Would you like to know the #1 reason why sponsorship proposals get ignored?
It might be the weapon fashioning against you.
Dear Friend,
I just wrapped up the third edition of my Brand Sponsorship Masterclass, where I teach event organizers and project owners how to land sponsors for their event.
One common pattern I see with event organizers is that they are way too selfish.
Here’s what I mean…
They focus way too much on the event experience that it’s all they talk about in their proposal. The brand’s needs are always an afterthought.
In their mind, if the brand can just see how great the event is, they’ll want to sponsor it.
Newsflash…
Brands DO NOT give 2 shits about your event.
Ouch! That hurts, but it’s the reality.
They do not care as much as you do.
No brand manager will read your proposal and go:
“How can we help this organizer pull off their dream event?”
But… You can get them to care. And even go above and beyond for you.
How?
Through something I call commercial alignment.
More on that later on.
Stop selling your event.
Start selling the opportunity.
Instead of selling brands on how your event is the best thing since sliced bread…
Frame your proposal to look like an opportunity for the brand.
Brands don’t sponsor events just because it sounds exciting.
They sponsor when they can see something in it for them.
- An audience they want access to.
- A product they want people to experience.
- A market they want to enter.
- An association they want their brand attached to… et cetera.
Your job is to find the point(s) where... what they want meets what your event can give them.
That meeting point is what I call commercial alignment. And that’s what you build your proposal around.
I saw this play out recently when I consulted for an event called Jersey Rave.
I was tasked with creating the proposals/pitch decks.
One of the decks secured 7-figure funding from a popular liquor brand.
It was a simple 8-page proposal deck showing how the event aligns with their brand values and makes commercial sense.
Anyways, if you enjoyed what you have read so far and you’d like to learn how to approach sponsorship this way…
You can sign up for my Brand Sponsorship Masterclass — November edition.
The November edition
Brand Sponsorship Masterclass
I’m going to reveal… for the first time ever… the actual proposal deck that brought in that 7-figure funding and lots more.
You don’t want to miss it.
For details about the masterclass, please go here:
See the masterclass detailsWho’s behind this?
Hiii, my name is Ikenna Stanley Nwosu, Event Director at Reveal Lagos.
When I started my event company, I had plenty of ideas I wanted to pitch to brands and partners.
Problem was, I needed solid proposals.
And when I reached out to people who supposedly knew how to create them, the prices were crazy. So I had to figure it out myself.
I studied, tested, wrote decks, sent them out, got ignored, adjusted, and kept going. Over time, I got really good at it.
So far, I’ve closed partnerships with brands like Jameson, Smirnoff and GOGI, Planet Utopia, Abbey Inn, Monster Energy, to mention a few.
And now, I teach event organizers how to do the same.
See you on the other side!
Ikenna
Ikenna Stanley Nwosu · Event Director, Reveal Lagos