Sponsoring
Table of contents
- How can RouteYou support your event or organization (practical sponsorship)
- A well-executed example
- Charity Support
- Extra Exchange Options
How can RouteYou support your event or organization (practical sponsorship)
We help promote your event
If you're organizing an event based on walking, cycling, motorbike rides, skating tours, etc., we're happy to help you promote it.
Here’s how we can work together:
- Create a news post on RouteYou and let us know so we can promote it (read more about that here).
- Create an attractive route or a set of routes linked to your event. We’ll highlight the route(s) – and your event – on RouteYou.
- Pin a useful location or set of locations linked to your event. We’ll spotlight the location(s) – and your event – on RouteYou.
- If you need technical support, start with this page, or join one of our quarterly training sessions. Or just email us at info[at-r.]. We’re happy to help via email, Skype, or phone.
Practical support
We’re also happy to help with the practical side of your event. For example:
- Creating the route(s) on RouteYou
- Showing the route(s) on your website and/or social media
- Printing a map so participants can see the route (see image)
- Offering the route to your participants via smartphone and/or GPS
- Providing a printed folder with the map
- ...
A well-executed example
Here are some great examples to inspire you:
- A news post appears in many places on the RouteYou site. It’s also included in the newsletter with info about your event and links to your site. Check out this example.
> To give you an idea of the reach: we get over 1,000,000 visits per month. - The route was mapped out and published on RouteYou with links to the client’s website. See an example here.
- The author page shows info about the project and links to your website. Check out this example.
- The group page shows info about the project and links to the website. See this example.
- The client’s website has the route embedded:
Charity Support
"How can RouteYou help me with my charity initiative?"
Luckily, there are many amazing people like you organizing events for a good cause. At RouteYou, we love to support those efforts. Due to the number of requests, we unfortunately can’t offer financial support, but here’s how we’re happy to help:
- We offer you a free Premium account with all the benefits:
- Great visibility
- Advanced tools to create routes for your event
- Advanced printing options for your routes
- One or more routes on a map
- Your logo and your sponsor(s)’ logos on the map
- Promotion of your event to our registered users who match your target audience
- Read more about all the Premium account features...
- You can print route maps as guides, overview maps, roadbooks, and more – as many as you want. This is based on the RouteYou map which we provide royalty-free for your charity. You’re free to distribute these maps for free or sell them to raise funds. You can also include them in other publications without limits.
- We’re happy to help you use RouteYou:
- You and your team can attend a training session for free. Check here for dates and how to sign up.
- We support you via our helpdesk when creating your routes (read more here).
What we don’t do:
- Create routes for your organization
- Design custom maps (read more)
- Develop custom features
These options can be discussed if there’s a clear and concrete exchange (see below).
Let’s say your club already has a club account (Free, Plus, or Premium) to manage your routes. If your club also runs a charity initiative, we’ll set up a separate account for that charity. We don’t use your existing account for this, because it needs to be clear what’s part of the charity. That should be obvious from the account itself.
Great examples of charity initiatives
How can I register as a charity?
What do we ask in return?
We ask that you use and promote our tools to your users/participants, and that you clearly mention RouteYou and include our logo.
We also ask that you list RouteYou as a partner/sponsor on your website, brochures, and general communications.
Extra Exchange Options
Direct vs Indirect
As mentioned, we can offer extra services (like creating routes, custom map products, etc.) in exchange for extra exposure through your event, organization, or communication channels.
Please let us know how many:
- Direct users you expect — these are participants you directly connect with RouteYou.
Here are some examples of how that can happen:- via an email or social media post with a link to a RouteYou route
- by inviting them to join your group on RouteYou
- by including RouteYou map cards in a goodie bag
- ...
- Indirect users you expect — these are people you connect with RouteYou in a more indirect way.
Some examples:- displaying our beach flag or banner clearly at your event
- posting a news item about our collaboration on your social media or in your newsletter
- adding our logo to your website
- including our logo in your brochure
- adding a QR code linking to a RouteYou route (or page) in your brochure
- ...
Please let us know how many direct and indirect users you expect.
Based on those numbers, we can set up exchange actions.
Include tracking variables in your links
To track the success of the users you bring in, we ask you to include tracking variables in your links.
Let’s say you send out the following message:
Check out the route for our event on RouteYou by clicking this link.
If you look at the URL behind “clicking this link,” you’ll see:
https://www.routeyou.com/nl/route/view/44?utm_source=MyOrganization&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Week33
After the “?” you’ll find three parameters that help us track where users are coming from. The most important one is utm_source, because that’s what we consolidate on.
- utm_source=YourSource (e.g. registration email, flyer, map, website...)
- For YourSource, use something like ThinkPink, 11111, KomOpTegenKanker, Oxfam, etc.
- utm_medium=YourMedium
- For YourMedium, use something like Newsletter, SocialMedia, Email, etc.
- utm_campaign=YourCampaign
- If you’re running multiple campaigns and want to track them separately, it’s best to fill this in too (e.g. Spring, MarchPromo, etc.)
We can consolidate by utm_campaign, then medium, then source.
After the event, we can evaluate with your organization how many people came through you and what they did.
What can you offer in return?
Here are some ideas of what you can do for us in return.
NOTE: We provide the digital version of the materials. Printing costs are covered by your organization (unless agreed otherwise).
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| R1: Send an email to registered participants with a link to the route on RouteYou | This way, participants can check out the route in advance and prepare. You can keep the route private — only accessible via the link. It won’t be searchable on RouteYou. Contact info@routeyou.com to get the route URL. |
| R2: Place a QR code at the start/registration area on event day | With a QR code, participants can open the route on their smartphone and use it with the RouteYou app. You’ll find the QR code on the last page of the Guide. |
| R3: Offer a RouteOverview (e.g. A5) or RouteGuide to each participant at the start | An A5 overview shows the full route, elevation profile, distance markers, and a QR code — a handy reference during the route. A Guide is a more detailed version with extra info about POIs. |
| R4: Offer a RouteSticker to each participant | A RouteSticker gives a quick summary of key highlights along the route (no map). It’s great for showing checkpoints, food stops, landmarks, etc. Perfect size to carry in a pocket or stick on a bike frame. |
| R5: Display a large overview map (poster A1/A0) | Participants can view and study the route at the start location. |
| R6: Embed the route map on your website with a link to RouteYou |
You can embed the route on your site in different ways:
|
| R7: Include RouteYou in your event communication |
|
| R8: Invite participants to attend a training session / academy with 50% discount |
RouteYou regularly offers training sessions (RouteYou Academy) where users learn how to create, print, and use routes on smartphones or GPS. Participants get a 50% discount voucher (worth €15). You stamp or sticker the cards with your organization’s logo so we know where they came from. |
| R9: RouteYou NADAR Banners | RouteYou has several NADAR-style banners that can be displayed at your event. |
| R10: Route signs with RouteYou logo | Use RouteYou-branded arrows to mark your event route. Different colors are available to indicate different routes. |
Example of an embedded route with a static map:
