Sponsorship sales perspective
Here are some opinions offered by sponsorship sales people on a LinkedIn discussion:
"The ultimate goal in sponsoring an event," according to one discussant, "is to gain maximum exposure for your product, gain goodwill for your product, and sell enough of your product to make the sponsorship worth the investment."
"Exposure isn't a great thing anymore," he continued.
"I can get exposure at a 1,000 person event and spend a lot of money doing it but if those people aren't going to need or want my services, then I'm not spending the money. I'd rather take that money and spend it a couple of places where I may only have 300 or 400 in attendance, but each one of them will need one of the services I can offer."
"Signage is great and provides the recognition and goodwill with the guests," another opined.
"But that won't drive the sales nor should you expect it to. You need to understand what the sponsor is about, how it can connect to your event, and then activate a program."
Sponsorship has to help the company meet its objectives. Figure out how your event can help it do that.