Promoting Your Sponsors!

Promoting Your Sponsors!
A few weeks ago we visited the Fall Fair in Kingston. One of their sponsors was “Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)”. Almost every farm participant we saw was eating a KFC box lunch! What a great promotion! When I saw it, it started me thinking about how festivals and events do or don’t promote their sponsors! If sponsors “make or break” events, why don’t festival/event organizers go all out to promote their sponsors? Some do, but many don’t! Perhaps the best example of an organization that takes full advantage of promoting their sponsors is NASCAR. Every time you see a driver or crew chief (or for that matter any NASCAR employee), being interviewed, they are continually promoting their sponsors! They eat, drink, wear and talk about their sponsors! You might think that this is over kill, but you are wrong. When sponsors hand over buckets of money, they want to know that those they are sponsoring are doing everything possible to promote them. They want value (over value) for money spent! It’s no wonder, that in these economic times the good NASCAR promoters are able to keep their key sponsors! This brings me back to festivals and events. Festival and event organizers should take a serious look at how NASCAR promotes its sponsors and then look to see how they can promote their own sponsors.

Here are a few simple ideas:
* Find ways to use sponsor’s products. For example, if it’s a soft drink company, insist that all food vendors sell the sponsor’s products.
* If you are being interviewed by television or radio, make sure that you mention as many sponsors as possible.
* If you have a key sponsor, try to wear a shirt or cap with their logo. Especially when you are being interviewed.
* During the event ask sponsors to set up product displays. Make the space part of their sponsorship package.
* A comprehensive promotion plan should be put into place and all team members should be fully aware of the plan and should carry it out throughout the festival/event.

The better you promote your sponsors, the more likely they will return next year, even in a poor economy!