Recently Al Mercuro invited me to contribute to his “Industry Jargon of the Day” series on LinkedIn, and I shared a basic definition of sponsorships, along with one of my key tips for exhibitors to consider:
But there’s so much more to the idea of using sponsorships at trade shows!
For starters, it’s important to know what your goals are for doing a sponsorship – what do you want to achieve?
Knowing that will help you hone in on which sponsorship makes the most sense. For example, if you want to connect with attendees then there’s not much point in paying to have your logo on the tote bag.
But too often sponsorships are bland and simply create a sea of logos around the convention center. So why not spice things up?
Here are some beyond-the-logo examples to get your creative juices flowing:
- Sponsor-branded pickleball court on the show floor (like this one at ShopTalk)
- Staircase that doesn’t just have sponsor banners on it, but actually engages attendees’ attention as they climb the stairs (like what IKEA did with this “look inside” example)
- Floor (or sidewalk) graphics that go beyond logos and booth numbers (like how this crosswalk turned into a giant box of fries)
And in case you need even more inspiration, here are a few posts from the Trade Show Insights archives:
- Reimagining Trade Show Sponsorships (podcast interview with MK Granados, plus we did an Open Mic chat on LinkedIn about Unconventional Sponsorships)
- Using a Sponsorship to Entertain (featuring a baseball example)
- Creating Win-Win Sponsorships (podcast episode with even more examples)
What kinds of creative sponsorships have you seen or used? Please share in the comments!
