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As anyone who has run a successful event will tell you, the key is in the planning, and the execution of that plan. What we often overlook, however, is the role of marketing and communication in the development of an effective strategy that will produce the results you are looking for.
In our March newsletter, we review our best practices in creating an effective marketing strategy for event planners and senior managers to help generate a higher level of return on their event investment.
We hope you find these tips and techniques to be helpful in your event marketing, and look forward to hearing from you about topics you would like to see us cover in future editions. As always, you can find this newsletter, along with previous editions on our
HRG In the News
and
HRG LinkedIn Group
pages, and invite you to comment on them.
Wishing you all the best for continued success!
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Walter J. Recher
Vice President, Marketing and Special Projects
Hospitality Resource Group, Inc.
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Event Marketing- Creating Effective Communication and Community Relations
 One of the most important rules of the road when it comes to producing a great event is to plan, promote, and position it with an audience that can most appreciate the specific value it offers.
Of course, this is easier said than done when you have scarce resources and intense competition for their time and attention.
The question is: How can we generate more positive outcomes with a limited budget to achieve our goals?
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Building and Targeting Your Community
 To produce a successful event, you need to develop an in-depth understanding of the market you have targeted. Once you have identified who they are, you will know what it takes to motivate them to respond to your topic, speaker, product, or
service.
This knowledge base will drive your event marketing strategy, and help you generate a strong response from your outreach.
At this initial stage, as you formulate your event plan, it is critically important for someone with event marketing experience to have a prominent seat at the table, to leverage your knowledge, and take a fresh look at the dynamics and demographics at play.
From the outset, the event design and concept should focus
on creating messaging that will communicate clearly the value you offer that meets the demands and interests of your targeted audience. This will impact the timing, location, venue and length of your event.
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Event Marketing - Communication
Once your event plan and strategy is in place, you need to create compelling messaging that will generate the buzz you need to break through the clutter. Ultimately, your event ROI will be a measure of how well you motivate what often seems like a moving target.
It is much more difficult to sell seats and sponsors if you have to stretch to make a value proposition, as this becomes a futile effort to fit a square peg in a round hole. It is critically important to offer fresh, trending topics in a distinctive new venue, at the appropriate time and place for your targeted market.
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Event Platforms and Database Marketing
 O
nce your plan and communication is in place, the next step is to create a system designed to leverage your contacts and knowledge of your audience in order to execute your plan. There are many event management CRM programs to choose from, including Cvent, Event Brite, Constant Contact, Salesforce, and many more.
And while your budget and experience working with these systems will dictate your direction, you will need to invest a significant amount of time to create and maintain a "clean" database of contacts, as this will form the foundation to support your event marketing plan.
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Promoting and Positioning - Media and Sponsorship Strategy
Now that your database is tuned up, it's time to get the word out. In an ideal world, we would have an unlimited budget to spend on high profile media outlets. While it's nice to dream, for those of us who deal in reality (including some who need to work on a shoestring) - we need to leverage what we have work with.
One of the major challenges in putting your event ROI over the top, is your ability to articulate and promote the value of your event with media properties,
sponsors, speakers, and strategic partners. Depending on your budget, this will include the "usual suspects"- news media outlets, social media, existing contacts and relationships, and PR.
The question is: How do you wrestle with competitors for exposure and position against them to gain mindshare?
This Eventbrite article on event marketing trends of 2018 spotlighted the value of technology, as "the rise of mobile have leveled the playing field in the events industry, opening up innumerable chances for organizers, sponsors, and attendees to interact with one another.....they're partnering with smart, creative organizers who can develop fresh and innovative ways to connect with their attendees."
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The Role of Social Media and Technology
As with virtually every aspect of our lives, social media plays a leading role as an engagement platform, before, during, and after an event. Successful planners use their platforms to disseminate information, interact with attendees, solicit feedback, and create an ongoing relationship with event attendees. Combined with new apps and emerging technologies including Sciensio's Concierge Eventbot, attendees can interact via Facebook Messenger, or through an app, and receive an instant response based on content provided by the event host. These and other technologies will extend the life of your gatherings and help measure it's value to attendees and event planners as well.
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Survey Question
Have you ever worked with an outside agency to plan, market, and manage your event?
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Here is where you can
really separate yourself from other events. But how do we accomplish this feat?
Here are some tips and techniques in event planning and marketing from our experience at HRG working with major corporations, not for profit organizations, and growing small businesses:
- Keep abreast of competing events in your market
- Develop specific messaging that speaks directly to your audience
- Create a story line the media is looking for
- Offer a platform that aligns your event with strategic partners
- Develop sponsorship package designed to align their brand and marketing message with the topic, venue, audience, and organization - ideally - all of the above!
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Event Marketing: Delivering Innovative Solutions
Allegis Communications provides event marketing strategy and management consulting services for small businesses to corporations, not for profits, education institutions and municipalities.
Think your event marketing strategy could use a fresh approach? The HRG Allegis Communications team is here to help you build your brand and execute on your vision! To learn more about our custom designed event marketing solutions, call Hospitality Resource Group at (914) 761-7111 or email Walter@HRGinc.net
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About Hospitality Resource Group
Hospitality Resource Group, Inc. (HRG) is a group of vertically integrated companies, with over 20 years of experience developing innovative training, marketing and event programs for businesses, education institutions, not for profit organizations and municipalities. HRG clients benefit from our proven ability to develop effective management solutions to expand their markets and engage their companies to
build brand equity, increase sales and improve productivity.
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| The HRG family of companies includes:
HRG has earned widespread recognition from leading industry organizations, including: |
Corporate Office: 237 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY - Phone: 914.761.7111 - Fax: 914.761.7854 -
info@HRGinc.net
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