• 1st appoint well-connected chairs. It could be 2 "co-chairs" with complementing skills:
→ "Connector": knows everyone & convinces them to participate
→ "Detail Diva": follows up with sponsors and ensures that they complete all of the paperwork
Whether or not there are 2, it's crucial to have people with these abilities. (Usually the connector is not good
with paperwork & follow up, which is important.)
View this timeline & advice:
Sponsorship Committee Timeline
Sponsorship Advice from Sarasota
• Engage every committee member to leverage connections in various industries.
Ask everyone to give a list of people they do business with: plumbers, contractors, doctors, et al.
• Create target list of potential businesses sponsors.
• Possible corporate sponsors: plastic surgery/laser eye centers; dermatologists; banks; real estate agents;
car dealerships; residential design/build companies; major corporations in your city; foundations; concierge doctors;
hospitals or hospital groups; mortgage or refinancing companies; orthodontists; plumbers; flooring companies; cell phone
companies; contractors or builders; oil companies; ag companies; large corporations
• Think "out of the box" about sponsors, which appeal to women: Roto Rooter (they're franchised & have $$ they must
spend on marketing; lawyers (e.g.litigation specialists?); fertility clinics
• Possible media sponsors: TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, or “bloggers”
• New business are good targets
• Here's a sponsor revenue spreadsheet, a list of sponsors & the revenue they contributed
• Below is the sponsorship from Sacramento's 2012 event.
It gives an idea of what businesses may buy in & at what level:
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What’s in it for sponsors?
• Here is a recent sponsor presentation, which outlines the many partnership benefits to businesses
Sponsor Partnership Opportunities Presentation 2013
Which programs generate the most revenue? Read on for our ideas!
• Here's a list of revenue-generating programs we've seen work: Revenue Generating Programs One Sheet
What can sponsors sponsor?
If it has space for a logo, think: How can I market or brand this?
WW&S events are LOADED with branding opportunities--from logos on marketing materials to water bottles, there are limitless ways to optimize partnerships, and increase your revenue.
Following are some great ideas:
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Culinary
Desserts
What's sweeter? Have a local bakery or cake company donate cupcakes or lollicakes and get a sponsor to underwrite them. Cupcake companies
will put a company logo on a sugar disk.
• Have cupcake station and/or pass them around on trays.
• For lollicakes, place sponsor name or logo on tags tied to each
pop that say something like: "San Francisco Magazine thanks
you for stepping out in style to support CASA".
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Event Culinary Sponsor
Create a "Sole Food" Sponsor level at $3,000-5,000 for a company or individual to be the only food sponsor for the Signature event and their company branding would be on all of the food tables and passed hors d'oeuvres platters/trays.
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Photos
Cover Girl Photo Shoot
Strike a pose for a cause? Smile and say "Chardonnay!"
• Partner with a local social magazine who can set up a "cover girl"
photo shoot on-site at your event with a fun backdrop.
• Grab your sole sisters or sole mates and strike a pose as the
photographer positions you just right.
• Using an on-site color printer, the magazine can print your 5x7 copy
with the magazine's masthead at the top so it looks like you're true
cover girls!
• Charge $20 for each print: $10 to the charity; $10 to the magazine
to underwrite costs.
• The exposure for the magazine is incredible and it makes money
for the charity ~ a win-win!
• This net $2,000 for one of our charity partners
View More Sample Cover Girl Photos
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Photo Booth Fun
• Renting a photo booth is really fun for guests and a great way for people to
remember your event.
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Step & Repeat Banner
The "paparazzi" red carpet and banner backdrop can generate a lot of buzz at your event and ideal photos for sponsors given logo exposure.
• As a sponsorship package, offer the logo-printed backdrop (called a
"step & repeat") and red carpet as a photo opp.
• This can be limited to one sponsor buying this package exclusively
or it can be co-sponsored with two or three brands sharing the
backdrop.
• Backdrop works best with no more than 3 logos repeated
horizontally.
• Have several photographers - magazines, local papers and free
lancers with websites, so it feels like paparazzi with lots of flashes
going off. We also suggest having a women doing Joan Rivers style
interviews with a video cameraman catching it all on tape.
• After the event, post the pictures on the event Facebook page,
where guests can see them, tag themselves and save the pics to
their phones and computers.
