Recruiting Exhibition Sponsors: A Checklist

What are exhibition sponsors? 

Broadly speaking, sponsors, and sponsorship deals, are a rewarding partnership for everyone involved. Both partners need or want something from the other, and by working together they can meet each other's needs. 

But what does this mean specifically for exhibition sponsors? As exhibitions are designed to attract audiences, sponsors will work with a brand or experience to support the event and help ensure it runs successfully. In return, they may receive different benefits depending on what was agreed at the contract stage (as you will see below). 

 

The benefits of a sponsor partnership 

One of the most important things you can know about finding sponsors for your exhibition is that it needs to be a partnership that is mutually beneficial. The benefits for both yourself, and the sponsor, depend heavily on the type of sponsorship you require to help you host your exhibition. The primary benefits for your exhibition are: 

• Financial support: exhibition sponsors can financially contribute, increasing your budget and allowing you to host a larger or more technical event. 

Top tip: financial support is especially important if you’re taking the next steps to grow your business. If this is you, explore our guide for Scaling Up Your Exhibition: What You Need to Know… 

• Improve credibility: if you’re new to the industry, having the backing of an experienced sponsor can act as a testimonial to help improve the credibility of your exhibition, encouraging more people to attend. 

• Reach a wider audience: working with sponsors like influencers, media personalities, or larger brands can help to transfer awareness of your exhibition to their own audiences, allowing you to communicate with more potential attendees. 
• Build brand awareness: if your sponsor partnership can help you reach a wider audience via their own following, it can also help to boost awareness of your brand within the industry more generally. This can improve your reputation, and create a better foundation for future exhibitions. 

In return for supporting your endeavours, your sponsor may receive several things that can benefit them. These tend to boil down to either exposure, recognition, or data… 

 

Exposure 

Exposure is a common part of any sponsorship deal. For example, if you’re hosting a trade show, your sponsor may wish to have a booth at the event. Their presence at your exhibition gives them exposure to your audience, which can result in more brand awareness or customers for themselves. 

Within exhibitions, exposure may also mean an increase in branding opportunities. Your sponsor's logo may be shown prominently throughout the venue, in promotional material, and as part of your advertising. This gets their brand out to a wider audience more subtly, whilst still allowing for people to clearly come across their company. 

 

Recognition 

Alternatively, a sponsor helping smaller enterprises host exhibitions can improve their reputation within the industry or bring in positive publicity. This is different to exposure in that they’re not looking for direct contact with a new audience. Rather, receiving recognition for their support of your exhibition can help to boost their public profile, which may lead to more lucrative deals or opportunities in the future. 

Remember: this is not a cynical perspective, and shouldn’t put you off reaching out to suitable sponsors. While charitable sponsorships are an option, many sponsorships are a business deal that is supposed to be mutually beneficial. Sponsors can invest a lot into an exhibition, which means they will expect a return – and recognition plays a part in that. 

 

Data 

In an information age, audience and participant data is a valuable resource. When you’re looking for exhibition sponsors, some may leverage access to data as part of their support package.  

This could be through direct contact with exhibition attendees, or indirectly through success metrics you may use to measure how well your event went. More general data, such as age, demographic, and location, can be incredibly useful for sponsors to promote their brand to a wider audience. 

Remember: you must be very clear about how their data may be used with attendees, and always offer an opt-out option. Individuals have control over how their data is used or shared, so you should always be upfront with any information they need. There are also strict rules around private information, so you will need to have the correct permissions and protections in place. 

 

How to find sponsors for your exhibition 

Once you’ve agreed that an exhibition sponsor is needed for your event, you need to find the right ones to work with. Below, we’ve laid out some of the key aspects of a sponsorship that will affect which ones are best for your needs. 

 

Consider what you need from your sponsor 

During your search for exhibition sponsors, you need to decide what you need from your sponsor as this will dictate which type of sponsorship best suits your event. There are four main types of sponsorship arrangements you can make, which are: 

• Financial: Arguably the most common reason exhibitions need to find sponsors is for financial support. Working with a larger organisation who can help cover the costs of your exhibition can be a huge boon – particularly if you’re new to the industry or taking the next step to grow your event. 
• In-kind: In-kind rewards are similar to financial sponsors, but instead of supporting an exhibition directly with money, you may receive goods or services as part of the partnership. For example, exhibition organisers may receive assistance via competition prizes, food sponsors, or even access to different venues for their event. 
• Media: Depending on the type of exhibition you’re hosting, you might want to consider a media sponsorship to help advertise and market your event. Media sponsors, such as radio stations or newspapers, might offer you free or discounted advertising space in return for attaching their name to your exhibition. They may also give you financial support to help fund your advertising strategy. 
• Promotional: Unlike media sponsors which tend to be an organisation, promotional sponsors are usually individuals who can help you boost your exhibition via their own following. Influencers and social media personalities tend to fall into this category, as they expose your event to their own audiences to help build a stronger exhibition profile. 

