

Sponsorfied (YC S12) Matches Brands With Events Seeking Swag - cwilson
http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/25/sponsorfied/

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sgrove
Talked with these guys awhile back and was really impressed with their vision
and even more with their execution. Better connecting companies that _want_ to
sponsor the appropriate events with the right opportunities helps out
everyone, and it's currently almost entirely ad-hoc (or managed by in-house
tools which are inefficient or wasted effort).

I'm looking forward to using them for some of our open source meetups.

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kyro
Really nicely done. I think this is a huge market that extends beyond just
conferences, but also the next generation of youtube stars, popular podcasts,
bloggers, etc. The idea being that anyone out there with an avenue to market
to their audience can quickly and easily seek out sponsors. I think it'd also
be a great way to allow smaller companies that don't necessarily have the
budget to afford highly sought ad slots to tap into the many lesser known
media channels.

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cwilson
You nailed it. While we've started with events and conferences as they were
the most obvious, and where we had past expertise, the bigger vision includes
exactly what you just described. Glad we're not crazy in thinking that's the
future!

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tehwebguy
Sorry to hijack, but I'd love beta access sooner than later for our event,
Playlist Live if you can do it :)

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fredsters_s
Love these guys. Super awesome idea and a great team.

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binxbolling
Is any of this applicable to non-profits? For example, wouldn't donations be
tax deductible, even if it's a donation of material goods for an event? Are
there companies even interested in this sector, or is this really just aimed
at big brands throwing swag at attendees at big conferences?

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cwilson
We've already worked with a few non-profits, many of which use events as a way
to fundraise, and we're in talks with a few larger organizations to see how we
can get brands interested in caused based donations in a few unique ways.
Sorry to be vague, but it's still in the works.

As for your second question, this is definitely not just aimed at big brands.
We've had dozens of small brands who are entering a market for the first time,
and have no idea where to start, approach us about putting together a
sponsorship campaign for them.

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binxbolling
Great, thanks so much! In particular, I was thinking of ways to use this to
help pay for some of our training events (e.g. "Lunch today is provided thanks
to the generous assistance of sponsor Acme Inc!"). Depending on the size of
the event, even buying water for all participants can really add up.

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jameszol
I hope they rock the industry and cover not only the big brands or big events,
but also let local brands sponsor local events.

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cwilson
Local and small businesses are definitely an area we want to be in the future.
It's on the roadmap!

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auston
congrats to these guys, did some work for a competitor: sponsorist.com

their site looks amazing though, this area seems to be maturing quickly, with
sponsorhub.com also in the ring.

It's not clear to me who the winner is, but I'm going to list on all 3 sites
when it comes time.

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yabbadabbadoo
These guys have an awesome vision for their product. Excited to see how fast
they grow.

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marikachen
Great guys, great idea!

