Partnerships Over Placements: Sponsorships That Drive Results

Marlys Arnold [00:00:00]: You're listening to the Trade Show Insights podcast, season 20, episode nine. I'm your host and exhibit marketing strategist Marlys Arnold, bringing you tools to improve your exhibit results. On today's episode, brought to you by the Exhibit Marketers Cafe. We're talking about how to build smarter, more impactful sponsorships that create value for sponsors, organizers and the attendees. So my guest today is returning to Trade Show Insights. She's been here before. She also is featured in my book, Build a Better Trade Show Image. In the updated edition, I included some of her stories and examples. But in case you don't know Wendy Porter, she is the founder and chief event strategist of Wendy Porter Events, a Minneapolis-based experiential event agency.

Marlys Arnold [00:01:28]: She has over 23 years of experience and has done more than 1300 events. She's produced and she's managed $200 million in budgets for fortune level brands and major global activations. So she really knows her stuff. Wendy's known for her strategic approach to event marketing, driving measurable ROI and building trust through to high impact experiences. And she recently launched SponsorLink, which is a service that helps turn sponsorships into powerful business drivers through custom strategy and white glove activation. And just as an aside, we'll talk about this more in a little bit, but Wendy and I have been in conversations for about the past year talking a lot about sponsorships and we both are working on, you know, she's launching SponsorLink, I'm launching Your Sponsorship Map and we're going to be working together on a lot of sponsorship-focused things over the coming months. So Wendy, welcome back to Trade Show Insights.

Wendy Porter [00:02:31]: Thanks Marlys. It's exciting to be here again.

Marlys Arnold [00:02:35]: Well, let's just jump right in here. You know, like I said, we've been talking a lot about sponsorships and kind of start with why, you know, and one of the things you and I have talked about a lot is that the current sponsorship model is broken. And let's talk a little bit about how is it broken and why is now the time to really rethink and just kind of reinvent the whole sponsorship model?

Wendy Porter [00:03:02]: Well, let me give you a little bit of backstory on how I kind of dreamed up SponsorLink. So this all really started for me a couple of years ago when I was working with a client and we had some money that we wanted to put into sponsorships. We didn't like anything that they had on their typical prospectus, right, which was your typical platinum, gold, silver, bronze, and then maybe some things that you could buy. You know, ad hoc. So I went to the organizers and I said, hey, I've got some money. Can we work together on a custom, you know, custom experiential activation? And they said no. And I was shocked. And I thought, wow, I have money to give you and you're just gonna pass that up because came down to the fact that they didn't have the bandwidth to execute on it.

Wendy Porter [00:03:47]: They didn't have the time to think about something new to make it happen. And so my sponsor, you know, or my client, you know, didn't end up spending any money at that particular show. Extra money because there was nothing that really worked for them. And then the third party organizer left that money on the table. So that gave me an aha moment where I was like, wait a second, why can't I be that intermediary? Why couldn't my company step in and help, you know, third party organizers that simply don't have the bandwidth to change what they're doing? And they're just doing rinse and repeat, Right? They don't have the bandwidth to do it. They certainly don't want to leave money on the table, but they simply don't have the time. Right. And then on the flip side, you know, helping exhibitors that want to do something custom and different, that really.

Marlys Arnold [00:04:29]: But they don't have the time and the bandwidth.

Wendy Porter [00:04:31]: They don't have the time. So why not put, put our my company in the middle? It's kind of that bridge between the third party organizer and the exhibitor. So that's where this all started for me kind of couple of years ago in the thinking. And then of course, you and I have talked and we can get into that. But you know, really what I found as I was evaluating sponsorships for my clients is that they aren't working anymore. You know, we're all doing the same thing we did pre-Covid and it's not working anymore.

Marlys Arnold [00:04:56]: And way, way, way pre-Covid.

Wendy Porter [00:04:58]: Way, way, way pre-Covid.

Marlys Arnold [00:04:59]: Yeah, I mean, they really haven't fundamentally changed in the 23 years I've been doing this. I'm constantly telling show organizers, it's like, stop with the heavy metals. You know, it's like the gold, silver, bronze packages. Those are so last century. I mean, it's time to rethink the whole thing about just bundling a bunch of random stuff up in and calling it a gold level package that means nothing.

