The Ultimate Guide to Venue Sponsorship

Traditionally, festivals dominated the live music sponsorship ecosystem. But that has changed in recent years.

Venues are starting to capture more sponsorship dollars. In fact, a third of the 50 venues we surveyed already rank sponsorship as a “very important” revenue stream for their room. And two-thirds of them want to increase revenue beyond ticket and bar sales, with 20% specifically wanting to increase sponsorship revenue using technology. 

If you run a venue, now is the time to invest in securing and retaining sponsorships. Enter your details in the form to download a tipsheet that will help you to build out your venue’s sponsorship packages, including:

• Why venues have a secret advantage over festivals
• How to use your venue’s data and package your shows to increase brand interest
• How to build activations that go beyond the walls of your venue.

Before you get to that, let’s delve into the basics of venue sponsorship, including the different types and how to make it happen. 

How venue sponsorship works

Most event creators recognise the value of sponsorships. In an industry of slim profit margins and unpredictable revenue, sponsorships can provide a semblance of security — allowing creators to secure talent and logistics before a single ticket has been sold. 

An Allied Market Research report put sponsorships above ticket sales as the largest single revenue source for events in 2022, and forecasted further growth. 

We tend to think about sponsorship in relation to yearly festivals or events that move between locations, but venues can also get in on the act. In fact, it’s arguably even more of a natural fit for both parties. 

Venues come with lots of overheads. There are salaries to pay, operating costs. Therefore, additional income that is —unlike ticket sales— typically fixed from the outset is always welcome. For the sponsor, a venue provides opportunity for year-round exposure and a physical space with no end of touchpoints. 

How does venue sponsorship work in practice? Here are a few examples:

Naming rights

Typically a more costly and long-term sponsorship option, this could involve naming a pre-existing event or events series after a sponsor, or changing the name of the venue itself, either as part of a deeper collaboration or as a one-off transaction. The sponsor is paying for increased brand awareness and the ‘halo effect’ of being associated with a cultural institution. 

Co-branded events

Here, the collaboration is deeper. The sponsor is typically involved from an early stage and may even work with the venue to conceptualize and promote the event. They are paying for both the association and the operational expertise of the venue’s staff.

In-event activations

This is where the sponsor adopts a certain element or area of the event, for example a room or the welcome cocktail. The venue will usually have a range of activation options available, with sponsors free to pick those that best suit their goals and budget. 

Are you sponsorship-ready?

“Most people aren’t sponsorship ready. If you want to find and secure the right sponsors for your event, you need to be prepared for sponsorship, too.”

Those are the words of sponsorship guru Larry Weil, highlighting the importance of getting your house in order before aggressively approaching sponsors. Here’s a quick guide to getting your venue sponsor-ready (you can find a more detailed guide here):

Know your audience

One of the first questions a sponsor will ask is: what’s your audience? You need to be able to provide a comprehensive answer that goes beyond the anecdotal.

Look deep into your attendee data to build up a picture and color it in with your own observations. Include basic demographic data as well as deeper insights, such as their hobbies and values. This exercise will give you a steer on the types of companies you should be approaching and allow you to answer that all-important question when it comes around.

Hone your offering

Take time to figure out exactly what you can offer sponsors. List all of your ‘assets’ — venue name, events, regular content formats, rooms — and then try and group them into sponsorship tiers and packages. 

You don’t necessarily need to attach costs at this point, focus on determining what’s possible and what you’d be comfortable in trading for the right sponsor. 

Create a sponsorship prospectus

Once you have your audience and offering nailed down, consolidate all the information into one document by creating a sponsorship prospectus. This will give you something to share and refer back to in meetings, and you can tailor it according to who you are speaking to. 

Follow this guide for step-by-step instructions on creating a sponsorship prospectus. 

How to find and approach sponsors for your venue

Now for the tricky part — finding sponsors and sealing the deal. 

Let’s start with the first part of that equation. Because, the more targeted and strategic you are identifying sponsors, the higher your hit-rate will be when it comes to landing them. 

Create a spreadsheet of brands that align with the interests of your audience and order them according to how good of a match they are. You can determine this by assessing their location, brand values, previous sponsorships, and whether you have a contact there already. 

Once you have your prime targets, figure out who the decision makers are within each business. Look out for these job titles: Brand Manager, Growth Marketing Manager, Business Development Executive, Head of Community, Sponsorship Executive. 

If you don’t have time to do the matchmaking yourself, consider using online marketplaces such as SponsorPitch or OpenSponsorship. 

Next, outreach. There are no hard and fast rules on how to engage leads —sponsors could come from a chance conversation as much as a sequenced set of LinkedIn messages— but there are some general principles worth taking note of. 

They are covered in depth in this guide, but as a quick summary:

Start strong

Give them a reason to open your message and clearly communicate why you are getting in touch. Try to add a personal touch — if you are a fan of what they do, tell them. If they have been recommended by a mutual contact, mention them. Establish rapport without coming across as ingratiating. 

Don’t be too “me, me, me”

Yes, you want to communicate what your venue is all about but don’t lose sight of the fact that sponsors are generally looking for a demonstrable ROI. Make clear the scope of the opportunity and how sponsorship might support their own business objectives.

Play the long game

Remember, most business deals take time to close, so don’t scare them off by being too forceful in your approach. If they’re interested but can’t commit at that moment, take it graciously and ask them when they’d prefer you to follow up again. Often the most successful sponsorships occur after trust has been built up on both sides, however long that takes.