Sponsorship
Top 7 Reasons to Sponsor a Public Sector Event
Top 7 reasons to sponsor a public sector event
A key question often asked by those exploring the idea of event sponsorship is, ‘Is it worth the money?’ Here are 7 reasons you should sponsor a public sector event:
The cost of sponsoring an event can seem like a lot and the return on investment (ROI) will depend on several factors. But choosing an established and well-organised event to sponsor could prove to be an invaluable platform for your business. The benefits can quickly outweigh the financial investment.
Marketing and selling into the public sector are quite different kettles of fish to equivalent processes in the private sector. Public sector event sponsorship can bring unique benefits to sponsors.
What is event sponsorship?
An event sponsor is a company or individual that supports an event, usually by providing funds, in exchange for marketing and promotional benefits. These benefits, which vary considerably from event to event, may also be tiered, usually in the form of platinum, gold, silver and bronze sponsorship packages.
What are the benefits?
The perks you get from sponsoring an event will depend on the package, but commonly includes things like:
some form of brand exposure in the event’s advertising
in-event speaking opportunities
top spot for a stand or booth
direct contact with relatively warm leads
access to industry-exclusive data
Read more about the benefits of sponsoring a GovNet event here.
Why event sponsorship is key to marketing plans
The public sector is notorious for it’s complicated and lengthy procurement processes. Unlike in the private sector, getting in front of the right people can be extremely difficult, especially if you are a small business.
Attending events and networking like crazy is an essential component of most marketing strategies. But this can be incredibly time-consuming and expensive. Event sponsorship is a great way to cut networking corners and get your brand, solution, product or service noticed by key decision-makers across the public sector. It can give your business a significant leg-up, especially if you are a newbie selling into government.
Spending marketing budget on event sponsorship is much more cost-effective than you might think.
7 good reasons why you should sponsor a public sector event
Brand visibility
Sponsoring a public sector event is a great way to get your brand noticed in the right circles. Event sponsors will reap the rewards of featured ads, social media mentions, branded signs, and more. You will also gain great media coverage before, during and after the event (especially if you are the headline sponsor), and you’ll have the opportunity to boost brand visibility with the audience through interaction and branded giveaways.
2. Targeted marketing
As an event sponsor (if you are at the right event), you’ll get the chance to market your solutions and present case studies to a warm audience. Importantly, you will have the opportunity to pitch one-on-one with highly interested procurement decision-makers. This means you can gauge responses to your products and/or services and answer any questions straight away.
3. Public sector credibility
Being a sponsor at a high-profile event, like the conferences and trade shows organised by GovNet, will get you significant exposure overnight. This alone will boost your reputation and public sector credibility. Speaking alongside industry experts will also help boost credibility by positioning you as a thought leader.
4. Valuable insights
Events provide a great opportunity to learn about your customers and competitors and enable you to gain valuable public sector insights. As an event sponsor, you’ll gain access to attendee data and expand your database of contacts.
Event sponsorship usually includes a prime spot for a stand and pre-arranged meetings for you to speak directly with your warmest leads. Sponsorship puts you in pole position to gain maximum insights, including demographic data and audience preferences, which will prove invaluable for subsequent nurture campaigns.
You’ll also get a close-up view of your competitors and see how they pitch to customers.
5. Public sector lead generation
The purpose of a public sector event is to bring together leaders, innovators and decision-makers and provide a unique platform to showcase how different organisations are helping to improve public service delivery.
At events, you have a huge number of qualified leads in front of you, which should ensure a high level of engagement. B2G (business to government) event participants are interested in finding solutions. Event attendees will therefore be more open to discover new products and services. Sponsoring an event will help you to stand out from the crowd and optimise your chances to impress key decision-makers.
6. Business relationships
While the aim when sponsoring an event will ultimately be about winning contracts, events can bring some unexpected opportunities, which include enhancing relationships with other vendors. Building alliances with non-competing companies could end up generating business. Sponsoring the event puts you in the spotlight and can help you to maximise opportunities for post-event interactions.
Showing you are open to collaborations and partnership opportunities will also help to build public sector credibility.
7. Return on investment
Measuring your return on investment from sponsoring an event with precision can be difficult. Often, the biggest benefit – forging connections – won’t pay off immediately so it can be hard to quantify in monetary terms. This is especially the case in the public sector where the procurement process is quite protracted.
You can, however, set your own metrics to measure success and take full advantage of everything your sponsorship package offers. Getting in front of hard-to-reach public sector procurement decision-makers will make the cost worthwhile.
Find the right public sector event for you
Public sector event sponsorship can bring great opportunities and offer real return on investment if you do your research and are strategic with your event choices.
Choosing an established public sector event organiser, like GovNet, you will be able to check out testimonials and event data to see how they have performed in the past.
GovNet is the UK’s leading provider of public sector events. To find the right event for your business, speak to our expert team or see our upcoming events here.