Seeking Advice for Finding Sponsors for Small, Local Convention

[Shiv]

I figured I'd toss this out there and see what you folks might know.

My friend started up a small, local gaming convention last year called AndoCon. They were shooting for 100 or so people and got 300. They expect to grow to at least 400 this year.

http://www.andocon.org/

Last year, they tried to get a sponsor or two for the show, but had no luck. Given it was the first year for the con, not really a surprise.

Do any of you have any pointers on how they might get a sponsor or two on-board for a small convention like this?

 

[saskganesh]

0) Rule zero. Secure the venue and set the date (Done). Give yourself enough time in advance. Start early (June? 61 days? start today!)

1) Come up with different levels of sponsorship: Gold, Silver, Bronze? $100/$300/$500 (or whatever) Each has a different price and each comes with its own bells and whistles: Logo placements on program, website, banner hangings in the hall, MC call outs, a display table, different forms of recognition to differentiate. Make it fun.

2) Easy to produce marketing tools. Make a sponsorship kit. Talk about the event, the attendees, include any media clips or links to same. This Kit could be a fact sheet, a brochure, a website, all of the above. Something to use when you talk to people who can give you money

3) Social media tools. Twitter, facebook, cheap and easy wasy to get the word out and increase the event profile. If you have video chops, do something with footage and post on youtube. Link madly. You got these, so good work. Leverage it. Put your kit on a tab on the website.

4) you have a list of 300 people. Good work. Call them, email them, let them sponsorship opportunities are available. Some of those people know businesses, others are businesspeople.

6) Industry. What games are you running? Contact the publishers, see what they can do. It could be money, it could be free schwag. Something. Also local hobby shops ~ game vendors. Make a list and contact them all. Send them some press before you do that. Cold calls are tough, warm calls better. ASKING is the important thing.

7)Supporting vendors. 300 people is a lot of hungry people. Easily an opportunity for a few food and drinks vendors. Have a sponsor underwrite a snack: "morning cookies and coffee brought to you by company x". Do you have an awards banquet? That could be sponsored too. What about event t-shirts and cool souvenirs? Do you have a raffle? Lots of room for fun here.

That's just getting started. When you think about it, there's a lot of ways to monetise a con.
Oh and you might have to pay someone to execute all this. Give them 20% of all sales as an incentive.

 

[Deset Gled]

Small, local events best benefit from small, local sponsors. Contact every local gaming store, book store, and toy store you can find. And don't just call or email: visit them in person. Chat up anyone there who will talk to you about it (without being annoying, of course). If you're really lucky, you'll not only meet the owners/managers, you'll meet some employees that will volunteer to come to the show to advertise in exchange for free admission.

Also, try contacting gaming clubs at local universities. Many will have arrangements with local gaming stores (at least, mine did in college). If you can get the club involved (probably by offering a group rate and possibly helping to arrange transportation), you can use that relationship to pull in the stores the club works with.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Which local businesses benefited from the Con last year? They're really the ones you want to target. Hopefully they will remember the increase in business during the Con last year but, if not, it's your job to remind them.