[ LANGaming.Net ]

Getting sponsors for your event used to be pretty easy. During my time with LAG, we had sponsors like D-Link, Crucial, and Corsair. We also

had the still easy sponsors like Bawls, Nvidia, ATI, and a few others. Back then, you could get T-shirts out the ying yang and decent prizes to give away. Since the LAN boom and Pro circuits have taken off, LANs under 50 people are having a harder time getting attention. Most sponsors require at least 50 attendees, but then it is for stickers or minimal advertising posters. I guess too many people took advantage of the sponsors generosity back then. Now, to really have the notice of a decent sponsor requires a contact from within, or a rather large event.

If you are good enough though, you can get just about anyone to sponsor you. You have to sell your event. I have seen LANs with free net server hosting for almost any game, local eateries and PC shops, local government backing, and heck, my group had Novell send a bunch of hats as an unofficial sponsor. Novell!!

I won't give away all my secrets but here are some pointers on selling your event to potential sponsors. Take tons of pictures. Show them your people are having fun and if you can, fit their product in the shot, even if they are not sponsoring you yet. Pictures are necessary to get your foot in the door and are also the minimal way to pimp your sponsors.

Use your connections. Just as I mentioned in my previous LAN 101 article, What?, use the connections you have made at work, friends that know people, people you have met online, or people from other LAN parties you have attended. I have seen car dealerships sponsor LANs because the organizer had a friend who's dad owned the dealership. Be creative, but smart when using your connections.

Make a video. Most people know someone with a camcorder, use this connection. I think my group got more sponsors with less than 40 people using our videos more than anything. We made three videos over my tenure as 'Head of Operations' with LAG. All combined footage from the event and in-game footage. We would always pimp our sponsors during and after the video showing off the attendees, all the frags, and the winners of the tourneys. Video is not used as much as I think it should be. With the age of Youtube, why would you not try to make a video? How can sponsors not at least consider your event. Youtube the video and the sponsors get a lot of cheap advertising. Check out video here.

Keep your sponsors happy. If you want a sponsor, you should do whatever it takes to get them. Ask if the PC shop you are interested in getting as a sponsor would like to set up a table to sell items. If they send banners, put them all up and take a lot of footage with people playing games in front of them. Most will require something in return for their gesture of sending you swag for your event. It is the least you can do for them. Thank them all that you can and post a link or banner on your website. It is cheap advertising for them, so even if it is just a mouse pad, that mouse pad will make someone enjoy your event just that little bit more.

Folks, check around the Internet and see who other events have as sponsors. Use your imagination and connections to try and make the event the best it can possibly be. Pimp your sponsors to the best of your abilities. The more you pimp the sponsors the more you will pimp your own event.

Recently, Taco and I went down to Carolina Amageddon. This was a promotional visit for LANGaming.Net but this LAN was able to benefit from our visit. We made a video diary of our trip down. Alot of the event was show in this video and we made a point to try and get their sponsors in the video. Since the video was published, we have had over 100 downloads and many views on YouTube. Check out our work. This is the pimp of all pimping for a LAN.