Potential Sponsor Perks
You can offer a ton of different things to your sponsors while organising a hackathon. Hackathons always find unique and fascinating ways of involving sponsors at every single aspect of the hackathon increasing the worth for all of the people involved.
A sponsored prize track or category can significantly boost your hackathon value for the sponsors as well as for the participants. For the sponsors, this might result in new people contributing in unique ways towards their product and for hackers, this might be an additional prize for them to grab upon during the hackathon!
The only thing to keep in mind here will be to ask your sponsors to match the value of other prizes you have for the hackathon so that the other prizes do not get undermined due to the extra offerings in one specific category.
If your sponsors are running a prize track, ask them to host office hours where hackers can ask questions, get feedback, and chat with them about the track. This can be done in addition to asking your sponsors to randomly interact with the participants at their seats in addition to the chat channel where they can respond at all times. Having specific hours dedicated to 1:1 conversations at their booths can be a great way to generate value.
This is a great way of keeping your hackers engaged and increasing the presence of your sponsors as well. Keep in mind to host workshops in such a way that you get maximum participation and it is not hindering the hackers' timings as well.
As you’re hosting games and competitions throughout the event, consider mixing it up with sponsor vs hacker vs organizers challenges! If your sponsor isn’t as interested in technical workshops, see if they’re interested in hosting a mini-event or game.
If a sponsor is primarily interested in recruiting, there are several ways to engage them. Some ideas include:
- Resume critiques – Office hours where recruiters help hackers edit and perfect their resumes.
- 1:1 Recruiter/Sponsorship Fair – Have a dedicated space where hackers can go and have some chats with sponsors/ recruiters regarding anything from their resume to job expectations to company culture etc. For digital events set up Google Hangouts or Zoom breakout rooms for your hackers to meet companies one on one, similarly to how they would at a sponsor fair.
- Interviews – If you’re providing resumes in advance, your recruiters may be interested in interviewing your hackers during the event. We generally recommend having a dedicated office-type space for respecting the privacy of the interview process.
Last modified 8mo ago