Written by CadmiumCD Contributor Pamela Shigeoka
The events industry has undergone seismic changes in 2020, and so virtual events have become the new standard. Virtual events allow organizations to maintain connections with members while keeping everyone safe.
But the shift to virtual events has brought about a whole new slew of issues to be dealt with. One of the big issues is how to maximize sponsorship opportunities when an event doesn’t have an exhibit hall or signage.
CadmiumCD’s eventScribe Live has several built-in options as well as add-ons to help you attract sponsors and make sure that your virtual attendees see the sponsorship information you want them to see.
High-Visibility Banners
What’s the first thing that you see when you visit a website? The top banner, right? With eventScribe websites, the top banner is an excellent way to bring attention to top-tier sponsors.
Top Banners
Typically the top banner of a website features the event’s branding only, but it’s easy to add a premium sponsor’s logo to that banner. Their logo will be visible for most of your attendees’ user experience, since it sits on prime website real estate at the top of the page and will show on all of the pages of your site.
The top banner is a great spot to feature an event sponsor, a website-specific sponsor, or just a top dollar sponsor.
Side Banners
Side banners are a flexible option for displaying sponsors alongside event information. Situated on the right or left side of your event website, you can choose to display a static banner or cycle through multiple images or sponsor logos, which can be linked to external websites.
The side banners also support animated gifs, which are great for increasing visual interest. This is a good opportunity for displaying medium tier sponsors to help maximize their exposure, particularly the left-side banner, which is displayed with the left navigation menu and is visible on every page of your website.
Create Visual Interest with Advertising
Similar to the walk-in slides that you might have at a live event, your page’s visitors will see these images at the top of your eventScribe website’s main page. You can use sponsor ads alongside notices about virtual events, as well as general event or organization information.
Rotating Slideshow
The slideshow is a great way to feature both information and sponsors prominently on your main page. The images you choose will cycle through automatically, so you won’t have to worry about managing when sponsor images appear.
See All the Sponsorship Opportunities
Download the eventScribe Live Sponsor Opportunities PDF to get ideas for your next event.
Flexibility in Sponsor Logo Placement
eventScribe offers several options for featuring sponsor logos, giving you flexibility in how you choose to draw attention to your sponsors. Between your exhibitor listing pages, the virtual floor plan, and educator sessions, there are endless opportunities to draw attention to your sponsors.
Sponsor Listings
The sponsor listing is a logo-heavy page with, as you’ve probably guessed, a list of all the sponsors associated with your virtual event. This can be much more than just a list, though.
eventScribe gives you the option to group this list by sponsor tiers, so you can keep premium sponsors at the top of the page with platinum, gold, and silver tiers underneath. The logos can link to sponsor/company websites, giving attendees a quick way to get more information about a sponsor.
This list is a good search tool for site visitors; they can find sponsor information immediately if they’re looking for a specific one.
Virtual Booths
Each exhibitor at your virtual event will have a company profile page that includes a description, the logo, social media information, categories, and contact information.
The page includes badges, icons along the top that can give special recognition to that company, such as levels of sponsorship or partnership at your event.
Floor Plans
The interactive floor plan might not seem like it makes sense without a live event, but we have found that it acts like a schedule at a glances does, to give attendees a different way to look at your exhibitor list.
The floor plan gives visitors a bird’s eye view of all of the companies exhibiting virtually at your event.
You have the choice of including logos either for all exhibitors or reserving logos as a sponsor opportunity or for specialty groups.
Education Sessions
Exhibitor education sessions are another great way to feature a sponsor. Sponsored presentations or receptions can include the sponsor’s logo and a “sponsored by” message in the description.
You can also pull out a series of education sessions being presented by exhibitors and display this specific list to attendees on the main page, for example, to draw more attention to it and encourage more virtual attendance.
Need More Options? Try Add-Ons for Website Sponsorship
If the built-in options aren’t quite enough for your event, CadmiumCD also offers add-ons that you can include to expand your sponsorship opportunities.
Product Showcase
The Product Showcase is a website that displays new or featured products for the exhibitors.
Exhibitors can upload assets related to those products, such as brochures, images, videos, or anything to get attendees interested in finding more information about their product and company.
Each product’s page includes a Request Information button, which works as lead generation. If a user is interested in the product, they can click this button, and eventScribe will send that lead to the booth rep and connect the attendee with the exhibitor.
Product Videos
Product videos can be uploaded in the Harvester. Videos play in a popup with a back button to take the attendee right back to the product description, so it’s a smooth user experience.
Videos are a great way to generate more visual interest while delivering a lot of product information in a short amount of time.
Live Streaming
eventScribe Live is our streaming platform for live events and presentations.
You can include banner ads that sit at the top and bottom of the frame where the live video will play, so attendees will see any sponsor logos.
You have a lot of flexibility with these banners; you can use a single sponsor for all of your live presentations, or you can choose individual sponsors for individual sessions. The banners give you a way to include logos and brand opportunities right on the screen.
Wrapping Up
Finding ways to maximize your sponsorship opportunities doesn’t have to be difficult.
Get a demo or submit an RFP to explore the many options to help you get the most out of your sponsorships.
This article is based on a webinar. Watch the recording to learn more.
About Pamela
I am a freelance writer who enjoys dipping my toes into a wide variety of writing subjects. I have an M.A. in English but found that teaching wasn’t for me, so I’m applying my training to writing instead. I’ve been blogging for ten years and have written everything from book reviews to pop culture essays to business topics. In my spare time, I enjoy writing fiction, playing games, and learning new crafts. I live in Corvallis, Oregon, with my husband, daughter, and dog.