Capturing the attention of modern consumers is becoming increasingly difficult. In this situation, event marketing comes to the rescue of business, allowing you to achieve goals by establishing an emotional connection with consumers. You will get acquainted with its goals, tools and trends by reading this article.

You will learn:

• What goals can event marketing help you achieve?
• What are event marketing tools?
• What trends are typical for modern event marketing
• What are the steps involved in organizing an event?

In the face of increasing competition and the growth of information and communication influence on consumers through various channels, traditional promotion has ceased to provide competitive advantages. Companies in the same industries and business areas use homogeneous tools, so it is becoming increasingly difficult to surprise consumers. Growing advertising budgets are no longer a guarantee of increasing sales, and the usual approaches are rapidly losing effectiveness. Business is actively looking for new ways to involve consumers in communications; in recent years, event marketing has increasingly come to its aid.

Event marketing (event marketing from the English event, “event”) is one of the areas of marketing, in particular marketing communications, the goals of which are:

• to form or strengthen the image of the company, its products, services and brands;
• to convey to the target audience the philosophy of business and the values ​​of the company;
• inform consumers about the appearance of a new product or service;
• draw the attention of consumers, the media, partners and the general public to a significant event for the company (for example, the launch of a new production site, the opening of a branch in a new city, or winning a significant competition);
• increase the level of recognition of the company and its brands;
• stand out from competitors;
• increase and strengthen consumer loyalty;
• build an emotional connection between the company and the target audience;
• remind consumers about the company, its products, services and brands.

The task of event marketing is to turn any even a typical event into an event that participants will remember for a long time. The main difference between event marketing and other marketing tools is the immersion of the target audience in the atmosphere of the company or brand and the formation of consumer experience (customer experience), supported by positive emotions. Thanks to this, the goals set should be achieved and the image of the company, its products, services and brands should be strengthened.

Event marketing is an activity that is an integral marketing tool based on the methods and approaches of marketing, advertising, PR, as well as, in recent years, Internet marketing and various digital technologies. A frequently held event is the core, on which a large number of other marketing activities are additionally “hung”.

The basis for event marketing is marketing and communication strategies, positioning and philosophy of the company or brand, as well as the values, motivations and behaviors of the target audience. If there is a discrepancy between the event (event) and the specified factors, its effectiveness will be extremely low. In this regard, activities should be implemented with specific goals that are subordinate to the corporate goal of the company, and in accordance with the main provisions of the company's activities.

The Russian event marketing services market is growing and structured. Today, it is attended not only by major players, but also new event agencies appear every year. You can already see the distribution of players by geography of work, industry specialization or event formats. For example, agencies can specialize in the automotive business, FMCG markets, the fashion industry, corporate events, organizing music festivals, etc.

Event marketing includes two large blocks of work - generating interest in the event and promoting the company, its products, services and brands through this event. As a result, the company benefits during or after the end of the event.

Event marketing is implemented with the help of involved agencies (contractors) or by employees of marketing or advertising departments. With the development of this area of ​​marketing, it is increasingly possible to meet event managers in large companies.

An event can be organized as a point-by-point event - for a specific brand, product or occasion (for example, support for the launch of a new product on the market), or become a large (large-scale) and costly project aimed at promoting the company as a whole (for example, a music festival) or at the same time several brands, including those supported by sponsors and partners.

From the point of view of the target audience, two types of events can be distinguished.

The first is external events held for consumers, customers, media, partners, the general public, etc.

The second is events implemented for the internal purposes of the company, in which employees take part, but third-party participants can also be invited (team building, corporate holidays, etc.). For example:

• The Food Truck Festival for bank employees is a unique team building event that combines design, creativity, food preparation and business process development;
• Ferrero Family Day for company employees and their families;
• Intellectual teambuilding #wassermania for VTB24 is a mix of 10 intellectual, creative and sports stages, where each participant decides for himself what to bet on, strength or intelligence.

In terms of budgets and scope, there are two types of event marketing.

• A point event organized for a specific product, service, brand or a single event in the life of a company. For example, a multimedia show for SamsungGalaxy Note8 Unpacked (demonstration of the features and capabilities of the novelty).
• Large-scale events with million-dollar budgets promoting the company as a whole or several brands at once, including with the support of partners and sponsors. For example, the VKFEST festival (Vkontakte social network) or the AMOCONF business forum (AmoCRM company). As part of the promotion on the global tourism market, the holding of the World Cup in Russia in 2018 was just such an event.

Depending on the goals, the company can choose one of three types of events.

1. Events that claim the free time of the target audience - leisure events where participants relax, have fun, communicate and receive positive emotions, and sometimes a choice of energy. For example, shows, concerts, festivals, sports events, theatrical performances, holidays, etc. The goal is to form an emotional connection with consumers.

Examples:

• gastronomic performance "In the Library" by a manufacturer of home appliances for partners and journalists;
• a social event in the form of a party from the company Martini in honor of the launch of premium sparkling AstiVintage;
• Nissan X-Tour - test drive in 6 cities of Russia, complemented by a unique snowboard and FMX show

2. Events that convey information about the company, its products, services and brands in an entertaining way. For example, the birthday of the company, the presentation of a new model, the opening of a new store, the awarding of the best dealers, the issuance of a prize to the buyer who won the competition, master classes, etc. The goal is to transfer information.

Examples:

• the MaryKay bus tour “Journey of Beauty”, during which everyone could get professional advice on self-care from the company's consultants;
• PorschePanamera G2 private show "Be different!" for regular and potential customers of the brand;
• the grand opening of the second plant of PuratosGroup, combined with the annual Taste of Tomorrow event, which introduces the latest production and the results of a global marketing research on consumer preferences.

3. Events at which business (working) information is exchanged. For example, training of dealers, exhibitions, conferences, etc. The goal is the exchange of information.

Examples:

• business conference of the partners of the Evraz company - active recreation in Svalbard, then rest and a private concert in St. Petersburg at the Kempinski Hotel;
• field meeting for the Top 100 agents of S7 airlines in Georgia "100 BestFriends";
• culinary forum "Gastronomic Voyage" from the company "Elite Trade" (a supplier of high-quality products for HoReCa), conducted to improve the educational level of chefs and restaurateurs of the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Republic of Buryatia.

During any event, the sale of goods and services of the company may be carried out in relation to the theme of the event (for example, souvenirs). Special prices may apply during the event. In addition, event marketing can be used in areas where advertising and other types of promotion are prohibited by law. For example, events organized or supported by alcohol and tobacco companies.

Event marketing tools are the events themselves, the classification of which is presented below. Each tool is aimed at working either with a mass target audience, or with each individual participant in the event.

