Why does event sponsorship fail?
Many brands see event sponsorship as a way to increase visibility, build a good reputation and strengthen customer relationships. Although sponsoring a conference or a trade show can bring immense benefits to business owners, often the results of the investment do not meet one’s expectations.
In this article, we are going to look at the most common causes of a failed sponsorship and look at ways of avoiding them. But first, let us try to determine when sponsorship should be considered a failure.
The Return on Investment is a good indicator of event success, although at times difficult to measure. If the amount of money and efforts invested into a live experience do not bring a company the expected results, one can start talking about failure. Similarly, a sponsorship can be considered a failure when the event organiser is not able to demonstrate the value of the investment to the brand overall.
So what are the principal reasons that make brands fail as a sponsor?
1. Buying a sponsorship package as a product
How many times whilst looking for sponsorship opportunities you came across standardised, one-size-fits-all sponsorship packages? Most companies and associations split their offer into various categories or product-like packages. Each one of them includes a particular number of benefits for a set price.
According to the 2016 Associations Communications Benchmarking Report provided by Naylor Association Solutions, only 48% of associations offer some form of customization when it comes to sponsorship packages. Moreover, frequently this is only available for their best partners.
This is similar to buying biscuits in a supermarket — you pay the price and then choose between the options available. However, if you want to make something more suitable to your particular taste, you’ll have to buy the ingredients of your choice and bake it yourself.
Event sponsorship is not a commodity. It is an important investment, which requires work and dedication from both the event manager and the sponsor. Simply paying for packages with limited choices may not bring the desired results. Therefore, when deciding on what event to sponsor, be sure the organiser is ready to provide you with a tailored proposal as well as with the possibility to add the ‘ingredients’ you need in order to achieve your particular business objectives.
2. Not having a strategy
Many sponsors believe that the fact they invest money into an event will immediately boost their sales, increase their customer base and make the brand more recognisable. However, in most cases the reality is different. Paying for a sponsorship and doing nothing while expecting quick results is similar to waiting for a miracle to happen. Sponsorship is only a starting point in a long journey. Therefore, be sure you are off to a good start and have a long-term strategy ready in advance.
To begin with, identify the objectives and evaluate the potential effectiveness of your investment. Think carefully about what message you are going to deliver and which of the available communication channels you are going to use to win the attention of your target market. While standard branding opportunities might give you some additional exposure, without connecting directly with your audience your company logo on stage will be just another background image.
During the event, direct communication and timely created useful content must be a priority. Give your audience a chance to get to know you better by organising workshops, having a product presentation space and using speakers. Using event technology will help you to increase audience engagement on-site through real-time communication channels between the attendees and give you the possibility to share and exchange live content.
Building relationships with your customers and working on brand awareness is an ongoing process. Therefore, constant work and commitment are crucial after the event is over. Online communication channels like social media or a dedicated sponsored event app will help you grow the community, keep it engaged all-year round and encourage regular interaction with the brand.
3. Poor measurement of ROI/ROE
One of the biggest mistakes one can make when investing into a sponsorship is not having a clear understanding of the potential benefits in sponsoring this event. Nowadays, event technology allows sponsors and organisers to effectively measure both the return on investment and the return on engagement.
Characteristics such as brand awareness or word of mouth which were nearly impossible to measure a couple of years ago have become tangible thanks to social media and event applications. Brand reputation can now be evaluated by analysing the number of social media shares, capturing attendees’ feedback through real-time questionnaires and measuring engagement during and after the event with the help of event app analytics.
A failure always has reasons behind, and event industry is not an exception. If your sponsorship experience was not as effective as you expected it to be you must have done something wrong or haven’t done anything to make it a success.
“Buying” sponsorship package as a commodity, poor understanding of your particular goals and absence of a strategy to follow are the principal causes that push your efforts to the edge of the abyss. Well elaborated tactics, long-term involvement and implementation of the latest event tech solutions, on the other hand, will guarantee high audience engagement and bring positive results in the long run.
