The Global Sponsorship program has been suspended for 2020. You can find more information in the following blog post. We will continue to update this handbook to reflect the latest information on the sponsorship program.
These guidelines are for working with Online 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. Sponsors that sponsor individual events.
Please also refer to the WordCamp Organizer Handbook page about Local Sponsorship for the sponsor guidelines for the overall WordCamp program.
An important part of the WordCamp program is our sponsors. Their importance to every WordCamp should be recognized, so this page contains some ideas for sponsor recognition that you could use for your online WordCamp!
All organizers will need to have your sponsorship packages approved by a Community Team deputyProgram Supporter Community Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook. during their budget review.
Considerations
When fundraising for essential expenses, if online booths are included as a sponsor benefit, it’s still going to be important to clearly differentiate between sponsor “spaces” and community event “spaces.” Intermingling the two is confusing for attendees, so all organizing teams should avoid listing sponsor-generated content in a way that implies that it’s part of the event’s main schedule.
Below are some ideas for benefits that you can offer to your sponsors. Feel free to pick and choose from these suggestions!
Before-event benefits
- Sponsor recognition on your WordCamp’s site
- A sponsor landing page on your WordCamp’s site where sponsors can share links (with newsletter sign-ups, etc.).
- Sponsor recognition in attendee emails — This would involve a simple “Thank you to our sponsor” message in emails that WordCamps send to atendees. Please note that WordCamps don’t send promotional emails for sponsors.
- Sponsor-hosted pre-event activities (e.g., yoga)*
- Social media filters, stickers, and/or “badges”
- Virtual swag (e.g., zoom backgrounds, phone & desktop wallpapers, codes for free products)
* Planned sponsor activities such as these should not conflict with scheduled sessions. You can promote sponsor activities through blog posts, emcee announcements, and/or social media.
During-the-event benefits
- Sponsor recognition in opening remarks
- Sponsor logo on slides between sessions
- Virtual Hallway Tracks or Exhibit Halls with Sponsor giveaways
- Virtual Sponsor Booths**
- Sponsored lunch vouchers
- Sponsor-hosted lunchtime activities (e.g., games, pet hour)*
- Virtual lunch room (with virtual tables where sponsor representatives can connect with attendees)
- Sponsor recognition and thank you in closing remarks
* Planned sponsor activities such as these should not conflict with scheduled sessions. You can promote sponsor activities through blog posts, emcee announcements, and/or social media.
** The virtual sponsor booth is a Zoom, Google Meet, or other virtual room that the Sponsor will provide on their own account. It is the organizers’ responsibility to provide links to these rooms on their WordCamp site and to their attendees.
Post-event benefits
- Print-on-demand swag
- Sponsor-hosted after-event activities (e.g., trivia/game show, karaoke, talent show, teach a silly skill, etc.)
- Acknowledgement in post-event thank-you emails
Please note that any sponsor programming should not be listed as a part of the official WordCamp schedule.
The regular WordCamp sponsorship rules still apply for Online WordCamps. Most notably, these benefits are not allowed:
- We cannot send promotional emails in the name of a sponsor
- We never share info of the attendees with a sponsor
- It’s not allowed to have promoted sessions/content, for example: “session sponsored by the sponsor XYZ”