Wendy Porter [00:05:25]: Right, right, exactly, exactly. So you and I talk about, you know, logos on lanyards and, you know, logos on a big screen. It's just wallpaper. Right. It's not. It doesn't move the needle in any way and nobody remembers it. If you walk away and do a survey and ask people what brand was on the. On the lanyard, they really don't know.

Wendy Porter [00:05:44]: So what's the point? Why you're spending your money on that.

Marlys Arnold [00:05:46]: But yet I think it's really funny. I was looking at a show's website just this week, and, you know, they had all their list of all their sponsorships the lanyards have already sold.

Wendy Porter [00:05:55]: Oh, yeah.

Marlys Arnold [00:05:56]: And it's like, it works. Yeah. And it's like, you know, hey, this is something visible that we can. Something tangible. You know, it's like, oh, let's sponsor the lanyards, or let's sponsor the tote bag. And it's like, okay, like you said, is this really moving the conversation forward with the attendees? I mean, yeah, maybe it makes you memorable on the show floor because everybody's seeing your logo everywhere. But is it really. Is it really getting you new business and new leads? And I just can't see that it is.

Wendy Porter [00:06:28]: Right. And I think what matters is, what do you remember six months down the road? Right. Not what you remember five seconds standing on the show floor. We can look over there and see the logo on the lanyard and the bag. But what do you remember six months down the road?

Marlys Arnold [00:06:41]: Well, and I had somebody make the comment. It's like, I've never made a buying decision based on whose name was on the lanyard.

Wendy Porter [00:06:46]: Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Yep. Yep. So that's. That's why you and I are having this conversation.

Marlys Arnold [00:06:54]: Yeah.

Wendy Porter [00:06:55]: We need to start thinking differently about this. Yeah.

Marlys Arnold [00:06:58]: Well, and another thing I always talk to exhibitors about is what are their goals? And they need to choose the sponsorship that aligns with their goals. You know, if they. If they are looking for visibility, then do something like that. But if they're wanting to position themselves as a thought leader, you know, buying a banner ad in the lobby of the convention center is not positioning them as a thought leader.

Wendy Porter [00:07:22]: Right, Agreed.

Marlys Arnold [00:07:25]: So how. How can sponsors align and. And find opportunities that align with what they're trying to do? Like you said, you tried to reach out to the organizer, and they just completely shut you down. But how. How do they go about figuring out how to make those sponsorships align?

Wendy Porter [00:07:48]: Right.

Marlys Arnold [00:07:49]: Yeah.

Wendy Porter [00:07:49]: I think it goes back to what you just said was, which is looking at your goals and objectives. Right. So that. That's a number one thing you have to do when you're an exhibitor. Regardless if you're actually picking up a sponsorship or not, you need to know.

Marlys Arnold [00:08:02]: Why are you there?

Wendy Porter [00:08:02]: What are you doing, what are you trying to accomplish with your booth and with your sponsorships? Right. So it starts with sort of that, that pipeline review, like what are we trying to do here? Is this an awareness thing? Is this a lead gen thing? Is this a deal? Acceleration, acceleration. What, what is our goal and objective? And then you need to think about the attendee journey. You know, when and where in the attendee journey would something feel natural? Right. So it doesn't feel forced. And I also like to have people sort of look at a Venn diagram approach, do a test around that. Like if it, if it only serves the sponsor to get them money, skip it. Right.

Wendy Porter [00:08:39]: If that's not a good use of your funds, if it only serves the attendee, maybe you don't need to sponsor that either. You need something that serves both communities right. And when you find that intersection, that's what makes a good sponsorship. So I, and I think they need to be bespoke. I really do. I don't think you're ever going to really find a sponsorship that's really going to serve your needs perfectly. And so that's why I'm really, really advocating for third party organizers to make sure they have the strategies and the teams in place to create those custom sponsorships. Because I think that's what really is going to move the needle.

Wendy Porter [00:09:17]: That's my take.

