How to Attract Key Sponsors and Exhibitors for Your Event

If you plan to host an event, finding the right sponsors and exhibitors can determine the success of your event as it not only adds value, but creates a memorable, educational and worth-while experience for attendees. It is as equally beneficial for attendees as it is for sponsors and exhibitors because the diversity of exhibitors is often seen as a direct reflection of the event’s quality and relevance in the industry. As exhibitors sign up, so will their competitors, and the attendance of key sponsors create an attractive proposition for those exhibiting. Therefore, creating a trustable ecosystem where businesses return year after year.

Effective communication and value proposition

Whether you are looking to engage with your attendees, exhibitors or sponsors, developing a strong event value proposition is key to the success of your event, and most importantly, communicating it as it will help them to choose your event over competitors.

1. The first step is understanding the target audience for sponsors and exhibitors

This is key to your event marketing strategy. Your target audience could be anyone from retail buyers, visitors, guests, individuals or businesses that are looking to start their company within a specific industry, expand or acquire partners. Understanding your target audience and what they are looking for is important to identifying the right sponsors and exhibitors. When conducting market research, you can understand your target audience’s interests, by analysing their brands, company values or products that they sell. With this information, you can identify exhibitors by studying their websites or searching on social media via hashtags or related fields. You can then start to reach out to exhibitors:

2. Provide a compelling pitch for exhibitors

Email campaigns are a great way to send information to your potential exhibitors with information about the upcoming event and why it is beneficial for them to exhibit. Reasons may include:

• an opportunity to meet and connect with new customers, as well as close deals with them
• nurture relationship with existing customers
• learn about your competition by understanding their strategy as reasons for their success or any new developments in the industry
• find potential business partners
• establish your position within the market

It’s important that your emails are succinct and offer valuable information that would appeal to your potential exhibitors. You may already have people or businesses within your network that might be interested in exhibiting at your show, which may encourage other exhibitors to do the same with the right awareness in place. You can do this by promoting your event via your own website with detailed information about the show and testimonials from past exhibitors, with a simple customer journey to encourage sign ups. You can also tap into other marketing strategies such as using social media to generate awareness and share event updates, success stories, and targeted advertisements in related industries.

3. Create an attractive sponsorship package that is tailored around your event goals

Not every event needs a sponsorship to be successful, however having sponsors can help you to:

• Get the media coverage you need for your event
• Increase brand awareness
• Expand your customer base or even tap into new ones. If you choose to go after influencers, you are able to tap into their network, which offers new opportunities in an existing or new market. 
• Get financial support. Often, catering companies and hotel brands offer their services to events as a means to promote their own company. This is a great way to secure funding for key elements of your event whilst helping other businesses to promote themselves. services to events that either can’t afford it or haven’t been able to an alternative that works for them.

It’s important to be specific about your event goals when attracting sponsors. You can do this by creating an attractive sponsorship package that clearly communicates the return on investment. We’ve summarised the two main types of sponsorship below:

• Tiered sponsorship. This is where the cost of your tiers increases as well as the rewards, i.e. a gold, silver, or bronze package. 
• A la carte sponsorship. This is where a sponsor can select something specific in your event to sponsor. Examples include, sponsoring a guest speaker, catering, transport or hotels.

Your package should include the following:

• Who you are and the event you’re holding
• Your main goals of the event 
• The size and target audience of the event
• Opportunities for the sponsors, such as exclusive networking areas, VIP receptions or chill out zones, or opportunities to spend time with high-profile people in the industry
• Sponsorship tiers or a la carte options
• Any success stories of delivering similar events

Networking and relationship-building strategies

Ultimately, your event is an opportunity for people and businesses to network and build relationships in the industry. Here are our top 4 strategies to promote networking at your event:

1. Ensure you have the right space: Events are busy, so it’s important that you have break out areas for networking.
2. Ensure there are ways for people to keep in touch or share details via networking apps or traditional paper methods
3. Organise networking events: This is a great way of re-engaging with your audience by ensuring conversations continue during or after the event 
4. Organise seminars and roundtable conversations: Having guest speakers discuss industry trends and best practice as well as Q&A sessions with audiences is a way of encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing.

It’s widely known that the success of an event lies in its exhibitors, and having the right sponsors can contribute to that. Targeting the right exhibitors and sponsors can help to ensure an event’s relevance in the industry. 

Whitespace XPO prides itself on a client-first approach to creating exhibition experiences that resonate with audiences. We help event organisers create stronger relationships with exhibitors and sponsors by delivering simple solutions that prioritise the needs and visions of brands, event organisers, and venues to create unique, engaging environments.