• Place this INSIDE your event. If you put it at the entrance women will
skip it & forget. But if they have a couple of glasses, they'll want a
photo.
View More "Paparazzi" Photos Here
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Water Bottles
Have a local business sponsor water bottles for your event
-- sip, sip, hooray!
• Place in chill tubs as guests exit the event
• Great in your swag bags
• Place at wine stations
• Place in entrance & exit areas
• Place sponsor logo on front & charity logo on the back
-- a win win for all
• Customer water bottle supplier: http://www.privatespringwater.com
• Custom bottles can be expensive. You can also go to a place like
Sam's Club, buy inexpensive bottles, and print your own labels. It
does not llook as attractive, but it works.
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Wine Tags
Have a local business sponsor wine tags for your event!
These innovative & decorative sponsor promos wrap around the bottom stems of wine glasses.
• The sponsor logo is on front of the tag.
• Put around bottom stem of each wine glass as you hand them out.
• The tags cost around $.50 each for custom printed versions.
• Following are vendors providing these tags:
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Foot Massage
Reach out to a local spa or massage company (i.e. Massage Envy)
• Have a sponsor underwrite a foot massage station (ideally activated
during the last hour when everyone's feet hurt from their heels).
We promise--the masseuses will take the "ow" out of this "wow"
moment!
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Shoe GuysTM
There are typically 20+ Shoe Guys working the room and engaging 350+ women. It's a super networking opportunity. Position this opportunity as a targeted group of brand ambassadors who will be the hit of the event. For example, if a real estate company is a sponsor, they could provide 2 shoe charming real estates agents and collect new clients. Same for doctors,et al.
Opportunities:
• Various businesses sponsor the entire group of Shoe Guys in return
for logo placement and branding exposure on their black T-shirts.
(Looks best if it's on the sleeves.)
• See if one of your shoe guys has a company who wants to sponsor,
or add this as a benefit to sponsors.
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TV Screens
Position HD TV screens with your sponsor's logos. Think of non-traditional ways of doing this. World Neighbors used a giant metal globe and aranged monitors all around it, each displaying a sponsor's logo
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Wall of Wine
(a.k.a. Wine Pull)
Sell raffle tickets to guests for the opportunity to pull a bottle of great wine! Using our guidelines below, your "Wall of Wine" could raise about $4000!
Details:
• The charity obtains all of the wine for the Wall of Wine
• The ideal total is 100 bottles of donated wines.
• The average bottle price should be about $25/bottle
• Include 8 premium bottles between $55 - $75
• Bag and display wines on the Wall of Wine
• Sell tickets for $25 for each opportunity to pull a bottle of wine.
• For extra revenue, find a Wall of Wine sponsor. A Portland law
firm paid $2,500 to sponsor a "Wall of Wine" with their logo on the
signage and each wine bag.
Strategy: Wine Procuring
Some people feel intimidated by the task of amassing a vault of vino. Don’t try to do it alone. Ask each committee member to bring in 3 - 4 bottles each, or give it to the chair and let that person solicit all the wines from wine retailers, restaurants and individuals.
Try these strategies:
• Ask a wine store where you’re a customer and ask for a mixed
case of wines that they’re having trouble selling.
• Ask a distributer (need to have relationship; the wine store might
be able to reach out on your behalf) – distributer may be carrying
a wine brand that’s looking for increased visibility. WW&S events
are a very desirable demographic.
• Ask friends with wine cellars. Maybe they want to get rid of wine
club cast offs to make room for better wines?
• Ask your girlfriends to each donate a bottle of wine.
• Ask restaurants where you’re a regular to donate a few bottles
of wine.
• Hit up your recently sober friends for their wine collection – just
kidding.
Remember, it never hurts to ask, and you’re doing it for a great cause!
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Swag Bags
• Sell a sponsor logo on swag bags
• Sell a sponsor logo on resuable shopping bags. In Portland, a moving
company provided reusable shopping bags with their logos on them
for all vendor sales. Sponsorship was traded for in-kind moving
services for the charity's clients throughout the year. (The charity
supports victims of domestic abuse.)
IDEA: Is there a biz in your community with logo'd bags who would pay for the opportunity to get their name out?
