By John M. Kenny

Sponsors are a valuable resource for any student group; they allow you to do more with less. Typically, a sponsoring company will provide your group with products for free or at a discounted rate in exchange for publicity of some form. It’s mutually beneficial – the sponsors gain a valuable opportunity to market to students, and you enjoy low cost goods or services. Sponsors became a staple in the nearly 100 events I helped organize as a student, and I’m going to let you in on how easy it is to find them.

 

FIrst Steps…

When choosing sponsors, it’s always wise to consider who will best compliment your event. Will food, t-shirts, or a raffle for a free bluetooth speaker work the best? Timing is especially important here: if it’s after dinner you might want something sweet or a raffle, if it’s during lunch, food is a good bet.

 

One example is when the event I was hosting didn’t present best on paper, but I knew students would love it once they got there. The event was huge. We had the whole building reserved with an entire room just for the buffet, which featured brazilian BBQ, a 500 piece platter of fresh sushi, and a J.P. Licks ice cream sundae bar. And that’s just the food…the other rooms included games and challenges with tons of raffle prizes and opportunities to play against top faculty members including the president of our university. Best of all, it was totally free.

 

 

Despite the overwhelming number of attractions that had been brought together, there was still difficulty getting students to show up because it was a first-of-its-kind event. The difficulty with any novel event is that students don’t know what to expect, and as a result fewer students are willing to go out of their ways to attend.

 

To counter this, we strategically chose sponsors who had strong brands in the eyes of our fellow students, and stamped their logos on our posters. Even advertising free food can fall flat if people don’t know what to expect. For all they know, the “fresh baked cookies” you’re advertising could be reheated cookies from the dining hall. Leveraging a well known brand can get students excited for your event and will get the buzz started on campus. It’s important you choose wisely.

Choosing your model.

How many sponsors do I want? and Who do I want as sponsors? are the two biggest questions you need to answer before reaching out. With those questions answered, you should consider what sponsorship model you want to use.

 

For large events, you will likely benefit most from a tiered model. There are typically three or four tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum (optional). The Bronze tier is the lowest and thus a Bronze sponsor provides the least to you in exchange for the lowest level of publicity you offer. The Silver sponsor provides incrementally more than the Bronze one, and receives all the publicity that a bronze sponsor receives plus a bit more. This trend continues up to the Platinum sponsor. It is also typical to leave the lower tiers open to multiple sponsors while reserving the top sponsorship level for only one company. For instance, my Kickoff event featured 12 Bronze sponsors, three Silver sponsors, two Gold sponsors, and one Platinum sponsor.

 

In the figure below, you can see that the gap between the Bronze, Silver, and Gold sponsorships are smaller than that of Platinum and Gold. By offering exclusive advertising benefits to Platinum sponsor, you are able to ask for much more in return.

 

Approach the platinum sponsor FIRST

Once you get the Platinum, the rest will come with ease. Make sure to tell potential sponsors about who you’ve already got on board, this will help them make the same decision and will provide some extra legitimacy.

 

Approach the Platinum EARLY

Since the Platinum tier of sponsorship requires the most from both parties, it usually takes a longer time to finalize the agreement. Also, once the agreement is finalized you must make sure you have ample time to order/prepare all advertising materials for each sponsorship tier (i.e. banner with logo, posters, etc).

 

Here’s an example of the sponsorship model I used for the huge event I told you about:

 

Local Sponsorship Tiers Bronze Sponsorship: Requirement: $25.00 or more gift card Benefits: Display menus at Raffle Event as well Business name on Raffle Event poster. Silver Sponsorship: Requirement: Food contributions serving 20 – 30 guests Benefits: Display menus/programs at Engineering Week events Gold Sponsorship: Requirement: Food contributions serving 35 – 50 guests Benefits: Business name will be displayed on event poster and Facebook event page + Silver sponsorship benefits Platinum Sponsorship: Requirement: Food contributions serving 70+ guests Benefits: Business name and logo will be displayed on event poster and Facebook event page + Business banner above serving table + Business representative to advertise restaurant + Gold sponsorship benefits

An example from the Engineering Week Kickoff event which featured 18 sponsors.

 

For a small event, which is 50 people or less, you can look for one to three sponsors. And here you won’t need teirs; you can deal with each sponsor individually.

 

You will not need as much from the sponsor and will, likely, not need to provide as much either. In fact, often times I have received food, gift cards, and even services completely free from sponsors.

 

 

 

One time I stopped by Starbucks just two days before an event and the manager offered to provide coffee for the entire event, then on top of that she offered to send two of her employees, fully suited with Starbucks gear, to serve coffee at our event. What I learned from that experience was never to make the first offer, especially if you aren’t expecting much. In this case the manager was ecstatic to have an opportunity to advertise directly to college students and offered more than I would have asked for for my small event.

 

Ask and you shall receive.

Sometimes it may feel uncomfortable or awkward asking companies for free goods, but don’t let this deter you. The worst they can say is no.

 

Another big mistake is asking for less than you need. In fact, I recommend airing on the safe side and asking for a little extra. Nothing is worse that running out, and you’ll never have trouble getting rid of free stuff. Or, you can even save it for next time!