• Special events dedicated to specific occasions are the most common tool. As a rule, they are the most interesting to the target audience and have the best effect on the company's image. In addition, they traditionally attract media attention. For example, sports events, shows, concerts, press events, etc. According to the above classification, these are leisure events or information transfer events.
• Trading (selling) events are held for a limited number of participants. These can be investors, partners, suppliers and even competitors. Examples of such events are round tables, forums, exhibitions, presentations, training events, participation in partner events, etc. The tasks in this case are either the transfer or exchange of information, depending on the goals.
• Corporate or HR events are internal and are aimed at team building and staff motivation, as well as maintaining a favorable moral climate. These can be sports competitions (for example, a company football cup), a corporate New Year, joint field trips, etc.
• Gaming activities are aimed at attracting the attention of consumers and stimulating demand for goods, services and brands. As a rule, they are supported by advertising, including at points of sale. These can be lotteries, drawings of valuable prizes, creative contests, etc. These tools are not pure event marketing and can also be classified as promotional tools.
• Provocative activities have become increasingly popular in recent years as they often go viral and start rumors and discussion. These can be unusual performances, flash mobs, mobile installations, etc. All of them are focused on creating a wow effect and can be implemented on the verge of a foul, i.e. have the character of scandalous advertising.

Event marketing is sometimes identified with BTL events focused on increasing sales of a product or service in the short term (for example, retail promotions, sales nights, or client days in the service industry). Unlike BTL, event marketing is aimed at realizing the strategic goals of a business, promoting a company or brands, building or strengthening an image (reputation) and increasing capitalization.

Example:

BTL: the company is holding a price action in federal networks - the beer of the manufacturer is included in the catalog, tastings are held, the products are on the shelves with a “yellow” price tag. Sales growth is primarily driven by an attractive price compared to non-promotional products. In this case, not only regular customers, but also consumers focused on products of a lower price segment, get the opportunity to buy expensive beer at a lower price. Thus, a promotional increase in sales volume is formed, but without maintaining beer consumption at the same level after the end of the promotion.

Event marketing: a person participates in a music festival held annually by a beer brand (company). During the festival, he not only enjoys the concert, drinks beer and watches fireworks, but also establishes a close emotional connection with the brand through the event. When a person comes to the store after the event and chooses a beer to make a purchase, he will subconsciously have an emotional positive association with the beer brand that organized the festival. This will lead to a purchase with a much greater likelihood than traditional choice, by forming a long-term bond of emotional connection between the brand and the consumer.

The development and holding of any event involves several stages.

1. Setting goals. In pursuit of the desire to surprise visitors, it is important not to overdo it and remember that everything that is used during the event should serve the purpose of holding it. The event itself, in turn, is held not in order to master the budget, but as part of the company's communication strategy. This requires new approaches from event agencies, but at the same time it opens up excellent opportunities for building long-term relationships with companies and brands.

2.Determination of the target audiences that will be invited to the event to achieve the goals. These can be consumers, partners, dealers, media, bank representatives, etc.

3.Determination of the type of event and the choice of specific instruments, taking into account points 1 and 2.

4. Development of the concept of the event.

As in general in the field of marketing (primarily in Internet marketing), content comes to the fore in the event market. Surprising consumers is more and more difficult, they are tired of the same events wandering from market to market. Therefore, only new formats and venues for events make it possible to gain coverage and launch “word of mouth” through social networks.

One of the key trends in the field of event marketing is the ever closer interweaving of offline and online. For example, online broadcasts and mobile applications for meeting and communicating with event participants. At the same time, almost no event today can do without the use of digital technologies. These are websites, interactive platforms, VR and AR reality, interactive stands, 3D mapping (projection shows), virtual or robot assistants (artificial intelligence), chat bots, badges with individual bar codes, etc. Changes are taking place in video formats. If earlier it was reportage shooting, photo zones and photo booths, today 360-degree panoramic shooting, drones and GoPro are increasingly used.

The second trend is the creation of customer experience, with the help of which you can hook consumers who are bored of the monotony. For example, it can be created by shooting interactive films during the event, allowing the participants themselves to determine the further development of the situation. This not only makes it possible to stir up the participants, but also to establish communication between them (effective networking).

Another novelty of the last couple of years is immersive shows that involve the participants in the process as much as possible and make them a participant in the production. An interesting option for shaping customer experience is activities that change location. For example, pop-up objects or mobile platforms where you can get acquainted with the company, its products and services. An example that caused a public outcry was the placement on Red Square of the Louis Vuittone pavilion in the form of a travel chest (the exhibition "The Soul of Wanderings").

It should be noted that today's development of the event sphere allows holding events with different budget sizes, which makes them affordable even for small businesses.

5.Determination of the budget of the event. If the event is organized by contractors, a tender is held.

Events cease to be secondary marketing tools, coming to the fore. At the same time, customer requests to organizers are also growing. Previously, the primary was the proposal of interesting "chips", which could practically not be integrated into the specifics of the brand. Today, it is almost impossible to develop the concept of a successful event without immersing yourself in business features, brand philosophy and consumer behavior patterns. This requires event agencies to change their approach to concept development.

Another trend is that most market participants are gradually expanding the range of services offered through digital marketing, video broadcasts, VR and AR opportunities, PR support and other options. The need for this is determined by two factors. The first is that it is more convenient for clients to work with one agency, receiving a turnkey event and not having to deal with the docking of a large number of contractors. The second is changes in customer requirements for the events themselves.

Due to the fact that modern consumers are becoming more and more difficult to surprise, clients of event agencies are gradually moving away from classic tenders to creative tenders. In this case, the competition between agencies is at a qualitative level within the framework of the budget "fork". Bidders must propose concepts that will not only fit into the customer's marketing strategy and match the characteristics and values ​​of the target audience, but also be able to attract additional attention by launching word of mouth.

The event should cause a desire to take part in it, and not the feeling that "it's all been somewhere already." The more the organizers manage to surprise the participants, the more feedback it will receive on social networks and in the media. Interesting event "chips" are sweeping across the country, starting from Moscow. Then they come to St. Petersburg and, with an already significant backlog, to million-plus cities. During one year, the fashion for event-tools and concepts can change several times.

6. Holding an event.

7. Evaluation of the results of the event.

If before the crisis, customers were ready to spend large budgets just to produce a wow-effect, today the digitization of the desired result comes to the fore. Specific KPIs are set, which are indicated in the briefs for the event. The most successful today are those event agencies that can offer an original concept with a predictable effect. For example, depending on the goals, this can be the cost of a contact, the conversion of event participants into buyers (sales funnel of the event), or the number of posts and photos on social networks after the event.

To assess the effectiveness and involvement of visitors, both traditional methods and digital technologies can be used - online surveys, voting panels during the event, email surveys, collecting feedback on social networks, etc.

In conclusion, it is important to note that the active development of event marketing has led to the emergence of a large number of training programs and the holding of specialized events. For example, the Internet service for event organizers TimePad regularly holds webinars, the eighth annual EventShow conference took place in October 2018, and in January 2019 the Eurasian Event Forum will bring together the leaders of the Eurasian event community. In addition, most marketing and PR awards now have nominations in the field of event marketing.

