3 Creative Opportunities for Conference Vendors and Sponsors

When I report live from conferences, I see vendors and sponsors doing the same thing.

They are:

·      Behind a booth at the exhibit hall

·      Introducing a speaker for a keynote

·      Hosting a happy hour

There’s nothing wrong with any of these sponsorship opportunities. It’s a nice, easy way to get the company’s name out there and help them make connections with attendees. But if you’re a conference producer, there’s room for creativity in what you offer to vendors and sponsors.

Conference producers tend to treat vendors and sponsors like advertising dollars — not a value-add to the conference. Imagine what could happen if conference producers gave room for sponsors and vendors to truly integrate themselves and services into the conference  — which elevates the experience for all attendees.  

 A few ideas:

Sponsored editorial content

Allow a vendor or sponsor to establish their team as a thought leader at the conference. Develop a list of sponsored editorial content that your team could provide — from blogs, emails to a whitepaper summary of the conference. For example, when I reported from the Commercial Real Estate Development Association conference, my blogs were sponsored by vendors.

You might be thinking: “How can I offer all these additional content opportunities when I can barely put together the agenda?” I can help. Email me.

Create an Instagram-worthy booth

When I reported live from the Great Place to Work® For All Summit, I saw something I’d never seen before from a vendor: A booth filled with puppies.

Sponsored by Synchrony, you might be wondering: Why does a financial services company have a booth filled with puppies? Answer: They offer pet insurance to their employees.

They took the sponsorship a step further and sponsored an evening called, Puppies & Prosecco. According to attendee Elizabeth Eldridge, certified psychological health and safety advisor, this was the best thing she’s ever seen at a conference, too.

“As a true dog lover, I can fully appreciate the culture impact of a pet-friendly work environment,” Eldridge says. “Puppies & Prosecco brought this concept to life! It was a highlight for many attendees and something I’ve told all my friends and co-workers about.”

A sweet swag bag

Let’s skip the notebooks, random pens, Band-Aids and face masks. Create a swag bag worth remembering. A swag bag that attendees open and say, “Wow! Look at all this great stuff! I’m going to take pictures of everything in here!”

Your bag doesn’t need to include a getaway to Italy (unless you want to take inspiration from a recent Oscars swag bag), but why not give attendees something they want to keep (or eat), rather than just forgetting the bag in their hotel room? Check out this blog from Bishop-McCann that features a list of conference goodies for every occasion.