This past week the group has focused on the sponsorship side of the event production. With the venue being paid in full by the veolia sponsor, the group is looking to raise funds to pay for other over heads of the event such as, printing cots, lamination costs, Decorations for the venue, and DVDs for the films to be burned to. Plus the more sponsors the event gathers the greater the profile of the event, which could help to persuade media professionals to attend.
Sponsorship is important because it offers an event free funding, free materials, or possibly both. This can reduce both the expenditure and resource gathering which can free the production group to focus on other areas of the event. Also these donations from the sponsors can help to progress the event or raise the event status. The sponsor could possibly even offer a venue for free or a reduced price, though this may be down to bartering (Conway, 2006).
However on the flip side this does enter the production group into a form of contract that is legally binding. The production group must agree to the sponsor’s terms whether they are to display the sponsor’s logo, include mention of the sponsor, feature sponsor products, or even allocate spaces for a representative. Whatever terms are agreed the production group is responsible for the implementation of them and failure to do so will bring the production group into legal action. Also these terms can affect the overall feel of the event and whether the event could be seen as a “sell out” which may affect whether people wish to attend or will attend the event again.
It is apparent that if one is to seek sponsorship one should consider carefully exactly what they need, how many sponsors to approach, and which sponsors to target (again if the event needs any at all). If the selected sponsors reply and are willing to then an amount of bartering will be needed to gauge the amount of “give and take” the sponsor has over the event.
“An event organizer, having succeeded in getting the desired sponsorship, must then be able to service the sponsor, that is to fulfil the sponsor’s expectations of the event and its outcomes for the sponsor’s business or brand” (Shone and Parry, 2004, pp116)
Bibliography:
Conway, D. (2006) The Event Managers Bible. 2nd ed. Oxford, How to Books Ltd.
Shone, A & Parry, B. (2004) Succesful Event Management A Practical Handbook. 2nd ed. London, Thomson Learning.
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