For the agencies themselves, the constant growth of competencies and the expansion of the scope of expertise is becoming a prerequisite for survival in the competitive struggle. Modern customers are aware of many current trends, which means that agencies must always be one step ahead, showing that they are in trend and offering non-standard solutions.

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From this article you will learn:

• What are the benefits of event marketing
• What are the types of event marketing
• How to Prepare for an Event with Event Marketing
• What novelties and trends in the field of event marketing should be adopted now?

Suppose your company has been fruitfully operating in the market for 10 years. Round dates are celebrated. And this is an excellent opportunity to organize a corporate event for employees: choose a restaurant, coordinate the menu ... In the morning, after the event, discuss those who are especially "distinguished" and forget about the corporate party forever. But there are many other options for a landmark event to contribute to the further growth and success of a business. We are talking about event marketing, or event marketing. In this article, we will tell you what it is, how event marketing technologies can be used, and how to turn a corporate event into an effective tool for attracting attention to a business.

What is event marketing

event, or event marketing- this is a set of marketing activities aimed at promoting the company's goods, services in relation to a specific event. As a rule, these are world-famous events or events designed specifically for the brand: for example, themed flash mobs.

The essence of event marketing was voiced by the Roman rulers several thousand years ago. They said that the people needed "bread and circuses." Event marketing became a full-fledged independent direction approximately 30 years ago. The first modern event marketing event was a competition from Procter & Gamble, a personal care company.

Among the companies that held events to promote their product was McDonalds. We all associate the clown with this brand. It was this approach that helped the company form a bright image and attract children to the restaurant chain along with their parents.

The brightest representative using event marketing is Apple. Presentations of new products are real grandiose shows that the whole world sees. They evoke strong emotions in people and a strong desire to buy a new iPhone, iPad, etc.

Event marketing goals:

• make the brand more recognizable;
• increase sales;
• demonstrate a new product;
• form a corporate image;
• attract the media.

You can pursue several goals at once. For example, when presenting a new product, we strive to draw attention to the brand, improve its image, and make it more recognizable. In addition, events are always interesting for the media, which also plays into the hands of the company.

Event marketing has several specific features that you need to pay special attention to. The main feature is that the audience of the brand and the event must be identical. You can't sell jewelry at a plumbing event, and beauticians aren't likely to be interested in home appliances. More precisely, for some, the product will be potentially interesting, but the conversion rate will still be low - much lower than when conducting a presentation among representatives of the target audience of the organization.

The second distinguishing feature of event marketing is that the event should help promote a product or service. Often one mention as a sponsor is not enough. Events associated with a brand or product are more effective. That is why it is better to use the name of the company in the name of the event, as well as give visitors the opportunity to try out the product. So, at the festival “Klinskoe. Promotion” visitors could not only ride the Sky dive attraction, but also taste beer. And the brand was indicated in the name, which had a good effect on the reputation and loyalty of consumers.

Event is one of the traditional ways of promotion in the capable hands of a marketing specialist or a competent PR specialist. And, of course, the method has a lot of advantages:

All this allows you to get new useful information. Participants of the event are considered as a focus group on which the company tests offers. That is, in the process of event marketing, preliminary knowledge about the buyer is accumulated, which avoids additional research.

Event Marketing Tools

Marketers recommend using the event and including it in all marketing programs. You just need to understand what kind of event format you need, the goals of event marketing that interest you, what you want to achieve, and the expected results of the event. That is, different event marketing tools are effective in different situations.

Taking into account the goals pursued, there are three areas of event marketing:

• Event-events for the exchange of experience (congresses, exhibitions and conferences).
• Information event marketing (presentations, opening). Allows you to attract the attention of potential buyers without being imposed on them. An example is a demo show of a new collection of clothes.
• Entertaining event marketing (concerts, festivals, competitions).

If you want to introduce the brand to potential customers, hold a presentation or opening ceremony. A good solution would be a small concert, all kinds of prize draws, a speech with a story about your company, brand or store.

The presentation is carried out according to a certain scheme. The main part consists of providing information about the product or service itself, its (her) advantages in order to impress and interest potential customers.

Holidays are considered the most epic events in event marketing. They are aimed at a broad target audience. The company invites celebrities and hosts entertainment events, trying to make the right impression on the audience and place it.

An original way to express yourself is to organize sporting events. It was used by the Mars company, which for 10 years, from 2001 to 2010, organized the SNIKERS URBANiYA sports festival. The event was designed for a young target audience, and competitions were held in street sports: breakdance, freestyle, graffiti, etc.

You can organize both a point event - for a specific brand, product or occasion - or a large-scale costly project aimed at promoting the brand as a whole.

From the perspective of potential buyers who are targeted, there are two types of events:

1. External events held for buyers, clients, media, partners, the general public, etc.
2. Events organized for the internal optimization of the company. They involve staff, but outsiders may also be invited. Examples:

If you take into account the budgets and scale of the event, there are two types of event marketing:

1. A point event aimed at promoting a specific product, service, brand or a single event in the life of an enterprise. For example, multimedia show for Samsung Galaxy Note8 Unpacked.
2. Grandiose events with millions of budgets aimed at promoting a company or several brands at once. Such events can be organized not only at the expense of the company, but also at the expense of sponsors and partners. For example, the VK FEST festival or the AMOCONF business forum from AmoCRM. As part of the promotion of the country in the tourism market, the FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018 was just such an event.

Types of event marketing

But it’s not enough to simply organize an event to promote your brand and expect attendees to enthusiastically buy your products right after it. Be that as it may, this is a festive event, and the entertainment part of it should occupy at least 80%. Mentions of the trademark act as independent interspersed against the backdrop of a vivid spectacle.

The advertising effect of such events is achieved due to the fact that your brand is associated with the emotions that the audience receives. In other words, the target audience automatically perceives the brand positively by participating in the event. For example, if the host shouts the name of the brand every 15 minutes, this will repel potential customers. It is preferable to give branded prizes to the most active participants - this will give the best result. The audience will be the center of attention, and you will simply act as a modest organizer of the event.

Determined that event marketing will help achieve your goals. Let's dwell on its types in more detail.

Focused on partners, dealers, distributors and customers. They are usually business in nature and the purpose is to showcase a product or service along with its benefits.

This category includes presentations, conferences, exhibitions, seminars, summits, fairs, forums. The purpose of the event is to present new products and services to the audience, find partners or exchange experiences.

In the same group, Below-the-Line-promotions are distinguished - a set of marketing activities that differ from direct advertising by the method of influencing the target audience. BTL promotions are held at points of sale. The main goal is to arouse interest in the product in a potential buyer and independently evaluate it.

Basically, companies hire promoters who hand out flyers about the product. This is the easiest way to promote at such events. In addition, the method is unproductive. The indicator of its effectiveness is approximately 0.1-1%. For such events, equipment, promo stands, stands with image pictures or information about the organization are also branded. Some companies offer potential buyers to taste the product, test the service or sample.

