EMT #40 with MK Granados - Stop Buying Boring Sponsorships: Creating Experiences That Matter

Event Marketer's Toolbox

In Episode 40 of Event Marketer’s Toolbox, hosts Chris Dunn and Brendon Hamlin sit down with MK Granados, Director of Sponsorships at Informa Markets, to challenge one of the most overlooked areas of event strategy: sponsorships.

MK brings a career spanning New York Comic Con, Gartner, PAX, and Informa Markets — and she’s here with a bold message: sponsorships don’t have to be cookie-cutter logo placements. Done right, they can transform an event, elevate brands, and create experiences attendees actually talk about.

This episode dives into:

• Redefining Sponsorships Beyond the Booth
  MK explains that sponsorship isn’t just lanyards or banners. It’s “anything you spend beyond the booth” — a chance to amplify brand presence, drive engagement, and surprise attendees in ways that stick.
• Why Creativity Beats Tradition
  From Cheerios breakfasts in Comic Con queue lines to Coffee Mate’s on-the-go coffee teams, MK shows how unexpected activations turn into unforgettable attendee moments.
• Audience-Centric Design
  The best sponsorships start with empathy. MK highlights how organizers can solve real attendee pain points — like Amazon providing water bottles and booth babysitters for overworked artists at Comic Con — while delivering measurable ROI for sponsors.
• Reverse Engineering Value
  Instead of offering “off-the-shelf” sponsorship packages, MK encourages brands and organizers to co-create. Start with the attendee or exhibitor’s unmet need, then design a sponsorship that solves it.
• Inspiration From Everywhere
  MK finds ideas in TikTok trends, theme parks, children’s museums, even Dave & Buster’s reward models. Her advice: stop limiting inspiration to the event industry — the best activations come from unexpected places.
• Budget, Scale & Creativity
  Money matters, but scrappy creativity goes further. From scaling activations to working with turnkey options, MK explains how even small budgets can deliver outsized impact when paired with strong storytelling.
• Community & Connection
  The conversation also touches on the power of communities like Club Ichi, how peer networks spark innovation, and why building a sponsorship community (like MK’s own Sponsorship Playbook newsletter) elevates the whole industry.

This episode of Event Marketer’s Toolbox is a wake-up call for organizers and marketers alike: stop buying boring sponsorships. When brands and event teams collaborate, think bigger, and design with the audience in mind, sponsorships become more than line items — they become stories worth retelling.

Whether you’re planning your 2026 event calendar or rethinking your sponsorship strategy, MK’s message is clear: fight for bold ideas, push boundaries, and build experiences that feel like a “warm hug” for your industry.

👉🏼 Join us for more insightful discussions like this by tuning into 'Event Marketer's Toolbox,' where industry leaders share the tools, tactics, and trends driving success in the event world.

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챕터

1. Welcome + Introductions (00:00:00)

2. MK Granados’ background (Informa, Comic Con, Gartner) (00:02:39)

3. Redefining sponsorships: beyond the booth (00:06:39)

4. Creating memorable activations (Cheerios, Coffee Mate, BBC corgis) (00:10:09)

5. Designing sponsorships as “warm hugs” for attendees (00:13:39)

6. Street teams & presence outside the booth (00:16:39)

7. Selling feelings, not products (00:19:24)

8. Audience-centric sponsorship design (00:21:39)

9. Reverse engineering attendee pain points (00:23:39)

10. Gamification: going beyond cornhole (00:26:39)

11. Inspiration from TikTok, Dave & Buster’s, and shopping malls (00:29:39)

12. Breaking the “sponsorship catalog” mindset (00:32:39)

13. Budget, scrappy solutions & scaling big ideas (00:36:39)

14. The role of community (Club Ichi, Sponsorship Playbook) (00:43:39)

15. Final takeaways: niche targeting, clarity, and creativity (00:46:39)

16. Closing thoughts + how to connect with MK (00:55:39)