Attracting a footfall of over 400 attendees, last year's highly successful flagship conference demonstrated the strength and diversity of our region's creative, digital and tech (CDT) community. We are now looking forward to this year's event, and there are many opportunities for your businesses to be part of it.

Put simply, if your business or customer base resides in the CDT industry, or you’re supporting skills development in those areas, you can’t afford to miss out on having a presence.

What is Eastbourne DigiFest all about?

Eastbourne DigiFest is a jam-packed, one-day conference, hosted in person on the Sunshine Coast. The event showcases the best of the region’s thriving CDT sector at the Welcome Building, in the heart of Eastbourne’s Devonshire Quarter.

With three speaker stages for back-to-back talks and workshops, your opportunities for learning and discussion are seemingly endless. Specialists from the sector will delve into their areas of expertise, sharing their knowledge and helping you to excel. Whether you’re into AI, Instagram, e-commerce, digital marketing, or software development, we’ve got you covered.

Running in parallel, our bustling exhibition showcasing many of the South East’s innovative

businesses will give you the chance to make new connections, network, and find new collaborative partners. New for 2024, our immersive zone will allow you to experience cutting-edge technologies with your own hands and speak to the professionals who work with these tools day-to-day. 

You can be part of making it happen.

Who is Eastbourne DigiFest for?

Eastbourne DigiFest attracts business professionals, students, and individuals from Eastbourne, Sussex, and across the South East.

• People working in creative, digital, and tech roles.
• Out-of-sector businesses with an interest in CDT.
• Students taking their first steps on their career path.
• Companies looking for new CDT partners.
• Individuals looking to retrain or upskill in the sector. 
• Eastbourne DigiFest 2024 will build on last year’s conference and we expect between 400 and 600 people to attend.

Why should you sponsor?

This is your chance to have your name aligned with the region’s best in the CDT field. The whole day will be inspired by innovation, collaboration, and professional development, with a collective of the most engaged people in the industry across the South East. They will be your potential clients, investors, employees and collaboration partners.

By taking up one of our many sponsorship packages you will:

• Raise your profile within one of the most forward-thinking sectors in Eastbourne.
• Reach freelancers, professionals, decision-makers, and students in the digital, creative, and tech spheres who don’t typically attend networking events.
• Gain investment or users for your new tech product.
• Support Eastbourne’s economic growth by giving a boost to the CDT sector.
• Become a part of our ever-expanding CDT community.
• Demonstrate to potential employees that your company is innovative, forward-thinking, and committed to investing in the development of its people.

What you receive for your sponsorship will depend on the package you select (see our sponsor pack for full details), but as a minimum this will include:

• Coverage in our Chalk Eastbourne and Eastbourne DigiFest newsletters (500+ recipients).
• A mention on our social media (800+ followers on Instagram, 500+ on Twitter).
• Your logo is displayed on our DigiFest Supporters webpage.
• One sponsor pass to include a complimentary buffet lunch and refreshments throughout the day, plus access to talks and workshops of your choice
• Display a pop-up banner in the Level 0 Lobby or Mezzanine.

One level up from our basic package also provides you with an exhibition stand and an additional pass for a colleague to attend with you.

With packages ranging from £500 - £5000 +VAT there is something to suit every budget.

Who is organising this event?

Chalk Eastbourne is the CDT business community group behind the event, led by custom software firm Switchplane and with fantastic support from Eastbourne Chamber, PRG Ltd, Recursive Digital, FOUNDRY, Racquet Studios, and other Eastbourne-based professionals.

We’ve been working together for the past four years to change the perception of Eastbourne, support talent, and make recruitment into our sector easier. We have no public funding as a community group, but we’re full of passion and motivation for the future of digital, creative, and tech in Eastbourne and the surrounding region.

Why? Eastbourne already has a booming digital, creative, and tech sector, but that doesn’t necessarily match public perception. The town has a fantastic digital infrastructure with full fibre internet, wonderful co-working spaces, and great opportunities to learn and retrain. Thanks to our beautiful location, nestled at the foot of the South Downs and with a three-mile-long seafront, tourism and hospitality have traditionally been strong sectors in the town pre-COVID. But these industries have suffered and we want to boost the opportunities available to us in the digital, creative, and technology sector to ensure economic stability and growth on the Sunshine Coast.

The Turner Prize has shone a light on the creative industry locally over the past year: we want to continue building that momentum and putting Eastbourne and the wider region firmly on the map for being a CDT hub, as well as being the landmark location to live, work, and play that we know it is.

We’d love your support in making Eastbourne DigiFest 2024 a reality and helping us to showcase the best of CDT in the South East.

Read more in our downloadable sponsor pack or get in touch with us at hello@chalkeastbourne.com to get involved.