“Do you want to reach digital, creative and media freelancers? … And do you want to reach fast growth enterprises that are innovating by working with those freelancers?”
Sponsorship provides the opportunity to meet and discuss your products and services with this disparate media and creative group in a positive and supportive environment. As well as providing substantial value as a generator of leads and potential new clients this opportunity also offers detailed market knowledge and understanding of this changing and growing sector.
So what is this dynamic event about?
The Enterprise and Freelance Fair has three key aims:
1 Help freelancers win more and better business.
2 Show entrepreneurs how local freelance talent can offer low-risk business growth.
3 Link freelancers and businesses together in profitable relationships.
The goals:
- Freelancers: will get at least three high-quality leads from potential clients
- Entrepreneurs: will meet at least three freelancers they could hire on a contract basis in the next three to six months
Why do freelance talent and growth businesses fit together?
More and more innovative and enterprising people are choosing to freelance. This growing talent pool offers businesses, especially start-up and fast growth businesses, a huge opportunity to innovate, advance and grow without the risks and costs of taking on full-time employees. But only if they learn how to source local freelance talent.
And as freelancing becomes more common, freelancers need help selling themselves and their services.
The Enterprise and Freelance Fair brings these two separate but complementary groups together in an event designed to foster mutually rewarding partnerships.
As a sponsor, you have the opportunity to meet and speak to a large number of highly qualified (paying) freelancers who are looking to learn about how to run their freelance business as well speak to the businesses hiring the freelancers and who could refer your products and services to their wider freelance networks.
The Workshop and Work Fair
The fair consists of a freelancer workshop followed by an opportunity to pitch for work on a one-to-one basis.
The workshop consists of three speaker slots of 25 minutes and will last from 9am to 10.30am.
We then break for coffee/ tea to allow the recruiting businesses to set up.
From 11am to 1pm we run a focused pitching and briefing opportunity – the Work Fair. Each freelancer takes a turn to simultaneously make a 3 minute pitch of their skills and capabilities to each of the recruiting entrepreneurs in the room. After each pitch, the freelancer moves onto the next recruiting entrepreneur.
At the end of the Work Fair session freelancers, entrepreneurs / agencies and sponsors are welcome to mix and network and develop ideas further together in the break out areas.
Registration fees and early booking discount
All delegates pay. This ensures a very high level of attendance and a high commitment to getting the most out of the event. It also ensures we have people who are committed to freelancing and as such are open to ideas and products and services help them in their freelance career.
Registration fees (at full price)
Freelancers or selling agencies: £25.00 to £30
Graduate freelancers (less than 24 months work) £12.50 to £15.00
Recruiting entrepreneurs and managers Free
Delegates will be invited to save on full price tickets by booking early.
Reach and audience
The number of delegates per event will be around 40 freelancers and 20 recruiting entrepreneurs and business leaders. The freelancers will mainly be from the creative, digital, media and marketing sector (including design, publishing, editorial, digital, web, music, broadcast etc).
The recruiting business leaders will include entrepreneurs, CEOs, business development directors/managers, marketing directors/managers, agency partners, operations directors, senior HR managers, general managers. There will be a small number of advisers from business support organisations.
We will also be running a post-event PR campaign to publicise the success of the event and give further coverage to sponsors. This will include a dedicated event blog and forum on LinkedIn so people attending can stay in touch.
Expected media coverage (dependent on the venue location)
- City based press such as the Manchester Evening News, Chester Chronicle and Standard, Warrington Guardian, Liverpool Echo
- Local radio such as Dee 106.3, Heart radio, Wire FM
- Regional business press, magazines and websites such as The Business Desk
- Sector specific media such as Creative Boom, How-Do, The Freelancer
- Local social media groups on LinkedIn and networking groups such as NW Directors and Manchester Digital
- National freelancer magazine’s such as PCG’s Freelancer Matters
- Enterprise and Freelance Fair website and event blog/forum and newsletters
Sponsorship packages
Associate Sponsors (two per event)
To include
- a sponsored 30-second advert (either a video or a stand-up pitch) before one of the speeches,
- banner / small pop-up stand inside the conference room
- high profile on all marketing materials, websites and event information
- a sponsored html link from the event home page to their website
- opportunity to distribute a brochure to all delegates
Investment: Please contact us for prices and availability.
