Challenge & Selection

As the Sponsorship and Partnership head of my event management company, it is very crucial  for me to convince and engage with the investors on a day to day basis so as to hold the gains  and hunt for more at the same time. When I started working for this position it was very difficult  to get any firm on board because of two reasons. Firstly, I was not able to convince them to  invest if we didn’t have some common alliance or in-between person. Secondly, even if they  were convinced, it was difficult to manage them as they constantly raised questions about the  events and at times, we lost partners because they were not confident whether the event will be  able to pull the required crowd numbers. The challenge for me and my team was first to  convince new investors through single conversation or meeting and draw their interest towards  the event. Also, we had to make sure that not only us but also the sponsors are well versed with  the event details and fully confident about their participation. We started with first observing  what methods can be used to draw the interest of the investors and the storytelling tool was the  best option. Not only it allows you to form a connection between the consumer and product but  also make the consumer feel how the product is so relatable and meant for their use.

Application

We started with looking at the pool of sponsors and partners we could have for a particular  type of event. For example, one of the events was a TEDx conference organised in a college  with around 10000 students on-campus at any point. In a meeting with my team I asked them  to thoroughly go through the theme, background and place of the event. After that instead of  mass mailing hundreds of companies prepare customised brochures for bigger brands first.  Once that’s ready then look for contacts in that particular company. Before the first  conversation with the company’s HR or CSR budget manager, look for ways one can connect  the event with the company’s motto or objectives. For example if one is chasing HP India, there  is no point in telling them how it the event can profit their PR and marketing. Instead, focus on  how student, youth engagement will help them grow amongst their competitors. Being a  sponsor at a TEDx event which paves way for new ideas falls in line with the innovative  approaches of the company. Having a crowd of young individuals 10000 in number is always  enticing for electronic brands. We even recorded a small video of 15 minutes asking students  which laptops they preferred within a particular range and amongst a pool of 4-5 companies  comprising HP.

To our surprise it was HP that stood out and it was attached along with the brochure in the  pitching email. That’s just one example to show how we cracked a brilliant method to have  sponsors and partners with ease. We pitched to the food and beverage companies with the story  of how much students loved their products and how they can use this event to try new products.  This made sure we had enough items coming in as partnership deals to fill in the delegate kit  bag. Likewise, we had a couple of more companies coming in through research and storytelling.

Insight & Approach

Thinking about how effective the tool was, I can say that it helped a lot in the beginning. With  time we had to amend the use of the tool with respect to the companies and events. Like, for  corporate events we couldn’t use the student card so we had to figure out another story or way

of relating it for the sponsors. At the same time, it became easier to pitch for companies whose  products were consumed by the audience or people attending the event. Having simple photo  booths and things that ensure with the brand and not just the products helped gain confidence  of our partners to collaborate with us often and in multiple projects. One of the things we learnt  and thankfully we came across it when one of my team members tried cracking a deal with a  fake story and the company got to know about it. It’s very important to stay true in the process  and profession and this is something I have learnt through the use of this tool. This course  helped me in identifying the error and finding the right way to fix it. I won’t say that storytelling  is the ideal method because now I often experiment with my approach and pitches as it helps  me explore new opportunities. This is something that is a the best takeaway from this course  for me personally.


Challenge & Selection As the Sponsorship and Partnership head of my event management company , it is very crucial for me to convince and engage with the investors on a day to day basis so as to hold the gains and hunt for more at the same time . When I started working for this position it was very difficult to get any firm on board because of two reasons . Firstly , I was not able to convince them to invest if we did n’t have some common alliance or in - between person . Secondly , even if they were convinced , it was difficult to manage them as they constantly raised questions about the events and at times , we lost partners because they were not confident whether the event will be able to pull the required crowd numbers . The challenge for me and my team was first to convince new investors through single conversation or meeting and draw their interest towards the event . Also , we had to make sure that not only us but also the sponsors are well versed with the event details and fully confident about their participation . We started with first observing what methods can be used to draw the interest of the investors and the storytelling tool was the best option . Not only it allows you to form a connection between the consumer and product but also make the consumer feel how the product is so relatable and meant for their use . Application We started with looking at the pool of sponsors and partners we could have for a particular type of event . For example , one of the events was a TEDx conference organised in a college with around 10000 students on - campus at any point . In a meeting with my team I asked them to thoroughly go through the theme , background and place of the event . After that instead of mass mailing hundreds of companies prepare customised brochures for bigger brands first . Once that ’s ready then look for contacts in that particular company . Before the first conversation with the company ’s HR or CSR budget manager , look for ways one can connect the event with the company ’s motto or objectives . For example if one is chasing HP India , there is no point in telling them how it the event can profit their PR and marketing . Instead , focus on how student , youth engagement will help them grow amongst their competitors . Being a sponsor at a TEDx event which paves way for new ideas falls in line with the innovative approaches of the company . Having a crowd of young individuals 10000 in number is always enticing for electronic brands . We even recorded a small video of 15 minutes asking students which laptops they preferred within a particular range and amongst a pool of 4 - 5 companies comprising HP . To our surprise it was HP that stood out and it was attached along with the brochure in the pitching email . That ’s just one example to show how we cracked a brilliant method to have sponsors and partners with ease . We pitched to the food and beverage companies with the story of how much students loved their products and how they can use this event to try new products . This made sure we had enough items coming in as partnership deals to fill in the delegate kit bag . Likewise , we had a couple of more companies coming in through research and storytelling . Insight & Approach Thinking about how effective the tool was , I can say that it helped a lot in the beginning . With time we had to amend the use of the tool with respect to the companies and events . Like , for corporate events we could n’t use the student card so we had to figure out another story or way of relating it for the sponsors . At the same time , it became easier to pitch for companies whose products were consumed by the audience or people attending the event . Having simple photo booths and things that ensure with the brand and not just the products helped gain confidence of our partners to collaborate with us often and in multiple projects . One of the things we learnt and thankfully we came across it when one of my team members tried cracking a deal with a fake story and the company got to know about it . It ’s very important to stay true in the process and profession and this is something I have learnt through the use of this tool . This course helped me in identifying the error and finding the right way to fix it . I wo n’t say that storytelling is the ideal method because now I often experiment with my approach and pitches as it helps me explore new opportunities . This is something that is a the best takeaway from this course for me personally .