HOW TO GET COMPANIES TO SPONSOR YOUR EVENT IN 2025

Find below how to attract corporate sponsors for your event in 2025. How to get companies to sponsor your business event or fundraiser in 2025. Best tips & ideas to win event sponsorship dollars in 2025.

Hundreds of event organisers and event marketers are using the below best secret tips and access this exclusive and premium sponsorship proposal template to double or triple their sponsorship dollars!

HOW TO ATTRACT CORPORATE SPONSORS AND BRAND DEALS FOR YOUR EVENT

With the help of our best Instagram virtual assistants, we have found that some of the top reasons businesses sponsor events are because sponsorships can be leveraged as an effective marketing and sales strategy. Whether you offer poor customer service or your brand is yet to meet customers’ expectations, running a great event for your customers is a great way to increase brand preference and trust which ultimately will boost leads, sales, profits and brand equity.

Both fantastic events and the so-called “loyal” sponsors come and go. Having the perfect event is not enough to get the right sponsor. Just ask event organisers such as John Polson founder of Tropfest, Sydney’s Short Film Festival or other event organisers about the challenges of securing and maintaining sponsorship dollars.

Key considerations before writing the best event sponsorship proposal

You’ve got the big event ideas, but not the big bank account. So, like most other event organisers or event marketers, you’re on the hunt for a sponsor who can turn your event dreams into a reality. Before you start writing an event sponsorship proposal, make sure you have completed the below steps:

16. Be a customer of your potential sponsor

It will be a different story if you rock up to your first meeting with your potential sponsor and you can tell them about:

• How you, your friends or your family have used their products and services
• What do you, your friends or your family love about their products and services?
• Your ideas on how they can improve
• Your experience when you purchase in-store and online.
• Your views about their latest premium product.
• Your comments about their upcoming product launch, etc.

15.  Research about your current sponsor

Even if it is a basic analysis have a look at:

• Memorise the last events they have sponsored and check results if available.
• If it is a public company, look at its share price in the last ten years. read their latest results.
• Check their top 2 competitors and the events they sponsor.
• Start following them on social media and add comments that bring value to the conversations.

14. Get your event’s projections ready

Like any investment, sponsorship marketing is also an investment. The astute potential sponsor realises a good event to sponsor is an event that generates a lot of cash relative to the amount of capital invested and which is/will be running for many years.

A one-off event that will leave the playground in debt or losses will be impossible to pitch.

Tip: In some cases, you may think your event just breaks even or makes a low profit; that is ok, as long as you are honest with your sponsor. You may find some sponsors who would be happy to help you come up with ideas on how to further monetise your event. That’s why building a relationship with your sponsor even before you propose anything is so important. You may be surprised how you can utilise your potential event sponsor’s network and knowledge to further assist your event’s income/cost streams.

13. Understand which industries are more likely to sponsor your event

Do not waste your time trying to convince companies in industries that tend not to be aligned with your event.

For example, FIFA has it very clear which industries are more likely to book sponsorships for their world’s recognised World Cup.

12. Have a meeting and never send an unsolicited proposal

This is the most common error event organisers and event founders make when trying to secure event sponsorship dollars. They send an email to a bunch of potential sponsors with their event sponsorship proposal attached to it.

The result?

Nothing happens.

Professional marketing directors or executives who decide on sponsorship opportunities are generally too busy and will not pay attention to a random email sent from someone they have never met. It will also show that the event organiser has not taken the time to understand your potential sponsor’s unique and exact needs.

At this stage, you are not selling your event. Your only mission is to secure a meeting.

How to secure a meeting?

• The best option is to be introduced by an industry colleague to the potential sponsor decision maker but if you do not have mutual connections, you will need to call and get a meeting.
• When calling always remember that you are not selling anything, your main and only goal is to get a meeting.

Expert tip: If possible, send an invitation to your potential sponsor to a cool – money can’t buy – experience. An invitation to a new restaurant in town, a new cafe or bar near their offices could work. The idea here is to get your sponsor to like you first before they like your event sponsorship proposal.

And when I say “like you” mean that potential sponsors have to believe, feel comfortable and trust you before they see your proposal.

