Sponsorship requests

Bonnie Allie

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Joined
11 June 2019
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Having spent the evening politely declining a few requests for sponsorship prizes or asking some requesters for more detail, can I implore upon folk that if you want to be successful in receiving sponsorship or prizes to really consider carefully what you write in your requests.

Be clear about what you are after. Use concise language.

Send the flyer of the event and tell me about your target audience

Date - it’s important. “Upcoming event” is too vague. We have a calendarised budget we need to stick to.

How do you propose to market your event? Ie: what exposure will our brand get through this campaign?

What is unique about your event? How does this align our brand?

Most of all tell me what’s in for me the business owner/sponsor. Do this in concise qualitative or quantitative language. I don’t need eight (8) paragraphs on the history of the show, the dedicated and enthusiastic members of the club, a vague reference to social media and the word exposure dotted throughout.

If I have to guess what you are after and it’s not clear what we both get out of it, the answer will be “no sorry, not this year but thank you for thinking of us”.

When you are successful in receiving sponsorship, make sure you follow up post the event with a note, email or phone call. It will secure the same for the following year, with less effort on both sides.

I love our shows, our local clubs and sponsoring events. Please make it easier for us to say yes.
 
My Dad is in a band, a local event asked them to perform, when asked what the pay was they were told it would be “good publicity”. The flier arrived and it cited “local band” so they withdrew!
Oh that is just so disrespectful.

My biggest learning early on was when we were a sponsor at our most local big show. Did it for one year, no agreed extension for the coming years. Next year rolls around and 2 weeks before the show, get a text, yep a text asking when I wanted to drop off the trophy rugs and the prize money? FFS!

All the programmes had been printed so it would have been damaging for us to pull out but the nerve! Made them sweat just for fun. Told them as there was no agreement and as they hadn’t shown basic process or courtesy we couldn’t sponsor this year. Relented after the President called me in a fluster. We gave money but I refused to run around getting quality trophy rugs at short notice. The show society had to sort that themselves.

Now all our sponsorship have an express stipulation it’s a one off until formally negotiated.
 
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