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Luxury Car Dealers
These sponsorships can run between $5,000 and $15,000. Examples:
See our Platinum Automobile Sponsor One-Sheet
Land Rover - $7,500 co-sponsorship
• Co-sponsored the Neiman Marcus fashion show to underwrite
production costs.
• Logo was featured on runway backdrop before the show began as
dealer rep acknowledged partnership.
• Land Rover Agreement
Mercedes-Benz - $10,000 sponsorship
(Parked two luxury cars at event site for Facebook photo shoot)
• Guest posed with pink feather boas, tiaras and dealer branded
shopping bags.
• Photos were emailed to guests as well as uploaded to dealer
Facebook page. (dealer captured e-mails at the event)
• They leveraged their sponsorship to grow their social media
presence in the community.
Cadillac - $15,0000 sponsorship
• In Bakersfield, CA, they parked the cars in the driveway of the house and
created a step and repeat photo opportunity with the cars.
• They also put a little charm on the wine glass.
Car for the Weekend Auction Lots
The Orlando event had Bentley donate a "car for the weekend" for their live auction. It made a great display and it was popular. After the event, the winning bidder got drive out in the car for the weekend.
BMW should love this idea since they are promoting their Ultimate Driving Experience campaign again...
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Car Wash
• If the event is at a private event facility or home and there is valet
parking,offer a
car wash service for a fee. Guests can pick up a clean
car and you bring in some revenue. Services could be offered by a high
school class, Boy Scout troupe, or professionals who get a flat rate and
you keep the difference.
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Mirror tags
• Ask a business to sponsor the vendor mirrors with a phrase like, “You look
mah-vellous!” and the company logo. $1,500
• As a final message to your guests, have Valet hang a tag from the rear view
mirror with a mission statement on it. At the bottom, you could sell a sponsor
logo to a car insurance company or some other sponsor like a bank, CPA, or
attorney.
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Cheese Station
• Have a cheese station sponsored by a local company. It could be branded
with their logo on the signage, the cheese markers (at left - you can get these
on line) as well as on the chef coat(s). Find a handsome man (men) to tend to
the station and explain the cheeses to the guests. Who wouldn't want to learn
more about cheese from this charming man?
• For a further tie in, the handsome man could be from the sponsor. The
employee learns about cheese and helps at the counter.
• If there is a cheese distributor in your city, maybe they can provide the cheese
and provide the rep, then the sponsor can put their logo on it.
• There are all sorts of ways to put this together. All you need are cheese, the
little signs, and a cute, educated guy.
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Pre-Event
Offerings & E-Blasts
Sponsor-Offered Free Tickets
• Love this benefit sent out via e-blast (at left) from our Tulsa
charity on behalf of one of the sponsors for Tulsa. The sponsor had a
ticket giveaway to people who went to the event Facebook page &
entered the contest.
• Pre-events like this idea bring value to the sponsor, get the word out and
encourage more likes on your Facebook page.
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More Sponsorship Opportunities:
• Key to the Closet sponsor
• Napkin sponsor with business logo
• Water and lemonade station with sponsorship signs that say "XXX is happy to hydrate you
• Full Fashion Show
• Cheese station
• Models: Businesses can provide models as part of a sponsor package—great way to honor a female employee
and have her fill a table. One charity partner brought in 7 sponsors with 2 models each at the $5,000 level, for a total of $35,000.
Also ask your fashion show community models to recruit one sponsor each ($1,000 sponsorship x 10 models = $10,000)
• Kick-off Party: Lead sponsor can host patron kick-off party at their desired venue.
→ Sponsor Kick-off Party: Sarasota had a kick-off party at a Landrover dealership with shoe guys,
the committee members, and sponsors. It brought 100-150 people (potential new clients) into the dealership.
→ Shoe Guys Kick-Off Party: In Napa a shoe guy who had a wealth management company sponsored the shoe guy kick-off.
It allowed him to meet and network with his fellow shoe guys, all potential new clients.
• VIP Lanyards: Special lanyards for sponsors to wear at the event (think backstage passes). One idea is 3" x 5" printed tags
on ribbons worn around the neck
• Coat Check or Bag Check Sponsor: Great for a bank or CPA film. Add a sign such as this: "Trust XXX with your items"
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