Find out about…
The benefits of being a UK UPA Sponsor
Previous Sponsors
Sponsorship Packages
How to become a Sponsor

The Usability Professional Association is an international, not-for-profit body set up to promote professionalism within user experience and usability. The UK UPA is an affiliate member of this larger international organisation. Our committee members are all volunteers from within the UX community who give up their spare time to organise events, manage the website and maintain knowledge transfer.

The aim of the UK UPA is to be the authoritative source on the practice of usability, user-centered design and user experience. We aim to facilitate professional development and education within the UK UX field and promote the business value of UX research, design and evaluation to UK business and other entities. We foster a community of UK UX professionals through knowledge sharing and networking, predominantly through hosting a variety of events to promote UX in the UK.

Despite being affiliated to the international UPA, we receive no funding from the international organisation. In the past we have relied on good will to host events without being charged for venue or chair hire. With the credit crunch this good will has now turned to a commercial reality and we need funds to pay for the venues, food, drink, audio visual requirements and expenses associated with these events.

Currently, our only funding is the small amount we gather from event ticket sales of non-members. Because so many of the people that attend are members of the UPA, the door takings at events don’t usually cover the catering of an event. To ensure we can continue to attract quality speakers, provide food and drink for the events and host large audiences we need good venues that will hold approximately 100 people and allow for networking after the event. To achieve this we need your help.

The benefits of being a UK UPA sponsor – some interesting facts

• We have nearly 400 members registered with the international body who are affiliated to us, with a similar amount of additional people signed up to our email list
• Our monthly events attract approximately 100 people from the wider UK UX community, with our most popular events attracting around 200 people – that’s a lot of potential clients, employees, recruiters, academics, students and commercial partners – giving you a wide exposure to the best of the UX community
• Our events are also included in a wider UX community calendar which is extremely popular and will provide even wider exposure for sponsors
• The speakers are of a high standard including industry leaders such as Google, AbilityNet, Nokia, RNIB, etc – providing quality continuing professional development opportunities for your staff
• The events cover a wide variety of topics, from case studies to quiz nights – giving you an opportunity to focus your sponsorship on specific subjects or sectors
• There is a strong focus on networking before and after each event

Previous Sponsors Include

• Flow Interactive
• Google
• System Concepts
• CogApp
• LBi

Regular Attendees Include

• Agency staff from… Flow Interactive, SapientNitro, AKQA, EMC, System Concepts, HFI, LBi
• Client side staff from… BBC, BFI, IG Group, Morgan Stanley, The Guardian
• Staff from… Recruitment companies such as Zebra People and FutureHeads
• Staff & Students from… UCL, City, RCA, Westminster and Bournemouth, among others

Sponsorship Packages (all packages exclude VAT)

Host Package (from £250)
Your company hosts one of the UK UPA’s regular monthly events on your premises and covers the cost of food and drink for that event.

Benefits include:

• Placement of your company name, logo, URL, Twitter account and contact details on all promotional material associated with the event including:-

• Press releases (which are distributed to relevant industry publications)
• UK UPA website event page
• EventBrite ticketing site (where all attendees book their tickets)
• Promotional emails to our distribution list
• Event announcements on distribution lists such as London Usability/IA
• Mention of your company name on all social networking materials associated with the event (Twitter & LinkedIn)
• Mention of your company name in all calendar entries associated with the event (UPA & UX calendars)
• Specific mention during introductions and at the conclusion of the event
• Placement of a dedicated slide on the event’s Slideshare file
• Placement of a photo of company marketing material or company staff in the event’s Flickr album

Careers Event (£300)
Your company jointly sponsors the biannual careers event which attracts large numbers of potential employees.

Benefits include all benefits from the Host Package PLUS:

• A dedicated area at the event where you can promote your company
• Links to your company’s site from ours to increase your traffic

Sponsor Quotes

“Hosting the recent Inclusive Mobile Design event highlighted the research we are doing in this area and provided an opportunity to show case our offices,” Leslie Fountain, MD, System Concepts.

“Sponsoring the careers event provides us with the chance to meet and employ great new talent,” Felicity Brown, HR Manager, Flow Interactive.

Event Package ( £400)
Your company exclusively sponsors one of the UK UPA’s regular monthly events.

Benefits include all benefits from the previous packages PLUS:

• Exclusive positioning of marketing materials at the event
• Free entry for 10 of your staff to the sponsored event (worth £100)

Annual Package (£1000)
Your company becomes a premium sponsor of the UK UPA to help continue our good work.

Benefits include all benefits from the previous packages PLUS:

• Placement of your company logo on the UK UPA website as a major sponsor for the whole year
• Discount on sponsorship package for the biannual careers event

How to Become a Sponsor
If you are interested in supporting the UK UPA, then please get in touch with Jane Austin