 

Keep in mind: almost all large companies have set aside a budget just for sponsoring local events. I’ve worked with J.P. Licks, Chipotle, Starbucks, and many other corporations, and what I’ve found is that they all put aside plenty of cash for the sole purpose of providing sponsorships. A J.P. Licks manager once told me that their stores sets aside $3,000 worth of ice cream to giveaway each month.

 

BE SPECIFIC!

When reaching out to sponsors for products or services, ask for more than you’d like, because in most situations they will try to haggle you down. Also, make sure your request is specific. For example, if you need food for a party and you’re approaching a burrito company, be clear about what you would like. Don’t request “about 75 burritos”, ask for an exact quantity. Come prepared with a printed list of your request. When I negotiated a discount from a local taqueria last year, the final order included details such as, salsa and sour cream on 15 burritos, all burritos cut in half and packaged separately, provide 100 plates with napkins, etc.

 

Being specific helps you avoid the employee “miscommunications” that result in you getting 150 burrito halves instead of 150 burritos. Managers will respect you more for being prepared and you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle. I also recommend calling the day before to confirm the details a second time. If you can, send a follow up email with all of the details, just so everyone has it in writing.

 

A Few Tips…

Save Contact Info

After contacting any company for sponsorship, make sure to note the name and contact information of the manager or representative you work with. This will make it much easier to reach out to them later for future events. The best way to keep track of all this information as you start to reach out and talk to dozens of different potential sponsors is to keep all of their information in a shared spreadsheet like Google Sheets. This way you can share the info with your team and eventually have others reach out to these sponsors.

 

Logistics.

If you’re planning on hosting many events, then you should try to work with sponsors regularly (it saves money and helps their business too). Over time you’ll gather contact info from many different sponsors. When you log this information, even include some specifics: what you’ve offered them in the past, what you’ve received, how long it took, type of event they like, etc..

 

In person – Online – Phone – Email

There are various ways to contact a company about sponsorships. Many larger companies and franchises have formal request processes online that are quick and easy to fill out. But beware, if you don’t hear back from them within a week or two, follow up with a friendly email or phone call.

 

When possible, the best way to contact a sponsor is to visit their location in person. If it’s far from you, make sure to call ahead and check that the person who deals with sponsorships is in.

 

Next, is one tip that might be the biggest difference maker of all.

DRESS UP!

No matter how big or small the sponsorship request, dress in business casual attire. This extra effort goes a long way.

 

I once was leaving a meeting on a Sunday night and headed out to get ice cream, still dressed in my business clothes from the meeting. After ordering I asked the manager about possibly partnering with my organization for an upcoming event, and he agreed. Later that year, I ran into him outside of his store and he told me that the only reason he had agreed to sponsoring our event was because I was wearing a suit!

 

If you can’t make an in-person visit, the next best option is phone or email. I personally prefer phone over email because it tends to have a faster turnaround time, and makes it a little harder for them to say no. But, email has the advantage that you can write a generic draft message, tweak it a bit, and send it out to a few sponsors at once.

Speak to the Person in Charge

Don’t waste time talking to the cashier or the cook! Before getting into serious details about the sponsorship opportunity, make sure you’re speaking to the right person (usually a manager, owner or marketing representative).

 

Follow up

Once you’ve finalized the sponsorship details and you’re ready to host your event, make sure to follow up before and after the event. I’ve almost had events ruined because our sponsors forgot that they had promised to provide food for an event. So, I created a rule of thumb: always contact your sponsors 24 to 48 hours in advance and confirm that all the details are correct.

 

Following up after is just as important. If you want to sustain a good relationship with your sponsors and continue to work with them for years to come, it’s important that you let them know you value their help. Follow up with an email or a letter with anecdotes and pictures, and let them know what you were able to accomplish with their help.

 

Strategic Choices

Not all companies can afford to sponsor events. But here are some hints for finding companies are likely targets:

 

New Businesses – These businesses are trying to make a name for themselves and only have a short period of time to establish their brand. Naturally they need as much advertising as possible, which makes sponsorships a highly valuable prospect for spreading their name.

 

Large Companies – Large companies usually have set aside a budget for the sole purpose of sponsorships, many of them will automatically approve your sponsorship, all you need to do is fill out the proper request forms!

 

Next time you host an event, think of your favorite local company and see how you can integrate them as a sponsor. If you’ve got any questions or are organizing an event of your own, I’d love to know about it. You can reach me at John.M.Kenny@outlook.com , and check out other tips at NationalEngineeringMentors.org!

About the author: I recently graduated from Tufts University with a mechanical engineering degree, leaving behind a program which enrolled over 250 student members in just over two years. Michael, my twin brother, and I co-founded Tufts Engineering Mentors in our Junior year. Since then, I have lead and helped organize close to 100 events, ranging from small dinners to a week-long engineering celebration during Engineering Week. Now Michael and I run The National Engineering Mentors Organization, dedicated to bringing mentorship to engineering students across the country and across the world.

 

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Email:  General Information   |   Dr. Daniel de Roulet   |   Prof. David C. Pecoraro

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Daniel & David

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Sponsorship: A Win-Win Opportunity