The profitability of such shares has declined as they began to be used everywhere. At the same time, the costs of carrying out are quite large, since it is necessary to pay not only for the printing of leaflets. It is necessary to train the promoter, rent a place and prepare branded equipment.

The greatest effect is achieved from non-standard and creative ways of promotion. What is the need to hand out flyers with a list of services, if you can work out an original program for a sales event that will support and develop the brand legend?

Apple conferences can be considered a benchmark for such events. Each year, the brand holds 2-3 presentations where leading developers from Cupertino talk about and demonstrate all products, as well as software and services. Since 2007, the company's conferences have been gathering thousands of journalists from all over the world. The demonstration of "apple" products is a real show that is broadcast in many countries. Speakers are not only the company's specialists, but also partners - developers of applications and software for the brand's devices. So, in 2015, Apple invited the author of the game Crossy Road and even their competitors from Microsoft to the stage. This chip was remembered by many.

A well-designed competent trade event can increase not only sales, but also the loyalty of the target audience due to a non-standard approach to brand promotion.

We are talking about all events: professional holidays, anniversaries of the company, joint recreation of employees, etc.

If the corporate culture of the company is organized correctly, then the staff must have a rest together on various family days, team building, quests. Entertainment events allow employees to understand how the company positions itself and build corporate pride. In addition, in an informal setting, the line "leader-subordinate" is erased. Employees see that the "evil" boss is the same person with whom you can have a sincere conversation.

Remember: in preparation for an event, many parameters are taken into account. Ordering a host and buying champagne are far from the most important. Of primary importance is the meaning inherent in the event, the goals of event marketing. That is, it is necessary, for example, that employees put the tag #I love my work on Instagram not under the influence of alcohol, but under the impression of the quality of the corporate party.

So, Brisbane Flight Center organized a fun for the staff for Christmas right on the territory of the office. The long corridor was covered with oilcloth and it was well lathered. Anyone who wanted to could ride. Such leisure was enjoyed by everyone without exception: the company's employees, managers, and customers. A fun tradition has appeared - to ride on your stomach! And now, for every Christmas, such an oilcloth rug appears in the office corridor.

For its twentieth anniversary, TIENS has prepared a grandiose event. The leaders gave 6,400 employees a two-week trip to France. All this time, the workers lived in the best hotels, ate in expensive restaurants, and went on excursions. This corporate trip even got into the Guinness Book of Records! The staff created the longest living sign "Tiens' dream is Nice in the Côte d'Azur" in history.

These are festivals, concerts, sports events, shows, public events. As a rule, such events are sponsored by trademarks and manufacturers.

Professional PR campaigns always cause a positive reaction from the target audience, and potential buyers become more loyal to the brand. In addition, special events often cause a wide public outcry and favorably affect the company's reputation.

Companies not only sponsor, but also participate in charitable programs that are consistent with their goals and objectives. Charitable events also contribute to the correct positioning of the organization - with a high social responsibility.

Coca-Cola often sponsors sporting events around the world. During the Olympic torch relay in the cities of Russia, this company was among the main organizers, together with the manufacturer of sportswear Bosco, which developed the uniform for the Russian team.

During the relay race, 200 thousand gift cans and bottles of Coca-Cola were drunk. It was in 2014 that the company broke all sales records. It was her large-scale sponsorship that helped to achieve this result.

In 2010, watchmaker Hublot partnered with the legendary Depeche Mode. A portion of the proceeds from each of the band's tours, as well as profits from sales of limited edition watches, went to deliver clean drinking water to third world countries.

Hublot reported that they would support the action as part of the upcoming Global Spirit tour. And when the new album comes out, they will release a new watch model.

A separate direction in event marketing is sponsorship of existing events. It has its own advantages, disadvantages and specific characteristics.

When you sponsor an event, you are promoting your brand through non-promotional events. Events that need funding, as a rule, are quite high-status, significant for the target audience, capable of being of interest to it. We are talking about sporting events and city holidays, club parties, various competitions and shows. This is just a small list of events that you can finance and convey your advertising message to potential customers.

Sponsorship as a method of marketing communications has a number of advantages:

The theory is enough. Let's talk about the practical application of event marketing in business. To begin with, we note that this type of promotion is quite complex and specific. That is why one should not expect dizzying success from the first event.

The fact is that the effectiveness of event marketing depends, first of all, on how experienced the organizers are and what skills they have. You can act in three ways:

1. Hire an event planner.
2. Periodically use the services of event agencies and other third-party specialists.
3. Do everything yourself, studying the literature on this topic, by trial and error.

But even if you entrusted the organization of an event to specialists from outside, you still need to know about the main stages of planning in order to understand the details and eliminate pitfalls.

Stage 1: Event planning.

You need to fully plan the event. Your task is to work out every detail as much as possible.

Everything is important:

• tasks and goals of event marketing;
• time and place of the event;
• resources, including for product promotion;
• program or script;
• target audience of the event.

The last point is especially important, since it is unacceptable to make mistakes in determining your target audience. Otherwise, event marketing will not bring any effect. The event will either not gain coverage, or there will be few potential buyers in the number of visitors.

These two components will depend in part on the goals and audience, as well as on external conditions. If you choose the wrong time, your potential customers will not be able to get to the event. Be careful when choosing a venue, otherwise the audience may be scared, and as a result, you will attract unnecessary people.

When choosing the time of the event (both date and duration), consider external factors: season, weather, calendar (holidays, weekdays, weekends), traditional methods of segmenting your target audience.

Let's say that on the day before the holiday, potential customers will not attend the event, because they will not be up to you. And the opposite situation may also arise: people will come if the event fits into the usual format of their pastime before the holidays. Also consider side events that are meaningful to potential buyers. A grandiose street event will bring together few people just because on this day, for example, and at the same time there is a football match.

When choosing a venue, consider the goals and tastes of the audience. Very often this factor becomes decisive for doubters. Is it long to get there? Will there be a comfortable pleasant atmosphere? Can a person feel "at home"? Does the place you have chosen have any established reputation? How will it affect the perception of potential buyers? All these questions should be answered in advance.

• Preparing the event itself

Only after you have determined the time and place of the event, start planning the event (in professional terms, creating content). Each element, from the design of the site or the performance of artists, should organically fit into the concept of the event and work effectively to achieve the main goal of event marketing. Don't drag out the script. It is important that the marketing, visual and entertainment components are organically combined.

When preparing for a business presentation or a bright public holiday, remember: 80% of information a person perceives visually. And only 20% - through the senses. If you don’t understand how to get the audience to pay attention to you, you won’t get a return. When developing a script, make sure that every minute of the event is spectacular.

And remember that the cultural and aesthetic component of the event must match your target audience.

Stage 2: Promotion of the event.

