A Tale of Three Sponsors

Sponsorship is a new frontier for many exhibitors. You’ve got the booth but you’ve never ventured beyond when it comes to leveraging the various branding opportunities that NAMM offers its exhibitors.

With every penny accounted for and multiple marketing initiatives vying for your attention, you might wonder, “Is purchasing a sponsorship worth it?”

To help you answer that question, we interviewed three exhibitors with very different approaches to see how sponsorship has impacted their show experience.

Sponsor 1 – D’Angelico Guitars

D’Angelico Guitars is a premier sponsor of The NAMM Show. Their goal is to utilize as many sponsorships as are available to them to ensure their brand is widely represented throughout the show. Each year, they continue to add new items to their sponsorship package in order to maintain and grow the brand recognition they’ve worked so hard to achieve.

When asked about their sponsorship experience, Jessica Cambeiro, D’Angelico’s Director of Marketing, shared, “Everywhere you look—not just on the exhibit show floor but throughout all the show promotional materials—you see our logo, which has had a big impact in growing our brand awareness and attracting people to our booth.”

She added, “Sponsorships are absolutely a good investment. Whatever industry you are in, it’s important that your brand is prominent throughout the space.”

Given the growth that D’Angelico has experienced in recent years, Jessica and her team are seeing the return on their investment.

Sponsor 2 – Peavey

An industry mainstay for over 50 years, Peavey is well versed when it comes to their sponsorship game and is currently looking to use sponsorship as an effective tool to introduce their latest products into the pro audio market. They’ve already secured their sponsorships for the 2018 show, knowing full well the value sponsorship has in getting their brand and newest products in front of their target audience.

Chris Wooten, Peavey’s Tradeshow & Special Events Manager, explained how sponsorship has been particularly useful in introducing new additions to their extensive line of pro audio gear.

“Sponsoring a display case gives us the opportunity to highlight our newest audio products, helping to inform and educate attendees about our expanding product lines in the pro audio space.”

Chris and his team are currently looking for more opportunities at the NAMM Show to pitch their pro audio products, which should be easy considering the efforts show producers are making to draw houses of worship, theme parks, performing arts venues and others who want to shop for their music, sound and event technology products all in one place.

When asked if he felt sponsorship is worth it, he said, “Considering the cost of the sponsorship in relation to the number of people that attend NAMM trade shows, sponsoring is a good return on your investment. It’s a great opportunity to get your brand in front of buyers, well beyond the exhibit space.”

Sponsor 3 – Wesla Bay Weller

Wesla Bay Weller is the designer of a jewelry and home decor line, called Upbeat Instrumental Style, who uses recycled components from musical instruments to make her creations. She has a small budget but it hasn’t stopped her from raking in the returns on her single display case.

The past few years, Wesla has used the display case as a way to expand her presence at the show. She explains how it has allowed her to get in front of new customers in a way that might not be otherwise possible.

“Our display case sponsorship is a traffic generator. I’ve had people who were leaving the show tell me that after seeing my jewelry in the display case that they had to come back to the floor to find me.”

And what about that ever-present question…is it worth it?

“The purpose of the NAMM trade show is for buyers and consumers to get to know who you are. Sponsorship enhances this experience by increasing your visibility and name recognition.”

Who says you can’t be in two places at once? As we see from these three examples, sponsorships can take your brand beyond the booth, allowing you to be in two, three, or countless locations throughout the show floor. And if done right, it doesn’t take a big budget to get a good return on your investment.

To find out which sponsorships are still available for The 2018 NAMM Show, visit our online store or contact tradeshowsales@namm.org.