Marlys Arnold [00:09:18]: Yeah. And like you said, it's something that it needs to be a win-win for everybody. Because if the sponsor's just doing it just because, well, for one, just because they've always sponsored, you know, the opening reception or whatever and they don't really know what they're getting out of it, that's not really producing anything. If they're, if they're sponsoring it just because they think it's something that the attendees want, you know, like the, you know, closing night concert with some big, huge, big name rockstar. You know, how is that really getting them any benefit? And you know, I like to talk to exhibit or to organizers about what are the attendee complaints and what are the problems and having sponsorships that fix those things. You know, if transportation from hotels to the convention center is a problem, then you know, come up with some kind of a creative transportation sponsorship. And I know you've done some creative transportation activations in the past, but you know, finding creative different ways to solve a problem. So what are your thoughts?

Wendy Porter [00:10:31]: Well, I recently heard a really great one around that. So this company, they decided they wanted to sponsor transportation, but it was white glove transportation. So they had certain key people that they really wanted to get in a room with. And so they sponsored a pickup service, a black car that went and picked that person up at the airport that they were really trying to get in a room with.

Marlys Arnold [00:10:55]: Yeah.

Wendy Porter [00:10:55]: And then the sponsor was in the car.

Marlys Arnold [00:10:59]: Exactly.

Wendy Porter [00:11:00]: With the person they picked up. So they had this lovely 20, 30 minute conversation from the airport to the hotel. Yeah.

Marlys Arnold [00:11:06]: And it solved the attendees problem. They didn't have to, you know, wait in line for Uber or whatever. It gave the sponsor the opportunity, like you said, to get one on one. And it was, you know, just something that's going to provide a memorable experience overall.

Wendy Porter [00:11:26]: And what did that cost them? A couple hundred bucks for a. Maybe, you know, depending on how long the ride was. Yeah, yeah, right. So.

Marlys Arnold [00:11:34]: Exactly, exactly. And they could hand pick and only offer that to the people that they were. Now, it may or may not actually have gone through the official organizer.

Wendy Porter [00:11:46]: This is true.

Marlys Arnold [00:11:48]: This is true. I don't know on that in that.

Wendy Porter [00:11:50]: Particular example, if they did that on their own or if that was through the third party organizer. But, you know, but again, you know, it could have been through the third party organizer. Why? Why couldn't you offer that service?

Marlys Arnold [00:12:01]: Well, and exactly. I mean, for the third party organizer, they, they could actually have, you know, pay for the service and it wouldn't necessarily be as VIP as, you know, the town car or whatever, but they could have some kind of a fun transportation shuttle event or vendor that they could work with. And then the show is paying for this shuttle. But the sponsor, like you said, has an ambassador on board, welcoming people as they come on board, maybe handing out some kind of goodies, you know, welcome bag as they arrive in the, in the host city. And, you know, all of these, there's just so much potential. And that's what just drives me bananas about so many shows when I, you know, because I have been on more, more trade show websites than I can count. And I go and I look at all these sponsorship opportunities and I'm like, they're just like. I'm like, okay, these are so boring and so dry and so been there, done that.

Marlys Arnold [00:13:06]: It's like, you know, can't we, you know, why do you think it is that organizers are so resistant? You know, especially in that one case you were talking about. Why would they not be willing to do something new if it brings in new income?

Wendy Porter [00:13:21]: Exactly. It's bandwidth. I really think that's the reason they don't have time to add one more thing to the plate.

Marlys Arnold [00:13:28]: Yeah, yeah. What about, you know, and we've talked about some of these things of like, you know, the lanyards and the tote bags and stuff. But what are some other sponsorships that you think are so, you know, just forget about it. They're so old school, they should be avoided or just they're ineffective. What are some other.

Wendy Porter [00:13:48]: Yeah, well, I think it's the things we talked about at the beginning. You know, the logos on the lanyards, the, you know, the logo on the big screen right before, you know, general session or something. You know, the person standing up for two minutes before a general session and saying something, you know.

Marlys Arnold [00:14:07]: Yeah. Not exactly memorable.

Wendy Porter [00:14:09]: We're always like, does anybody even listen to that? I mean, you look around the room and they're all talking to each other. Nobody's listening to the two minute spiel. Right. You know, even sponsoring a network session, I'm not sure, you know, just having your name on the napkin or your name on the, on the signage that you're sponsoring the breakfast or the lunch or the reception is really getting what you want. You want conversations with people. You want a more curated experience where you're getting in a room with key decision makers and having a conversation. So turn that into a dinner with a small group of very selected people that you want to have a conversation with. That's a whole different thing.

Marlys Arnold [00:14:45]: Right.

