized emails to invitees. Each group of invitees should receive

specific messaging tailored to their interests. Response rates for a one size fits all
invitation can be 50% less than invitations for specific groups of attendees such as

VIP clients, prospects, different levels of association members etc. Furthermore, it is

essential to send invitations that are personalized. “To Whom It May Concern” and “Dear

Client” should be replaced with key fields like first name, title and company that are mail

merged into the invitation.

The mail merge will make the invitation seem less like a blanket invite and more like

a personal offer. Our research has shown that targeted messaging and personalizing

emails can be the difference between a successful event and an event that is cancelled

for lack of response. Email is the premier medium for targeted and personalized

invitations. Personalization and targeted messaging are examples of fundamental

marketing practices that can make or break an event.

Invitation open rates

and the number of

undelivered invitations

or “bounce rates” offer

valuable insight for

campaign [Link]@[Link]

Secret Number 4

Leverage the Event Web Site

Creating a compelling event web site is the fourth key to successful event marketing. It is

critical for an event web site to allow attendees to register and pay for an event online (if

fees apply for the event). There are various website oriented marketing initiatives that can be

used to promote registration and attendance, such as early bird discounts, group rates, and

promotion codes. Offering online event registration via the event web site is key because

it allows planners to measure if they will have the right amount of space, food, seats, and
materials at the event. Without a solid online registration solution and the capability to track

these metrics, planners often overbook a venue or undersell the space they have bought. A

quality event web site should present attendees with an event agenda and streamline the

registration process for all parties.

Online registration systems can offer much more than simple web forms that collect data

through email or excel. These systems can pre populate attendee data into registration

forms and provide a simple three click registration process proven to dramatically increase

response rates. No one likes to fill out long forms. Planners can utilize system features

to allow attendees to register only for the event sessions they find relevant. In addition,

planners can take segmented registration a step further by presenting various registration

paths on the web sites for different types of attendees. For example, VIP attendees would

be invited to participate in an exclusive networking outing while others would only see the

educational sessions during the registration process.

Secret Number 5

Let Attendees Do the Planning

The fifth key to planning successful events is to qualify your

attendees with pre-event surveying via the event website. It is

important to understand the event objectives and determine from

your attendees how these goals can best be achieved. It is also

crucial to discover why an invitee has decided not to be an event

attendee. We call that “monetizing the “no.” Planners need to

understand the reasons affecting event attendance. Invitees could

have scheduling conflicts, lack of interest in the education topics or

location issues. Following up with the RSVPs could change future

event strategy and prevent future revenue generators from slipping

through the cracks.

More importantly, assessing attendee expectations provides

customized information necessary to execute a top quality event.

Planners can ask attendees key questions about their organization,

what topics they would like the keynote speaker to discuss, what

they would like to gain from the event, what food allergies they

have, etc. Customization in every facet of event planning is a

proven secret to attendee satisfaction and overall [Link]@[Link]

US: 866.318.4358 | UK: 0808.234.4540 | Australia: 1800.502.529 [Link]

Secret Number 6

Avoid the Payment Headaches with Automation

Logistical headaches often stem from undertaking the task of manual event payment

processing. Whether you practice payments onsite or prior to the event, a substantial

amount of time and energy will be invested in manual fee collection. The ideal solution is

simple: automation. Attendees can pay event fees securely during the online registration

process and the funds are automatically deposited into the designated bank account.

With automation, planners do not have to handle credit cards, verify payment receipts,

manually enter attendee information or deal with sensitive issues like unavailable funds.

Attendees and planners alike can track their finances instantly. It is also important to have

a system in place that can issue refunds without a hassle. All refund policies should be

clearly outlined in the registration process so attendees have the necessary information

up front. A smooth payment and refund process is essential for a successful event. \

Secret Number 7

Embrace Technology
The seventh key to event success is automation of all administrative tasks. Data entry,

stuffing envelops, manual payment processing, creating reports manually, completing

telephone registrations, telephone surveying and other tasks consume a tremendous

amount of time and resources. Again, software systems can automate all of these

tedious functions and enable one planner to execute more events, improve the quality

of events, focus on higher-level responsibilities, make informed decisions and leave

the office at a reasonable time every day. Event campaigns will become more strategic

and automation can yield cost savings up to ninety two percent. In today’s fast paced

business environment, it is time for event planners to embrace 21st century technology

tools and use them to their full advantage for maximum return on investment.

