Sponsor Journey · Complete How-To Guide

Three honest answers to questions worth asking before any tier conversation:

• Audience access · sponsorship puts your brand in front of an audience B2B Growth Hub has curated. The audience size matters less than the audience fit.
• Brand association · being associated with a credibility-building event signals "we're in this league". The signal lasts beyond the event.
• Co-marketing leverage · the event itself becomes a content asset · case studies, podcasts, panel content. The repurpose value often exceeds the event-day impressions.

What sponsorship is NOT · a lead-generation cost-per-lead channel. If your ROI model is per-lead, sponsorship is the wrong frame. Use Pipeline / Revenue tier instead.

Sponsorship tiers vary by event but follow a consistent ladder:

• Title Sponsor · one per event. Event-name association ("BRIDGE Conference, presented by [you]"), keynote co-branding, headline content rights. Premium pricing.
• Platinum · 2-3 per event. Brand presence in agenda, dedicated session slot, premium stand if applicable, full delegate list access.
• Gold · 4-6 per event. Brand presence in event collateral, networking session co-branding, attendee data on opt-in basis.
• Silver · scaling tier. Branded presence in event materials, basic networking access.
• Category Partner · contextual sponsorship · "powered by [you]" against a specific session theme. Lower-cost entry.

Pricing is event-specific. Email partnerships team or your account team via /contact for the current rate card.

Sponsorship starts with a 45-minute discovery call. Three questions to answer:

1. What's your strategic objective? · brand awareness, category leadership, audience access, recruitment. Different objectives suit different tiers.
2. Which event aligns? · we maintain ~6 sponsorable events annually. Some are buyer-heavy, some supplier-heavy, some niche by sector. Align to objective.
3. What's the long-game posture? · 1-event commitments rarely produce the brand return; 3-year programmes generally do. Frame expectations upfront.

Once you've aligned on the event + tier:

1. We send a sponsorship pack · the tier's deliverables list, audience profile, asset specifications, payment terms.
2. You review with your team. Most decisions take 2-3 weeks.
3. On commit · contract issued via the platform's digital contract flow at /contract. Sign online · same audit-trail mechanics as any platform contract.
4. 50% deposit on signature; 50% on event delivery.

Once contracted, you have ~8 weeks to deliver:

• Logo · SVG + PNG at multiple densities · 60% of sponsor activations are degraded by low-res logos.
• Brand guidelines · colour, fonts, do/don't. Saves rework when our designer assembles event collateral.
• Spokesperson bio + photo · for sessions you're speaking at or hosting.
• Booth artwork (if applicable) · per the tier's stand spec.
• Pre-event content · 1-2 LinkedIn-ready posts you can publish in the run-up to amplify the event.

Late assets compress production windows · the resulting collateral always looks worse. Plan for delivery 4 weeks pre-event.

The two weeks before the event are when sponsorship value most compounds. Recommended:

• Publish 1-2 LinkedIn posts mentioning the event and your sponsorship · we amplify from the platform's channel in turn.
• Email your own customer list a "we'll be at" note · free brand value for both sides.
• Brief your team · who'll attend, what they're hoping to take away. A sponsor with disengaged staff at the event is more damaging than no sponsor.

On the day, three activation patterns work consistently:

1. Spokesperson on stage · keynote, panel, or fireside chat. Most-watched part of the day · don't waste it on a product pitch.
2. Networking host · sponsor a networking break. Branded reception · spokesperson visible, casual conversations, business-card economy.
3. Branded asset · branded coffee cups, branded notebooks, branded signage. Cheap impressions, real recall.

What doesn't work · standing behind a sponsor booth waiting for attendees to come to you. Sponsors are hosts; not exhibitors. Different posture.

The event is just the input · post-event content is where sponsorship multiplies. Aim for:

• Branded session recording · if you had a speaker slot, the recording goes on your website + ours within 14 days.
• Sponsor-authored case study · a 1,000-word piece written by you, published on the platform's content hub.
• Joint social posts · we publish at least 2 in the 30 days post-event recognising sponsors.
• Attendee feedback summary · we share the relevant slices of the post-event survey so you know what landed.

Three time-horizons to measure:

• Immediate (T+30 days) · impressions, mentions, audience-list pickups. Quantitative but weak signal.
• Mid-term (T+90 days) · pipeline that traces back · prospect conversations referencing the event. Often 5-15% of pipeline in the quarter is event-attributable.
• Long-term (T+12 months) · brand-perception lift. Hardest to measure · easiest to feel. Customer NPS surveys + brand-tracker work for this.

Don't judge the first event by Day 30 alone · sponsorship value compounds over the 12-month window.

~6 weeks post-event · renewal call. Honest review:

• What worked vs what didn't.
• Tier-up or tier-down? Pipeline data tells you.
• Event-mix · same event, different event, multi-event package.
• Programme commitment · year-long vs event-by-event.

~75% of sponsors renew at the same tier or higher. The 25% who don't · usually wrong-fit audience identified on the first event. We'd rather you didn't renew in that case · long-term sponsor regret is corrosive on both sides.

Most tiers grant some form of category exclusivity:

• Title sponsor · exclusive across all categories.
• Platinum · exclusive within your category at this event.
• Gold / Silver · non-exclusive · multiple sponsors per category possible.

If competitor exclusivity matters · commit early. Platinum slots in our category-anchored events go 4-6 months out.

• Assets late · day-of activation at risk · email partnerships team immediately. We'd rather hear at T-3 weeks than discover at T-3 days.
• Spokesperson cancelled last-minute · we have a stand-in pool of senior platform spokespeople. Same-day replacement is doable but the session loses the sponsor-named framing.
• ROI conversation feeling soft at Day 30 · don't panic. Pipeline attribution typically lands at Day 60-90. Schedule the proper review for then.
• Renewal pause · perfectly fine. Some sponsors need a year off. We don't churn-pressure · re-engage when you're ready.