Wendy Porter [00:14:46]: But sponsoring a 2000 person reception with your brand on the napkin, I don't think you're really gonna get much out of that.

Marlys Arnold [00:14:53]: Yeah. Or even sponsoring like a, some kind of a high end lounge that places.

Wendy Porter [00:15:01]: Where people can, it's, it's about relationships. I think that's the key. Right. Is thinking about where can I have a, a real conversation with somebody? So whether it's in a, you know, a car where you're picking somebody up at the airport and you have this, you know, time together, or in a lounge where they're taking a break and charging their phone and grabbing a coffee and taking a break, that's a great place to have a conversation with somebody. Or in a, you know, very curated dinner setting. There's lots of ways to help create those kind of conversations. And I think that's the key. This, the whole thing boils down to relationships.

Wendy Porter [00:15:40]: So what can you, what can you create that people can sponsor that help create those, you know, serendipitous moments, if you will, where people can have conversations?

Marlys Arnold [00:15:53]: Yeah, it's like engineered serendipity basically.

Wendy Porter [00:15:57]: It is. And here's another one that, that I thought was interesting. Like you take a break, you, you do your breaks between general sessions, let's say, and you know, you've got the puppies that everyone's all around, I mean.

Marlys Arnold [00:16:07]: All about the puppies.

Wendy Porter [00:16:08]: Why don't you do walk the puppy? Go on a walk with the puppy. You get to take a dog for a walk down the convention center hallway with somebody you want to talk to.

Marlys Arnold [00:16:18]: Oh, now that's clever. I haven't seen that one before.

Wendy Porter [00:16:20]: Yeah, I mean, things like that where you just have to start to turn something on its head, turn something that's already happening. You're having a coffee break, you know, but turn it on its head instead of just sponsoring the coffee. And maybe you have, you know, your logo on the coffee cup. What else can you do to create conversations during that time?

Marlys Arnold [00:16:39]: Yeah, exactly, exactly. Well, what about another thing that I, I've been trying to push organizers towards is more year round sponsorship opportunities. What are some of the things that you've seen around that or what are some of your tips for how, how do you, how do you keep the sponsors engaged and build these year round opportunities again without it becoming overly complicated, I guess you would say.

Wendy Porter [00:17:08]: Yeah, so there's a, there's a scale. Right. And complexity, you know, so if we're thinking more along that relationship building side of this conversation, you know, it's, you know, maybe you're sponsoring a series of dinners throughout the year. You know, once a month you're hosting something in a different city. Right. To get key people in a room. Those have been super effective doing these small group dinners. But on the other end of the scale, there is it, maybe it's sponsoring white papers that are getting delivered out in the newsletters or some sort of educational webinar series that you put together to keep the conversations going.

Wendy Porter [00:17:42]: And within that, you know, maybe you try to do breakout rooms where people are getting some time together to have conversations virtually from a distance. Um, I think there's lots of ways we can think about that to try to keep the momentum going throughout the year. Um, but again, it gets back to relationships. What can you do and what can you build throughout the year to keep relationships building and moving forward?

Marlys Arnold [00:18:02]: Well, and that also feeds into the whole idea, if you're wanting to be perceived as a thought leader in the industry, what a great way to do that. You're, you're not only being a thought leader at the event, but you're also leading the conversation throughout the year with like you said, with webinars or with dinners or.

Wendy Porter [00:18:19]: Right.

Marlys Arnold [00:18:20]: Or what other kinds of things that you could be doing throughout the year that keeps your name in front of those attendees all year long. And it's a value add for the organizer that they can, you know, upcharge for these year round partnership levels that it takes you way beyond what you're just doing at the, at the three or four day event.

Wendy Porter [00:18:44]: Correct? Yep, that's exactly right.

Marlys Arnold [00:18:47]: So how does an organizer decide or how can they even tell when you know? Because some, some shows, I mean, it's like, oh my word, it's like you scroll and scroll and scroll and page a mile long of all these sponsorship opportunities and it's just like absolutely overwhelming for the exhibitor who's wanting to actually do something. They're like, oh my goodness, I don't even know where to begin. How does an organizer figure out what's like how much they should offer or how much is too much or, or what? Where do you go from there?

