Event Sponsorships: Insights & Guidance

Event sponsorships are a huge source of revenue today. Event planners are anxious to understand the strategies [virtual events sponsorship ideas] to, perfectly replicate the in-person events to virtual ones. They have a lot of questions regarding virtual events. To enlighten virtual event planners, HexaFair brings you some virtual events sponsorship ideas to gain ROI, niche insights & guidance through the latest article – Event Sponsorships: Insights & Guidance. Read On! 

Learn from our industry experts. Get the best virtual events sponsorship ideas, tips & advice for your virtual events. If you want to learn more about the virtual events sponsorship plans, stay tuned with us through this article – Virtual Event Sponsorships: Insights & Guidance. 

Event Sponsorships: Insights & Guidance

● The Disruptive Age

Before the pandemic, everything was normal, including events. Physical events were the best ways to engage & build networks, and that was the past. With the onset of the pandemic, virtual events have become the new and the most sought-after plans today. Way back physical events were all about collaboration & engagement. But now, the new age is into disruption &rebuilding. This disruption has driven a lot of confusion esp. for sponsors. There have been many questions coming up like

1. How do manage & drive virtual events sponsorship ideas to success?
2. What are the best virtual events sponsorship plan to adopt? and
3. Which speakers & features to choose for the virtual events?

How much ever knowledge they gain related to the virtual events sponsorship guide, there will always be something new for the sponsors. The tide gets difficult with small sponsorships as they don’t have adequate experience to handle the events. 

● The Virtual Edge

The dynamics of real events is gradually shifting to virtual realms. Sponsors are also finding great expansion & network-building opportunities in virtual events. This is the phase of a virtual edge where both organisers and sponsors have got a lot to learn and share about the virtual events sponsorship ideas, virtual events sponsorship plan& benefits. Most of the businesses today are new or don’t have any previous experience with virtual events. So, HexaFair is here to share the experience & drive you successfully through your virtual event sponsorships journey. 

● Event Sponsorships: The Opportunities

Virtual events are exciting, interactive and much more engaging, and so are the virtual event sponsorships. As it is clear that the in-person event elements can be replicated to virtual, what is most exciting about the replication is, the sponsor’s opportunity to participate in the show?

● An Example

Let us assume that you are organizing a virtual conference. You might need several rooms with speakers. For this, you need to have the best technology with robust security measures. In the virtual realm, you can create workshops & help customers connect with the sponsors in dedicated rooms. Today, with advanced technology around, the experience has become far better & easy. Further, enabling sponsors to live chat instantly with audiences gives a great experience & creates the most genuine engagement.

Another advantage of virtual events sponsorship plan is that businesses can promote and market their products online. Share information, conduct audience polls and take feedback instantly from their audiences and target markets. Enterprises can choose to display short demos, slides, presentations and screenshots of their products instantly online.

● Deals & Connections

Event sponsorships also support negotiations which is a great opportunity & otherwise considered impossible with real events. Global audiences are adapting to virtual events sponsorship plans because of the infinite possibilities they hold. The key to organizing virtual events is quite simple. It is to make your sponsors act as your event partners. This makes the event creation simpler & helps to achieve greater ROI.

Here are the virtual event mistake to avoid doing.  

● Giveaways

Goodie bags are essential & are considered potential enticers for your event sponsorships. The virtual events sponsorship plan& gifts you put in needs to be fun, interesting and compelling for your audiences. Ideally, for in-person events, you give the gifts directly to your attendees. But, in the virtual realm, you can share them online in the form of coupons, digital goodies, codes etc. The activity becomes better and more interesting in the digital realm.

● Opportunities

Digital swag bags can be as big as you want them to be. As they are virtual & so, their possibilities are endless. Sponsor creativity also plays a major role to bring together a really interesting swag bag. Virtual event platforms render all the services that you need including planning your swag bags. But the goodies inside might depend on the resources available on the platform. Because the goodie bags have been here for a long time, the virtual event planners ensure their standards are maintained. They can be custom-designed to bring value to your business.

Attendees who register for the event will automatically receive the swag bag. One of the biggest advantages of the swag bags is their set-up is super simple. With no physical touch, you can gift your audiences anything & everything online through these swag bags.

● Virtual Event Sponsorships in Unsettled Times

With the onset of the pandemic, the economy has gone topsy turvy. And so, getting sponsors for virtual events has become a challenge. It is a completely uncertain scenario from the sponsor’s point of view.

But with virtual events, the times have changed. If there is a time when sponsors themselves will come forward to participate, that time is now. In the current situation, businesses need to run and most importantly become visible and that’s what the virtual realms offer.

● Data Collection

Data collection is very easy in the virtual realm as everything happens online. The information you receive also depends on the type of platform that you are using for your event. You can easily track every movement of your participating attendee online. The data helps you to analyse your audience’s interests, goals & needs. Providing this data to the sponsors will help them plan for more interesting events & make your collaboration more interesting. After all, they are the owners and so must be aware of where their investment is going into.

Further maintaining the confidentiality of data is also highly important. Event planners must only share the information which they are authorised to share. Abiding by the rules can bring you a mint in virtual events.

● Balancing Privacy & Sponsor Requirements

Data privacy is highly important and balancing the same with the sponsor’s demands is extremely crucial. In Europe, the rules are easy with GDPR. The US has no set of data protection rules. Yet, as virtual event planners, we believe that data protection guidelines are extremely important. We value people’s privacy as we have been in the industry for a long time. 

In any industry, trust is hard to build but easy to lose. And once it is gone, your virtual event plan will become mission impossible. 

● Event Sponsorships: Selling & Pricing Models

When it comes to virtual event sponsorships pricing, there is no big difference between real & virtual events. Certain factors must be taken into consideration when pricing your sponsorship packages. These are the necessities that must be flexible and if necessary custom-tailored for every sponsor. And, it is also a good idea to have certain predefined [virtual events sponsorship plan] packages for your sponsor before the final onboarding.

● Pricing Factors

Numerous factors come into the picture while framing the pricing for virtual events. Branding & selling are crucial here. Putting yourself in the shoes of the sponsors will help you understand what they are trying to sell & what returns they are expecting. For good ROI, it is necessary to frame a pricing strategy that benefits your sponsors as well as audiences.

When it comes to pricing factors, you must learn how to price your sponsorship packages. You must also know how many guaranteed attendees you have for the event. That is the deciding factor of your virtual event outcome.

Buying capacity of your attendees must also be analysed. Their income, affordability, takebacks, value etc. must be taken into consideration. Further, brand value also decides your event’s success. If you are in the industry for a long, then there is a high chance that your virtual event becomes a grand success. Being in the industry for a long will help your audiences to pay more and there exists a certain guarantee to your attendees.

● The Future

The future is virtual. The communication is getting easier & the interactions clearer. We are foreseeing numerous virtual events on the horizon when compared to real ones. We believe that hybrid events have all the benefits & support that fit into the sleeve & hence are going to rule the industry.

For more virtual events sponsorship ideas, book your demo with us today!