Create a sponsorship strategy

Approaching and Securing Sponsorships

Create a sponsorship strategy.

Identify your sponsor donation levels and what you will provide in return for each level. Consider what may be important to the sponsor and be flexible in your approach, making it clear that you are open to ideas on how you can provide value for their donation or further their business goals.

Check out examples of sponsorship donation levels in the Location Examples folder in the Resource section.

Here are a few more things to consider:

Brand visibility is a way for organizations to get their name out to the community and has the potential to increase sales and attract new talent. Companies may want to see their logo everywhere from t-shirts to marketing collateral. Be specific on what level of sponsorship will provide such recognition and how you will promote their brand.

Be clear on how you will recognize them for their generosity before, during, and after the celebration. Based on their level of sponsorship, invite them to review materials that will include their logo or where they will be acknowledged (press releases, announcements, etc.).

Be willing to track and provide metrics to help evaluate the exposure the sponsor received throughout the campaign. Keeping the lines of communication open is important. Even if the numbers are not eye-popping the ability to show that you delivered what you promised is impactful. Building good sponsor relationships based on honesty and trust is essential and will make it more likely to get them on board next year.

Tag us on Twitter

@WorldIADay⁠

and

Facebook⁠

and we will share your posts with our network as well. We love to help promote our generous sponsors from around the world.

Determine who on the team will reach out to each sponsor to avoid duplicate inquiries. You should also establish a plan to follow up with sponsors. Most of the time, 8 days is appropriate. Consider following up with a phone call to make a more human connection.

It’s wise to plan out what you will say before approaching a sponsor. Create a script that expresses a passion for IA, its value, and why sponsoring World IA Day would benefit them and the community (keep personas and your research in mind).

If you need a little inspiration, check out

Selling Information Architecture by Abby Covert⁠

⁠

Loading docs.google.com⁠

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Sponsorship Prospectus

Sign sponsorship contract

Sponsorship is a business arrangement. It is important to have an agreement in writing so that both parties understand what to expect and are clear on what will be delivered.

Sponsorship is a business arrangement. It is important to have an agreement in writing so that both parties understand what to expect and are clear on what will be delivered. We have provided a

sponsorship agreement (Google Doc)⁠

and

sponsorship invoice⁠

templates for you to get started.

Here are a few steps we recommended as you secure sponsors:

Work closely with your budget and money raised so there is a continual balancing of how much you can spend. Decide on essential costs first, then add other items if it makes sense.

Remember to communicate, follow-up, and act professional. You gain credibility by doing what you say you will do which is an important aspect of relationship building. Provide them with information on time and arrive early to appointments.

Have a follow-up plan ready for sponsors who do commit. Once you get the agreement signed,

Collect a high-resolution logo from the sponsor to use for promotion.

Request the URL(s) of company site(s). The sponsor logo on your World IA Day location page will link to this url and the url may also be displayed on the slides for your celebration.

Collect a brief 3 sentence statement about the company’s products or services. The statement can be used to acknowledge the sponsor at your celebration.

Ask the company if they would like to provide marketing materials or give-a-ways for distribution to WIAD attendees.

Collect handles for the company’s social channels. Additionally, ask if the sponsor would like to provide pre-written Tweets and/or allow your team to come up with them.

Depending on the size of your celebration, offer complimentary tickets and a sponsor table at your World IA Day celebration. If your celebration is more intimate, offer some other perks to make their experience pleasant. Ask that they provide the attendee name(s) for the Sponsor passes. If food is provided, consider offering sponsors a free meal.

Be sure to thank them for their donation and keep the lines of communication open. The goal is to build strong relationships so they will consider sponsoring annually.

Be sure to communicate that sponsor attendees must register and perhaps provide a special name badge acknowledging them as a sponsor.

Approaching and Securing Sponsorships

Create a sponsorship strategy.

Sign sponsorship contract

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