Wendy Porter [00:19:18]: Yeah, it's a great question. So I mean, I think the mantra is that if you have too many, they become too diluted. Right. Your impact becomes diluted. So I think there's sort of some rules of thumbs there that if you have say 5,000 attendees, you probably want between 15 to 20 strong activations. Right. But if you have 500 attendees, if it's a much smaller conference, you would probably want to keep it under five. Right.

Wendy Porter [00:19:41]: To make an impact. So it's better to sell fewer high value activations than flood the floor with a bunch of gimmicks that really nobody can really notice. Right?

Marlys Arnold [00:19:51]: Right. Yeah, I think that's true because like you said, the more things that you offer, it just creates overwhelm for everybody.

Wendy Porter [00:19:59]: Right.

Marlys Arnold [00:20:00]: And it's not really, it's not really achieving the objectives for either the organizer or the sponsor if there's so many sponsorships that they're not selling and the exhibitors noise, it's kind of like think.

Wendy Porter [00:20:14]: About when you're looking at your email and you're getting bombarded with banner ads. It's kind of that same idea and you're not seeing any of it because it's too much. Right?

Marlys Arnold [00:20:21]: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So what is one thing that the sponsors should stop doing? I mean, what is it that you see sponsors doing wrong all the time that they really need to just total? Because we've talked a lot about how the organizer needs to change and you know, revamp their offers, but what do you see that Sponsors are doing wrong that they need to change.

Wendy Porter [00:20:44]: Yeah, I think it's, I think my biggest thing would be probably just trying to measure just your success against, you know, badge scans alone or attendance numbers. It's not really meaningful. Right. It's about qualified conversations, qualified leads. That's what you care about. How many people walk past your booth. You know, that's an interesting stat to know, but it's not really going to change your ROI per se. So that's what I would say is really making sure you're clear on your goals and objectives and how you're measuring and what you're measuring and making sure you're measuring things beyond those high level metrics that don't really mean much, although.

Marlys Arnold [00:21:24]: Kind of backing up a little bit. I think even the fact that of sponsors measuring how much traffic came to their booth as a result of their sponsorship is something that most of them don't do even in the first place. That's, you know, they're not even, they're not even necessarily. Especially if they're just like, you know, well, some things, it's like you can't very well track how many of you came to our booth based on the lanyards, you know, things like that. But I think even like, you know, if you're, if you're hosting the opening night reception, are you tracking how many people came? Because you know, of whatever activation you did during that event, you know, that official event or whatever. One of the things that I found for some of my exhibitor clients, you know, I always recommend if you've got something new, pay to get in that new product showcase. You know, it's usually not all that expensive to do that. That's like a great entry level sponsorship, but that's a high value sponsorship.

Marlys Arnold [00:22:26]: You know, I've had exhibitors that have told me, you know, we had a tiny little 10 by 10 in the back of the hall, but because we had something in the new product showcase, we had tons of people coming to our booth who said, we saw your product in the new product showcase and we came because we want to check it out. That is a high value sponsorship.

Wendy Porter [00:22:46]: Agreed. And I think the key there is that a lot of people look at that and they think it has to be a new product, as in the whole company needs to be new to the market. And that's not necessarily the case. It could be a new product in a company that's 50 years old.

Marlys Arnold [00:22:58]: Right, exactly.

Wendy Porter [00:23:00]: Product. So.

Marlys Arnold [00:23:01]: Exactly. And you got to check with the, you know, the show, every show has kind of their own regulations. I think a standard is. A lot of times it's like, it has to be something that's new since last year's show.

Wendy Porter [00:23:10]: Yep.

Marlys Arnold [00:23:11]: And that gives you some pretty broad leeway. You know, even if it debuted three weeks after the show closed last year, it's new according to their rules. So I think that's something exhibitors need to check and see. What are the rules for this? What do we have that might qualify, you know, how if we're looking to start to introduce something, maybe we can speed it up a little bit and debut it at the show, you know, and have that. But if you. That gives you a way that you can stand out from everybody else on the show floor. And it's not like you have to pay $25,000 to sponsor some big thing to do it.

Wendy Porter [00:23:48]: Right. Yep. Yep. The other thing that I've seen really good success with is speaking slots. And again, the key there is to make sure it doesn't become an infomercial. Right.

Marlys Arnold [00:24:00]: Yeah.