In order for the event to bring the desired results, inform about it, interest the audience and, finally, remind before the start. Event promotion consists of three more stages:

There are hundreds of options for notifying the audience about an event. Let's talk about the most popular. For example, promotion costs will be very small if for the announcement:

1. post information about the event on their media resources: official website, social networks of the company;
2. distribute printed or other materials to an audience;
3. embed an announcement about the event in the script of employees who communicate with the target audience;
4. create a separate social media group or meeting for the event.

The costs here are minimal. But if you want to increase your reach, you can also connect paid promotion channels.

• Promotion.

Between the announcement and the event, as a rule, a period is set, which can range from a couple of weeks to several months. During this period, your task is not only to develop an event program, but to work with the target audience in several directions at once.

First of all, you need to inform about the upcoming event to the maximum number of people. Traditional advertising tools and PR methods will help to do this. A good effect can be obtained from targeted advertising on social media. And the abundance of filters at launch will allow you to show the message exclusively to your potential customers and increase returns.

If you are promoting a mass event, and the main thing for you is the size of the audience, pay attention to entertainment sites like Posters and KudaGo. There are other projects of urban and regional scale.

You need to prepare, “warm up” the audience. It is better to use mailings in messengers, social networks, e-mail in combination with retargeting. This will allow you to interact with potential visitors for longer while spending less on promotional events. "Heating" is necessary so that people remember what and why they should visit.

Open or free events are often forgotten, late, or rescheduled. If you are interested in an event, remind potential attendees about it. And better - tell us in detail: when, where and by what transport to get there.

When organizing a paid event, you need to activate it 2-3 days before it. After all, this is the best time to use the effect of the deadline and sell the last tickets.

It is not difficult to increase the number of potential visitors to an event. You just need to schedule a mailing list of letters or messages and remind them of the upcoming event to everyone who has registered for it.

The highest degree of event skill is to offer a super bonus right before the start. Promise visitors a surprise, a prank, etc. - in a word, perform any action that will spur a person to postpone their business and come to you.

Stage 3: Interim analysis.

Control who registered for the event. This will allow you to assess how successful the campaign is and correct its weaknesses. But do not forget that the indicators can deviate both up and down. You will find out the true indicator directly at the event.

It is not necessary to wait until the program ends to collect feedback from participants. Do this at every step. For example, interview potential participants before the start. This will help to work out weaknesses, adjust the program script, taking into account the wishes of visitors.

For example, you will avoid such serious errors as an inconvenient place or time for the majority of those who wish, a boring program, lack of value, etc.

Stage 4: Holding the event.

1. Your task is to get the maximum benefit from the event, record it on video, make a photo report, and collect feedback from the participants.
2. After or during the event, post event publications on social networks, launch online broadcasts.
3. Encourage participants to do the same on their pages, create a tag, arrange a photo zone.

What is all this for? Can't you just host an event, have fun, take a photo, and be done with it? No. This is not a party, but event marketing, a business event. Therefore, it should set commercial goals for itself: increase the activity of participants, increase sales, encourage them to register and perform other targeted actions after the end of the event.

Stage 5: Summing up.

No matter how successful the event is, it's too early to reap the rewards. We need final stats. And at this stage, it is important to calculate the costs of the event, to understand how much money was spent on attracting one participant, and what return it brought to the company. Only after reconciling all the data, sum up.

Your task after the event is to answer three main questions:

• Did it bring the desired results?
• Is it possible to improve the performance next time and why?
• Should I continue to use event marketing?

But remember that ineffective marketing does not happen. And since the goals of each event are different, the indicators are also different. And the effect itself can last quite a long time.

To make it easier to understand the event formats and advertising opportunities, we will highlight the key points and briefly describe their distinguishing features.

1. Opening.

Already from the name itself it follows that there is a real informational occasion: the discovery of something. Absolutely everything can be grandiosely opened: a new boutique, a confectionery. Of course, the degree of "grandness" will be different.

This is the most common event format. Despite their seeming simplicity (“creating a program for such an event is as easy as shelling pears”), they are the most difficult to make interesting and memorable. The news feed itself is banal. Such events, as a rule, are not really thought through. We drank champagne, cut the ribbon - that's, in principle, that's all.

The purpose of the opening is to maximize the attention of potential buyers to a new object on the market. There are many tools available here. At the same time, the presentation can be called natural - it is visited by guests. When planning the opening ceremony, special attention is paid to exactly the elements of the show that will attract the public to the event and, therefore, encourage them to visit the facility.

When you are planning an opening event, be sure to determine how long the event will last and put together an entertainment program. It is at this stage that they usually go wrong. It is not necessary to delay the event so that the audience begins to disperse without waiting for the climax. At the same time, it should not be too short either. It is important that visitors are satisfied, and they do not get the impression that what they saw was not worth their precious time. There should be at least 30% ideological connection between the program and the newsbreak.




These are usually closed events. But there are exceptions. The presentation of the novelty is an event that is 80% dedicated to the product itself.

When developing a presentation, try to make it as illustrative and spectacular as possible, visually reflecting everything that will be discussed. Otherwise, visitors will get bored.

Focusing only on the entertainment part is wrong. The event should be aimed at arousing the potential buyer's maximum interest in the presented product. To do this, you can use projectors, flash presentations, demonstration videos and other technical means to make the event visually striking.

The design of an open presentation needs to be thought through “from” to “before”: make portable stands with a high-quality design, use video panels to make the event bright and dynamic. Prepare handouts: branded folders, CDs with presentations in electronic format. All this will allow visitors to the event to view and remember important information about the product at any time.

2. Exhibitions.

There are two types of exhibition events. The first is more rare, when the event is dedicated exclusively to your brand and product. The second one is commonly used. These are trade shows. In both cases, it should be borne in mind that the main emphasis is on the demonstration of goods. Exhibitions and presentations have a lot in common. However, the first ones last longer, and the visiting schedule is free. In this case, the correct dynamics of the process can be missed.

When designing exhibitions, focus on static displays (booths) and methods of continuous product presentation, such as small bright screen presentations. First of all, qualitatively decorate the space where the event is planned, so that those present have the right perception. The venue of the event should be convenient, memorable and present the product to everyone who wants to get acquainted with it in the most profitable way.

Often, brands, practicing event marketing and exhibiting goods, want to make exhibition activities more diverse, to include show elements in it.

This is great, but do not forget the important points:

- First of all, most of the exhibitions are aimed at corporate clients and potential intermediaries, quite serious and busy people. Such events are more of a business than a solemn nature, and therefore the entertainment elements do not always look organic.

- Second. In order for visitors to remember bright and non-standard moves, ideologically tie them to your product. Otherwise, they will remember the event but not the product.

A rather effective way to fix the acquaintance with you in the memory of visitors is to hand over small souvenirs during the exhibition.




There are also many solutions here. You can participate in city-wide holidays (for example, City Day), work out events for a national holiday (March 8), or create your own unique event (company anniversary). There is always a reason to hold an event of this type.

Depending on the event, each of them needs to be organized differently. But in any case, a holiday remains a holiday, and the entertainment part should occupy at least 80%.

