As the economic downturn continues, we all think how to attract customers and sustain profits. That is not an easy task especially for festival and community event organizers, for whom sponsor search was not an easy task even in the better times. Now, more than ever understanding what is happening with large corporation’s marketing budgets becomes crucial. Marketers and agencies come to a conclusion that the extra budget for event sponsorship or community involvement has to be decreased or eliminated. The down economy puts a lot of pressure on promotion planning and ultimately can impact your festival budget as well.
What should you do to help your festival or event? If you are a festival organizer, your best bet is to make a list of all the sponsors you currently have and sponsors that approached you in the past or perhaps inquired about sponsorship deal, but decided not to participate. Gather all your contacts and do not forget that sometimes corporations/ firms work through their partner agencies. If you happen to have those contacts – make sure to use them as well. Prepare a Sponsorship Package and a cover letter telling your potential sponsor about the benefits of participating in your event: Why is it special? Why is it beneficial, especially during the crisis, to get access to your festival audience? Describe demographics of your participants. What kind of people come to the event: families, retirees, or young crowd? Don’t try to generalize your audience, be more specific in describing who they are. Outline all the benefits and try to create a comparative edge for your festival/ event. Can you offer any ad value? If you are organizing an ethnic event, maybe you can provide a team of people that can represent a sponsor and speak the foreign language your audience speaks? Think about how your sponsorship offer could be different and unique. You can also mail the sponsorship package along with pictures of your past activity to the contacts form your list. If companies’ founds are tightening, that means the struggle for sponsorship dollars is even bigger.
As the economic downturn continues, we all think how to attract customers and sustain profits. That is not an easy task especially for festival and community event organizers, for whom sponsor search was not an easy task even in the better times. Now, more than ever understanding what is happening with large corporation’s marketing budgets becomes crucial. Marketers and agencies come to a conclusion that the extra budget for event sponsorship or community involvement has to be decreased or eliminated. The down economy puts a lot of pressure on promotion planning and ultimately can impact your festival budget as well.
