Using Sponsorships in B2B Events

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Using Sponsorships in B2B Events

Stephanie Selesnick,

Stephanie Selesnick,
International Trade Information, Inc.

At Trade Show Executive’s Fastest 50 Summit and Awards last month, Larry Settembrini, Vice President ReedPOP spoke about bringing sponsorships to life in his session, Selling B2B Sponsorships in a B2C World.“

Below are three of his ideas that stuck with me, along with my interpretation of how they may be used in business-to-business events.

  1.  Consumerism is defined as B2B events adopting elements and creative inspiration from consumer experiences. The rest of the world calls this Festivalization. Essentially it means incorporating more fun and/or interactive moments for our attendees, exhibitors and sponsors.
  2. “Don’t sell a sponsor on a first-time time technology. Do it the second year instead.” Sounds basic, but it’s not! How many new technologies work perfectly the first show? Few at best! Instead, take your time, work out the kinks and plant seeds with potential sponsors.
  3. “Sponsorships should give back to the attendees – that’s where your focus should be on the design.” How can you enhance a coffee break or area of your show with a sponsorship activation? Is there a dead spot on your exhibit floor that could use some attention-getting activity? Think Instagrammable moments, special food and drink service, lounges or unique educational offerings. Or what about a factory or shop in 2025?

Ask your team and sponsors for suggestions on changing sponsorships. Think about how these new, different ideas are viewed through the lens of your attendees, then through the sponsor lens. Your industry will thank you!

By | 2019-07-18T12:12:21+02:00 July 18th, 2019|Education, Exhibition Marketing|1 Comment

About the Author:

Stephanie Selesnick, President of Las Vegas-based International Trade Information, Inc. works with exhibition organizers to internationalize their shows, one expo at a time. They recently introduced the International Exhibitor Representation Program are the long time North American representatives for SNIEC, the Shanghai New International Expo Centre in China. A second-generation former show organizer, Stephanie blogs for UFI, the Global Association for the Exhibition Industry and Exhibition World, and enjoys sharing knowledge online and in person. She is a founding member of the Exhibitions Think Tank, Women in Exhibitions Network North America, serves on the faculty of UFI’s Exhibition Management School and is a Virtual Events Institute Subject Matter Expert.

One Comment

  1. Richard Larson July 30, 2019 at 11:45 pm - Reply

    Great ideas, Stephanie. It can be difficult to take time with sponsors, but it makes sense. Everyone loves interactive and fun at a conference or exhibit. Instagrammable moments are definitely where it is at!

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