objectives. You must then present to potential sponsors the bene-
fits of their investment and encourage their sponsorship with ad-
ditional incentives.100 Chapter 4 Funding the Event Marketing Program
TALES FROM THE FRONT
A recent client, a nonprofit association in
the healthcare field, decided to enhance its
annual silent/live auction by soliciting spon-
sors. At its annual board retreat, my team
and I took the board members step by step
through the process of looking for and ac-
quiring sponsors. At first, they had doubts
about the idea of sponsorship. They thought
they were too small an organization and
that they had “nothing to offer” a potential
sponsor. Every organization has something
to offer! As we took board members through
the process, they began to see that you don’t
have to be a major cause-related organiza-
tion or a major event to attract sponsors. In
fact, this organization runs a trade show
prior to the auction and didn’t realize with
the right marketing they had potential spon-
sors already there. Once they realized “who
their friends were,” it became easier for
them to envision other sponsors. My re-
searcher, a college librarian, found new
sources not only for potential sponsorship
but also potential exhibitors for their trade
show. It may not be of Olympic proportions
but the extra revenue will allow this asso-
ciation to give three more scholarships this
year.Chapter Challenge
Prepare a marketing budget for a three-day
jazz festival to be held on the waterfront of
a second-tier city. The budget should in-
clude all expenses related to the marketing
plan and discussion of their importance to
the overall success of the event. The budget
should also include, on the revenue side,
the amount of revenue generated by inter-
nal, external, and client sources. Discuss the
process of identifying potential sponsors
and your method of approach. Finally, con-
duct an ROEM and explain why this event
is or is not economically viable.