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We're a LAN Party organizing start-up in India and have organized a few tournaments at the local level before. Now as we plan to move to the next level, i.e., national, we wish to pitch to the bigger players in the gaming market for sponsorship in our event. Fortunately enough, I've got an appointment with a big gaming company for presenting my event plans in front of them to secure sponsorship from them. There are certain question that I find difficult to answer for they might be decisive of whether the company happens to accept/reject the offer. The questions are as follows:

  1. What should I offer the company in the name of promotion? i.e. What does the company get back by sponsoring on our event?
  2. What should the amount that I should request as sponsorship for the event? i.e. Is there a way to calculate the estimates and put up an exact sponsorship amount targeted? Should I request for specific amount of monetary sponsorship or would it be rude to put up an amount quote?

Thanks for your help in advance. Your help is appreciated. Cheers! :)

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2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

The easiest way to do this is find other events similar to the one you want to run. Look at their sponsorship info (prospectus, etc...) and emulate that. Then use the list of sponsors that sponsored other events like yours as your first mailing list. If they've done it once, it's easier to get them signed up to do it again.

Most of the time the sponsors get to hand out marketing materials, they get their name plastered places. Sometimes they'll request something else.

Figure out what the budget you need is for your event. That's your sponsorship goal, so find ways to break it down into chunks that people would reasonable be interested in doing. It's hard to say, in the US event sponsorship for something similar could be between $500 USD to $20,000 USD. Depends on the event, the audience, if it has a history of succeeding and the like.

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up vote 1 down vote

To answer your questions:
1. If they are a main sponsor it's quite easy, basically like Travis said their name is plastered all over the place. Thy'll give out stuff like say lanyards, pens, etc.
2. As far as money goes, they normally have a set budget, as should you. Better off don't give them a figure right away, rather ask them what they are willing to contribute and go from there. If they ask, for a main sponsor, request at least half the cost.
Also realize if someone sponsors you, you basically are under their control. You have to do what they ask of you, since they are putting up the money. Similar to a record label/artist relationship. However, a good sponsor can skyrocket your success, as PR works both ways. Imagine having your LAN party sponsored by AMD..

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