$HOW ME THE MONEY

WITH DAVE DEMER

“IF I HAD A NICKEL EVERY TIME….”

We’ve all used that line, fill in the blank as it applies to your life.

In the event business, I’d be a rich man if I had a nickel every time I heard that an event has a kids area or live music or a beer garden or “fun for the whole family.” While all those attributes are true, they don’t do much to differentiate you in the mind of a potential sponsor. It seems like every event promotes the same thing. Instead, what makes your event different? What’s your event’s story that you can tell in an elevator that someone will remember?

Beyond the usual, what parts of your event would be memorable to a potential sponsor?

Sponsors get pitched every day by someone … be it traditional media or an event sponsorship. It’s important to be sure when you’re pitching that you have something memorable to talk about.

Some lifestyle events have their story built in. If it’s a chocolate festival or a golf expo or a pet fair, those differentiators are easier to come by because there are fewer of them, maybe even the only one in town. They are unique so they are easier to remember.

If you’re producing an art festival or a 5k or community celebration, it’s tougher to find the uniqueness to promote to potential sponsors as part of your story.

The good news is, it’s not too late! It might take less effort and cost than you think to add a twist that becomes memorable.

For some inspiration, you might read “Purple Cow” by Seth Godin. The premise of the book is that if you’re driving to work one day and you pass a cow, when you get to the office you likely wouldn’t think to mention the cow to your coworkers. But if you saw a purple cow, you’d want to share that you witnessed it. It stood out because it was different. How can we take our kids area and make it “purple”. For an art festival, could you have kids create their own art and sell it at some dedicated kids booths? Imagine the pictures! Maybe create some fun competitions modeled after the TV Cooking shows, where you provide a combination of materials and let a few artists see what they can create on the spot? Imagine the looks on their faces when they open their box of materials. What if you dropped paint balls out of a helicopter and had canvases spread out below to create art from the air?

For a 5k, could you add a theme, maybe as simple as a “pajama run” and encourage people to run in their sleepwear? And the starting sound is an alarm clock? Or everyone has to start the run backwards? Or start with a round of Dizzy Bat? A couples run where hand holding across the finish line is mandatory?

In Purple Cow, Godin uses the word “Remarkable”, meaning that someone thought enough of what they saw to remark to others about it. Is your event remarkable? Do you have a story worth telling? Is it unique enough for a sponsor to remember you?

If not, grab a few friends, colleagues, attendees, participants, sponsors or whoever you can bounce ideas off and get a little wild in a brainstorm session (wine might help)!

Get crazy… go ahead and write down ideas that are probably too crazy, you can always reel them back in.

Not only will it make your event more remarkable to attendees, but it will be memorable to potential sponsors as well. I can promise, if a sponsor had a nickel each time they heard about an event that was fun for the whole family.

Dave Demer has been selling sponsorships for events of all shapes and sizes since 1993. In his 30+ years he’s picked up a trick or two to target, research, meet and close sponsors to the tune of millions of dollars. He’s been media, sports, special events and non-profits. He’s currently the Founder and President at The Event Shop a non-retainer based sponsorship sales firm. And on weekends, he still loves a great festival, concert or sporting event!