I’ve been busy this past month planning my diary and researching major industry events that are relevant to my clients. One thing that has been a real positive is to see the return of major in-person events.

So many were cancelled or scaled back in 2020 and 2021 and with the worst of the pandemic hopefully behind us, people are keen to get back to in-person events. There’s no doubt in my mind that 2022 is going to be a big year for events in our industry, starting with one of the biggest of them all, HRC at ExCeL London in March.  

Sponsoring an event, from trade shows to awards nights, festivals to charitable causes, can reap rewards for a brand.

Whether you are a headline sponsor or sponsoring an individual category in an awards ceremony, event sponsorship can help boost awareness of your brand to an engaged audience. Just some of the benefits include multiple sales opportunities, the opportunity to network with key industry figures, and numerous positive PR and content opportunities. 

After two years of missed or scaled-down events, there has never been a better year to sponsor an event. Here are just a few of the benefits that event sponsorship can bring: 

Brand building & positive PR

One of the key benefits of sponsoring an event is the opportunity to increase your brand’s credibility and visibility. Sponsoring a major event can put your brand in front of thousands of potential customers and demonstrate that your brand cares about the same things they do. Event sponsorship is also a great way to drive positive PR and position your brand as an industry leader. For smaller brands, event sponsorship gives them an equal spotlight alongside industry heavyweights and a competitive edge over absentee rivals. 

Sales opportunities

Sponsoring an event can also help generate new sales opportunities with an audience that is already primed to engage with your brand. Event sponsorship can also allow a brand to re-connect with existing customers and reinforce your brand’s message and ethos. The opportunity to meet face-to-face with customers can also prove invaluable for building brand awareness and trust, allowing your brand to showcase your product or service to a primed audience. Finally, it’s a great way to gather audience insights and consumer attitudes, both the good and bad, to enable you to fine-tune your brand’s offerings. 

Enhanced industry knowledge and networking 

There is also the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with industry leaders and solidify business relationships. Many events offer sponsors exclusive networking opportunities, from VIP receptions to sponsor-led talks and seminars with industry leaders. While the event may be short-lived, relationships fostered through event sponsorship can be long-lasting and prove invaluable. Make sure you make the most of these connections with post-event-meet ups and explore ongoing brand collaborations that can benefit everyone. 

Focused content

They say content is king, and sponsoring an event gives a brand multiple content opportunities to further engage audiences and boost brand awareness. Not only can a brand capitalise on the media presence at an event, but we work with clients to develop their own focused content and PR opportunities too. 

Content can include blogs, social media posts, and targeted press releases, both pre-and post-event. Consider live-streaming on social media or conducting interviews with key industry figures during the event.

Content can also be re-packaged into informative and educational podcasts or infographics helping showcase your brand as an authoritative leader in your industry. Photographs of the event and videos are great for sharing on social media platforms too.

To reap the rewards of event sponsorship, you’ll need a fine-tuned content marketing strategy that covers the content you wish to develop and how and when you’ll share this content to ensure maximum brand impact. Something that we are regularly working with clients to deliver, of course.

While event sponsorship can offer multiple benefits, selecting the right event is important. This is where Proactive can help, by ensuring events that you are interested in sponsoring match your brand’s values and ethos.

I can then help devise an airtight PR and content marketing strategy to help you capitalise on event sponsorship and ensure a healthy return on investment.