!unding Your Executive or
! di Y E ti
C-Level Events
Creating S
C ti Sponsorship
hi
Packages for High-Level Attendees
Karen Daniele
Vice President and General Manager
Nth Degree Events
John T t k
J h Tatusko
Account Executive, Space & Sponsorship Strategist
Nth Degree Events

Essential L
E ti l Learning C
i Components
t
1. Why are executive events important?
2. Setting goals
3. What are the real costs of having sponsorships at y
gp p your
event?
4. =sing executive personas to design sponsorship and event
formats
5. Identifying opportunities
6. Creating sponsorships
7. Pricing
8. Educating sponsors on working with your audience
9. Measurement

Importance toF
to
6otential 9:onsors
Event 6ro7u8ers
>Th > S ll more stuff
To have an executive event
ti t Sell t ff
> Evolution of your event > Develop relationships at the
executive level
> Access to people you may
> Look smart
not normally have access to
y
> Focus Group level feedback > Lower cost of entry
> Sell more stuff
> Look smart
> Add RC l FactorS
Adds RCool F S
> Make people feel special
> Vanity
> To have sponsorships
> Increase sponsor revenue
> Offset cost
> Add credibility
> Coat tail effect

What d
Wh t do sponsors look forH
l kf H
>Audience – are the attendees your buyers or
from organizations that buy from you?
>Access – will you b able to i
>A ill be bl interact with
ih
them? Is there value?
>Agenda – does it make sense? Is there time for
Agenda
interaction?

Set
S t goals and obJectives
l d bJ ti
>Why do you have an executive event?
>What are you trying to accomplish with the
event?
?
>Whose problem are you solving?

Set
S t goals and obJectives
l d bJ ti
>What are you trying to accomplish by selling
sponsorships?
> Fully lf funded
F ll self f d d
> Cover hard costs
> Make up some of the costs
> Satisfy a squeaky wheel – internal constituent

What is the real cost of selling
sponsorshipsH
>What do you have to lose?
> Exclusivity
> C fli t
Conflict
> Control

Ksing personas
Ki
>Create your executive >Create your sponsor
attendee persona persona
>Match their needs

Identify appropriate
opportunities
>What are you willing to give up?
>What is your organization comfortable with?
>Where is the real value to your sponsors?
>Where are the conflicts?

Identify appropriate
opportunities
>What works
> Speaking
> P L lI t
Peer Level Interaction
ti
>Theoretically, theyZre the experts, they
want to learn from someone whoZs been
there, done that, has the same
perspective, someone they can relate to
> Forums Debates, Discussion Groups Charlie Rose
Forums, Debates Groups,
Style Interviews

Identify appropriate
opportunities
>What works
> Engagement
>Get h i
>G their opinions, l them speak where
ii let h kh
they can definitely add value, but donZt
let them dominate
> Networking
>This is what itZs all about
>C t t
Content
>Online, Onsite & After
> Elite swag
g

Identify appropriate
opportunities
>Common Mistake
>Giving them enough rope to hang
themselves
h l
>Keep it simple – if itZs too much
work theyZre going to blow it
they re

Identify appropriate
opportunities
>What are/arenZt your competitors doing?
> Providing sponsorships
> Ri l
Rituals
> Special outings
> VIP treatment
> Dinners
> Parties
> After hours
> Keynotes
> Clubs/organizations/memberships

Create sponsorship
opportunities
>Standardized
> Highly evolved partner management organizations
may require more strict guidelines in order to
maintain objectivity, fairness

Create sponsorship
opportunities
>Standardized
> Highly evolved partner management organizations
may require more strict guidelines in order to
maintain objectivity, fairness
>Customized
> Be Opportunistic
> In this economy, the more
flexible, the better

Determine best possible
sponsors
>Stake Holders
> Internal Groups
>Sales
>Partner/Alliance Management
Organization
>Targets
> Lowest Hanging Fruit
> C t t B d – obvious solutions providers th t map
Content Based bi l ti id that
to the content
> Strategy Based – key partners, strategic alliances

Pricing
Pii
>Competitive
>Comparison
>Be Realistic
> Keep objectives in mind
> Keep current selling environment in mind
>Discounting without actually RdiscountingS

Educate sponsors on how to
market t audience best
k t to di bt
>Risk = annoying high value audience

Educate sponsors on how to
market t audience best
k t to di bt
>Risk = annoying high value audience
>Benefit = they do well, you do well; they look
smart, you l k smart
look

Educate sponsors on how to
market t audience best
k t to di bt
>Risk = annoying high value audience
>Benefit = they do well, you do well; they look
smart, you l k smart
look
>Mutually Beneficial
> They can actually add value
> Adds credibility to your own content

Educate sponsors on how to
market t audience best
k t to di bt
>Coach them
C hh
> eou can frame a lot of your own internal
rules enforcement/preferences under the
guise of coaching your sponsors for
success.
> Blame the Audience

Educate sponsors on how to
market t audience best
k t to di bt
>Coach them
C hh
> eou can frame a lot of your own internal
rules enforcement/preferences under the
guise of coaching your sponsors for
success.
> Blame the Audience
RWe do a lot of work with this group, they
really seem to appreciate the soft sellS
y pp
ReouZll do really well with them if youf.SR
RWeZve seen people have a lot of success
withf
withfS

Educate sponsors on how to
market to audience best
>What doesnZt work
> Hard sell

Educate sponsors on how to
market to audience best
>What doesnZt work
> Hard sell
> N peer level participants cheapen the
Non l l ti i th th
experience, even if theyZre internal

Educate sponsors on how to
market to audience best
>What doesnZt work
> Hard sell
> N peer level participants cheapen the
Non l l ti i th th
experience, even if theyZre internal
> Booths

Educate sponsors on how to
market to audience best
>What doesnZt work
> Hard sell
> N peer level participants cheapen the
Non l l ti i th th
experience, even if theyZre internal
> Booths
>If
Infomercials
il

Educate sponsors on how to
market to audience best
>What doesnZt work
> Hard sell
> N peer level participants cheapen the
Non l l ti i th th
experience, even if theyZre internal
> Booths
>If
Infomercials
il
> Banners, billboards and logo placements
that arenZt tied to anything

Educate sponsors on how to
market to audience best
>What doesnZt work
> Hard sell
> N peer level participants cheapen the
Non l l ti i th th
experience, even if theyZre internal
> Booths
> Infomercials
If il
> Banners, billboards and logo placements
that arenZt tied to anything
> Cheap swag

Measure
>Share it with your sponsors, if you want them to
come back
> H l th sell th
Help them ll themselves, prove ROI
l
> Show them how smart they are for participating in
your event

Measure
>Measurement is key
RCompanies that measure event ROI (overall)
are 1 i times more likely to expect an
increase in their event marketing budget than
those who do not measure.S
- Event Marketing Institute – EventView
2008, North America
2008 N h A i