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Event apps are a relatively new invention. Therefore, many organizers have no experience in the area of presenting sponsors in an app. Some of the sponsors also do not yet know how to deal with the topic of in-app sponsoring. In order for this to change, we want to show you in this article how it works.
To do this, it is important to know on which pages in the app your guests are looking for information. The principle applies: The sponsors must be present on the pages that the guests visit in search of information. We also want to show you where in the app you can increase your sponsors’ perception with pictures.
By the way: You can take a look at all the tips in our example app at https://lineupr.com/demo/super-sponsoring-event-1
Sponsoring in General: Money in Exchange for Coverage
By definition, sponsorship is the promotion by means of money, goods or services. The reward for the sponsor is the greatest possible coverage and attention in order to be able to market his company or product.
Now we can focus on finding places in an event app that match the sponsors’ goals. Specifically, we need to know where the guests spend most of the time in the app. This way you achieve two things: Firstly, you address most participants and secondly, the defensive attitude against sponsoring decreases since the participants move very consciously in the app in their search for information.
Points of Interest: Where Are My Guests in The App?
As described above, we are now looking for the most frequented places in an event app. We crunched the numbers and gained the following insights, which are exemplified by the in-app activities of LineUpr apps.
So now we know that the top 6 pages in an event app are program, lineup, posts, locations, info, and polls in descending order. Only then come the sponsor profiles as such. What is the reason for this? Quite simply! Because of the defensive attitude of the users. When a menu item is called “Sponsors”, very few users click on it voluntarily. You already know what to expect.
This is contradicted by the concept of product placement. The product or company to be advertised is brought to the attention of the viewer through suggestive placement and is usually perceived as belonging to it. Or do you think it’s a coincidence that Hank Moody always drives a Porsche in Californication?
So give your sponsors the opportunity to better integrate themselves and their products or services into your event app. We will show you exactly how this can work in the following steps. It is important that you do not blindly take all the actions! Please always evaluate whether the tips fit to the event and its external effect. Certainly, very few events can realize all possibilities, but you can always make a selection.
The Classics: Visual Presentation of The Sponsors with Pictures, Profiles and Icons
Before we get deep into the subject, here are the “classics” of in-app sponsoring. You can add your sponsors to the pictures in the header and footer of the app. For the footer, you can also assign a link that can lead to a home or product page of the main sponsor, for example.
Furthermore, we offer the sponsor profiles. Here your attendees can see who your sponsors are, what they do and how to reach them. Every sponsor also receives a profile picture. You can link these profiles for example in the program, the location or the lineup directly in the app.
With the app icon you can even put a sponsor on the home screen of your guests. This is freely selectable.
The Program: Integrating Sponsors in The Points of Interest
The program in the app is the most clicked area. So, it’s imperative that the sponsors get in here! Including the sponsors in the program can be implemented as soon as they will be on site with staff and/or stands. Simply enter the “opening hours” in the schedule. This step not only brings the sponsors to the center of attention, but also gives them the chance to show what exactly they are offering.
The lineup: Integration in The Crowd
Integrate the sponsoring staff into the lineup of the event! Preferably by means of a separate category. The sponsors get a face and are more than just a logo on the start page. In the profile of the respective person, it can then be shown again what they are dealing with, what is offered and with which questions they can be addressed.
The Posts: Sponsored Content
Offer your sponsors to send posts! The content may vary here: Announcements of demos etc. are just as possible as the notification of a lottery or the distribution of goodies. Here you are welcome to be creative. Ask your sponsors what they can think of! It is good when the sponsor can create additional value for the guests. Firstly, the post that is actually superfluous for the event is not perceived as disturbing and secondly, the perception of the sponsor is regarded as positive, since he has already offered something
Location: Name the Rooms after Your Sponsors
A simple, but for the perception of the sponsors among the participants effective way is the naming of rooms in the location after sponsors. This not only creates attention for the sponsors but can also ensure that the sponsors get involved in the use of the language of the participants. On the one hand by talking to each other, on the other hand by repeatedly mentioning the names in the program of your app.
Surveys 1: Feedback for Your Sponsors
This step is particularly suitable for sponsors of goods and services. While most of you use the surveys in the LineUpr app to gather feedback on the event, you can also ask questions on behalf of the sponsors. For example, if you financed the buffet through sponsorship, ask your guests on behalf of the company how they liked it!
Surveys 2: Gamification with Sponsors
In addition to collecting feedback, you can also use the surveys to refer more freely to the sponsors. This will then work again with sponsors who do not provide goods and services.
If your sponsors want to, you could create a quiz – similar to a scavenger hunt. Ask questions whose answers can only be answered through interaction with the sponsors and their offering! Effect: The guests are actively engaged with the offer of the sponsors. And because of the possibility of winning, the association of the guests is positive.
The Arguments: In-App-Sponsoring Is Always Possible?
With Web Apps you have the best argument in the direction of the sponsors. The reason for this is easy to understand. Native apps need to be downloaded and are often large. These two points cause many participants to refrain from using the app. Web apps do not need to be downloaded, they work like a website. The entry barrier is therefore minimized in order to allow the greatest possible coverage for sponsors.
Finally, a small hint: We do not recommend you to implement all the tips we have given here at once. After all, the promotion of the app depends on the participants’ acceptance of the app as an information medium. If you overdo it, you will have a good chance of robbing yourself of important reach. So, you are better off choosing the techniques that best suit your event and your sponsors.
Give Us Feedback
What is your opinion about in-app sponsoring? Do you already have experience with this from both the creator’s and the user’s point of view? Are there any points we forgot? How far would you go with that? Give us your feedback!
“Client” Icon created by Chanut is Industries from “the Noun Project“.
