Events Management

Maximising Your Income With Bespoke Event Management Services

Working alongside clients, BDS creates profitable events by combining industry-specific expertise as well as sponsorship strategies. By taking this approach, it is possible to maximise revenue across a variety of streams, from tickets to hospitality, sponsorship to merchandise, and from concessions to food and beverage.

It is crucial to consider all of the options available to you in the event planning stage to ensure that your event delivers a healthy return on investment.    

To provide some insight into the event management services provided by BDS Sponsorship, we’ve gathered together a selection of our previous events as well as some key advice that enables businesses to drive success with events. 

At BDS, we understand the relationship between sponsorship (and other areas of income generation) and events better than most and pride ourselves on offering a suite of services that ensure our clients get results with us working by their side.

How Event Management Works

The following workflow offered by one of our collaborators responsible for event management describes in detail the process of onboarding and launching an event.

“When working with BDS we always prepare a detailed presentation for our client.  We will want to highlight the strategies that will be used, and present relevant information about the target audience, what resources we will need, and how we will obtain those resources. This means we prepare an estimate, a required budget, and provide a timeline. We always work to include sources of information and/or inspiration to support our proposal.

At BDS there is a logical sequence that presents itself based on the goals, circumstances, and requirements of the client.  The development of the proposal can also vary, and can influence the format used for the proposal. We always place the audience at the heart of our creative thinking, and we always deliver our production on schedule and within budget.”

Ultimately, our event management procedures are wholly comprehensive and provide clients with everything they need to assemble an event with confidence.

As much as two businesses are rarely ever the same, nor are events; by taking a bespoke approach to each event we manage, and by identifying the most suitable format, our team enables businesses to accomplish their goals and achieve the metrics they need to,  no matter what they look like.

This member of the team has previously worked on a cross-section of productions from car launches with Mercedes Benz and Audi, to product launches with Apple, and played a part in conducting a global conference with Motorola in South Africa. His productions include concerts in Trafalgar Square and Carnegie Hall, New York, with artists as diverse as Jennifer Lopez to Van Morrison. In addition to live concerts, he has also been involved in a significant number of sporting events that include the opening ceremonies of the Rugby World Cup at Twickenham as well as the football World Cup in South Africa. Crowning all of these achievements, he has also worked extensively with the Royal Family including HRH King Charles taking the salute at Holyrood Palace on Millennium eve.

Altogether, BDS has all of the connections necessary to manage and launch successful events across a broad range of formats and industries.

Previous event management

From live concerts to uniquely compelling and immersive experiences, BDS has a vast amount of experience in events management in the UK and across the globe.

Some highlights include:

Concerts

Leveraging the popularity of the arts, BDS Sponsorship has previously worked with clients to promote their brand at highly attended concerts. Perhaps most notably, our event management services have included producing the Nelson Mandela Concert at Trafalgar Square. Attended by well over forty thousand concert-goers, and broadcast to a further 600 million people across 67 countries, the live event brought together a range of chart-topping acts to mark the seventieth birthday of the celebrated activist.

Another event marking the significance of an individual’s contributions was the second Leadbelly Fest held at the Royal Albert Hall. With an impressive lineup of 19 very well-known artists, the concert celebrated the life and times of the renowned blues legend. Bringing out close to three thousand attendees, the success of the event is a testament to the show direction provided by BDS’ events partner.

Similarly, the producer at BDS Sponsorship organised the event planning and production for the Eurovision Song Contest final held in Azerbaijan back in 2011. An event of this magnitude ultimately led to 42 pantechnicons being transported across Europe and the production being broadcast to an audience over 160 million. 

Another live event by the producer at BDS was the BBC Africa concert which transformed the visuals and audio of Sir David Attenborough’s Africa, the concert featured a 60 piece orchestra and was the product of highly considered event design.

Immersive experiences

Commissioned by Tate Liverpool, our event producing partner at BDS crated and delivered the Dazzle Ship Project that saw Sir Peter Blake transform a traditional ship into a striking piece of art. A masterful contrast to camouflage, the ship was the British artist’s largest work to date and drew out many spectators on the River Mersey. Such a novel and exciting concept naturally courted and still attracts plenty of attention!

Composed of two epic live shows in Holland and France, the Extreme Freestylers Tour our event producer implemented with great success. Bringing together a number of highly regarded motocross riders, the event featured a popular section dedicated to the death-defying Volt stunt.

