This article is meant to be a tool to email your clients and prospects or post on LinkedIn. Customize it with your station’s promotions and fundraisers with an event sponsorship. Providing content is critical to getting appointments and positioning yourself as a marketing consultant to small and medium-sized businesses.
Here is a step-by-step guide, starting with a question for your local business partner:
How can your business show your community that it cares and wants to do its part to improve the quality of life for your region? One key strategy for fostering genuine connections is a local community event sponsorship. To succeed, follow these steps with a clear understanding of values, what you want to accomplish and the follow up.
Define Your Values: The Foundation of Local Sponsorship
Before a business can engage meaningfully with the community, it must define its core values. These values act as the compass that guides sponsorship decisions. Starbucks, for instance, places a premium on sustainability and education. This foundational step ensures that the chosen events align with the company’s ethos, creating an authentic connection with the community.
Tom Thumb Grocery sponsors the Dallas Cowboys and, more importantly, wants to align with the deep connection fans feel for the team. They reward fans with a 10% discount on game days when fans wear their jersey to the store to shop. They also happen to sell plenty of Cowboy merchandise in the store. Does your company want to encourage children to stay active, showcase your town, help older adults or salute the troops?
Select the Right Event: Aligning with Values and Community Needs
Once values are established, the next step is to select an event that resonates with the company’s values and the community’s needs. This could range from supporting a local charity through a fun run to supporting education initiatives through school fundraisers. Nike commits to youth sports. They sponsor a play day at local parks where elite Nike athletes play sports with kids, enjoy a free lunch, and offer registration for future camps. Select events that align with your company’s values and positively impact the community. Partnering with radio stations, for example, is a great way to get involved in what they know the local community feels is meaningful and showcases your involvement.
Staffing for Success: The Role of Temporary Staffing Agencies
With the event chosen, you may have to shift your focus to efficient staffing. If you want to commit to being at the state fair for ten days and gathering leads for your business, staffing can be challenging at night or on weekends. Temp agencies play a crucial role in this stage. By leveraging their expertise, companies can ensure that the right individuals are in place to manage booths, interact with the public, and effectively communicate your message.
Basic event staff, like booth attendants, may range from $15 to $25 per hour, or specialized positions, such as promotional models or tech-savvy staff, could cost $20 to $40 per hour or more. Management roles involving supervision or coordination may have higher rates, reaching $25 to $50 per hour.
Additionally, temp agencies charge a fee, typically 15% to 30% or more, on top of hourly wages. Kelly Services, Adecco, and Manpower all have expertise in this area. Here’s a staffing guide to doing it right.
Follow Up with Purpose-the 3 P’s
Don’t forget the 3 P’s. Plan your Post-event with Purposeful follow-up. Thank attendees for their involvement through email lists that may be offered—post on social media about your participation in the event. Run a radio campaign on the station event sponsor highlighting the event results. Reach out to prospects you may have met who wanted further info about a special promotion connected to the event.
By first defining values, then carefully selecting an event sponsorship, efficiently staffing them with employees or temp agencies, and following up with purpose, companies can create value for themselves and their community. Local event sponsorship can align your business with the community, gain favor with future customers or even show the local government your commitment to the area. Now that’s a Win-Win.
Jeff Caves is a sales columnist for BSM working in radio and digital sales for Cumulus Media in Dallas, Texas and Boise, Idaho. He is credited with helping launch, build, and develop Sports Radio The Ticket in Boise, into the market’s top sports radio station. During his 26 year stay at KTIK, Caves hosted drive time, programmed the station, and excelled as a top seller. You can reach him by email at jeffcaves54@gmail.com or find him on LinkedIn.
