So, you’ve convinced a brand to participate in your event with a sponsorship – well done! But what about when the show is over?
Proving that your sponsor’s target market attended your event is not enough to get them to sponsor the next one. If you want them to come back, you need to prove your value in a way that the executives will understand: ROI.
Proving ROI to your event sponsors
What do your sponsors expect to gain from your event?
In general, it’s good practice for all parties involved to communicate their expectations throughout the process of organising and hosting your event. Ask your sponsors what they hope to get out of their involvement.
“More sales” is more often than not the main goal, but brands should be encouraged to verbalise their goals in more specific terms. Ask your sponsors to narrow down their expectations to a singular goal: do they want to generate leads? Attract new employees? Build brand awareness?
Once you’ve got the answer, brainstorm ways to use your event to achieve this goal. If it’s product awareness, think about ways to incorporate the product upfront and centre at the event.
As the sponsored party, you should be on board to help sponsors reach their goals. Confirming their expectations ahead of the event will help you translate how their involvement gained that specific ROI afterwards.
Lay the foundation to measure sponsorship ROI
Before you can even think about measuring ROI, you have to know what your sponsor inventory is worth. To work that out, you’ll need to perform a valuation on all your assets.
Performing a valuation will help you determine the cost, and estimate the value that the activation brings to the brand. This value should be in line with the sponsor’s goal.
Calculate your sponsorship ROI
Proving the ROI of your sponsored event is harder than it sounds. In a 2017 survey of 45 event professionals, 40% said that measuring and evaluating sponsor ROI is one of their top two challenges. The basic calculation is as follows: total up all the value they receive and subtract the cost of the sponsorship package to determine total ROI.
If you don’t want to risk getting this wrong, there are many online calculators that can assist you in working this out.
Proving your event delivered
Once the event is over, you need to provide your sponsor with a fulfilment report. The report contains proof that you delivered the agreed value. Here’s a breakdown of what you should include:
- All the benefits you promised your sponsors, and whether you delivered on each item.
- Statistics on the event attendees.
- Engagement metrics (such as web traffic or social media data).
- Finally, the ROI calculation.
This report is important because it shows what you actually delivered. If you promised 500 guests but actually had 750 attendees, you’ll need to show that so that the sponsor knows you over-delivered. Even a small over-delivery can affect the ROI calculation and make your sponsorship more successful.
Flock provides the easiest way for organisers to manage their events while gathering insightful data to help you calculate your ROI. Book a demo today and let us do the hard work for you!