Landing the right sponsor can make or break a B2B event. Miss the mark and you’re stuck chasing logos that never pay off; get it right and a single sponsor relationship can fund the whole event and hand your audience real value in return. That’s the problem “sponsor matching” companies exist to solve — and Quartz Events (better known today as Quartz Network, part of Clarion Events) is one of the more recognizable names doing it at scale for executive-level B2B conferences.
This guide explains what Quartz Events actually does, how its matching model works, and how to evaluate it — or any sponsor matching company — before you sign a contract.
What Is Quartz Events / Quartz Network?
Quartz Network runs a portfolio of invitation-based B2B conferences and virtual events for senior decision-makers — think CIOs, CFOs, CMOs, CHROs, and supply chain leaders — under brand names like VISIONS CIO + CISO, CONNECT CFO, CONNECT CMO, CONNECT HR, and SCOPE Supply Chain. The company is part of Clarion Events, a global events business backed by Blackstone, and it has been running this model for close to two decades.
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What sets it apart from a typical trade show isn’t the venue or the audience size — it’s what sponsors are actually paying for.
The Core Idea: Selling Meetings, Not Booth Space
Traditional conference sponsorship sells visibility: your logo on a banner, a booth in a hall, a slot in the program guide. You pay, then hope the right people wander past.
Quartz Network’s model flips that. Instead of exposure, sponsors buy a guaranteed number of pre-qualified, one-on-one meetings with executives who match their target buyer profile — typically somewhere between 15 and 120 meetings per event, depending on the sponsorship tier.
Here’s roughly how that plays out in practice:
- Sponsor onboarding. A solution provider signs on for a specific event and audience segment (say, CFOs or HR leaders) and agrees to a package that guarantees a set number of meetings.
- Attendee qualification. Before the event, Quartz collects details from registering executives — the business problems they’re trying to solve, what kind of solution they’re evaluating, their budget authority, and their timeline.
- Matching. The platform cross-references attendee needs against sponsor offerings. An executive dealing with last-mile delivery delays, for example, gets matched with a vendor whose product solves exactly that.
- Double opt-in. Both sides confirm interest before a meeting is scheduled, so sponsors walk in already knowing the person across the table wants to talk to them.
- The meeting itself. Sponsors receive detailed qualification notes on each prospect ahead of time, so the conversation starts well past the “what does your company do?” stage.
According to figures published on Quartz Network’s own sponsorship site, nearly all attendees report following up with at least one sponsor after the event, and the large majority of past sponsors say they’d recommend the experience to a peer — a signal that the “guaranteed meeting” model is landing with the audience it’s built for.
Sponsor Matching Companies vs. Traditional Event Sponsorship
| Traditional Sponsorship | Sponsor Matching (Quartz-style) | |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | Logo placement, booth space, program ads | A set number of qualified one-on-one meetings |
| Who you meet | Whoever walks past your booth | Executives pre-matched to your solution |
| Data before the meeting | Little to none | Detailed qualification profile per attendee |
| Success metric | Impressions, foot traffic | Meetings held, pipeline generated |
| Best fit | Brand awareness campaigns | B2B sales teams targeting senior buyers |
If your goal is broad brand visibility, a traditional sponsorship may still make sense. If your goal is filling a sales pipeline with qualified conversations, a matching-based model is built for that specifically.
Who Actually Uses This Model
This style of sponsor matching tends to attract:
- Enterprise software and SaaS vendors selling to a specific buyer persona (CIO, CISO, CMO, etc.)
- Professional services firms targeting finance, HR, or supply chain leaders
- Fintech and financial services companies looking to reach corporate decision-makers
- B2B sales teams with longer sales cycles who need warm, pre-qualified introductions rather than cold leads
It’s less suited to consumer brands or businesses looking for general public exposure — the audience is narrow and senior by design.
What to Look for in Any Sponsor Matching Company
Whether you’re evaluating Quartz Network or a competitor, a few things separate a strong sponsor matching partner from a weak one:
- Real audience qualification — not just a mailing list, but actual data on what attendees need and are actively evaluating
- Transparent guarantees — a clear, contractual number of meetings or qualified leads, not vague promises of “exposure”
- Industry specialization — deep experience in your specific vertical usually beats a generalist database
- Track record you can verify — case studies, references, or published performance data
- Clear pricing structure — fixed fee, retainer, commission, or a hybrid, spelled out before you sign
Common Pricing Models for Sponsor Matching
| Model | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Fixed sponsorship fee | Flat cost tied to a specific package and guaranteed meeting count |
| Tiered packages | Higher tiers unlock more meetings, sessions, or visibility |
| Retainer | Ongoing monthly fee for continuous matching across multiple events |
| Success/commission-based | Payment tied to meetings held or deals closed |
Enterprise-focused platforms like Quartz Network typically run on tiered, fixed-fee packages scaled to meeting volume, rather than pure commission — worth confirming directly with the provider since packages and pricing change over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Quartz Events the same as Quartz Network? Yes — Quartz Network is the current name for the events business often referred to as “Quartz Events.” It’s part of Clarion Events.
How is this different from a normal sponsorship? You’re paying for scheduled, qualified meetings with matched decision-makers, not just booth space or logo placement.
What size companies use this model? Mostly mid-market and enterprise B2B vendors selling into large organizations, since the audience is senior executives with real budget authority.
How many meetings are typically guaranteed? Packages generally guarantee somewhere between 15 and 120 meetings per event, depending on the tier purchased.
Do sponsors know who they’re meeting beforehand? Yes — that’s the core of the model. Sponsors receive attendee qualification data before the event and can select who they meet.
Bottom Line
“Sponsor matching” has moved well past spreadsheets of company names and cold outreach. Platforms like Quartz Network built their entire business model around guaranteeing qualified, pre-vetted meetings instead of selling exposure and hoping for the best. If you’re evaluating a sponsor matching company — Quartz or otherwise — the questions that actually matter are: how are attendees qualified, how are matches made, and what exactly is guaranteed in writing.