Once you know what you need from an exhibition sponsor, you can make a more informed choice in who you reach out to for support. 

 

Research potential sponsors 

Before approaching a large brand or sponsor, make sure you do your research. Not only do you need to understand whether a business is able to offer you the support you require, but doing your research allows you to see if they’re a good fit for your brand. To help you out, we’ve listed some crucial questions you need to ask to make sure you find the right exhibition sponsor for your needs – and included some more detailed explanations of key points below:  

• Are they relevant to your exhibition topic? 

• Does the brand have the resources you need? 

• Do they already sponsor exhibitions within your industry? 

• Do they align with your brand values and attitude? 

• Do they have access to your target audience? 

 

Are they relevant to your exhibition topic? 

While not essential, finding a sponsor that is at minimum tangentially connected to your exhibition can help secure a good partnership. For example, if you’re running a trade show, a sponsor who has products related to the theme of your exhibition may be more likely to work with you – especially when it’s easier to see the potential benefits for both sides. 

 

Do they already sponsor exhibitions within your industry? 

You should take some time to research similar exhibitions that have happened within your industry. This can help you find sponsors who are experienced within the industry, or already have a presence you can use to boost your exhibition profile. 

Remember: if a sponsor has already worked on a similar event, they may be more inclined to provide you with the support you need. 

 

Do they align with your brand values and attitude? 

Part of researching sponsors before reaching out is to understand whether they align with your brand values, and the attitudes of your existing customer base. Choosing sponsors who contradict your brand, or don’t match up to the interests of your audiences, can feel disingenuous and potentially alienate potential exhibition attendees. 

 

Create a comprehensive pitch 

Once you’ve decided on a set of prospective exhibition sponsors, the next step is to create a sponsorship proposal package. A well thought out, in-depth proposal is one of the best ways to attract the right attention and convince a sponsor of the value of working with you. Remember, they’re potentially investing a lot of money or resources into your exhibition, so you need to outline how a partnership will benefit both sides. 

Some of our top tips for creating your pitch are: 

• Highlight how working with you can benefit them: this can be either with better exposure, recognition, or the prospect of future professional relationships. 

• Clearly outline your assets: explain what you have, and what you’re hoping to gain from the relationship. 

• Introduce your exhibition: briefly explain the idea and some of the key goals for your event so that sponsors can see how it relates to them. 

• Explain your target audience: this includes the type of audience you intend to attract, potential plans to do so, and how it relates back to the sponsor. 

• Don’t make a generic proposal: instead, try to tailor each pitch to the brand you’re approaching using the information gained during your research of their business. 

• Ask for a face to face meeting: where possible, try to meet either in person or over a video call. This helps put names to faces and create a better impression. 

• Be prepared: make sure you have the answers to potential questions any sponsors may ask. Being prepared and knowing your aims will go a long way in showing potential sponsors your competency and may encourage them to work with you. 

• Ask questions: whilst you’re hoping to attract a sponsor, you should also be using the proposal to ferret out whether a business is right for your exhibition. Come prepared with some questions to ask potential sponsors, as these will help you clarify whether the sponsor is right for your brand. 

• Include case studies or social proofs where possible: these are perfect to showcase the benefits of working with you. 

• Be open to the idea of tiered sponsorship packages: this offers prospective partners the option to choose how involved they are with the event – and in turn, how much they can expect to get out of it. 

 

Get your proposal to the right people 

Once you’ve put your proposal together, you need to make sure it reaches the right person. This is where having business contacts can come in handy. Larger businesses likely receive multiple sponsorship proposals, so you need to make sure yours stands out. Ideally, you’d aim to have an “in” with someone in the marketing team of your chosen sponsor – as this gives you a better chance of your pitch being seen by the people involved in the decision-making process.  

If you don’t have this existing working relationship, you need to find a way to help your proposal reach the right people. This could be via: 

• Messaging individuals on platforms like LinkedIn, especially if you’ve met previously at an event. Even if you don’t have an existing relationship, this is a great way to start a professional connection. 
• Sending an email with targeted subject lines designed to attract attention. 

To help make your proposal stand out, you should also keep in mind the following:  

• Keep relevant information clear, and as close to the top as possible when you send our proposal. 

• Choose an appropriate time to send it. For example, if you need financial support, make sure you send your proposal early when there is still potential for there to be room in a budget. 

• Use clear, relevant diagrams to make information or data more digestible when read. 

 

Work with Exhibition Centre Liverpool to plan your next exhibition 

Planning your next exhibition, and need an incredible Venue? You’ve come to the right place. With fantastic In House Services to support you, and an experienced Event Management team on hand for assistance, make your next exhibition even better when you choose Exhibition Centre Liverpool. 

 

How to Stand Out at an Exhibition | Organising a Trade Show: The Essential Checklist | A Guide to Sustainable Exhibition Materials