How to pitch a sponsorship: leveraging data to close the deal

To say there is a lot riding on your sponsorship proposal is an understatement. Beyond the necessary financial support, having the right partners means maximizing your ability to reach and impact an engaged audience or fan base.

With so much on the line, putting together a sponsorship proposal can feel like a daunting task. How can you connect with potential sponsors and show the value that a partnership can deliver?

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when renewal season hits. It’s as simple as knowing what information to include and where to find it. Once you’ve got the data, you can customize your proposal and share your story in a meaningful way.

How to create a sponsorship proposal

1. Define your unique selling proposition

This is an important exercise for any company, whether you’re looking for sponsorship partners or not.

In the context of your sponsorship proposal, it’ll help you tell your story and communicate the impact partnership can bring to potential sponsors

Your USP will play a very important role in your sponsorship proposal, as it’s your first opportunity to make a strong first impression.

2. Get to know your audience

Understanding who your audience is and what motivates them helps you connect with them on a deeper level.

A strong, connected audience demonstrates your strength as an opportunity for sponsors and it also helps you connect and pitch the right partners.

3. Identify your ideal sponsors

With greater insight into your audience motivations and investment requirement, you should have started to formulate a pretty good list of brands on your pitch list.

Dig a bit deeper to understand how your ideal sponsors customers engage with your property – show them the opportunity to deepen a connection with current customers or perhaps build one with new customers.

4. Understand the competitive set

Knowing where you fit among your competitors is a great way to demonstrate awareness for your property, and in some cases the room for growth that exists.

See how you stack up within a prospect’s current portfolio so that you can identify the strongest narrative to attract them to your property. Understanding the context of the landscape builds credibility and trust.

5. Price your package

Landing on the right price for partner investment can be one of the biggest challenges when it comes to putting your proposal together. How do you accurately value the opportunity to a potential partner, so that both sides are satisfied?

There’s no silver bullet to putting a price on a package, but here are a few things we recommend you consider. First, lean into the consumer data to quantify the potential impact that a sponsor can have through your property and attribute it a value – this provides a fact-based investment guideline.

Second, you can then start to build out the value of the assets being offered leveraging market metrics such as cost per impressions for media elements and cost per contacts for in-person interactions.

6. Gather testimonials

Demonstrating the value you have already provided to existing or past partners is a great way to seal the deal with a new one.

Aim to highlight tangible gains your sponsors have experienced in awareness, impact and across key image attributes with your engaged base with key learnings that you’ve applied to this opportunity.

7. Compile your proposal

Now you should be armed with the data and information you need to start building your sponsorship proposal pitch deck.

Ready to get started?

Download our sponsorship proposal template here.