Event Marketing

BREAKING IT DOWN
2 KINDS OF “EVENT MARKETING”:

 Promoting your event

to maximize attendance or revenue
(event planner’s perspective)

 Using events as a tool

for promoting your brand or product
enabling 2-way connection with a target audience
(sponsor’s perspective)
Marketing Basics:
“The 4 P’s”

 PRODUCT
 PLACE
 PRICE
 PROMOTION

PEOPLE!
For events:
 The Product:
 the Program & overall Experience

 The Price:
 registration , tickets, subscription
 time invested by attendees

 The Place:
 destination, venue
 Date & time
What’s the difference between
“Marketing” & “Advertising?
Case Study:
THE LEMONADE STAND

 Moral of the story:

If you create a good match between the first 3 “P’s”

(product, price, place) and your “People”...
you won’t need to do much with the 4th “P” (promotion)
The big secret:

“All four Ps need to be aligned

with your target audience.”
“Target Marketing”
“Segmentation”
 Is it better to be
“all things to all people”,
or target a Niche?
Describing your target audience

 Geographic
 Demographic
 Psychographic
 Behavioral
Examples of Psychographic Criteria
personal preferences, how we think

Psychocentric
vs.
Allocentric

Nielsen’s Lifestyle Segmentation System

“POSITIONING”

 What is unique about your event experience?

 What sets you apart from the competition?

 What do you want to become known for?

Timeout:

How would you “position”

your project event experience?
(answers the question, “Why should I come?)
the
4 P:
th

PROMOTION

 Promotion
really means
communication with your target audience
Three big questions:

 Where are they hanging out?

 Why am I communicating (objective)?

 What is my message?
Communication strategies:

 Paid Media Advertising (print, broadcast)

 Online media (websites, search, ads)
 Publicity (a.k.a. “earned media”)
 Social Media
 Personal Selling (example: Sponsorships)
 Event Marketing (using other events!)
The Publicity Arsenal

 Press release
 Social media campaign
 Images/B-roll/YouTube channel
 Celebrities, featured guests,
“experts”
 Press kit (print and/or electronic)
The key to “earned media”:

“If you want people to talk about you,

you have to give them something
to talk about.”

(works for visuals

or video, too.)
So what’s your story?

 People are interested in people...

 sogood stories are

almost always about people.

Brainstorm!
The other perspective:
EVENT SPONSORSHIPS
Difference between
a “Donor” and a “Sponsor”

 DONOR – donates money or goods/services,

typically for the good of a non-profit organization or
cause (a philanthropic relationship)

 SPONSOR - provides money, goods or services in return

for advertising & promotional benefits and/or access to
a targeted audience , as a marketing expense (a
business relationship)
Types of Sponsors:
 Title
Sponsor – sponsor is part of the name of the
event: “KeyBank Vermont City Marathon”

 Presenting Sponsor – mentioned after the name of

the event: “The Rose Bowl, presented by AT&T”

 In-KindSponsor – provides goods or services, rather

than cash (airline tickets, food & beverage, media
exposure)
Sponsor types, continued…

 OfficialSponsor – a product that is an event’s

exclusive sponsor

 Media Sponsor – print, radio, television or website

sponsors

 Co-Sponsor – shares sponsorship of event with other

sponsors
What you have to sell at your event:

 Name/Logo Visibility in event promotional

messages and/or on-site at the event

 Opportunities to interact with a target audience

 Face-to-face networking & selling opportunities

 Demonstrate or distribute sample product

What else can sponsors get?

 Opportunity
to host key customers, clients or
employees at event

 Naming opportunities for places or activities

 Preferred location of a booth or presentation

 Promotional rights - posters, t-shirts, brochures,

special offers, etc.
 The key to kick-ass
sponsorships:
“Activation”
 What opportunities do you have
to enhance your event experience
by integrating sponsors ?
 How can sponsors engage with your
attendees?
Activation Channels:

1. On-Site (the experience)

2. On-Air
3. Online
Check it out:
EventMarketer.com