Part of an extraordinarily special festival, BDS’ event management partner was also involved in the production of a festival that celebrated the 100th anniversary of celebrated British author Roald Dahl. Taking place in the author’s hometown of Aylesbury, the event allowed thousands of people to come together and enjoy the works of the literary giant.

To find out more about the event management services available with BDS Sponsorship, simply get in touch with a member of our team today. Whether you require event planning or event design for corporate events, are seeking to host a live event, or would like to find out more about the events industry, we’re on hand to provide exactly the solution you are looking for.

BDS also often gets called in to turn round existing events so that the event organiser, whether from the public or private sector, can turn a loss-making event into one that achieves a profit, that may come through sponsorship but equally also through a multitude of other income streams

Currently, BDS are working on a number of events in sports and in the wider entertainment sphere both in the UK and abroad.

Are you ready to sponsor?

Before embarking on the process of securing a sponsorship opportunity, there are a series of questions to ask that will ensure that you are making the best decision. Specifically, you need to consider the following points.

Is sponsorship an integral part of your business planning, or is it an ad-hoc decision area?

If the answer to this question is that sponsorships are done on a more ad-hoc basis rather than as part of a broader business strategy, it might not be in your best interest to invest in a large-scale partnership. Of course, you may find that asking this question leads you to evaluate ways that you might integrate sponsorships into your plans to achieve your business objectives.

This is another area of planning that our team at BDS will be happy to discuss with you. An incredible way of increasing the visibility of an organisation, as well as connecting businesses with a captive audience, sponsorship is certainly a powerful strategy that deserves careful consideration. To find out how BDS has previously secured relevant partnerships for organisations of all kinds, be sure to review our series of case studies.   

Do you have a clear decision-making process on sponsorship in your company?

When it comes to forming partnerships with large brands or sponsoring major arts and sporting events, you must clearly define processes and personnel that will allow you to establish and maintain these relationships.

If you already have key decision-makers assigned in your organisation, you’ll be far better prepared to take advantage of the various sponsorship opportunities available to you. If you don’t, it will be vital to identify and allocate these roles to ensure that you’re well-positioned to coordinate a new partnership.
  

Do you have sufficient data and knowledge in-house to professionally assess sponsorship opportunities?

Every great sponsorship opportunity starts with data. Specifically, it pays to know what kinds of partnerships will lead to the greatest results. Having this knowledge in-house will ultimately allow you and your business to assess and select the best possible partnerships. If you’re unsure what kind of data you need to get ahead, don’t hesitate to get in touch with BDS to find out more.

Do you make an effort to keep abreast of the complete range of opportunities that are available for sponsorship?

To make the most of the sponsorship opportunities available to you, it pays to be proactive rather than reactive. In other words, your organisation is far better-positioned to identify valuable partnerships when you’re aware of everything on offer. When it comes to keeping on top of the current range of sponsorship opportunities, our dedicated news section will provide you with everything you need to get a grasp of the landscape. Perhaps the greatest advantage of being proactive when it comes to finding an organisation to sponsor or partner with is that you’ll be able to initiate and tailor opportunities, rather than selecting ones that are pre-assembled.

Have you set clear objectives on the use of sponsorships based on properly researched discussions?

Much like good data, good objectives will allow you to measure the performance of any sponsorship opportunity your business invests in. Objectives are particularly important when aligning stakeholders and ensuring that everyone in your organisation is clear on what your partnerships are designed to achieve. As part of our sponsorship management services, BDS can help identify the most meaningful metrics for any new partnerships.

Do you have experienced, in-house staff that are experienced enough to maximise sponsorship opportunities?

Managing a sponsorship or partnership is as complex as every other aspect of business. To this end, it will be important that you have experienced staff in maximising opportunities to ensure that any new sponsorship yields a strong return on investment. In addition to other related services, BDS provides sponsorship management to support businesses embarking on a new partnership. This service ensures that all partnerships are leveraged to their fullest extent, and businesses get a seamless and enjoyable experience when sponsoring an organisation or event.

Do you know the major sponsorship consultancies and have you fully evaluated their range of services?

When exploring the range of sponsorship opportunities available to you, it’s vital to know about all of the major consultancies and the services they provide. At BDS, we provide a suite of services that range from sponsorship creation to sponsorship implementation and management. You can find out more about all of the services BDS provides by visiting our sponsorship services page. 

Ready to start?

To find out more about the journey from creation to implementation, be sure to take a look at our case studies and latest news to gain greater insight into the services we deliver. Alternatively, to learn more about how our team can provide your business with valuable organisations to sponsor and partner with, simply get in touch today.