Five steps to conference sponsorship success

The Waterfront Conference Company team discuss the marketing opportunities event sponsorship can offer and how to make the most of your involvement.

Conferences are a largely underestimated marketing vehicle, helping bring together buyers and sellers from across the marketplace. When used effectively conferences help companies to:

• Demonstrate expertise and thought leadership to a targeted audience
• Develop relationships with current and future customers
• Keep your brand front of mind in a competitive marketplace
• Develop an attitude shift about your products or services

Five key things to consider when sponsoring an event:

1) Always make sure that your sponsorship message communicates your business’s successes and include case study led content. Avoid trying to push a particular product or message as this may not relate to the challenges of the wider audience;

2) How can you reinforce credibility with current customers, as well as reach out to new audiences? Showcase your versatility as an organisation and focus on the diverse skills of your team;

3) Ensure that you have representation from the wider team including technical, marketing and C-level. Often companies find conferences far more successful when they have their full range of expertise present;

4) Make sure that your company is the one that delegates remember. Give a thought-provoking presentation, engage in the conversation during Q&A sessions and have the most memorable delegate gift;

5) From the outset, decide what you want from sponsoring an event and use metrics to evaluate the sponsorship success. Ask yourself: how many leads do you need to deem the event a success? Who on the delegate list do you want to speak to?

Whatever you want to achieve from sponsoring a conference, it is vital that you identify it from the outset and work collaboratively to drive forward your company’s message as you can guarantee other delegates will be pushing to do the same.

Part of the Freshwater Group, Waterfront Conference Company is one of the UK’s leading providers of conferences and training events for the ports, planning, rail and energy sectors. To find out what events are currently in the pipeline look at the Waterfront website. And if you’re interested in getting involved, email conference@thewaterfront.co.uk.