COVER STORY
Are Your Sponsorships Reflecting Your Company’s Core Values? BY PAT FRIEDLANDER
Sponsorships at events are a nearly indispensable source of revenue for show managers and associations. The price per square foot of space at an event doesn’t necessarily cover the cost of producing the event, and it certainly doesn’t allow much wiggle room for profitability. How to make up for the shortfall? Sponsorships. Here’s how it usually works: the association or event management company offers exhibitors a list of sponsorships “to get your name out there.” The list usually 26 Oct/Nov/Dec 2025 Exhibit City News
includes opportunities like: banner ads or hanging banners; lanyards; meal functions where a representative from a sponsoring company gives a welcome speech, or worse, shows a corporate video; or “show bags” with the event name on one side and the sponsor’s name on the other. Other options may include: escalator handrail “wraps,” analog ads on the inside of bathroom stall doors, plastic bag that contain brochures, or reminder articles submitted by exhibitors. Let’s take a test: what
company’s brand was on your last lanyard? What did you do with the stuff in the show bag (unless it was edible, in which case you either tossed it or ate it)? Which company sponsored the last meal function you attended? For extra credit: Did you recycle that lanyard or bag—or did you add it to the tons of waste generated by events? In a corporate environment where expenditures are expected to yield a return on investment, how did your last sponsorship perform? Did anyone in the target
audience approach you to thank you for putting your name on the bag? Did your lanyard investment create memorability? Is there an alternative to this process? Yes, there is—and here’s how it worked for one exhibitor. Medical congresses are a vital channel for both disseminating information and building brand awareness. In addition to the exhibit on the show floor, most congresses offer exhibitors additional opportunities in the form of sponsorships for reaching health-