You’ve seen it: an overwhelming event sponsorship document that resembles a sushi order form. A long list of options and prices, no clear hierarchy, shared with all potential partners. Oh boy, where to begin? Too many undifferentiated choices can immobilize a buyer. When people are given a moderate number of options versus a large number of options, they are likely to make a choice and are more confident in their decisions and ultimately, happier with what they choose. Your sponsors are more likely to stick around–and more likely to be creatively upsold–when you put in the time to make a specific package recommendation. Give them a small number of choices, all centered around general themes. Lasting sponsor relationships depend on customization and a memorable experience. Package themes resonate with brands, make it easier for sponsors to see the value, and inspire creativity in your event team.

The Audience Interaction Package

  One of the greatest ways to get event-goers to interface with sponsors? Give them a reason to explore the venue. Your mobile event app should support gamification, and a scavenger hunt game is one of the simplest (and most effective) ways to guarantee booth traffic. Post QR codes throughout the venue and challenge your guests to scan them all in exchange for a prize. The Audience Interaction Package assures this sponsor that her booth will be a target for QR code hunters. Here’s an idea: create a themed area that gives your sponsors more opportunity to interface directly with guests. They can add in a fun game attraction like bocce ball and run a real-time leaderboard of top performers. This will generate social buzz and attendees will repeatedly return to the area to check the leaderboard. Want to learn more about how these QR code scavenger hunt games work? Check out Guidebook’s gamification option.

The "Way to the Heart is Through the Belly" Package

Free food triggers a response in event-goers that can only be described as “extremely positive.” Challenge the convention of the sponsored keynote luncheon by offering a sponsor package of memorable treats. This package gives your sponsor exclusive rights to the most fun and well-coordinated snacks and drinks at the event. Trays of one-handed foods in the ping-pong will help your attendees unwind and recharge. (You could offer logo-emblazoned paddles, too!) Have an ice cream promotion and center your branding around this fun theme. Your mobile app could include an ice cream cone icon that prompts guests to tweet for ice cream using the hashtag for your event along with the sponsor’s name. Finally, and this goes without saying: the one with the free beer usually has the most friends. Beer sponsorships–whether it’s a “biergarten” with multiple locations around the exhibit hall or a post-session social–are effective and maintain a high perceived value to your attendees. Make sure to include push notifications as part of this package. Prompt your attendees to visit booths with a simple reminder!

The Bling Package

This sponsor package is all about branding. It’s a good candidate for a sponsor with a recognizable logo and color scheme and a well-known slogan. An old standard, the badge lanyard, is valuable because every attendee and sponsor must wear one (often while promoting their own competing offering). What makes the Bling Package pop, however, is the combined branding power of multiple touch points. A fun, desirable wearable item like crazy Kanye shutter shades are sure to feature in photos taken at the branded photo booth. Or, increase brand awareness by branding these popular giveaway items:

• Smart wallets for mobile devices
• Webcam covers
• Custom socks

And finally, there’s no better place to place a clever slogan than right into the air, with a sponsored wifi title. Just make sure the connection is stable to provide a positive brand association.

The Technophile Package

Perfect for a sponsor with a tech edge, this package will wow attendees by putting the brand at their fingertips. Mobile banner ads are dynamic, measurable, and easily editable for last-minute strategy tweaks. Your attendees are focused on their phones throughout the experience–texting, checking email and using social media. They’re navigating the event app to manage to-do lists, connect with other attendees, and check the map. Putting a set of sponsor banners right into the app–clickable to any web destination–gives your sponsors a direct digital way to interact with the event audience. You can also provide metrics to your sponsors so they know how many times their banners were presented and how often they were clicked on! Interactive walls are big draws at events, because they’re visually eye-catching and they encourage guests to be creative. Your sponsor can go simple by projecting social media and a photo feed onto a screen, or they can offer a virtual graffiti wall, where guests can spray infrared “paint”, freestyle or stenciled, and photograph the result with their smartphones. When guests’ mobile batteries are dying from all this digital fun, your Technophile sponsor can host a charging valet, where attendees can leave their phones to charge–watched over by a guard, of course. To build lasting relationships with your sponsors, try something new at every event! What have you done to get (and keep) the best event sponsors?