Against the backdrop of a bright spectacle, moments associated with your brand and product should stand out, act as separate inclusions. The advertising effect of such events is achieved through brand associations with something pleasant and positive. The audience automatically "swallows" the brand along with the product information and "absorbs" the holiday. In order for potential customers to master the brand well, it must be in harmony with other components of the event and act as a “spice” that gives a special piquancy.

At any holiday there are always treats and gifts. Your task is to ensure that guests leave the event happy and joyful. A solemn event is always associated with positive emotions and bright colors: balloons, fireworks. Create the desired atmosphere with colorful decoration.

The brightest examples of event marketing of large companies

When using event marketing, remember: your imagination is limitless. And if the occasion is really worthwhile, and you are not particularly limited in funds, what prevents you from arranging a grandiose event?

Vivid examples of the use of event marketing.

In honor of its 257th anniversary, the company applied a fresh marketing solution without changing the product. The purpose of the organization was to evoke the association of the brand with luxury in the audience. Representatives of Guinness in the clothes of pilots visited pubs and restaurants in Great Britain, whose guests, suspecting nothing, received many surprises from the company. Including, the main prize: a flight on a luxurious private jet with four friends. The action instantly gained popularity among users of social networks.

You can organize a whole competition between brands. When Google developed the photo app, the marketing team put together a simple campaign. People were offered cupcakes in exchange for pictures taken on the app. It was an effective move until the Zappos online store did something even more original.

Zappos provided mobile machines that gave out gifts: T-shirts, sunglasses, shoes and other accessories in exchange for cupcakes from Google. To receive gifts, people took photos through the Google app, collected cupcakes and dropped them into Zappos machines.

The collaboration between the brands proved to be beneficial for both parties. In addition, the audience really liked the gifts.

• Behringer.

At BMF Media's Lollapalooza Lollapalooza, sponsored by Behringer, guests were invited to create their own podcast in a makeshift studio.

L'Oréal Paris, the sponsor of the People en Español's lounge event, placed its logo on flower-shaped displays in a large acrylic vase. Each visitor had the opportunity to take with him one of the gifts from L'Oréal Paris, located in flower vases near the stand.

• Lean Cuisine.

Lean Cuisine pioneered a project that pitted fitness, nutrition, and women's ongoing desire to lose weight against achievement. Scales appeared on the wall of the railway station in New York, reflecting not the kilograms of the fair sex, but their successes. The brand was not promoted directly. The company logo was simply placed on the wall along with special hashtags. A video about how the project proceeded gained 205 million views on social networks.

• Sony.

A great example of the successful use of event marketing is a very beautiful action from Sony as part of an advertisement for a new video camera that conveys the entire color palette.

Sony, along with residents of a small town in Costa Rica, collected over 3.5 tons of flower petals in a variety of colors and sprinkled them on the streets. The event was reported in advance, which attracted tourists. Photos taken on the advertised camera spread all over the world.

So, Sony introduced a new product in its range and caused people to associate the camera with a real explosion of color. This marketing campaign has significantly increased the demand for this product among travelers.

One of the largest and most attended annual event marketing events in Russia is Red Bull Flugtag. The Red Bull company produces a non-alcoholic energy drink, respectively, its target audience is young people who are thirsty for freedom, new experiences and emotions. This is exactly what the participants of the bright event get, where home-made aircraft compete. The show is spectacular due to the fact that each team of participants tries to create original, funny and grotesque equipment.

In 2016, a similar event in Krylatskoye brought together 9 participants and thousands of spectators. The show left a very vivid impression on everyone.

As a result, the company increases audience loyalty. Such event marketing allows buyers to associate the product with joyful emotions, freedom and lightness.

With the help of event marketing, you can quite strongly influence the audience of the company. It allows you to draw attention to your activities, gives consumers the opportunity to "feel" it. An important advantage is a long-term effect. That is, the media, users of social networks will definitely write about a well-organized interesting event, they will begin to actively comment. The success of an event does not always depend on financial investments in its organization. Your task is to express the idea of ​​the event and make it clear to the participants what goals it pursues. As a result, it is possible to evoke real emotions in the audience, which, if the event is properly organized and held, form a positive reputation and bring income to the company.

Novelties and trends in event marketing

One of the biggest trends in event marketing is that offline and online are interacting more and more. For example, online broadcasts, mobile applications allow event participants to get to know each other and communicate. At the same time, digital technologies are used in almost every event. We are talking about websites, venues, VR and AR reality, interactive stands, projection shows (3D-mapping), chat bots, badges with individual bar codes. Formats are changing. Previously, reportage shooting, photo zones and photo booths were popular. Today, the choice is increasingly being made in favor of 360-degree panoramic shooting, drones and GoPro.

The next trend is the development of customer experience, with which you can interest an audience tired of monotony. Developed by shooting in the process of interactive films, when the participants are given the opportunity to determine the subsequent development of events. This way the audience becomes not only more active, but also establishes closer contact with each other (effective networking).

Another trend that has emerged in recent years is immersive shows that allow you to involve visitors as much as possible in the process and turn them into participants in the production. An interesting option for the formation of customer experience - activities that change location. These are, for example, pop-up objects or mobile platforms where you can learn about the company, its products and services.

The Louis Vuitton pavilion (exhibition "The Soul of Wanderings") placed in the form of a travel chest was enthusiastically received by the public. A vivid example of event marketing, which was animatedly talked about.

Event-sphere allows you to conduct effective event marketing for companies with different budget levels.

Events are no longer secondary promotional tools. Gradually, they become paramount. At the same time, customers put forward higher requirements for the organizers. If earlier it was allowed to offer interesting “chips” that almost did not correspond to the specifics of the brand, now it is impossible to form the concept of an effective event without immersing yourself in the company’s features, its philosophy and customer behavior model.

Most companies are gradually increasing the volume of services provided, using digital marketing, video broadcasting, VR and AR opportunities, PR support and other options. This is due to two reasons. The first is that it is more convenient for consumers to contact one agency and entrust it with the organization of an event on a turnkey basis, without joining many contractors. The second is that customers have changed the requirements for events and expect completely different results from them.

As it becomes more and more difficult to impress a modern person, clients of event agencies are gradually moving away from classic tenders, preferring creative ones to them. Here, there is more qualitative competition between agencies within the established budget. The task of the tender participants is to propose concepts that would correlate with the marketing strategy of the customer, correspond to the specifics and values ​​of the target audience, and also attract additional attention through word of mouth.

The event is designed to encourage people to participate in it, and not to cause the feeling that "something like this has already happened somewhere." The more visitors are impressed by the event, the more actively they will comment on it in social networks, and the more it will be disseminated in the media. Original event-events are rolling in a wave across Russia, and, of course, Moscow is in the lead. Then they come to St. Petersburg, and much later - to million-plus cities. During the year, the fashion for event-tools and concepts can change several times.

