I attended Hubspots’ Inbound Marketing conference this past week. Like most business conferences, the event drew attendees with networking opportunities, learning sessions and big-name speakers, along with a series of booths from sponsors.
Most sponsors had some sort of gimmick to get you to come by their booth — Google offered cookies, Chase Ink gave out free items from their small business customers (as well as better cookies), while Survey Monkey had a ‘spin the wheel’ game with prizes for those willing to stand through a sales pitch while waiting in line for the wheel.
Some booths were popular. Others had to rely on overzealous reps to get people to come by. And then there was one booth with a consistent 30+ minute long line of attendees hoping to get a slot.
What did that booth offer?
Professional headshots.
Hubspot had set up a series of backgrounds in their brand colors, and had a photographer taking photos of attendees. Simple, yet incredibly effective.
How brands can stand out via conference sponsorship
Event sponsorships don’t come cheap— booths and speaking slots can range from $20K to $100K+ at large conferences. However, if a sponsorship brings in a few big leads (B2B contracts are often in 6 figures+) they can more than pay for themselves.
But, much like the Super Bowl — you’re competing with other brands also jockeying for attention. How do you stand out?
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