Creative Strategies to Secure Sponsorship for Small Independent Music Festivals.

The sponsorship of music festivals by international corporate consumer brands is worth around $1.5 billion annually, contributing to about 30% of overall festival revenue. Most of this sponsorship is directed to the largest festivals where the number of festival-goers is a key metric. How can the smaller music festivals secure sponsorship revenue in this environment.

Every year the music festival industry is experiencing increased operating costs which cannot be funded by ticket sales alone. The role of sponsorship revenue has become a critical factor for many festival entities to ensure their survival. The smaller independent festival cannot compete with large festivals who can offer access to huge numbers of festival-goers, therefore operators of these small events need to get creative when trying to attract sponsorship support.

The Corporate Sponsorship Environment.
International corporate consumer brands can have significant budgets available for event sponsorship with a focus on music festivals. These brands are looking for extensive reach amongst consumers, and the numbers of festival-goers attending a large-scale event delivers this. It is increasingly common for the large consumer brands to agree on partnerships with corporate festival operators like Live Nation or AEG, which is making it very difficult for small festivals to get any deal. However, a small event with 5,000 festival-goers can still be attractive to these consumer brands if they are seeking a specific more targeted audience for a new product launch, for example.

Audience Demographic Data.
Irrespective of the festival size, it is essential that detailed audience demographic data is captured and available as part of any sponsorship pitch. The smaller event can usually offer a more targeted audience where common data points will include age, music preferences, spending patterns, social media engagement, ticket buying, and online behaviour. This enables a niche brand to find the perfect profile fit for their products or services. The pitch from organisers to potential sponsors should focus on providing a relevant quality audience rather than pure numbers where the product engagement is likely to be higher.

Local Business Support.
A small regularly occurring festival will usually have strong local community ties, and this can be leveraged when seeking support from local businesses. The majority of the festival-goers will also probably be from the local area which means that businesses operating in the same geographic region will have relevant products or services to offer, this can make their sponsorship an attractive marketing option. Sponsorship packages will be considerably cheaper for the local business when choosing the small event compared to an alternative large festival.  Organisers can target multiple local businesses which can help to spread risk because they would not have to rely on a single larger sponsor.

Operational Expenses Sponsorship Opportunities.
Not all sponsorship deals need to be money based, and the smaller event often has the flexibility to create alternative arrangements. The festival can offer no cost advertising space, free on-site pitches and access to the audience's data in exchange for services. This is an increasingly popular model where no money is transferred. In exchange for advertising and a site presence, sponsors can offer free to use vehicles, accommodation, Wi-Fi, staff uniforms or production equipment for example. Some organisers are also actively looking for utility partners where water waste management, and electricity can be provided in exchange for advertising opportunities. These types of sponsorship deals and partnerships can significantly reduce operating costs to a higher value than the equivalent financial contribution, for example.

Focus on Specialty Brands and Shared Revenue.
There are numerous businesses that offer specialty food and beverages or other products and services. These are often smaller businesses who do not have the sponsorship budgets usually demanded by the large music festival entity. A small niche music festival is more likely to have an overlap in audience demographics with a small business offering specialty products. There is a growth in the number of craft food and beverage companies who are looking for opportunities to launch their products in environments that encourage engagement too. Other opportunities can come from niche technology or financial services companies who are just starting out, for example. For food and beverage sponsors, it is sometimes possible to arrange a revenue sharing deal. This would usually entail a percentage of revenue earned from drinks sold combined with a minimum figure for sponsorship if a given revenue number is not attained. This enables the organiser to generate revenue irrespective of what is sold, but it increases if the number of drinks sold is higher.

For festival organisers planning their next event using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

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