This rapport is easier to build in a neutral environment outside your and their offices.

Reminder: get your fingers out of sending an unsolicited event proposal. This is no, no no!

11. Your key meeting’s objective: Understand your potential sponsor’s needs

Sponsorship dollars are investments from which sponsors want a return – they are NOT philanthropic donations -. As sponsors and sponsorship dollars become harder to find, it’s more important than ever you can understand what’s in it for the sponsor.

Your most important meeting objective is to find the exact needs your sponsor has in terms of sponsorship opportunities.

Your potential sponsor may need/want to:

• Align their corporate values to a similar event for PR and reputation purposes.
• Use your event to promote a new upcoming product launch.
• Shift public opinion and sentiment from negative to positive after some bad news or issues.
• Increase specific product trials during your event.
• Offer a great space – within your event – where they can educate their customers about some new features or new products.
• Grow the database of a specific potential audience for an upcoming marketing campaign.
• Invite their employees and partners to your event as part of their employee engagement activities.

Companies will not change to fit your event’s needs and demands. Best sponsorship dollars come from big companies, you are just a small fish. You must be a chameleon in terms of adjusting your event to your potential sponsor’s needs. They will look for how you are going to tick all the boxes and will work again with you if you can bring extra deliverables they did not even expect from you.

“CMOs will only review the best event sponsorship proposals that demonstrate specific value for their brands. They will be interested to see how your event will help them achieve their key marketing objectives and what exact delivery plan you got to back up those promised benefits”

Mau, a Senior Event Marketing consultant at eDigital

10. Build momentum os social media before contacting a potential sponsor.

This means to start building your communities on whatever social media channel you decide: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Linkedin, etc. You must show your potential sponsors that your audience is already happy receiving content from you. This may include viral strategies such as running a flash mob to get your audience’s attention before your event.

9. Secure in-kind partnerships before pitching for money

There might be some companies, government organisations, non-profits or charities you can partner with and receive products or services from them for your event. This is important because you will have some company names to present to your potential sponsors showing other companies already trust and believe in your event.

8. Invest in having the best board of directors and advisors

Potential sponsors will look into the type of directors and advisers committed to ensuring your event will be a success. This means you should obtain support from – at least – a couple of well-known industry experts to be your official event advisers. Your event director’s experience should also confirm the likelihood of you running a successful event.

7. Show past great work

When running the first version of your event you may feel potential sponsors will not support you as there is no event history.

That’s ok. You can present the great work you have accomplished in the past. If your past work is related to events in a similar field even better.

Companies would love to have the certainty you have run a similar event in the past, you got experience and a track record.

6. Present a clear mission and vision

Yes, potential sponsors will look at your mission and vision. This will help them decide whether or not your event will fit with their business or marketing goals.

5. Use the “Affect transfer” effect as part of your event’s benefits

Consumers are willing to pay a premium price to buy the products or services of the company that sponsors their favourite event, celebrity or sports team. This is according to new research led by Macquarie Business School. Brands that sponsor certain events, great successful individuals or teams can see consumers paying up to 60% more than a competitor’s similar product. This is great insight for event organisers, as they can pitch this as part of their sponsorship proposal.

This is called the “Affect Transfer” effect. Most people are not familiar with this term and professional sponsorship marketers use its power when negotiating sponsorship deals.

Companies invest sponsorship dollars in key events because the positive relationship they can create with a specific audience will translate into sales. This phenomenon is called “affect transfer”, whereby consumers’ emotions towards an event become associated with the companies or brands that support it.

Example: ‘I love Adelaide’s Fringe Festival. The Fringe Festival is supported by BankSA, therefore I bank with BankSA’. This combination of exposure plus endorsement is powerful. And even though consumers are aware BankSA is paying to be heavily promoted during the art event, consumers will transfer the emotion they have for the art event to the bank they have chosen to use.

4. Sell an annual program instead of a one-off event

Even if you are running a one-off event, you can package a one-year program that may include other activations including:

• A set of articles that promote your event sponsor on your blog within the year.
• A set of social media posts that promote your event sponsor on your blog within the year.
• A set of emails and posts that promote your event sponsor on your blog within the year.

