Courtney P.K. 9:57 pm on May 1, 2020

How could we acknowledge sponsors at online WordCamps?

As we’ve been adjusting to the world of online WordCamps, we’re continually adapting the program. An important part of the WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. program is our sponsors — both Global and Local. Their importance to every WordCamp should be acknowledged, so let’s collaborate on some tips and guidelines to share with other organizers!

So far, here is what online WordCamps have have done:

Acknowledgement on WordCamp site
Acknowledgement in attendee emails
Acknowledgement in opening remarks
Sponsor logo on slides between sessions
Sponsor-hosted pre-event activities (e.g., yoga)
A few minutes to talk about their company in opening remarks
Virtual Hallway Tracks with Sponsor giveaways
Virtual Sponsor Booths
Sponsor-hosted lunchtime activities (e.g., pet hour)
Acknowledgement in closing remarks
Sponsor-hosted after-event activities (e.g., trivia/game show)

Some other good ideas I’ve heard:

Digital job board
Lunch vouchers
Virtual lunch room (with virtual tables where sponsor representatives can connect with attendees)
Virtual swag (but what would this look like?)
More ideas for after-event activities, like karaoke, talent show, teach a silly skill
A sponsor landing page on the WordCamp’s site where sponsors can share links (with newsletter sign-ups, etc.)

Share your feedback and ideas!

What do you think of these ideas, and which seem to be high-value for organizers and sponsors?
Have you attended an online conference that had other interesting sponsor opportunities?
Do you have other ideas for WordCamp sponsor acknowledgement?

Looking forward to hearing all your thoughts and ideas in the comments. 🙂

Michelle 10:07 pm on May 1, 2020

Virtual swag: zoom backgrounds? codes for free things?
Less-virtual swag: setting up WooCommerce/Printful stores for on-demand printing and shipping? coupon codes for free swag items there? (this could also work for WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. swag if people want it)
- Andrea Middleton 8:28 pm on May 7, 2020
  
  I think print-on-demand swag has HUGE potential for online events. I love this line of thinking.
- megabyterose 5:12 pm on May 10, 2020
  
  Love the idea of sponsor swag since many have overages of it now!
Sallie Goetsch 10:25 pm on May 7, 2020
I had a thought about swag yesterday. I had been thinking more about the actual conference swag and the value it has to attendees. My thought at the time was that maybe the online events could have physical stickers printed centrally, or printed and delivered to Central, and when it was finally safe for people to go to meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. again, send each meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. organizer a bundle of stickers from the online WordCamps, to distribute at their meetups. (Admittedly those could go to people who weren’t there, because who’s going to try to keep track?)

I also think it would be nice to provide physical speaker gifts of some kind, though the sort I’ve usually seen (clothing or other items of some bulk and weight) would be impractical to ship all over the planet.

This morning I was on a call where we were talking more broadly about the challenge of indicating status and personality in WFH situations, and how we need to come up with alternatives. I mentioned the swag problem, and a colleague who works for the Internet Society, which holds lots of in-person events around the world, told me what they were doing, which is basically providing people who register a collection of virtual swag files:
- Zoom background with conference branding
- Instagram stickers and other online badges
- Phone & desktop wallpapers
- Probably more I can’t remember
This would definitely be a thing that sponsors could do, too, and they likely already have designs. Thinking further on that, virtual backgrounds etc that emulate the physical badges and say “Attendee”, “Speaker,” “Volunteer”, “Sponsor” could also be good.

I LOVE @marktimemedia‘s suggestion of the on-demand swag, though. Many of the online WordCamps aren’t charging, even though they still have costs.

Right, gotta mask up and brave the grocery store and the mailbox…
- megabyterose 5:14 pm on May 10, 2020
  
  Like the online badge idea! I wonder if Snapchat is doing things differently now with how they have those location based filters? Like maybe there’d be a way we could make things like that accessible to our audience?
Kathy Drewien 5:48 pm on May 8, 2020

Leading/Pulling attendees to interact with the sponsors is the primary focus for me. Acknowledging our gratitude and highlighting sponsors is one piece of the pie, yet I don’t think a logo or tweet is enough to draw attendees into a conversation with the sponsor.

How can we best respond to the greatest need of a sponsor – lead generation?
1. Branded Virtual Sponsor Booth / Breakout Room that is promoted and easily accessible from the primary event platform.
2. Include sponsor activities in the overall program schedule:
– Offer several small group roundtable discussions (8-10 attendees).
– Host a series of sponsor demos that attendees can sign up to attend.
3. Give attendees options to book a meeting with sponsors for networking and business development.
4. Utilize sponsor controlled platforms beyond the initial engagement to maintain clear lines of security and privacy of data collection.
- Andrea Middleton 8:15 pm on May 12, 2020
  
  How can we best respond to the greatest need of a sponsor – lead generation?
  
  I know that many field marketers think that their goal is lead generation, but I think most WordPress companies are savvy enough to know that their real goal is to engage WordPress enthusiasts. For me personally, when I re-frame the goal away from lead gen and toward engagement, more “authentic”-feeling ideas, that fit better into the WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. model, come to mind.
  
  2. Include sponsor activities in the overall program schedule:
  
  I think that it’s ok to share the sponsors’ schedule of programming that they’re planning for their sponsor “booth,” but I think it will be confusing if we list “exhibit hall” programming directly alongside WordCamp programming. WordCamps are known for their strict “no pay for play” practices, and I think it’s important to continue that clear separation in online conferences too.
  
  I think the best way to share a schedule of things happening in the online exhibit hall spaces, is on a separate page dedicated to the exhibit hall. The layout of the page could even simulate an exhibit hall, with clickable images that would take you to more sponsor information and/or a video meeting that attendees could join. I think it’s fine for organizers and emcees to encourage people to check out everything going on in the exhibit hall — we do that at IRL events already — but I might go one farther and encourage organizers to plan longer-than-usual breaks that the sponsors can schedule their program around. That way, there’s less competition between the sponsor booths and the WordCamp sessions, for attendee attention.
  
  Utilize sponsor controlled platforms beyond the initial engagement to maintain clear lines of security and privacy of data collection.
  
  This, forever. If attendees want to share their contact info with sponsors, please let’s have that exchange of information happen directly between sponsors and attendees, and not have WordCamp organizers get in the middle of things.
megabyterose 5:15 pm on May 10, 2020

There was a conference I attended online that had the sponsors each select a digital swag of their choosing. The benefit to sponsors was actually getting lead info from people who “claimed” their swag (via their forms).

It ranged anywhere from a free trial of their software/discounts, to a one-on-one scheduled consultation with one of their experts, to gift cards and even a donation to a charity (which is super cool because it benefits both sponsor and people in need).

Here’s a snippet from their email:

Unlock your digital swag 🔓

Now that you’ve secured your place, it’s time to dive into your digital swag bag. Our sponsors and partners have offered some fantastic giveaways and prizes for you!

$150 charity donation for COVID-19 relief efforts and 1:1 virtual coffee with an engineering leader – [Redacted]
$100 HelloFresh gift cards and Apple AirPods Pro – [Redacted]
5 free live technical interviews – [Redacted]
45-day free access to [Redacted] (data insight platform) – [Redacted]
Donation to Doctors Without Borders on your behalf – [Redacted]
And lots more!
- Andrea Middleton 8:17 pm on May 12, 2020
  
  This is really interesting, Megan — thanks for passing it along!
Courtney P.K. 5:26 pm on May 14, 2020

Thanks everyone for your ideas and input here! I’ve integrated a lot of these suggestions into the new organizer handbook for online events.

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How could we acknowledge sponsors at online WordCamps?

Welcome!

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