Sponsoring a virtual event is a great way to get your name and products in front of potential consumers! Virtual events offer a larger reach than in-person events and a multitude of ways to engage with attendees to generate leads, boost brand awareness, and promote your products or services.  

With a strategic and creative approach, virtual event sponsors can achieve great results from events!

Sponsors should make use of all available opportunities offered to them, which on Social27 Virtual Event Platform include sponsored chats, Exhibition Booth Microsites, Playlists, Sponsored Sessions, and more! 

In addition to the provided features, there are a number of frequently overlooked opportunities that you can use to take your event sponsorship to the next level. If you want your company to stand out among the other sponsors at your next event, try these five underutilized virtual event sponsorship ideas: 

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1. Creative Brand Placement for Virtual Event Sponsors

Many virtual event sponsorship packages include having your logo displayed in the typical places such as on the homepage and registration page. You may even get to include some branding in pre-event emails or on the classic event t-shirt with 50 logos on the back. Don’t get us wrong, these are great! You want your logo to be visible in as many locations as possible to help it stick in attendees’ minds. 

Explore alternate opportunities for branding. For example, branded photobooths. For hybrid or in-person events you can have a photobooth onsite, but virtual photobooths are also a fun way to give attendees something to share on social media from the event and to serve as a keepsake from their event experience.  

Another option is to offer downloadable virtual backgrounds with event and company branding for users to utilize throughout their meetings and sessions. Having a cohesive virtual background helps promote a sense of community and togetherness for distanced event attendees. Your branding may also make it into recorded event content with this method. 

Try to find fun and shareable branding placement opportunities that people will want to show off to other attendees and their social networks. 

2. Creating Memorable Experiences 

Sponsors, don’t be afraid to get creative! The best way to leave a lasting impression is to create unique memorable experiences. 

One special sponsor experience hosted on Social27 Virtual Event Platform featured a cooking class from a well-known chef that participants could watch or follow along with from their own kitchens. 

There are a variety of fun, memorable experiences you can adapt to suit your brand and target audience. Some ideas to consider include: 

  • A virtual concert or DJ session 
  • Livestreamed Yoga or workout classes 
  • Virtual escape room or murder mystery dinner 
  • A Q&A with a high-profile company spokesperson (celebrity ambassadors, well known executives, influencers, or industry thought leaders). 
  • Cooking or cocktail class 

Look for activities that attendees will be excited to participate in and excited to tell their friends or post about for maximum reach and brand awareness. 

3. Gift Baskets and Giveaways 

Gift baskets and giveaways are a highly underutilized opportunity for organizers and sponsors of virtual events. Only 30% of event owners send their attendees giveaways.  

During in-person conferences and events, attendees often leave with plenty of branded freebies that help them remember the booths they visited. Many in-person events also hold raffles or other fun giveaways. It’s surprising that more virtual event owners and sponsors don’t utilize swag or giveaways, due to the positive reception that brands traditionally receive when providing giveaway items at events. Everyone loves free stuff, right? 

Sponsors should talk to event owners about contributing to a pre-event gift basket. Even if you cannot physically mail something to attendees, you could provide digital gifts like downloadable resources or a $5 Starbucks gift card. You can also raffle off digital rewards like e-gift cards to booth attendees or those that register for a sponsored session or happy hour. 

4. Interstitial Content  

Many companies pay for pre-roll or mid-roll advertising on YouTube or other streaming platforms. This can be a great way to get more eyes on your brand! Why not do the same for event content? 

Interstitial content can be played before the start of virtual event sessions while people are logged on and waiting for the session to begin. They can also be played during intermissions between sessions or content.  

Promote your products and services to a captive audience and encourage them to visit your exhibition booth or upcoming sponsored session. This is a great way to increase visits to your virtual exhibition booth, and push your advertising content out to the audience. 

If you don’t want to create a video to push out as interstitial content, you can make use of Session Banners to display a clickable sponsored banner over a session to direct attendees to your website or exhibition booth. 

5. Gamification and Prizes 

Gamification is a great way to drum up excitement with attendees and encourage them to engage further with event content. Gamification allows attendees to get competitive and earn rewards by completing set challenges or tasks to earn points and work their way up the Leaderboard. Prizes can be awarded to those at the top of the Leaderboard, or event organizers can allow attendees to trade in their points for prizes. 

Sponsors can get more involved in gamification strategies by sponsoring prizes. These prizes can be one of the sponsoring company’s product or service or simply a coveted consumer good that will get people excited. Getting attendees to compete for a sponsored prize throughout the event will keep your company name at the forefront of their minds as they work to earn points. 

Social27 Has Everything Virtual Event Sponsors Need

Social27 Virtual Event Platform offers a wide range of features to help sponsors connect with attendees in exciting and creative ways. From gamification to flexible content delivery methods, Social27 Event Platform can take your event sponsorship to the next level. 

Set up a demo today to learn more about what Social27 has to offer event organizers and sponsors.