3. Ask for enough money

As we touched on point 3, some sponsors will only invest in your event if they see your projections are realistic. Some sponsors will not accept your event sponsorship proposal because you have not asked for enough money and they may feel your event is not financially equipped enough for the task. Ensure the numbers you present prove out and that you can back up the costs you present.

2. Partnerships

If you’re a small brand, then you’re likely going to have more trouble landing event sponsors, especially if you’re looking to get a few more established businesses on board. To land a major event sponsor, small businesses team up with another company in the industry. One small company on its own likely will not be attractive to a major brand, but partnering with a medium-sized company in your industry can totally change this. More established brands ultimately instil more confidence. So, if you can get a popular brand on board to host the event with you, you will be much better off during your hunt for event sponsors. Look for companies that are within your industry but that aren’t your direct competitors.

1. Be creative

If – for example – part of your event’s purpose is to raise money for a specific cause, you can run different activities people can participate in during your event:

• Live auctions: you can auction so many different things. The most popular ones are gift baskets, luxury holiday packages, courses, centrepieces (of the tables people are sitting on), etc.
• Silent auctions.
• Lottery/Raffle: people can purchase a ticket to be dropped in the raffle to win a prize. The prize could be money ie. $2000 or something.

How to tap into the top hey potential sponsor’s motivators

Not all potential sponsors are motivated the same way. Below you can find some of the most common motivation factors to get your potential sponsors to partner with you and support your event.

• Alignment to key sponsor’s corporate values & DNA. Sponsors look for relationships that have brand alignment, connect not only with consumers but also with their employees, and are sustainable over the longer term. The inspiration generated by your sponsorship opportunity should align with the sponsor’s purpose to build a better world or at least help them express their commitment to their key values and passions.

Example: IVE Marketing agency sponsors Changing the Ratio conference as their corporate values align with the event’s objectives. (Related: The best Code of Ethics template)

• Reach. Are you presenting an event that gathers thousands or millions of people where potential sponsors can participate? Companies look to reach new audiences engagingly or creatively. Your event may be the perfect channel for this.

Example: Bluefest is one of Australia’s most visited music festivals. Sae Institute of creative media – music – video – photography – sponsors the festival and offers students the opportunity to work backstage. One of the key benefits for Sae Institute is the massive reach this festival offers for engaging the school’s key audience who are people interested in creative media, art and technology-related careers.

• Enhance community credentials. Companies welcome sponsorship opportunities that are making a specific city a better place for employees and clients to live in as this will result in increasing community credentials.

Example: Sydney’s property developer: Aqualand, sponsors the Sculpture by the Sea event in a way to amplify their support for community events that make Sydney a better place to live and enjoy.

• Staff involvement in fun and exciting ways. This can be vitally important for potential sponsors as event organisers can offer money-can’t-buy experiences to build staff loyalty and ultimately harness their unique power as brand ambassadors.

Example: ANZ bank branch became ‘GayNZ’, giving their sponsorship a shop-front presence with full branch employees’ involvement.

• Long-term view. Major sponsors tend to choose fewer partnerships but stay with them for more years. This means there is less churn in the sponsorship pool; it also means event organisers need to put together an extended proposal showing how the relationship can be managed and leveraged into the future. Major sponsors will review the long-term view presented in your partnership proposal.

Example: Telstra has cemented a long relationship with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.

• Break the mould in a captivating way. Companies looking for the best sponsorship opportunities will invest in your event if you can bring a different and new perspective to a social cause, issue or topic.

Example: Sony sponsors the HeadOn Photo Festival in Australia whose main goal is to bring diversity and different perspectives via emerging photography work.

How to structure a winning event sponsorship proposal

This same template-winning structure has been used by some of the World’s Top Event Organisers to consistently land high-paying event sponsorship deals.

Once you have successfully used this PowerPoint template for your next event Sponsorship Proposal, please tell us your success story 🙂

About this Sponsorship Proposal template

This is a premium Sponsorship Proposal template you will not find anywhere else.

