Sponsoring a Trade Show: 4 Keys to Select the Best Alternative

Your main goal in the exhibition is to obtain potential prospects, and convert them into customers. But being a sponsor gives you the opportunity to show attendees who your brand and business really are, and what you can do for them.

As you read in our previous blog, sponsoring trade shows offers many opportunities to increase the visibility of your company before, during and after the event.

Here are four key actions to select sponsorships for the trade show, and make them work profitably. In other words, obtain a Return on Investment (ROI).

1. Start with your business goals.

What are you trying to achieve as a result of participating in the expo?

Probably:

• Increase your sales.

• Get face-to-face contact with key buyers (leads).

• Meet potential buyers.

• Show or launch a new product / service, or an innovation.

• Position your company, brand, or product as a leader, or as differentiator in the Industry.

• Stand out from the competition.

• Strengthen business relationships.

• Generate strategic alliances.

2. Select sponsorship opportunities that support these goals.

Checking and evaluating the innumerable sponsorship options offered by the Organizing Committee, and making the best selection, has never been easy.

The sponsorship opportunities can seem endless:

• To have your company’s logo branded on signage (highly visible places inside and around the event).

• The key note speaker.

• A specific area of ​​the expo.

• Printed promotional stuffs of the event.

• Collateral events, such as entertainment and/or food & beverages (breakfasts, coffee breaks, brunchs, VIP dinners, cocktails), or Meet & Greets.

• Transportation.

• Charging stations for mobile devices.

• WiFi access.

To make the best selection, take a look of your commercial objectives, mentioned in point number 1.

If the promise of your brand or company is service, your focus as a sponsor should be “the company that offers programs that provide a value-added service to the audience”. It would be a natural way to make sponsorship visibly support your goal.

If your goal is to increase product and company awareness, choose sponsorships where visitors are more likely to visit your booth.

3. Execute the sponsorship (or sponsorships) effectively.

Sponsorships are not activated, and remain on «autopilot».

Sending only your logo, and expecting favorable results, is not viable. Being a sponsor is part of your marketing strategy, and it has to be a prominent factor in your execution plans.

For example, if you have selected a sponsorship that displays your company’s brand on all printed materials and signage… Why not to include additional messages, such as the brand promise, or the Unique Sales Proposition (USP)?

 Consider adding a “Call to Action” (CAT), with a question, to turn on prospects’ interest in finding out the answer. Sponsoring the opening reception (inauguration) or other event, make sure that your staff is ready to receive and greet the attendees with branded clothing of your brand. Also, to place banners and signs in high visibility areas of the room.

As you can see, selecting sponsorship is just the beginning. You also need a solid execution plan to optimize results.

4. Add methods to measure the reach of the sponsorship, and the general impact.

The results you get will be directly related to the sponsorships you select. Therefore, it is essential to work with the Organizing Committee of the event, to accurately assess its scope: The number of people who will see, receive, attend or use the item, and/or sponsored event.

This should be the starting point for your metrics that will help you calculate your cost per attendee achieved.

To increase your cost/value (ROI) metrics, consider conducting a survey of event attendees to measure knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors:

• On the level of awareness of the sponsored media.

• The level of knowledge of the sponsoring company.

• Change of mind of the sponsoring company.

• The change in the probability of purchase.

• Purchase intentions.

• Comments on the perception of the brand.

This can provide you with relevant data to show that sponsoring a trade show is delivering real economic value for your company.

At Expopublicitas we have the best opportunities to be a sponsor of The Best, and Largest Advertising and Marketing Trade Show in Mexico and Latin America. Learn more about our sponsorships by clicking here: https://staging.expopublicitas.com/sponsors/?lang=en