When You Sponsor Events, Remember to Think Outside the Booth

Choosing to sponsor live events can be an incredibly effective marketing tactic. It gives your brand a human face, closely associates you with the positivity of that event, and can even align your brand with important causes. The most common type of sponsorship that you might be used to seeing is a booth sponsorship, which can be extremely effective and even fun. However, this isn’t the only kind of event sponsorship you should be considering if you really want to make the most of your marketing dollars.

To help you navigate the opportunities available for event marketing, we’ve put together this list of how you can think outside the booth and expand your reach and results.

Have Your Company Included in Event Marketing Collateral and Ads

If the event itself is going to be successful, it’s going to be marketed really well. This is why radio stations in particular are known for putting on some of the best local events–they’ve got the advertising to promote it properly. This typically includes everything from radio and/or TV ads to social media posts, targeted display ads, posters, flyers, print ads, promotion at 3rd party locations, and online event listings… just to name a few.

When you invest more in your sponsorship, you should explore the opportunity to be included in these advertising channels. It will firmly establish your brand’s relationship to the event, and it cements your connection with its values, audience, and community.

Leverage Onsite Exposure

Having a booth gives your business a powerful presence with engagement opportunities at a live event, but what about all those people that don’t stop to say hello? You certainly don’t need to shake hands with every attendee in order to have a successful sponsorship, but there are other ways to have your brand noticed onsite beyond just your booth and promotional team. 

One particular way is with sponsorship of onsite collateral. We’re talking about having banners on walls, fences, railings, and even on stage, or having your brand mentioned in on-stage or audio announcements. While attendees are watching the show or eating dinner, they can visibly see or hear your brand message further extending your reach and frequency at this moment in time.

Sponsor More than One Area On-Site

Another fun way to step up your event marketing is to sponsor specific interactive areas at the event. Having a fun, brand-specific booth is important but it might also make sense for your brand to sponsor or present the kids’ play area, beer garden, or VIP section… depending on your audience and who you want to reach.

This kind of exposure delivers more engagement and branding throughout the event in a fun, integrated way that makes you even more a part of the event. By tying this together with promotional products that are relevant to that area (like logo’ed balloons in the kids area for instance) can further your memorability factor.

Engage Audiences Before and After the Event

There’s a lot to be said for engaging attendees at your booth during the event. Whether it’s a giveaway, an educational speaker, or experiential marketing, your booth can be a treasure trove for ways to build relationships with potential customers and generate leads. But we suggest that you don’t stop there. Start engaging with attendees (and capturing leads) before the event, and continue to tap into this audience and nurture those relationships after the event ends. Don’t be afraid to get creative here. For instance, you could run a contest through your social media page (and promote it in your radio ads and in-store) that gives attendees the opportunity to upgrade to VIP or to win a free ticket.

Event sponsorship is a powerful way to connect with your community, and current and potential customers. Your booth at the event itself is already great exposure for your brand, but when you sponsor events in the future, we recommend you think beyond the booth and really take your event marketing to the next level.