Many successful food and beverage events have partners as essential ingredients. An event partner proposal is a cost-saving opportunity that can help you reach new people and give your event a unique twist. Creative collaborations can make your event more marketable, regardless of whether it’s an in-person, virtual, or hybrid event.
Are you unsure where to begin? When looking for potential partners, think broadly. These could be anything from venue managers to vendors to performers. Once you have a list of potential partners, you should reach out to them to see what they can do for you, and what you can do for them. Their contributions can make your food or drink event more memorable, regardless of whether they are able to incorporate a product, idea, or service. How do you find the right partners to make the most of this opportunity?
Learn more about our event partners and then get started with our tips on how to collaborate to host more successful food-and-drink events.
What’s the difference between an event sponsor and a partner?
The first step to identifying event partners is to distinguish them from event sponsors. This is often due to differences in money.
Event sponsors can pay money to be featured at your event. This could include logo placements on marketing materials, booths at the event, or sponsorship of a portion of the event. To get the benefits that you offer, the sponsor will purchase sponsorship packages for food festivals.
A partner in an event is different. The partnership is more than just financial support. It provides both benefits. This partnership allows you to tap into their market and marketing channels. In return for your marketing efforts, your partner will usually promote your event and announce the press release.
There are many similarities between event sponsors and event media partners. To determine which opportunity is best for your event, you need to decide whether you are looking to sell sponsorships, or if you want to engage in a mutually advantageous arrangement. Learn how to find food sponsors for your event.
Benefits of being a partner in a food event
Event partners and sponsorships can make a food and beverage event more profitable. You can make this type of event more successful by giving attendees access to various vendors. This can increase the appeal of your event and make it more interesting for guests. You can also increase the number of food and beverage options at your event by partnering with other companies, increasing its appeal to attendees. Instead of just setting up a handful of food and drink booths, consider having several. To expand your options, why not work with local food trucks, coffee shops, and other breweries?
Event partnerships can help you expand your audience and market your event. Partners are usually happy to promote your event on their site, at their establishment, and on social media. This marketing boosts attendance and ultimately brings in more money. Sponsoring events with food is mutually beneficial for all parties.
Tips to make your event partner proposal a success
These tips will make it easy to create a partnership proposal.
Find the right partner to promote your event
Look for partners who complement the event’s style or bring something new to it. You should look for potential partners’ communities and target audiences. Do they have a similar audience to yours? What shared interests might link different audiences to your event? Partnering with large audiences can help you to grow yours, while smaller audiences may be more effective at a niche interest.
Consider partners who can complement your existing offerings. You might be hosting a coffee festival that features many coffee vendors, but you need some partners. So that event-goers can enjoy their coffee with baked goods, you might partner with a few bakeries.
Choose your partners carefully
Melissa King, Top Chef finalist, advises in The Pop-Up Playbook that “consider teaming up with someone to complement your food and help reach a new audience — regardless of whether it’s an alcohol partner or a local chef.” Share your plans with partners and look into co-marketing opportunities. You can be creative in choosing who you invite to an event. Make sure your collaboration is in line with your event branding.
For example, Durham’s Hops and Blues Event. The event featured hoppy beers from the Southeastern U.S. and a variety of blues musicians. The event was open to all ages and allowed attendees to enjoy a variety of brews as well as listen to new music. This mix of music and drinks was hugely successful.
Double your marketing
Kelly Taylor, President of NYC Brewers Guild, says “Get on your partner’s email blasts where they make sense.” We found that event sponsors and partners are a great source of marketing because they can leverage their following. Our email promotion with Eventbrite and Whole Foods brought us a lot of traffic.”
Social media marketing is important as well. You can also use Facebook and Instagram to post events and engage with potential attendees. TikTok is a great place to film short videos that will show you how your event will look.
EventbriteBoost is also available to event creators. You can create ads, launch contests and develop custom email marketing campaigns. Even virtual events can be hosted.
Encourage partners to promote
Cannonball Productions founder Kate Levenstien recommends that partners test different incentives to motivate them. You can reward the partner that sells the most tickets, or give special brand visibility to your event’s most engaged partners by holding a contest.
Partner incentives should also be offered during the event. Special packages should be included when selling tickets. These will allow attendees to connect with one another and make connections that can lead to potential customers. Any partner who wants to expand its customer base will find this opportunity attractive.
How to propose a sponsorship or business partnership
It doesn’t take much to write a sponsorship proposal. The following tips will help you create a persuasive event partnership proposal letter that highlights the benefits of the partnership. These tips will help you create a sponsorship proposal that is attractive.
Make your offer crystal clear
The partner proposal should contain everything that your potential partner will need to make an informed decision. Your target audience should be identified and shown to the partner why they will appeal to them. Talk about past successful partnerships and the mutual benefits. Then, discuss how you can replicate these with this potential sponsor. Describe the expected outcomes of the partnership. Describe the benefits to the partner and the positive impact it can have on their company.
Different sponsorship or partner packages are available
Allow your potential partner to be flexible in your proposal letter. Instead of focusing on specific opportunities for your partner, highlight other options. If you are a sponsor, these options may vary in terms of price or involvement in an event. Flexibility allows your partner to choose the relationship that they feel most comfortable with. This makes it more attractive to sign up.
Marketing opportunities and branding highlights
Briefly describe how the sponsor will benefit from your promotion and event. Highlight how your brand can be promoted to your audience. Any data from previous events that give you an idea of how many people attended and the event’s reach, add it.
These ideas can be used for your next food or drink event
Events are all about sharing. There are many partners that can add new dynamics to your event. You can create memorable experiences by cultivating a mix that is right for your brand.
Check out these tips to create the perfect event sponsorship pitch deck. Eventbrite offers tools that will help you with marketing, including creating a custom plan for your sponsors and partners.
