Securing Sponsorship

I was recently asked for some advice on finding a sponsor and found myself getting quite carried away with a detailed response which i thought i would share.

When looking for sponsors I would suggest a two-pronged approach. As with any form of public relations or marketing activity, following up and persistence is critical to success. Make an initial contact by phone and ask who the best person to speak to about sponsorship. Try and gauge their level of interest briefly and then offer to send them a sponsorship pack out. Follow up with a call after the pack is received and ask if you can come and see them to explain more. Therefore the pack needs to contain the key details but leave a few gaps/questions which means the target will need to see you to find out more.

I would certainly recommend spending some money on getting your sponsorship brochures nicely presented and bound – the extent to which you spend on this will depend on who you are targeting and how much money you want. If for example you are approaching a blue chip company and are looking for several thousand pounds then the package must be smartly presented. Conversely if you are a small charity asking for a few pounds from local organisations then you may give the wrong impression if you use a plush brochure for your appeal as it looks like you are already rich! The sponsorship package must outline the key benefits to the organisation that this sponsorship association will bring. So if you are a charity you might outline your work, the opportunities for sponsor engagement (eg free tickets to an event), opportunities for sponsors to promote themselves (eg weblinks, adverts in programmes/magazines etc), the profile of existing customers and how this matches to the sponsors’ target audience and so on.

Without knowing the context of the sponsorship need its difficult to suggest anything else but if its an event that you seek sponsors for then you could ask them to attend a previous event (FOC) to see what its like before they commit to funding. Similarly if you are a sportsperson for example then invite potential sponsors to come to an open day at your training centre or watch you compete.

Good luck in your search!

If you would like further support in securing sponsorship then contact kate(at)activemd.co.uk or call 01603 716700