This premium template on Google Slides for cross-team collaboration includes:

✅ “Event Intro” slide
✅ “About the Event Organiser” slide
✅ “Past events’ achievements” slide
✅ “About the Event Participants” slide
✅ “Event Marketing & Promotional Plan” slide
✅ “PR & Influencers Strategy” slide
✅ “Social Media Reach Plan” slide
✅ “Supporting Partners” slide
✅ “Sponsorship Packages” slide
✅ “Call to action” slide (offering “Tripwires” hooks)
✅ “Contact Info” slide
✅ “FAQ’s” slide

Note: You can easily move your Proposal from Google Slides to Microsoft PowerPoint (In case you need to, most clients like to keep it on Google Slides as the benefit of editing it from anywhere, even from your phone using the Google Slides App)   Instructions within the template.

Bonus – this week only!

Get a free event budget template

When you purchase this template you will also get a professionally crafted Event Budget Template on Google Sheets ready for cross-team collaboration.

This event budget template includes separate sheets and charts for projected and actual budgets and a sheet for comparison of your projected and actual expenses.

Yes, that’s right! you will get two templates for the price of one!

This template can also be used when re-engaging current sponsors. The last thing you want is for your sponsors to fully pull or reduce sponsorship dollars from your event. Hard-to-get sponsors can decide to withdraw sponsorship from you even if they are not presented with the right information, insights or results from their latest participation. You should have your sponsorship proposal template updated and not just copy-paste what you presented the last time.

Great template

This template found us a solution for all the necessary specifications we wanted to communicate to our potential sponsors. Thank you. 

 Liam W.   Verified Buyer

This premium template is ready on Google Slides

While there might be other far “cooler” presentation tools you could use; first and foremost you want to ensure all recipients can easily open and access your event sponsorship proposal.

Google Slides presentations are fast and easy to access and most marketers and business owners ( the decision-makers for sponsorship dollars) are familiar with them.

You can create a great first impression by offering your event sponsorship opportunities in a format that it is easy for potential sponsors to receive, open and pass to other stakeholders.

The top benefits of using a Premium Event sponsorship proposal template on Google Sheets:

• Access your presentation from anywhere in the World. Just log in to your Google account.
• Send a link to your presentation, instead of sending a heavy attachment that may take ages to download.  Sometimes presentations with heavy images affect deliverability and recipients will not receive your Event Sponsorship pitch deck.
• Google Slides software offers hundreds of useful add-ons such as Unsplash (free stock photography) and others.
• Craft your “only one” Master Template on Google Slides and replicate your master presentation template into different unique proposals for unlimited potential sponsors.
• Google Slides presentations are fantastic for cross-team collaborations as you can grant access to key stakeholders who need to input into your presentation ie. event managers, designers, creative agencies, marketing assistants, event assistants, etc.

Last tip: some sponsorship deal decisions are taken by mutual agreement of different stakeholders so you need to also ensure your Google Slides presentation looks nice even if it is printed in black and white.

How to access this premium Sponsorship Proposal template

• Complete payment on PayPal.
• Once payment is completed, please click on the “Return to merchant” link to be taken to our confirmation page where you will be able to access this premium template.
• You can always contact us if you have any questions or issues

With limited time, you do not want to waste your time trying to convince a potential sponsor. If they do not see the value of your event for their brand, that’s ok, then you move on fast and secure a meeting with another potential sponsor.

Next: Get your premium sponsorship proposal template and start securing sponsors now!

Conclusion

eDigital can help you conceptualise, plan, develop and and optimise successful event sponsorship proposals.

Other marketing services we offer include:

• Strategic planning for social media and other digital marketing channels.
• Online advertising: Google Ads Search, Display, Re-marketing and social media ads.
• Training: social media marketing training and digital marketing training.
• SEO strategy, SEO content development and execution.
• Celebrity and influencer marketing campaign strategy.
• Branding. Logo creation, brand development and design of marketing materials.
• Consumer contests/competitions/giveaways.
• Email marketing. Dip sequence design and deployment.
• Conversion rate optimisation. Path to purchase analysis and optimisation.

Next: Get your premium sponsorship proposal template now!

Contact us today and start boosting your leads and sales.

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HOW TO GET COMPANIES TO SPONSOR YOUR EVENT IN 2025

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