Secret Number 8

Secure the Details

The eighth key to successful events is to expertly manage event logistics. The planner’s

organization and attention to detail will speak volumes about the quality of the event.

Planners should begin by storing all event information and data in one place. If people are

traveling to your event, provide them with ample transportation options, reserve room

blocks for your group to ensure the best rates available, provide detailed driving directions

and parking instructions. Event details can be provided in event confirmation letters,

which are best sent via email.

Store travel and housing related information in an event management system to

track attendee arrivals and departures, arrange modes of transportation, assess

additional needs in real time, manage hotel room blocks, communicate with hoteliers

and transportation vendors and provide complete event agendas and itineraries for

every event attendee. An all encompassing travel and agenda management plan will

ensure your event stays on budget and the customized treatment will leave a fantastic
impression on all stakeholders.

With automation,

planners do not have

to handle credit cards,

verify payment receipts,

manually enter attendee

information or deal with

sensitive issues like

unavailable funds. sales@[Link]

US: 866.318.4358 | UK: 0808.234.4540 | Australia: 1800.502.529 [Link]

About Cvent

Cvent delivers the commercial-grade survey software solutions and services that organizations

and human resource departments need to cost-efficiently implement a comprehensive training

evaluation program. Established in 1999, Cvent is the largest strategic meetings management

and site selection company in the U.S., with over 750 employees worldwide. More than 90,000

professionals use Cvent per year to create over 275,000 internal and external surveys, events,

and marketing campaigns. Cvent’s users have sent over 850 million invitations and have

processed over 30 million registrations and survey responses. Over $25 million in research and

development has been invested into Cvent’s proven technology solution and services.

About the Author

Eric Eden is the Vice President of Marketing for Cvent and oversees a team that helps plan 1,000 events
per year.

For questions about Cvent’s event technology solutions or questions about this article contact him at
703-226-3558 or

visit the Cvent Website.

Secret Number 9

Optimize Every Opportunity

The ninth key to successful events is thorough post event follow up. Issue attendees a post event survey
to

evaluate the performance of each event. Use this data to improve your next event. Attendees will take
notice

that their needs have been met and their opinions put into action. Continue the relationship and keep in
contact

with attendees with valuable communications such as opt in email newsletters. Attention to detail and
prompt

follow up will encourage loyalty to your brand, organization and events.

Secret Number 10

Get Clear Insight, Get Clear Results

The final key to successful events is to manage your success and strive for improvement with data
analysis.

Measure all aspects of event performance from attendance to revenue. Compare metrics across
multiple

events to determine trends among your attendees. Cross reporting can highlight the areas of
improvement.

For example, planners could evaluate metrics and determine that a breakfast event draws more of the

target audience than a lunchtime affair. However, this conclusion could change over time. Be sure to
monitor

marketing campaign trends over the long term.

It is critical to measure and analyze metrics like attendance, attrition rates, payments, cancellations,
refunds,

and return on investment for continued success with your events. Event technology has become a
fundamental

tool for today’s event planner. There are many event technology solutions to automate and streamline
your

event planning process. In order for events to perform up to and surpass expectations, the right event
marketing and management software is critical.

attract a sponsor?
Alright, now we know what sponsors are looking for, so how do we attract them? Well, you can fall into
any of the above categories and have a real shot at landing something, but to swing things even more
into your favor I might try some of these things:

