David Abramowski

Everyone loves a free event.  We take up space and kibitz with our friends, colleagues & associates.  We eat the free food.  We drink the free coffee or adult beverages.  When it comes to the time of the day where the sponsors get their 10 minutes, we turn off. We quickly pull out our iPhones, laptops or anything else that can distract us from the “pitch”.  Then we toss the brochures in the nearest recycling bin and don’t give another moment of thought to the sponsor.

This is a dilemma especially now when things are getting really tight on the financial side. Events cost money, it’s plain and simple.  I overheard that BarcampPDX costs about $10,000 to put on.  Events like Ignite Portland cost a few thousand smackers and even the small events and group meetings have costs associated to them.   As I volunteer  on the sponsorship committee for a few organizations here in Portland I’m hearing a backlash from those that were once loose with the dollars.  The sponsors need return on their investment and they aren’t getting it from us.  Yes it would be nice if the whole world ran like public television, but it doesn’t.  Commercial sponsors want your attention.  With competition rising for every dollar spent, the free events must now compete with Google Adword Campaigns, direct mail campaigns and other ways that companies can find a return.

So what can the Portland technology community learn from this. It’s simple. When you attend a free event that was paid for by sponsors, please keep the good karma flowing.  Here are five suggestions that will keep the money rolling into our projects and keep our tech community thriving:

1.  Visit each of the sponsors web sites and read at least the front page to see what they offer

2. If the sponsor offers something interesting, try it out.  Take advantage of any special offers they gave to your group.

3. Provide feedback.  Many of the sponsors just want to hear from you about your experience, about what you liked and didn’t like.  It doesn’t cost you a penny, yet it provides very valuable feedback to the sponsor.  This may be more than enough for them to feel great about the money they spent on you.

4. If you like something, tell people about it.  Twitter it, blog it, tell it to your friend over beers.  Creating a buzz for sponsors is a great way to help out their cause.  It may be a little tiny 140 characters to you, but to a sponsor - seeing that someone listened and shared is a big boost.   If all the people at the event did this, then the power of the group would compound the return.

5. If you purchase something from a sponsor make sure you let them know that their generosity is what brought you in the door.  Simple, yet I know that I haven’t done it.  I have bought several items from MacForce which I learned about at Ignite Portland.  I have taken friends to the Green Dragon over and over again because they are so friendly to Beer & Blog.  For me the list goes on and just like you I need to let the owners/managers know why they got my business.

If we collectively keep in our shells and don’t enhance the environment for the sponsors, your free events may just dry up.  You’ll see tickets being sold to cover the costs of venues, rentals and minimal amenities.  You’ll see cover charges for drinking venues where we gather.  You’ll see increased costs and you might as well forget about free t-shirts, pizzas and kegs of beers.  Those will be things of the past….unless of course you bring it along yourself.  So what do you say my techie friends?  Get the sponsorship mojo flowing and make your next event a big win for every sponsor that gives you their hard earned money.