Wendy Porter [00:24:01]: It's because it's an educational opportunity to be seen as a thought leader, which then is going to lead people to go, oh, that person knows what they're talking about and what they're doing. I want to learn more about what they do at their company. It shouldn't be an infomercial about your product.

Marlys Arnold [00:24:15]: Right.

Wendy Porter [00:24:15]: So.

Marlys Arnold [00:24:15]: Well, and one of the best ways to do that is do it more as a case study. Like, you sponsor the session, but have one of your own clients be the presenter instead of your CEO, who, by the way, may not be the best presenter in the world anyway.

Wendy Porter [00:24:29]: Correct. That's exactly what I.

Marlys Arnold [00:24:31]: So if you're going to sponsor a session, make sure you've got this really wow session that you're going to be providing. Correct. And, you know, and then again, driving that traffic, you know, and tracking when the people come to your booth. How many people? You know, I've had exhibitor clients that have done that, too, and they've told me, wow, we were blown away by how many people came and said, hey, we sat in your session yesterday morning, and we just had to come to your booth and learn more about this.

Wendy Porter [00:24:58]: Right? Exactly. Yep.

Marlys Arnold [00:25:01]: So, Wendy, let's talk a little bit about. You know, we kind of teased at the beginning about how we've been working behind the scenes to. To develop some new things. So I know for me, one of the reasons that we decided to partner up is because we kind of come at this from a little bit different approach. You know, for me, I really focus on the strategy and the evaluation and the initial audit on what's working, what's not. And organizers, you know, sometimes they. They love that. But then, like you said, then they have this gap of, okay, we've got all these ideas, but now how do we implement them? So that's where you come in.

Wendy Porter [00:25:38]: Exactly. Yep. So, yeah, that's why you and I think are going to be a really good partnership for this because you've got the experience in doing that evaluation and that audit. Right. And helping companies uncover opportunities and figure out what the right match is. And then. And then coming up with some creative new solutions too, in partnership with our team. And then we would sort of pick up the baton from there.

Wendy Porter [00:26:00]: Right. And help people with the activation side. So if they don't have the bandwidth on their internal team to actually make it happen in the booth with the activation, or the third party organizer doesn't have the bandwidth, my team can step in and help make sure that it comes together.

Marlys Arnold [00:26:14]: So you can be the boots on the ground.

Wendy Porter [00:26:16]: Yes, yes.

Marlys Arnold [00:26:19]: So for those of you who are listening and you're thinking, hey, we really need to rethink and revamp our sponsorship. So reach out to Wendy and I, because from audit to activation, we've got you covered. If you want brainstorming and evaluation and consulting, start with Your Sponsorship Map. That's my new program. So you can reach out to me about that or go to exhibitmarketerscafe.com/yoursponsorshipmap. And if you need somebody to help you activate ... Wendy.

Wendy Porter [00:26:54]: Yes, you can find us at wendyporterevents.com and go underneath the services tab there and you'll find more information about SponsorLink at that place.

Marlys Arnold [00:27:04]: Wendy, I think this is so exciting. I mean, I have so much fun working on sponsorships and I'm really looking forward to teaming up with some clients and really walking them all the way through the brainstorming and the reevaluating all the way through to see what you and your team come up with through SponsorLink.

Wendy Porter [00:27:25]: Same here. I think it's super exciting.

Marlys Arnold [00:27:27]: All right, thanks for being here and thanks for everybody for listening. And if you want to make over your sponsorships, reach out to either Wendy or me, and we can't wait to see where you go from here. If you enjoyed today's episode and would like more, you can subscribe to the Trade Show Insights podcast and automatically receive future episodes on your chosen device. Simply search for Trade Show Insights in Apple, Spotify, or virtually anywhere else that podcasts are found, then click the subscribe button. Trade Show Insights is protected by the Creative Commons Copyright License. You may feel free to share this recording with colleagues or embed it on your own blog, as long as it is shared in its entirety and is not used for commercial purposes. To learn more, please see the link in the sidebar of the show notes at tradeshowinsights.com. Well, that's it for this episode of Trade Show Insights. Be sure to check out our Show Notes and archives at tradeshowinsights.com. You can also connect with me using the social media links or the contact page on the site.

Marlys Arnold [00:28:43]: I'm Marlys Arnold. Thanks for listening and and be sure to join us next time for more tools to improve your exhibit results.