 Put together a press kit, or something similar that is geared toward explaining to prospect
sponsors why your organization is a good fit with their organization. You’ll want to include any
recent press here, because a company is much more likely to sponsor someone that is receiving
a lot of press, than someone no one has ever heard of before.
 Get to know your prospect companies. Don’t pitch to companies in which your organization is
not a good fit. It’s much better to do some research and pitch to a few companies, than blindly
pitching to many. And remember, you might be amazed at the links you have to a specific
company. Do you know an employee of the company? An employee’s family member? The more
support you have on the inside the better.
 Throw an event. This is one of the easier ways to gain sponsorship. Events have to be
promoted, otherwise no one would show up and it wouldn’t be any fun. One of the easiest ways
to get a sponsor is to imagine the greatest event of all time, pair it with some great marketing, PR
and a little advertising and then get the sponsor to pay for it all. This is a win-win because the
sponsor gets to put their name on all of the marketing material associated with the event and you
essentially get a TON of free publicity and credit for throwing an awesome party. Play your cards
right and you can turn sponsors from just an event sponsor to a full-time sponsor, even after the
event is over.
 Offer up property. A big part of companies sponsoring something is being able to see where
their money went. So, allow them to slap a logo on something. Running a 24/7 operation? Get an
energy drink to sponsor the office webcam and stream it live over the web 24 hours a day with
their logo bug in the bottom corner of the video stream. Got a conference room? Guess what?
Now, it’s the Office Supply Store Think Tank. Do you get a lot of people hanging out in your
lounge? Pride yourself on the music played? Post playlists online and share them, but label them
“Playlists from the Rhapsody Lounge.”
 Be creative. Some of the ideas here might work and some might not, but the key is to always be
creative. Companies want to be creative and cool more than anything else, which is why so many
are willing to waste millions of dollars on ideas that some ad agency told them were “cool.” If you
can be creative and come up with a cool idea, then finding sponsorships will become easy.

Offer a Win-Win Deal

While you may be tempted to reap more than you sow, attracting sponsorships requires a deal that is
equally profitable for both parties. Money still doesn't grow on trees, else you would have plenty of
your own. And that is why, you need sponsors! You need to provide them value for money. Tell your
sponsors how the business transaction will help them garner more consumer exposure in the market.

Attract the Right Sponsors

If you are constantly being shown the door by all the sponsors you have approached so far, reconsider
your strategy. Maybe you are approaching such sponsors who have nothing to do with absolutely
anything that your event is about. All companies want to reach the maximum target market they can
through your event. If you are trying to allure the wrong sponsors, you are NOT going to come back
with a wad of cash in your hand. They will not even bother to tell you why you did not manage to get
any sponsorship from them. If you are organizing a sophisticated business event, such as a trade
show, you may want to try your luck impressing high-end automobile companies, business hotels,
airlines and other industries that cater to business professionals and mainly concentrate on them as
their target customers.

It's in the Details

Present a clear and fair picture to your sponsors. You need to mention every detail regarding the
event, expected outcome and what's in it for the sponsors if they invest. Doing it right will ensure that
you build a reputation for your company too. This is really advantageous in the long run and will make
it easier for you to gain sponsorships in future. Being certain of your plans will help the sponsor show
more faith in you. Here is a tip for you, draft a SWOT analysis for assistance for your sponsors. Also,
exhibiting your USP will work in your favor. You must include all these aspects in your neatly laid out
sponsorship proposal template.

Presentation Skills
Do remember that it is all about your brand image. It is another thing to sell a product that has not
even been produced yet. Your even Offer a Win-Win Deal

While you may be tempted to reap more than you sow, attracting sponsorships requires a deal that is
equally profitable for both parties. Money still doesn't grow on trees, else you would have plenty of
your own. And that is why, you need sponsors! You need to provide them value for money. Tell your
sponsors how the business transaction will help them garner more consumer exposure in the market.

Attract the Right Sponsors

If you are constantly being shown the door by all the sponsors you have approached so far, reconsider
your strategy. Maybe you are approaching such sponsors who have nothing to do with absolutely
anything that your event is about. All companies want to reach the maximum target market they can
through your event. If you are trying to allure the wrong sponsors, you are NOT going to come back
with a wad of cash in your hand. They will not even bother to tell you why you did not manage to get
any sponsorship from them. If you are organizing a sophisticated business event, such as a trade
show, you may want to try your luck impressing high-end automobile companies, business hotels,
airlines and other industries that cater to business professionals and mainly concentrate on them as
their target customers.

