5 Ways to Tweak Your Proposal For 2021
2020 was a year unlike any other with many twists and turns for sponsorship professionals. As we see it, 2021 will bring much of the same. As you're thinking through your sponsorship strategy for the year ahead, here are a few things to be thinking about as you revise your sponsorship proposals.
1) Emphasize Virtual Assets - Given the still uncertain times we live in, you'll want to show how your proposal, unlike so many others, can be Covid-proof if a live event does not happen this year. Aside from the live event experience, how will your property deliver value to the sponsor? How will sponsors be integrated into the livestream? How can social media keep sponsors top of mind in the absence of a live event? Is some sort of virtual unique experience or VIP hospitality an option?
2) Contingencies - You're certainly not alone if you're event was blindsided by Covid back in the Spring. The benefit of hindsight is that this year, you can detail to potential sponsors what contingencies you have in place across a spectrum of best and worst case scenarios. Of course, no one really knows how long it will be until things return to normal, but clarity around contingency plans will reduce risk for your sponsors.
3) Update Your Cases Studies - Most properties are still pitching with case studies and sponsor success stories from a pre-covid era based on real world experiential assets. As the shift to virtual accelerates, develop or use those case studies that align closer with this new reality. Sponsors will want to see how other sponsors have done with the assets you're currently offering and on-site sampling probably isn't one of them. Use these case studies to show how your property can be a nimble and reliable partner even in times of uncertainty.
4) Move Cause/CSR Up in Your Deck - Typically this is something that is reserved for the last couple slides of a sponsorship deck, but with so many people and businesses suffering sponsorships sellers may be well served by making cause a more central element to their pitch. Properties that have a strong cause component will disproportionately win deals in the current environment.
5) Lean in to WFH - While the rest of the world has adopted WFH, most sponsorship proposals have stayed the same. With almost all companies adopting work from home policies for the foreseeable future, think about how your opportunity may be uniquely suited to help sponsors address the obvious downside of WFH life; it's tougher than ever to unite functional teams and build culture absent a physical environment. Can your property provide unique experiences that can increase employee engagement and teamwork or reward top performers as teams are increasingly spread across the globe?
With billions of sponsorship dollars taken offline in 2020 and possibly looking for a home now is the perfect time to be thinking about how your proposal can better resonate in the current environment.
