Quite often event organizers struggle with tight budgets and see getting an event app as a luxury they cannot afford. “This year we can’t make it, our budget has been approved and closed” or “We don’t have the budget for it this year” or “Maybe next year.”

Any of those sound familiar? If you’re an event organizer, you probably have said those things more than once in your life and indeed those are perfectly understandable statements. However, in this post, we’ll try to present this issue from a bit of a different perspective.

Getting an event app doesn’t have to be a cost at all. It can and is a benefit that adds tremendous value to your event – first, by providing your guests with a useful tool and second, by giving your sponsors much better exposure.

Exposure is the key part of the equation. If you manage to convince your sponsors that an event app equals better exposure, they will be more than happy to pay for it and you won’t have to worry about your budget again.

Event sponsorship is all about exposure and event apps are the most powerful tool in this game. That’s why this article will focus mainly on all the different ways in which you can increase your sponsors’ exposure at your event.

Recognize Your Sponsors

The classic sponsorship package terminology is so vague that people don’t really care. What difference does it make if you are a gold, platinum or a strategic sponsor? Do the visitors really see any difference between those categories?

Do they recognize the value of your sponsorship? Probably not. When they look at the huge logos on the sponsors wall all they’ll be thinking is “Oh, they must have paid a ton of money for that title!” or “They must have been the one who has put the most money on the table.”

It’s a completely different story when you become the Event App Sponsor.

“That’s nice, they’ve paid for this cool app which really makes getting around a whole lot easier!” This is the reaction you can expect. Which group would your sponsor rather be in?

Let Sponsors Speak to Your Audience – 100%

One hundred percent? Now, we’re talking exposure, right?

Event apps offer new exciting possibilities of reaching your audiences. You can really offer a 100 percent exposure to your sponsors. All you have to do is use the built-in PUSH notifications, which your sponsors can use in so many different ways.

They can send a reminder about a workshop they are hosting, inform about a special offer they have prepared or invite everyone to their stand. You can even help your sponsors collect leads by creating surveys inside the app which are triggered when a PUSH notification is received.

Don’t forget about beacons, which in the last couple of years have become more and more popular, especially at trade fairs. Those small transmitters will send you a notification whenever you are close to your sponsor’s stand.

Give Them the Numbers

Traditional sponsorship packages offer exposure without numbers and glitter without substance. Apart from providing your attendees with a useful tool, your sponsors will also be able to accurately measure their exposure.

Complex analytics offered by event apps allow them to know exactly how many visitors were reached by their push notifications, have seen their logo on the ad banner or visited their profile in the sponsors section.

All of those things are not only unavailable in the traditional sponsorship packages but also impossible.

Add a Cherry on Top

Using an event app allows you to satisfy your sponsors and give them exposure in a variety of ways. Previously I’ve mentioned some of the bigger and more popular ones (e.g. ad banners, PUSH notifications, beacons and sponsor’s profile), but there are many, many more:

• Make your sponsor’s logo a part of the event logo in your app
• Give them a separate component. They can use it to present their brand, advertise the latest products or even publicize their recent CSR activities
• Allow them to upload their photos and videos into the gallery. Those can be photos from their office (if they are focused on employer branding) or videos from their company’s YouTube channel.
• Organize a contest. Your sponsor can prepare a quiz and place it right in the app, collect the answers and reward the top participants with gifts.
• Organize a photo contest. Use the built-in photo booth functionality and organize a contest for the best photo. Your sponsors can add custom photo overlays with their message or logo.

These are just some of the things you can do. If you need more ideas, drop us a line in the comment section or write us a message on our website chat.