The Benefits of Event Sponsorship at B2B Online Orlando
Countless marketing experts recommend that event sponsorship should be included in any serious brand’s marketing plan. Yet, many companies are somewhat hesitant to get involved, believing sponsorship to be a dubious investment. This is understandable. After all, a sponsor’s products and services aren’t being directly promoted – so what’s the benefit? Where’s the ROI? These are great questions that need to be answered, because one thing’s for sure – more and more companies want to sponsor B2B Online Orlando every single year.
Why Do Companies Sponsor B2B Online Orlando?
What exactly do companies get from paying tens of thousands of dollars to be a sponsor of B2B Online Orlando? To an outsider, it may look like they’re just paying to display their logo at the venue. While that is certainly true, there are many more benefits.
Here are the main reasons why companies sponsor B2B Online Orlando.
1. High Quality Leads
Every company wants to land big clients – and big clients are in mass attendance at B2B Online Orlando. And this is one of the main reasons why brands sponsor the event – to get their name in front of all the senior level decision-makers at their target companies. As you know, these people are normally almost impossible to get in touch with through phone, email, or LinkedIn – they’re either "too busy" or guarded by gatekeepers. But they come in-person to B2B Online Orlando precisely because they want to meet and shake hands with people like you, and find out about solutions like yours. That type of facetime is invaluable.
"B2B Online has been very successful for us. We met business leaders who are engaged and eager to explore solutions providers in the eCommerce space. We’ll be back next year!"
- Steve Engelbrecht , President, Sitation, LLC
2. You stand out on-site
It can be hard to stand out at a big conference like B2B Online Orlando where there are literally hundreds of attendees. However, this isn’t a problem when you’re one of our sponsors. By taking advantage of our branding opportunities (see sponsorship options section below), you can showcase your logo all over the venue, improving both your visibility and credibility amongst the prestigious B2B Online audience. People attend events like B2B Online Orlando to find solution providers they can partner with. Companies that stand out through sponsorship are the ones that are top of decision-makers’ minds when they go seeking for solutions Put simply, becoming a sponsor gives your company the edge and a much stronger presence at the conference.
3. Accelerate brand awareness
Outside the conference walls, your ability to grab the interest of the big clients on your hit-list and position yourself as a go-to solution provider relies entirely on the effectiveness and reach of your marketing strategy – which, as we all know, is a long and patient game. By contrast, sponsoring an event puts your company right in front of your dream clients, significantly speeding up the process of getting their attention. From then on, every time they come across your company or engage with one of your marketing assets, there will already be that foundation of trust and familiarity, making it much more likely for them to partner with you.
4. Positive association
They say marketing is a game of perception – and it’s true. People don’t want to work with a company that has a bad reputation, image, or track record – even if that company has the best product in the market. Indeed, there are plenty of cases where people have stopped working with partner companies when scandals and other types of bad press have come to light. However, the opposite is also true. If you sponsor a trusted, well-known, reputable event like B2B Online Orlando, your potential clients will automatically deem your company to be trustworthy – and that’s half the battle already won.
5. Engage with your target customers
During an event like B2B Online Orlando, networking is baked into the very fabric of the experience – and many great things can and do come out of the interactions that take place here. With the additional recognition that comes from being a sponsor, attendees are more likely to start a conversation with you – especially if you’re exhibiting. During these conversations, not only is it an opportunity to form potential partnerships – it’s also an opportunity to pick their brains and gain insights about your market. Maybe you’ll learn about problems your customers are facing that you never thought of, hear about new trends, or pick up other information that’ll lead to either a shift in a current business strategy or a new product idea.
"If you really want to be part of the B2B community and learn what your current clients and prospects are trying to solve, then B2B Online is the only place to be."
– Michael Sanossion, Manager, Whereoware
Sponsorship Options
When it comes to sponsoring B2B Online Orlando, your options are broken down into the following categories.
1. Speaking Engagements
Speaking opportunities range from keynotes to track presentations, case studies, panel discussions, chairperson, and roundtables. These opportunities are among the best ways to position yourself as an expert, enhance your status as a thought leader, and elevate your company’s brand.
2. Hosting Functions
Hosting functions is one of the more fun sponsorship options for companies. Perhaps you want to host one of the main conference receptions (e.g., wine tastings, cocktails, block parties), which is a great way to impress attendees. Or you might be more interested in the private receptions (e.g., private breakfasts and luncheons) where you can choose to invite your ideal customers and connect with them with minimal distractions.
3. Branding options
There are many branding options to take advantage of at B2B Online Orlando to make your company stand out from the crowd. These include physical branding, where you put your company’s logo around high traffic areas like the registration zone, lanyard stations, phone charging points, and/or the front desk of the hotel. Then there are the digital branding options where you can display your company’s logo on the event website, mobile app, and even the venue’s Wi-Fi network.
4. Thought Leadership Content
In conjunction with producing live events, Worldwide Business Research (WBR) also produces industry reports and whitepapers for sponsoring companies. With these reports, organizations not only acquire high quality content they can share with their audience – they also gain a permanent asset that will elevate their thought leadership status, enhance their existing lead generation strategy, and improve their reputation by being associated with an established brand.
Exhibiting
Though exhibiting is of course a separate category from sponsorship, it’s similar in the sense that companies pay a relatively large sum of money to gain high visibility at a conference. Unlike sponsors, however, exhibitors have a booth at an expo hall to showcase their business and products. Usually, companies exhibit and sponsor at the same time – using the brand awareness gained from sponsorship to drive traffic to their booths.
While companies gain many benefits from sponsoring, there are some unique benefits that your company can gain from exhibiting. For example, while sponsorship is more about brand visibility and image placement, exhibiting allows for more face-to-face interactions with your target customers.
Exhibiting also allows you to physically showcase your company’s products and services, which isn’t possible to do through sponsorship. This is especially great if you’re launching a new product or service. You can give demos, answer questions, and capture information and contact details from people who show interest. The best part is, at B2B Online Orlando, practically everyone who visits your booth will be relevant to you, because B2B Online is the #1 event in your industry.
B2B Online Orlando
If you’re looking for a conference where you can get your company on the radar of the largest B2B brands, then don’t miss out on sponsoring and exhibiting at B2B Online Orlando.
B2B Online is one of the leading events in the B2B industry where you can meet over 200 VPs and Directors who are actively looking to partner with new solution providers.
Companies like Parker Hannifin, Motion Industries, and TESSCO attended with renowned speakers sharing their insights and expertise:
- Robert Elzner - Global Head of E-Commerce, Dell
- Brian Walker - Chief Product Officer, W.W. Grainger
- Mark Pickett - VP, Cross-Channel Growth, MSC Industrial Supply Co.
- Sophia Drivalas – Senior Director, eCommerce, HD Supply Inc.
- Eric Rehl, Senior Director, Omnichannel, Avnet
If you’re interested in getting your company in front of this audience, check out B2B Online Orlando’s sponsorship opportunities.