No matter how long you’ve been in the events biz, the industry’s ever-evolving nature means there’s always fresh territory to explore. To help get the juices flowing for 2024, we analyzed 10 hot properties that offer prime sponsorship opportunities, and in some cases, new audiences worth tapping into. From BroccoliCon to the Banana Ball World Tour, here’s what we found.
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- Hot Property: Eight Insights on Activating at Davos
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Davos
At Davos 2024, LinkedIn and The Female Quotient joined forces to present an economic graph depicting gender inequality in the workforce.
Location: Davos, Switzerland
Dates: Jan. 15-19
The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting takes over the small Swiss town of Davos during the third week of January for collaborative, public-private discussions on global challenges. The event (which itself is commonly referred to as “Davos”) has historically drawn an ultra-VIP list of world leaders, heads of civil society, corporate executives and global media to the mountains. Now, marketers are in the mix, too, taking over real estate on the promenade below the convention center where the meeting takes place. The key to sponsorship? Having a cause at the core of your strategy. (Check out eight expert insights on activating at Davos here.)
Frieze Los Angeles
(Photo credit: Casey Kelbaugh for Frieze)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Dates: Feb. 29 to March 3
The Los Angeles edition of the international Frieze Art Fair platform is headed to the Santa Monica Airport this year for four days of arts, entertainment and culture. The L.A. iteration, which launched in 2019, focuses mostly on contemporary art exhibits, and celebrates the city’s diverse culture and contributions to the visual arts. Deutsche Bank will serve as global lead sponsor of the 2024 event, with companies like BMW, illy, LG and Stone Island also signed on as key partners.
Nvidia GTC
Nvidia’s ceo speaks at GTC 2023. (Photo: Courtesy of Nvidia)
Locations: San Jose, CA; Virtual
Dates: March 18-21
Artificial intelligence has already begun dominating business conversations across industries this year, making Nvidia’s annual GTC conference for AI developers more relevant than ever. And 2024 sponsors like AWS, Oracle, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure will likely reap the benefits of having a direct line to the biggest players in the open AI biz. The event promises more than 900 sessions, 200-plus exhibits, more than 20 technical workshops and a variety of networking events.
Possible
Location: Miami Beach, FL
Dates: April 15-17
The annual Possible conference in Miami Beach convenes the marketing and media industries for three days of networking, idea-sharing and best practices, and features leading luminaries as speaker talent (Bozoma Saint John, Gary Vaynerchuk and David Droga are among names on this year’s roster). The 2024 edition, taking place at Fontainebleau Hotel, will include Google as premier sponsor, with Uber, Shutterstock and Canva onboard as other top partners.
Photos: Courtesy of Possible
Broccoli City
Location: Washington, D.C.
Dates: Vary
Broccoli City, a Black-owned “social enterprise rooted in impact and entertainment” that focuses on advancing Black and Brown communities, has gained street cred in recent years for its annual Broccoli City Festival in Washington, D.C. With a purpose-fueled strategy, organizers leverage the festival community as early as April as a platform for volunteerism, wellness, education and sustainability initiatives. 2023 sponsors included Ben & Jerry’s, Smirnoff, Champion and Chase.
But the festival isn’t Broccoli City’s only even endeavor. The organization also hosts an annual career expo for college-age students called BroccoliCon that was built with the goal of becoming the largest annual hiring opportunity for young people of color. The event last year drew Indeed as title sponsor, while Red Bull and Live Nation were among other big-name brand partners.
Banana Ball World Tour
Locations: Vary
Dates: Vary
Pickleball is having its moment, but so it is another produce-themed sport: Banana Ball. The goofy, entertaining take on traditional baseball is played by the Savannah Bananas, with a setup akin to what the Harlem Globetrotters did to shake up traditional basketball. And interest in the concept is rapidly gaining steam.
The Savannah Bananas were originally a college baseball summer team within the Coastal Plains League that entered the scene in 2016. In 2022, a decline in attendance inspired team owner Jesse Cole to develop a new, faster-paced version of baseball that’s part sport and part spectacle, and the Savannah Bananas became the first official Banana Ball team. A second team founded by Cole, the Party Animals, now serves as the Bananas’ rival.
The sport has seen such a surge in popularity that a Banana Ball World Tour, presented by Zappos, is underway for a second year, bringing games to fans—and sponsorship opportunities to brands—across the U.S. Expect to see players donning kilts, in-game dances, pep bands, pitchers on stilts, yellow carpets and other quirks at every game. (Check out the Banana Ball World Tour schedule for more details.)
A scene from the 2023 Banana Ball World Tour.
Photos: Courtesy of Savannah Bananas
C2 Montréal
Location: Montréal, Canada
Dates: May 21-23
C2 Montréal (C2MTL) is a three-day event founded by Sid Lee and Cirque du Soleil that merges commerce and creativity with an offbeat format that’s part conference, part festival, and all designed to keep attendees on their toes (or in some cases, off of their toes in 30-foot-high chair swings). The event will be hosted in a new location this year at the Grand Quay of the Port of Montréal cruise ship terminal, where 5,000-plus forward-thinking attendees can explore a reimagined conference approach: the show will focus on three areas of business, and leave it up to attendees to decide which C2 experience they want to take part in—Experiential + Immersive, Innovation + Sustainability, and AI + Commerce.
Every Woman’s Marathon
Location: Savannah, GA
Date: Nov. 16
Amanda Gorman created an inspirational mantra to announce Milk’s Every Woman’s Marathon.
Inclusivity will hit the pavement this fall with the launch of Every Woman’s Marathon, the only U.S. marathon designed by and for women. Presented by MilkPEP (Milk Processor Education Program), the ad organization for the nation’s milk companies, the race is laser-focused on welcoming runners of all body types and aptitudes. The effort was inspired by Milk research that shows that most female runners believe endurance races cater to men, and that nearly 90 percent want a more inclusive race experience that celebrates all athletic abilities, ages and body types. To recruit women for what MilkPEP dubs not a race, but a “movement,” the organization tapped renowned poet Amanda Gorman to create an inspirational call to action.
The two-day Every Woman’s Marathon weekend will encompass a wellness-packed agenda featuring cooking and yoga classes, live performances panels and thoughtful programming that “prioritizes women and families.” There will also be designated areas for nursing, pumping and play zones to make the experience as accessible as possible.
(Image credit: NFR)
National Finals Rodeo
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Dates: Dec. 5-14
Brands are often focused on high-visibility sports properties (think: the NBA, NFL and College Football Playoff), but lesser-known events like the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) offer compelling sponsorship opportunities, too. Late last year, it was announced that Las Vegas will continue to be the host city of NRF until 2035, ensuring the affair has a long life ahead of it. The 2023 event attracted 157,580 attendees over nine days, and counted Purina, Yeti, StubHub and Kendra Scott among sponsors.
Elsewhere
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Dates: Vary
Since 2016, Brooklyn’s Elsewhere has been a multiroom music hotspot that attracts consumers with underground acts and three stories of dance floors. The venue’s appeal has also lured major brand sponsors to its events in recent years, from a Ray-Ban summer concert series to this year’s Patrón-powered Heartbreaker’s Ball. And more partner events are slated for the docket in 2024.
Brands may also be interested to know that Elsewhere offers a unique subscription service that fuses its communities IRL and online, and has launched a series of curated “Elsewhere Presents” events that are hosted by Elsewhere, but not on-site at its Brooklyn-based venue.
A glimpse of Ray-Ban’s summer concert series at Elsewhere.
Photo credit: Luis Nieto Dickens
Featured photo: Courtesy of Possible
