Today I am collecting swag bag gifts for the ten women who have been nominated for Vernon's Woman of the Year Award. A swag bag is a bag of gifts that the Woman of the Year committee gives each nominee as a thank you for service they have provided to our community. It is part of the honour of being nominated for Woman of the Year, but it can only be done with your support since the event is run on a shoe string budget using volunteers like me and givers like you.
I am asking you to donate ten of the same item either from your business or to promote your business.
Here are some questions you might have about donating or sponsoring an event:
1) What is the difference between donating and sponsoring?
Donating is often providing something and expecting nothing in return except perhaps a tax receipt. Sponsoring usually means you provide cash or product in exchange for marketing promotion displaying your logo, web link or company name.
In this case, the Woman of the Year committee will provide you with printed recognition of your company name in the programme on the night of the Gala (Thursday, May 20, 2010). So, in essence, although you are giving something away, it is not really a donation, it is a sponsorship.
2) How can I sponsor an event with product or gifts if I don't have anything?Some companies keep a host of mugs, bags, pens, water bottles or other items in their goody bags so they can give them away at events. Often, they have the company name printed on them. However, if you do not have such a thing, then it means you need to be creative in order to support the event with your sponsorship and get your business name out there.
My husband and I own Rhino Curbing, a residential decorative landscape concrete curbing company. This year we are sponsoring the event at the Platinum level. This level required a cash investment. In return we receive marketing exposure with our logo on newspaper ads, email blasts through the Vernon Women in Business and the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce, website, poster, programme and nomination brochure to name a few. We jumped on board to sponsor the event early (we were the first), so that allowed us to negotiate another little perk with the package....wine sponsorship.
Our company name and logo will be on each bottle of wine on the night of the Gala. However, to get back to how you can be creative even if you don't have product, consider this: for the past two years, we gave each nominee a bottle of wine for their swag bag. Last year we attached a business card to each bottle along with a congratulatory note. I'm not sure if it got us any direct business, but I did receive thank you cards from some of the nominees. That sure felt good and it does create goodwill in the community and get our business name out there in a positive way.
My point is that you can think outside the box. If you are a concierge service, give away a free grocery shopping day, free house cleaning, free flower arranging or free home decorating. If you are a senior's care service, give away a free foot massage. If you are a Re/Max real estate agent, give away a gift certificate for a free cup of coffee or one balloon ride for ten in the Re/Max balloon. Be creative to come up with ideas to support your community and promote your business.
3) What's in it for me or my business?If your business name or business card is on the item that you are giving away there is the potential for business. It is called promotion. The more your company name is out in the marketplace, the faster you will build momentum, good will, contacts and customers. Don't give away the farm. Be smart. Consider donating something you can give with your time, or something of low cost to you and high value to the receiver.
Who is nominated for the 2010 Woman of the Year?
The women are:
Samantha Plovie
Cherie Montgomery
Kath Raeber
Angela Yablonski
Cheryl Schmidt
Daina Bull
Shelley Haslett
Deborah Stoddard
Michelle Antonation
Sharon Mackenzie
Congratulations to all these amazing women!
Contact me at 250-558-1176 or by email info@vernongirl.com to sponsor this event with ten swag bag items. I look forward to seeing you all dressed up at the event on Thursday, May 20, 2010 for the event.
p.s. I have one free ticket to give away to the event (value $40) on behalf of Rhino Curbing to the person who donates the coolest ten items by May 1st.
Thanks for reading!
Courtenay Pitcher, Woman of the Year Committee Volunteer
was interesting . good luck .
Posted by: ben | 05/22/2010 at 08:52 AM