Best Tech Event Sponsorship

The best technology expos already provide invaluable benefits for entrepreneurs, technology executives, and anyone else looking to elevate their organization. To take your impact even further at these events, consider becoming a sponsor. You can increase your brand’s visibility, improve your chances of giving presentations, and receive a smorgasbord of other perks.

As you look ahead to 2025, you might feel a little overwhelmed by looking at the expos and conferences available for you to attend. Many conference organizers make big promises, which can make it difficult to evaluate which events are truly worth your investment. 

One claim we’re confident about making is that one of, if not the best, tech event sponsorship packages out there are the ones you can get with TECHSPO. And you might want to start thinking about it sooner rather than later, as the MarTech (marketing technology) industry is set to grow dramatically over the next several years.

TECHSPO is the sibling of DigiMarCon, a series of groundbreaking events covering the latest in marketing strategies and tactics. Below, we’ll go over the basics of event sponsorship as well as what makes TECHSPO the best event sponsorship companies can take advantage of. We’ll also dive into how you can sponsor a tech expo and why a sponsorship is worth every penny.

What Are the Four Types of Event Sponsorship?

A sponsorship doesn’t always involve money changing hands between the sponsor and the event host. There are four primary ways for individuals, businesses, and organizations to become sponsors. If you want to get in on the action but have limited capital to contribute, we have good news for you—keep reading to find out what it is!

1. Financial Sponsorship

A financial sponsorship is exactly what it sounds like: the event host receives cash from sponsors to cover event expenses. If you want a sponsorship arrangement that’s low-maintenance—a real set-it-and-forget-it type of deal—we recommend this type. 

Financial sponsors receive favorable treatment at their respective events in exchange for money. The sponsor’s logo might be printed on event programs, plastered throughout the event space, or otherwise placed in highly visible spaces.

2. In-Kind Sponsorship

A great way to sponsor an event is by showcasing your company’s goods or services. Such an arrangement is referred to as an in-kind sponsorship. In-kind sponsors often donate equipment, employees, raw materials, or other things an event might need. The materials being provided can be essential (such as event space or AV technology) or complementary (swag, like branded bottles of water or other merchandise). 

The benefits that in-kind sponsors receive are usually similar to those offered to financial sponsors.

3. Media Sponsorship

One of the most important ways to increase event attendance is to increase awareness. For that, you might need established media channels (such as popular radio stations or online magazines) to help spread the word. After they help boost your event, you can help boost their brand at your event.

4. Promotional Sponsorship

In today’s changing and increasingly fractured media landscape, it’s a little more challenging to meet your target audience where they are. To get the word out about your event, you might have more success partnering with social media influencers than reaching a deal with traditional media. Otherwise, a promotional sponsorship works much the same way as a media sponsorship.

What Is an Example of Event Sponsorship?

Many, if not most, industry conferences (like DigiMarCon and TECHSPO!) require physical space to hold their events. They’re often held at hotel ballrooms or other event spaces that may be rented by the hour, day, or week.

Hotels routinely take advantage of in-kind conference sponsorship opportunities by offering event spaces or discounts on rooms. This arrangement is a natural fit because out-of-towners need places to stay. In return, event signage can bear the hotel’s logo, and attendees may even get hotel-branded swag to take home. The hotel hopes attendees retain warm memories of the hospitality and comfort they experienced.

Head to your preferred search engine and search for “local sponsorship near me” to discover other real-world examples of event sponsorships.

What Does a Sponsor Provide?

Sponsors of tech expos and conferences provide something of value to the event organizers. In exchange for brand visibility and shout-outs at the event, sponsors may provide:

• Money
• Equipment or goods
• Labor
• Media coverage

Common Sponsorship Packages: Examples

Event organizers almost always offer varied sponsorship opportunities rather than one-size-fits-all packages. Below are some examples of sponsorship packages so you can start thinking about how you would like your company to be represented at a future tech expo.

• Tiered Sponsorships — Many sponsors seek the most expansive package for maximum visibility, but that may not fit your company’s budget. Instead, you might want something a little less expensive that still gets your brand out there. Rather than purchasing the top sponsorship tier, you can purchase something one or two steps down. 

For instance, let’s say the platinum sponsorship at a tech event means the sponsor receives large signage inside the main presentation room, five tickets for each meal and cocktail networking event, multiple speaking slots, and a discount on expo merchandise. You go with the silver sponsorship, which is two steps down from the platinum sponsorship and one step down from the gold sponsorship. The silver sponsorship gives you two tickets for each meal, discounted tickets for cocktail receptions, and one presentation opportunity.

• Custom Package — Also known as the a la carte sponsorship arrangement, this is a great way for sponsors to spend as much as they’d like while receiving the brand awareness most important to them. Sponsors might get branded signage in and around the main auditorium, access to attendees’ email addresses, discounted exhibit space, or some other perk that motivates them to purchase a sponsorship.