It's in the Details

Present a clear and fair picture to your sponsors. You need to mention every detail regarding the
event, expected outcome and what's in it for the sponsors if they invest. Doing it right will ensure that
you build a reputation for your company too. This is really advantageous in the long run and will make
it easier for you to gain sponsorships in future. Being certain of your plans will help the sponsor show
more faith in you. Here is a tip for you, draft a SWOT analysis for assistance for your sponsors. Also,
exhibiting your USP will work in your favor. You must include all these aspects in your neatly laid out
sponsorship proposal template.

Presentation Skills
Do remember that it is all about your brand image. It is another thing to sell a product that has not
even been produced yet. Your event is to take place at a future date. What you need is to be able to
convince your prospective sponsors that it will be a hit with the attendees, and sponsoring it will be a
smart investment for them with long-term benefits. To ensure this, you need good presentation skills
to secure the confidence of your sponsors. Word of advice, never lose faith in the success of your
event and always exude confidence.

Learn to Negotiate

When you approach a company for sponsorships, do not expect to go there with a file of documents
regarding the deal and expect them to readily accept. There is obviously a lot of explaining to do.
Apart from having good oratory skills, you also need to be well-equipped with your negotiating
abilities. Be prepared for changes and be flexible in your approach. However, do not come across as
being too easy or needy.

Follow-Up

I just mentioned that you should not appear to be penny-pinching here. So, how do you ensure that
your sponsors consider your proposal without being too aggressive about it? Act professional. You
need to follow-up with your sponsors to inquire about their intentions towards the project, but don't
call or e-mail more than twice.

Never lose hope, even until the last week prior to the date of the event. Remember, any sponsorship is
good sponsorship. It means that any sort of cash inflow is good for the health of your finances. When
you negotiate terms with the sponsors, make sure you consult a senior authority, if you are
accountable to someone, before closing the deal. Also, you must have a legal proof of the sponsor's
consent for sponsoring your event, whether partially or wholly. It would also be advisable that you
receive half the sum in advance prior to the date of the event. To get a sponsor for an event is much
like selling your product to prospective buyers. However, there is a different approach that calls for
good people's skills and managerial dexterity.

Read more at Buzzle: [Link] t is to

take place at a future date. What you need is to be able to convince your prospective sponsors that it
will be a hit with the attendees, and sponsoring it will be a smart investment for them with long-term
benefits. To ensure this, you need good presentation skills to secure the confidence of your sponsors.
Word of advice, never lose faith in the success of your event and always exude confidence.

Learn to Negotiate
When you approach a company for sponsorships, do not expect to go there with a file of documents
regarding the deal and expect them to readily accept. There is obviously a lot of explaining to do.
Apart from having good oratory skills, you also need to be well-equipped with your negotiating
abilities. Be prepared for changes and be flexible in your approach. However, do not come across as
being too easy or needy.

Follow-Up
I just mentioned that you should not appear to be penny-pinching here. So, how do you ensure that
your sponsors consider your proposal without being too aggressive about it? Act professional. You
need to follow-up with your sponsors to inquire about their intentions towards the project, but don't
call or e-mail more than twice.
Never lose hope, even until the last week prior to the date of the event. Remember, any sponsorship is
good sponsorship. It means that any sort of cash inflow is good for the health of your finances. When
you negotiate terms with the sponsors, make sure you consult a senior authority, if you are
accountable to someone, before closing the deal. Also, you must have a legal proof of the sponsor's
consent for sponsoring your event, whether partially or wholly. It would also be advisable that you
receive half the sum in advance prior to the date of the event. To get a sponsor for an event is much
like selling your product to prospective buyers. However, there is a different approach that calls for
good people's skills and managerial dexterity.