Six digital sponsorships for your next event

Squeezing budgets, rising attendee expectations and higher ROI demands – these are just some of the challenges tradeshows are facing today. So how can digital sponsorship help?

Smart event organisers are employing online management platforms that provide online sponsorship options.

These digital sponsorships are flexible, data-driven tools that deliver quantifiable value and connect sponsors directly with engaged audiences.

We will discuss the benefits of these online sponsorship tools and the top ones used by tradeshow organisers.

Read more➡️  Event Tech Forecast 2024 – the complete guide to the digital landscape of the events industry

Advantages of digital sponsorship

For event organisers

• Enhanced ROI: Trackable data allows you to demonstrate the value proposition to sponsors, justifying their investment and strengthening future partnerships.
• Increased revenue: Offer diverse sponsorship packages catering to various budgets and objectives, unlocking new revenue streams beyond traditional booth rentals.
• Reduced costs: Eliminate physical booth setup and maintenance costs, making trade shows more accessible and profitable.
• Engaged audience: Interactive and targeted experiences keep attendees engaged, leading to higher satisfaction and potential leads for sponsors.
• Valuable data: Gain insights into attendee preferences and engagement for future event improvement and sponsor targeting

For sponsors

• Measurable impact: Track key metrics like clicks, leads, and engagement to optimise campaigns and demonstrate ROI to stakeholders.
• Targeted reach: Go beyond passive booth interactions and reach the right audience through personalised banners, pop-ups, and mobile ads.
• Global engagement: Break geographical barriers and connect with attendees worldwide through the online platform.
• Cost-effectiveness: Reach a wider audience for a fraction of the cost compared to traditional booths, maximising investment impact.
• Interactive experiences: Create engaging experiences like product demos, contests, and live Q&As to capture attention and generate leads.
• Extended engagement: Leverage post-event campaigns and content featuring sponsors to nurture leads and drive conversions beyond the show.

1. Featured exhibitors

Imagine a high-traffic intersection in the digital space – that’s where featured exhibitors are placed.

Prominent placement on the event management platform’s homepage or directory listings ensures maximum brand visibility.

This allows exhibitors to stand out from the competition and make their offerings easily discoverable.

Highlighting relevant exhibitors also helps drive greater engagement with attendees, leading to a more satisfying experience.

How to enable featured exhibitors in ExpoPlatform?

As event organisers, you can reserve the top spot on the exhibitors list for your most premium sponsors, allowing them to appear as featured exhibitors.

You can do this locally by simply activating the Sponsorship and Show in Search toggle switch on the exhibitor page.

The number of featured exhibitors and products can also be adjusted in Registration Settings > Exhibitor > Additional Settings

2. Featured products

Like featured exhibitors, products can be highlighted on the event management platform as a sponsored option.

This leads to direct product engagement as users can easily access detailed information about the featured product, increasing the likelihood of clicks, inquiries and potential leads.

Sponsors can also integrate calls to action, links to their website, or contact forms directly within the featured product listing.

This helps streamline the conversion process for interested buyers.

How to enable featured products in ExpoPlatform?

The same functionality is available to highlight the exhibitors’ products.

You can do this locally by turning on the Sponsorship and Show in Product Search List toggle switch on the exhibitor page.

The same limit applies to featured products as exhibitors.

3. Sponsoring banners

Event management platforms offer banner options in different sizes, animations and interactive elements.

This enables sponsors to adapt their message creatively to different touchpoints and user contexts.

Banner placements are strategically done near relevant product categories, high-traffic areas or user segments e.g. demographics, interests for targeted visibility and lead generation.

These banners can link to sponsor websites, product pages or lead capture forms – helping drive traffic and generate valuable leads.

How to enable sponsoring banners in ExpoPlatform?

Sponsoring banners are available throughout the website, mobile and floor plan.

Activate them by turning on the relevant toggle switch in the Sponsoring section of the Exhibitor page.

An image uploader of a specific size will then be visible.

4. Sponsoring pop-ups

Sponsored pop-ups on exhibitor landing pages can be a powerful, micro-targeted sponsorship option.

These pop-ups are displayed to visitors who have shown interest in relevant exhibitors or product categories.

These can be leveraged to highlight limited-time offers and exclusive deals or to promote sessions, products and content.

The pop-up should be visually appealing, non-intrusive and offer clear value to avoid user annoyance.

How sponsoring pop-ups appear on ExpoPlatform

Exhibitors who have pop-ups turned on can push a message to the visitors of their showroom.

The exhibitor can highlight anything to the visitor who lands on their page – this can be a promotion, highlighted product or anything else.

5. Mobile app specials

Mobile app specials like splash screens and banners in exhibitor, product, and speaker directories offer a targeted and engaging digital sponsorship option.

These are prime mobile real estate – splash screens offering high-impact branding and a memorable introduction to your company.

Directory banners are prominently placed to ensure high visibility alongside relevant content users actively seek.

You can utilise A/B testing features to compare different creative formats and targeting strategies to continuously improve your campaign performance.

How to enable mobile app specials in ExpoPlatform?

The splash screen is available in 2208 x 2208 image size with timers, providing sponsors excellent visibility.

Specific banner placements are also available in the exhibitor, product and speaker directories.

6. Sponsoring statistics

Through sponsored statistics, exhibitors gain valuable insights into user behaviour, search trends and content engagement across various platform elements (pop-ups, search, video).

This helps create branded data reports and visualisations that showcase crucial insights and position the sponsor as a thought leader and trusted source of industry information.

These sponsored stats are also a valuable revenue stream for organisers, helping support their tradeshow and drive ROI.

How to enable sponsoring statistics in ExpoPlatform?

Impressions and Clicks are available for each under Sponsoring > Statistics

The dashboard also comprises pop-up, search and video statistics.

A complete Export (xls) is available for download.

To get a more detailed picture of the digital monetisation options available for event organisers, download the Monetisation Blueprint

We hope you enjoyed reading this article and found it useful. At ExpoPlatform, we want to help you build better events and communities. Please get in touch and ask for a demo here. Thank you 😀