My company, which is an entertainment based business, is building a game show production tour for fall of this year in Metro Atlanta, GA. The production will be geared towards the sports industry and will be hosted by various sports bars and venues in the area. I am hoping it will expand to other venues i.e. Falcons pre-game festivities etc but that’s another issue. The name of the tour or production has not been named yet but it will focus mainly on football trivia…something like "Ultimate Football Challenge" and will be based on the game show format similar to Jeopardy and will be prize driven. The production will be a real game show set with podiums, host, projector screen, lighting etc….
As far as the marketing end, getting businesses and venues to donate gift cards and products as prizes for visibility isn’t going to be a problem on this one. But getting corporate sponsorship is what I am not familiar with. To make this profitable for my company I will need sponsors and this format is a great way to promote businesses/brands. Game show podiums can host brand or business logos, the projector screen can rotate through logos and advertisements for businesses during intermissions and before the show similar to movie theaters, product boosting through trivia questions and as prizes as well. How do I go about finding key contacts for corporate sponsors in my area that would be interested in this? Also how do I start to tier sponsorship amounts and what exposure they will receive? How do I make this attractive for the sponsors? I’m new to finding corporate sponsors so where is a good place to begin? Also how can I get the local radio stations to promote the tour on their show? Would I offer to brand their station logo on the set? Or if that’s not enough, what could I offer? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also on a side note as mentioned before how can I find contacts for pro sports events so I can pitch the production?
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Jay’s Answer: You’re looking for sponsors that want to attract the sports bar demographic in your region. This could be local breweries, wineries, clothiers, placement services, dating services, travel agencies, cell phone providers, or even auto dealerships. Your presentation would identify the size of the audience, their demographic (age, income, etc.), and the context of the ad.
Again, to get a radio station involved, do your homework to find one that’s targeting this demographic. Offer to be a guest and provide some questions for a football trivia call-in show.