C3 Conference – And Now a Word from Our Sponsors

There is no “how to give a literary conference” kit.  So I’m building one.

When I've attended crime fiction conferences I couldn't help but notice how publishers, large and small, make their presence known.  Those publishers may buy space for posters on tripods, contribute gifts for the attendees or put their name on parts of the conference.  It makes sense – whatever sponsors contribute allows the organizers to lower the cost to attendees.
That’s good for the fans who attend the conference, but what does it really do for the publisher who becomes a sponsor?  It’s all about building their brand.  Sponsoring a conference is a way for a publisher to establish itself as legitimate and professional in the eyes of a room full of readers and authors.  That can lead to increased prestige and increased sales in the future.
We are offering a number of ways publishers can sponsor the Creatures, Crimes andCreativity conference.  For example, they could finance the wine service at one of the dinners.  We’d promote that on the C3 web site, announce the sponsorship at the meal, and invite the sponsor to say a few words.
A company could supply the goodie bags we’ll hand out at registration (with their name and logo on them of course.)  Or they could buy ad space in the conference program.
We’re also looking for someone to supply flash drives for all the attendees.  They could load them up with ebooks, or we can.  And any publisher could supply books to give away to attendees, either published or their Advance Reader Copies (ARCs.).  We’ll put those books in the registration goodie bags, or use them as center pieces at a meal.
To make a big impression, a press could sponsor a meal.  That would earn them one full admission to the conference, a banner on our web site declaring them a conference sponsor with a link to their website, a designated table for their party at that meal, an announcement of their sponsorship at that meal and an invitation for their representative to introduce themselves and make a brief presentation at that meal.  Plus we will post any signage they supply at the conference.
Acorn Book Services is sponsoring Sunday breakfast at the C3 conference, including omelets made to order.  They also came up with a creative sponsorship idea of their own.  Acorn will publish an anthology exclusively for the C3 conference, and supply a copy for every attendee.  Aside from including (and thus promoting) work from Acorn’s authors, all writers who register for the conference are invited to contribute a story.  Check out the submission guidelines on the conference web site.
We hope having publishers help sponsor the conference will pay off for them, and for all the fans and writers who attend.