• In-Kind Sponsorship — Would you rather contribute workers, video conferencing equipment, or something other than money? You should consider obtaining an in-kind sponsorship. If you are in charge of marketing for a catering company, for instance, there might be no better way to increase brand awareness than to cater a lunch or dinner for expo attendees.

What Does Event Sponsorship Include?

Potential sponsors first need to think about what they want to contribute to an event. Sponsoring an event means you are providing something of value to the event organizers, and it’s up to you to figure out what, if anything, you would like to contribute.

So, yes, you must give something as an event sponsor. But what do you get when you sponsor an event? In other words, what do sponsors get in return for their contributions? A variety of benefits, but most of those benefits (if not all) boil down to increased brand awareness, which, of course, can be difficult to measure. 

You must determine what benefits you’d like to get out of the event and whether the contributions required to receive those benefits are worth parting with. If you’re not sure where to start, please refer to the sponsorship benefits examples we outlined in the three bullet points just above this section. The best tech event sponsorship arrangement is one that benefits both sides!

What do you get when you sponsor an event?

The overarching benefit you’ll receive from sponsoring a tech expo or other event is brand awareness. However, brand awareness means different things to different companies. You might already have an established presence in your community and simply want to maintain your reputation through a lowkey sponsorship that places your logo at strategic locations throughout the event space. 

On the other hand, you might want to mingle with attendees and gather qualified leads. Depending on your level of sponsorship, you might get certain data on attendees. That information can thaw out the subsequent cold-calling you might have to do.

Benefits of Sponsorship for an Event

If you don’t need attendees’ emails or phone numbers for lead generation, several other potential benefits may be available as an event sponsor. 

• Speaking slots. A big part of increasing brand awareness is showing that you’re an expert in your industry. Giving oral presentations at top-tier tech expos is one of the best ways to do that.
• Exhibit space. Do you thrive in one-on-one interactions? Running an exhibit booth might be the best way for you to generate leads and increase brand awareness.
• Free tickets to networking events. The best part about many tech expos is the chance to network with others working in your industry. Some expos charge for cocktail hours and other events geared toward networking.
• Social media takeovers. Something interesting event organizers might offer sponsors is the chance to control the event’s social media accounts for a few hours. That can help increase your brand’s digital awareness and, let’s be honest, create some fun opportunities.

What Is a Sponsorship Example?

To help get you thinking about how you might want to go about sponsoring TECHSPO, DigiMarCon, or a similar event, we’ve outlined both traditional and out-of-the-box sponsorship ideas and event sponsorship examples. Could you envision your business participating in one of these, or are you looking for a more out-of-the-box sponsorship idea? Read through some of the successful sponsorship examples for events below!

Example 1: The Keynote Address

One of the most coveted speaking slots at any event is the opening dedicated to the keynote address. An exhibitor at our recent Copenhagen event delivered a rousing keynote on using SEO to rank highly on SERPs and transform those search results into real results for your company.

“It was a full circle moment for Renee, as DigiMarCon – Digital Marketing, Media and Advertising Conferences & Exhibitions was one of the very first marketing conferences she attended early in her career. Now, she’s back and dropping knowledge bombs in front of a packed house. 🙌 To top it off, she even went live with a reporter streaming straight from Copenhagen. The Bubble Co. is making some serious waves across Europe – woohoo!” —The Bubble Co.

Example 2: The Panel Contributor

Is someone in your company great at interacting with other folks in your industry? Some sponsorship arrangements allow representatives to participate in discussions and show off what they know. This might be a better setting and more comfortable environment than a solo presentation for some people.

“Thank you Digimarcon South Africa and DigiMarCon for having me on the “How to gain a competitive edge”  panel. It was such a lively experience and a great opportunity for knowledge exchange for everyone attending. My highlight from the engagement was the importance of strategy vs letting the tactics overwhelm you.” —Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking

Example 3: The Exhibitor

Many sponsorships can get your exhibition booth in the right place in front of the right people. The folks at DigiMarCon and TECHSPO are happy to work with potential sponsors and get them prime exhibition space they can use to capture qualified leads. Check out this testimonial from one of our many successful sponsorship examples:

“Thank you to DigiMarCon for an amazing experience! We’ve enjoyed meeting with the best of the marketing industry, these past few days, and we’ve had the pleasure to share our expertise in the B2B field. We look forward to the next one!” –Exhibitor

Contact the TECHSPO team if you’d like to hear about more successful sponsorship examples for events we’ve held in the past!

Create the Best Tech Event Sponsorship for Your Needs

TECHSPO and DigiMarCon are proud to have hosted representatives from all types of companies and organizations of all sizes. The sponsorship that works best for a business of a similar size might not be what you’re looking for, and that’s more than okay. There’s no best tech event sponsorship that we universally apply to potential sponsors; we will work with you to find an arrangement that meets your needs and goals.

We’d be delighted to have a conversation with you or your team about sponsoring one of our future events. Most of all, we want your company to see real value in having a presence at our events. You can get that conversation started right here!