Lead Sponsor (only one opportunity per event)
All the above, plus
- full name sponsorship on the event – for example “Your Name Enterprise and Freelance Fair”. This name will be prominent in all pre-event marketing, event PR, website and post-event reporting and media coverage.
- a video interview with a key spokesman that will be placed on the Enterprise and Freelance Fair website (above the fold) and also on the YouTube channel
- lead sponsors are invited to offer an appropriate speaker to take up a speaking slot during the workshop section. Speakers and their companies will receive further publicity in the marketing campaign promoting the event.
- an opportunity to send a solus email to the Enterprise & Freelance Fair mailing list
- a full stand (subject to room height restrictions) within the conference room
Lead sponsors who choose to sponsor all 3 currently planned events may also add their logo to the top of every webpage at www.EnterpriseFreelanceFair.co.uk (to replace the current ‘Why Sponsor’ link)
Investment: Please contact us for prices and availability.
Marketing and publicity campaign
e-marketing coverage, local business networks and introductions including local chambers, local business clubs etc.
Social media and internet marketing campaigns This will principally be via email and social media sites. High profile for the Lead Sponsor and mentions for Associate Sponsors.
Listing on major business event websites. Details can be supplied.
The Lead Sponsor will feature in the event name and will be carried in PR coverage in the city press plus regional newspapers, business magazine, specialist freelance media, online media, social networks and regional TV.
Web presence and solus email marketing
Substantial web presence on the Enterprise & Freelance Fair will add brand recognition and reputation on a regional and national basis among the digital and creative media sector.
In addition, Lead Sponsors are invited to post a solus email campaign to the Enterprise & Freelance Fair reader base. This will ensure that your message is re-enforced and offers/ weblinks can be re-offered. In addition, this mailing will ensure that you are able to pick up those freelancers who were unable to attend on the day.
Why Manchester – UMIC; why Daresbury Innovation Campus and why Egerton House?
Daresbury Innovation Campus – just off the M56 motorway – houses a number of innovative businesses and is located between Warrington and Chester and draws on the whole Cheshire region.
Warrington has a broad media and marketing based workforce. Chester and Warrington both have a university offering creative, print, digital and broadcast media courses.
The Daresbury location will offer prime motorway access to the Cheshire region and we will use the broad open and modern space of the Atrium located in Daresbury Laboratory on the Innovation Campus.
The ‘Egg’ venue in UMIC (University of Manchester Innovation Centre) is a state of the art location for innovative business conferences. It is perfectly located in the centre of Manchester University and close to both the centre of Manchester and to Salford/ Media City. This will give us the opportunity to draw on the emerging digital entrepreneurs in and around the university as well as the creative agencies in the centre of town and finally those business set up close to or around Media City.
Egerton House is the home for digital and creative people on the Wirral and located right next to Liverpool. The venue is home to a number of innovative businesses as well as Invest in Wirral which lists hundreds of digital and creative freelancers/ businesses in its network. This makes it a perfect location to run an event mixing enterprising businesses with the digital, creative and media sector.
Event dates and location – subject to confirmation
14th Oct – Wirral / Liverpool – Egerton House
9th Nov – Manchester, UMIC – University of Manchester’s Innovation Centre
19th Nov – Cheshire – Daresbury Innovation Campus
What is next?
Sponsorship packages are allocated on a strictly first-come-first-served basis. Please note that the Enterprise and Freelance Fair can only accept one Lead Sponsor and two associate sponsors.
To ensure you receive the sponsorship package of your choice, please contact us for more information.