1. Conducting an event.
2. Evaluation of its results.

If before the crisis, customers were ready to invest huge amounts of money only for the WOW effect, now they, first of all, calculate how much it will take to achieve the goal of event marketing. They set specific KPIs that indicate in the briefs for holding events.

The most successful event agencies are those that offer non-standard concepts with a predictable result. Depending on the goals of event marketing, it can be cost per contact, conversion of participants into customers (sales funnel of an event), or the number of posts and photos on social networks after the event.

To measure visitor performance and engagement, use both traditional and digital tools. In the latter case, we are talking about online polls, voting panels during an event, polls by e-mail, collecting feedback in social networks, etc.

Due to the fact that event marketing is developing very rapidly, a lot of training programs for organizing events have appeared.

Thus, the Internet platform for event organizers TimePad constantly holds webinars. In October 2018, the 8th annual Event Show conference was held, and in January 2019, the Eurasian "Event Forum" was held, which brought together event marketing leaders from all over Eurasia. Most advertising and PR awards now have nominations in the field of event marketing.

It is very important for agencies to constantly improve their skills and expand their expertise in order to survive in a competitive environment. Modern customers are well aware of many current trends. Consequently, agencies always need to be head and shoulders above others, show that they are in the “topic”, and offer new, “not hackneyed” solutions.

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Over the past two decades, people have been spending their time on the Internet non-stop, which has been marked by a surge in online marketing - banner advertising, search engine optimization, social networks, retargeting and hundreds of other ways to attract the user's attention. Against the backdrop of this boom, offline marketing, which is formally known as conventional "marketing" and where it all began, is gaining momentum again.

People again want to go out, communicate, participate in contests, take photos and share emotions with friends.

The event industry is built on various offline marketing techniques and tactics. How to make an advertising campaign exciting and effective will tell examples of promotions from brands whose name is known to everyone.

The first part of our bombshell selection for your inspiration.

Winter Olympics 2014 - 30 squats for a subway ticket

In 2014, on the eve of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, a machine was installed in Moscow at the Vystavochnaya metro station, allowing you to get a ticket for 30 squats. On the one hand, this is a promotion of an active lifestyle, on the other hand, it is an excellent advertisement for the upcoming winter games.

Main conclusion. Everyone loves getting something for free. Get the audience to complete the task before picking up the prize. This will make your event fun and memorable.

IKEA - Fancy moving boxes

In Montreal, Canada, there is a special day dedicated to moving residents into new homes. Especially for this day, the IKEA store handed out free moving boxes with the brand logo to residents. In 2014, marketers decided to modernize the advertising campaign by making these boxes in the form of real furniture. Residents of the city had the opportunity to test IKEA furniture at home for some time, even if made of cardboard, but it was possible to understand whether the furniture fits into the new interior.

Main conclusion. Sometimes you don't need a new marketing campaign, all you need to do is upgrade an existing one.

Burger King-McWhopper

Burger King put together a bold marketing campaign by unexpectedly offering a truce with McDonald's to support a non-profit organization called Peace One Day. Burger King printed an open letter to the CEO of McDonald's and also bought billboards near competitor restaurants to publicly offer to work with them. The campaign took McDonald's by surprise and they effectively rejected their offer. But by then, Burger King had enough fans to follow Burger King's tutorial video on how to make a homemade "McWhopper".

Main conclusion. Consider ways to exploit the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors in the market and take action.

Starbucks - Loyalty Program

Loyalty programs are basically a money saving opportunity, but the Starbucks program stands out from the rest. Customers earn stars for shopping at Starbucks stores, which they can then use in exchange for free drinks or food. The purpose of the campaign is to retain loyal customers.

Main conclusion. When investing in attracting new customers, do not neglect the opportunities to retain existing ones. Wisdom says: finding a new client is much more expensive than keeping the ones you have.

PepsiCo - Blind Taste Test

Since time immemorial, people have been discussing one question: which is tastier - Coca-Cola or Pepsi? In the 1980s, Coca-Cola had an opponent - Pepsi. In response to Coca-Cola's aggressive policy, the new brand launched an equally aggressive campaign - nationwide blind taste testing of both products. Incredibly, consumers preferred Pepsi, which immediately became part of an advertising campaign that was marked by a surge in sales of the drink.

Main conclusion. Don't be afraid to challenge your competitors, especially if your brand has just entered the market.

Fox TV - Live Poster

To promote the new show, the Fox TV marketing team placed interactive posters on the streets of Los Angeles. When unsuspecting people passed by, Gordon Ramsay (the host of the cooking show) would start talking to them through the screen. The interactive poster was equipped with a video camera and microphones so that passers-by could communicate with the chef in real time.

Main conclusion. Using digital technology can be an effective way to engage your audience.

Tomorrowland - Treasure Chest Invitations

Sometimes it is the customers who make the best advertisement for the product. This feature is successfully used by the team of Tomorrowland, the largest electronic music festival held in Belgium. From year to year, tickets for the festival are sent to the owner by mail and delivered right to the doorstep of his house. The ticket, which is a bracelet, is packed in an extravagant chest. The feeling of exclusivity makes the participants film the process of unpacking the chest and share it with their friends and family on social networks.

Main conclusion. Give your audience something special and they will advertise your product themselves.

Minnesota State Fair - Bingo Cards

In 2017, at the beginning of the event, participants of the Minnesota State Fair were given cards where they could mark each completed task - visiting one or another booth, participating in events.

Main conclusion. Introduce an element of the game and visitors will be motivated to take part in all the activities prepared for them.

In 2016, the Deadpool film marketing team ran an advertising campaign based on the main character's obscene humor. Billboards with an unusual spelling of Deadpool's name were part of this ad. Soon, photos of billboards hit the social networks and spread all over the Internet.

Main conclusions. Don't forget about traditional types of advertising. Even the most mundane offline marketing techniques, like using billboards, can get creative.

Virgin Atlantic - First Class Service Bench

In one pilot campaign, the airline placed a bench in Manhattan where passers-by could feel like Virgin Atlantic's first-class guests. When a person sat down on a bench, he was met by flight attendants who offered lunch and champagne, and so that the guest would not be bored, musicians played for him.

Main conclusion. Give your audience a physical opportunity to experience all the benefits of your product.

Alibaba Group - Gala evening in honor of the online festival of discounts

November 11th is known in China as Singles Day. Alibaba Group decided to organize a global online shopping festival on this day with huge discounts, similar to "Black Friday" or "Cyber ​​Monday" in the United States. In order to increase the rating of the online festival, Alibaba Group opened the promotion with a grand concert with the participation of stars. In 2017, the evening was attended by Nicole Kidman, Pharrell Williams and Maria Sharapova.

Main conclusion. An event that was originally conceived as an online event can be sold by arranging an offline event.

Ben Sherman - Stolen!

