It is important to highlight what makes a good marketing strategy and how to better plan an event and negotiate sponsorship. Key points not to forget are:
Image from thhp.co.za
Planned events represent things to be marketed and a means of marketing things.
Find what people want and give it to them in the most original and unexpected way so emotions are also engaged.
Every event is different, so each one should be individually approached and planned.
Sponsorship should be an integral aspect of the marketing mix.
Find out what your sponsors need to make it part of the sponsorship package.
Know your audience and the channels to reach them.
Public Relations not only handle community relations but also bad publicity.
Guerrilla marketing is ok as long as you don’t break any laws.
Look at your competition to learn from them.
Image from primoevents.com
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi
Event marketing is fun and rewarding when is done correctly. The future of events will be shaped by technology, but the essential nature and role of events will basically remain the same.
When you have found the right people to talk to about sponsoring your event, eventually they are going to request more information. Some sort of proposal needs to be sent so they can review it and make a decision.
Image from na-pr.org
It is important to have a proposal to give to a potential sponsor, but before we put anything in writing we have to consider our assets, the value of what we are offering, and the benefits to that particular company.
First and Foremost, any business proposal I like must sound like fun.
–Richard Branson
Proposal summary
It should be short; 1 or 2 pages will be enough. Use a personalized approach using an idea relevant to the company or brand. Include relevant audience profile and the exact offer. You should end your summary proposal with a call for action. The following is an example of a summary proposal for Mr Francisco Ochoa, owner of El Pollo Loco restaurant chain, to sponsor the Dream Foundation movie premier.
Mr. Ochoa,
I write you as a fellow Mexican citizen and Latino rights activist, to let you know of an opportunity that may interest you and your company. The Dream Foundation is hosting its first high profile movie premier to raise awareness about Latino community struggles in San Diego, Ca.
The foundation will use proceeds from the movie premier to help support 500 students currently under the DACA act with status renewal and lawyer expenses. The event will take place at Balboa Theater in San Diego on March 21st, 2019 at 5:00 pm followed by a Dinner Gala at The Marriot Bay Front.
Attached you will find a fact sheet about the event, and a description of our various sponsorship opportunities with individual benefit levels. Sponsors will enjoy name recognition, media coverage exposure, and goodwill in the Greater San Diego Area directly targeted to the Latino community and its supporters.
Your sponsorship will help assure the success of our movie premier in meeting the foundation objectives. I will make a follow-up call during the week of November 12th. I appreciate if you would consider the proposal for sponsorship and look forward for your support.
First, we need to come up with a date and make sure it doesn’t conflict with other events our supporters might be engaged in. We should make it our staple date, so we can plan our event on the same time every year. The Met Gala always takes place the first Monday of May.
image from timeanddate.com
The next step should be to find a venue that works for our date and that fits our event. It is important to understand how our budget will fit with the cost of that venue. We must figure out how our event will flow in that venue. Are we going to have a welcome cocktail, a registration booth? Is there going to be a silent auction? Is there a special activity for the VIPs? What do we want our guests to experience when they walk through the doors or arrive to the meeting point? All this should be taken into consideration when deciding for a place to host the event.
Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving. Hank Rosso
Now we need to think of a theme for our fundraiser. I volunteered for the Gold Shield Gala from the SD Police Foundation, and their theme was Hearts of Gold. The invitations had a police badge that spun and turned into a heart. And the whole theme and decor was filled with hearts of gold. This made us think about the police officers’ hearts of gold, and our sponsors and donors’ hearts too. The theme should be carried out from the beginning to the end of the event to create consistency.
image from sdpolicefoudation.com
Always have a hook to make the occasion memorable. A golf tournament can invite known players to participate, so people attending are really getting a unique experience by taking part of the event. If we don’t have the budget we don’t always need to include a celebrity, we can share a story of accomplishment by a member of the community that benefited from our fundraiser. Listening to their stories will make people relate with our cause. Make-A-Wish foundation has kids share their experiences, so people can see how their donations make a difference in their lives.
image from sandiego.wish.org
We should make sponsorship packages. Using names related to our event, we can create different tiers of sponsorship packages always keeping in mind the tangible and intangible assets the sponsors are looking for in return. Friends of Balboa Park has an Annual Awards Luncheon and their sponsorship packages names include the Maestro, Pizzicato and Allegro. Find fun names that relate to your event to make it more appealing.
image from animalcenter.org
There should be connection between the sponsor and our non-profit. A pet food company sponsoring an animal center makes sense, but if we are hosting a Luncheon to help the homeless then pet food doesn’t really make a good impression, a supermarket would be a better fit.
The last and most important step is evaluation. We should get feedback from our sponsors, attendees and donors. We should evaluate and identify areas of improvement, so our event gets better each year. if we didn’t reach our goal we can work on strategies to make it happen and change those that didn’t work. Remember, outputs and outcomes are the most valuable measures.
When planning an event for kids or teens we need to do research about our target audience just like we do with every other event. Our theme should be something appealing. It is no secret that they spend a lot of time on their phones either playing videogames or following “influencers” on social media. We need to use this information to reach our audience, create expectation, and even sell our tickets.
“An event shouldn’t be just an experiential thing, it should be an emotional thing.”
― Amit Kalantri
Let’s say we are planning a Halloween themed event. We should begin with a campaign on Snapchat, a very common communication app among teenagers. We shouldn’t try to make your website or ads serve both pre-teens and their parents. Kids this age want to sense that they are discovering something new and don’t want to feel like their parents are deciding for them.
Influencers like James Charles or Shane Dawson can create a thread with anyone planning on attending the event. We can have them send a code to those who purchase an entry ticket, so they can unlock pictures or video messages from these idols. This will help create expectation and promotion at the same time.
In the actual event we could include popular video game characters cosplay like Fortnite, so the kids can take pictures with them that can be posted on their Instagram feed with a hashtag so friends not attending can also see the event. Just like Comic-Con San Diego appeals to guests of all ages, our event will be successful because everyone wants to see their favorite characters come to live.
The easiest part is finding a venue. Any outdoor space will serve this purpose, so we can have a DJ with loud music and laser lighting to end the night on the dance floor.
Becca's point of view 
