Sponsorships are the most efficient and beneficial way to gain a potential return on investment at any event format, be it Physical, Virtual, or Hybrid. A valuable sponsorship not only elevates the brand value of both parties but also increases the attendee’s engagement in your Hybrid Event. However, it’s significant to have in-depth knowledge about what your potential sponsors are looking forward to and what drives them to be a part of your Hybrid Event. Structuring a solid and efficient sponsorship requires a clear understanding of how sponsorship engagement works and what are the most effective tools to put on a successful event.

Let’s look at some of the best ways to improve sponsorship engagement at your Hybrid Event.

Ideas to Increase Sponsorship Engagement in a Hybrid Event:

1) Understand the Sponsors’ Needs

Potential sponsors engage with your event only when they see a prospective return on investment. Therefore, to increase sponsorship engagement at your event you need to give them a little peace of mind by sharing the buying power of your event attendees. By doing this, you can set the sponsorship contract on a fast track.

After grabbing the attention of some sponsors, you can move forward by making proposals. Instead of offering the same packages, offer these companies the packages that they are expecting. Your aim should be to understand what they want without compromising your goal.

2) Align with their Goals

It’s important to think from the perspective of a sponsor to create better engagement opportunities. If you’re not sure what the companies you want to take on board for the Hybrid Event want, take time and sit them down to discuss this. Ask them about their current brand goals. Sponsorships are mostly related to better attendee engagement and brand awareness but it’s not necessary that each company will have the same aim as a sponsor. To engage with the most efficient and valuable sponsors, make sure you create a common ground where both the parties can fulfill their goals through the Hybrid Event.

3) Use the Right Speech and Timing

To attract and engage the sponsors, you should use the right speech at the right timing. With different sponsors, you will have to approach things in different ways. What one sponsor finds attractive might not be of use to the other. Therefore, make sure that you talk about the advantages of your Hybrid Event that will certainly be useful for your sponsors. Try to tell them that your event is the right one to be sponsored. Also, remember to research all about your sponsor’s target audience and market behavior as this can be a triggering point to engage them.

4) Treat Sponsors Like Your Hybrid Event Partners

Teamwork is an essential element when you expect somebody to get on board with you in your Hybrid Event. You and your sponsors need to stand and execute the event together to ensure the success of your event. To engage efficient sponsors with your event, you have to make sure that they are a part of your event and are not merely funding it.

5) Amplify Opportunities for Your Sponsors

A great way to increase sponsorship engagement is by expanding their promotional opportunities. It will not only entice your sponsors but also improve engagement opportunities at your Hybrid Event. One idea is to get your attendees involved in demonstration scheduling where they can sign up and attend demonstrations hosted by your sponsors. For example, you can include promotion of their demonstration activity in your Hybrid Event marketing strategy.

6) Content Contribution

Content contribution is another unique idea through which your sponsors can promote themselves as the thought leaders in their domain of expertise. You as an organizer can include their representatives as presenters or moderators and have them broadcast the sponsors’ informational content. Your sponsors would definitely like this idea as better reach is what they expect in any case, and content contribution will allow them to do so. For example, you can organize a panel discussion session that includes both in-person and virtual panelists. It will create a truly immersive and dynamic experience at your Hybrid Event.

7) Attendee Access

Getting an opportunity to address the audience directly, is one of the key reasons behind sponsoring an event. Most in-person events include multiple networking opportunities in different ways. However, as you shift to virtual platforms, you need to create more simulative efforts to provide similar possibilities.

Attendee Access can be one such networking opportunity at your Hybrid Event. You can provide your attendees’ contact information with your sponsors or make use of the tools provided by the virtual event platform. Hybrid event platform have come up with innovative ways to make this possible through tools like hybrid trade show booths, personal or group chats, meeting schedulers, etc. Engaging your attendees with your sponsors can be a great way to host a successful Hybrid Event as this stimulates interaction and impressions.

8) Discussion Forums

You can offer your sponsors to be a part of your Hybrid Event’s discussion forums to provide them a better opportunity to promote. Allowing your sponsors to participate in live and virtual discussion forums is a popular strategy for enhancing the experience of a Hybrid Event. You can also offer them to organize their own discussion forum to render them another opportunity to engage and interact with the audience.

9) Sponsorship Metrics

Proving the impact is another important aspect of sponsorship engagement. Just like you would track and record data of your Hybrid Event to analyze the success of your strategies, sponsorship metrics can similarly be used as a tool to analyze the sponsorship activities’ impact at your event. This idea will help you gain your sponsor’s loyalty and faith for future prospects. You can provide your sponsors with data like the number of attendees, brand awareness, social media reach, brand awareness, survey results, and direct audience engagement.

Need a helping hand to ensure a successful Hybrid Event with the best and the latest tools? Connect with Dreamcast and book a demo now!