During New York Fashion Week in 2010, Ben Sherman's creative team organized an unusual advertising campaign: shirts were deliberately hung in the window to attract the attention of passers-by. People passing by could hardly resist stealing a casually hanging piece of clothing. So, more than 600 shirts were used, on which it was written “Stolen! From Ben Sherman Soho New York. But you are forgiven (only this time)." As part of the fashion week, this action created a lot of noise around the brand.

The concept, goals and objectives of event marketing

The basis of marketing strategies of the 21st century is customer focus. This is not just attraction, but customer retention and the formation of his loyalty. At the same time, the company does not impose its products, but adapts and guesses the needs and requests of customers. And most importantly, it does not bother with annoying advertising, but creates a holiday out of it.

The idea of ​​the need to use and consume a particular product is presented to a potential client in the form of a vivid and memorable event, in which he is also involved. This new and innovative type of promotion is called event marketing or event marketing.

Definition 1

Event - marketing is the organization of events as a platform for the demonstration of products or services in order to activate the attention of consumers through emotional impact.

The key goal of event marketing is the effective promotion of goods or services through certain events (presentation, flash mob, corporate parties, etc.).

Tasks of event marketing:

1. building a successful brand;
2. company image management;
3. remembering the introduction of goods to the market;
4. promotion of goods of impulsive demand;
5. formation of a group of like-minded people among staff and customers;
6. creating a word of mouth effect.

Types of event marketing

Remark 1

Exhibitions can be organized for a specific company and its products. Enterprises also participate in industry exhibitions. The main purpose of those and other events is the presentation of the product. It is important to brightly design the exhibition venue, it should also be convenient and accessible to the consumer. To encourage memorability, many companies give away free samples and merchandise.

Presentations are closed events to which certain people are invited. But they also organize events of an open type. Companies strive to convey maximum useful and necessary information about their products to attract the attention of potential consumers and investors. Presentations are made using multimedia technologies for better memorability and interest.

The opening of a new store or company is organized to attract the attention of the target audience before entering the market. This event should also be remembered by future consumers and customers. The opening should not be too long, but also not short in duration. The time factor, the presence and content of the entertainment program affect the success of the ceremony. People should be satisfied and not leave long before the end of the event.

Holidays are organized in various formats and are a joyful and spectacular event dedicated to a certain date (anniversary of a company or leader, etc.). Such an event should be accompanied by the distribution of gifts, beautifully and brightly decorated (balloons, flowers, fireworks, etc.).

Event - marketing is not only entertainment events, but also business events to promote the enterprise. This is the organization of conferences, seminars, forums, round tables, open days, as well as meetings with journalists. Such events are held to solve internal corporate problems and establish relationships with representatives of the external environment of the company (partners, customers).

Events and event marketing tools

Activities carried out as part of event marketing are divided into several types, taking into account the goals achieved:

• trade events;
• corporate events (HR events);
• special events.

The first type of event is intended for partners, customers and intermediaries (dealers, distributors). Such events combine not only the business component, but also certain entertainment. The purpose of the organization is a visual presentation of the product with an indication of its merits. These are events such as receptions, presentations, pr-actions, exhibitions and fairs, forums, congresses and summits. They are aimed at sharing experience and attracting potential partners.

The second type is corporate events, namely the organization of anniversaries, professional holidays, birthdays, trips of employees to nature or recreation. Such events allow you to convey the ideas of the enterprise to the staff. They also serve as an effective way to attract customers and partners. Therefore, external representatives who can feel significant for this company are also invited to such events.

In addition to specified corporate events, they include new types that have recently appeared in practice: family day (family day) and teambuilding (team building).

Family holidays contribute to the unity of employees and bring them together on an emotional level.

An important role is played by the formation of a team or a group of employees working for a common goal. Teambuilding is the organization of trainings with modeling business situations under the guidance of a professional trainer (coach). Such trainings help to solve problems and tasks in the organization, while such an event is not only business, but also entertaining.

Special events include holding festivals, shows, organizing promotional tours, press events, concerts, etc. Such events have a positive effect on the image of a company or brand. This group of event marketing activities also includes sponsorship, charitable projects and programs, the task of which is to promote the social reputation of the enterprise.

Remark 2

Recently, there has been an active growth in the popularity of event marketing. Hence the increase in demand for event managers. Such specialists should be not just professional marketers, but also good psychologists, creative people, have experience in organizing such events, and also be able to multitask and be stress-resistant.

"London. In the center of the British capital
celebration of Coca-Cola. During the celebrations in
a hundred planes circled in the air with the inscription "Coca-Cola",
200 thousand charges of festive
fireworks, Placido Domingo sang on an impromptu stage,
Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras...
The specialists of the Buratino plant believe that
it's a cheap publicity stunt"

1. Event Marketing - what is it

Don't kill your wife with your housework!
Let electricity do it!
"Tefal", you always think of us!

The modern market is developing at a rapid pace, a huge amount of advertising falls on the consumer every day from TV screens, from the pages of newspapers and magazines, falls on him from the radio, waits for him at every step on the city streets. The consumer is protected by ceasing to perceive advertising information: switching the TV during commercial breaks, scrolling through advertising spreads, turning the knobs of radio stations. Traditional advertising is becoming less and less effective. Product manufacturers are looking for ways out in many ways: inventing super-original creative concepts, luring the consumer with gifts, inciting intriguing advertising. One of the ways to overcome the crisis is event marketing - promoting a product or service by creating and organizing special events that create emotional bonds between the consumer and the brand.

Event marketing- event marketing (systematic organization of events as a platform for the presentation of a product (service) in order to activate the attention of the target group to the product (service) with the help of emotional impact).

special event- not just a way to attract consumer attention to your brand. Depending on the format and content of the event, this or that positioning of the brand takes place. Moreover, it happens much easier, clearer and more “memorable” than with the help of conventional advertising media (ATL).

But in order for Event marketing to bring a serious return, it is necessary to competently and consistently build the whole process. From setting goals and objectives to choosing the content of the event and ways to cover it. Only with this approach will you taste all the advantages of this method and be able to prudently avoid the disadvantages.

Actually Event marketing includes several key points:

• informing the audience about the event;
• holding an event;
• subsequent information wave.

2. Event Marketing - Development

"By phone:
- Where am I?
“Where were you aiming?”

1. Setting goals and objectives, determining the target audience

Like any other marketing action, the development of a special event should begin with setting goals and objectives. To whom and what message are you going to broadcast through your event? What effect do you expect from your guests? What do they have to take away from your event? You need to think about this in any case, whether you are making a modest presentation of a new product for your partners or a big celebration for the whole city. The format of the event as a whole and individual nuances of the program will depend on the answer to these questions.

In any case, your event should be interesting to your target audience. Interesting. This is the keyword. Here are committed two main mistakes:

a) The event is created just like that. Just to be quiet. Do something. Spend ... And then be proud. This does not take into account the marketing meaning of the event. It either does not cover the audience of interest to the company at all, or is devoid of any significant meaning for it. For example, a Russian song ensemble performs at the opening of a computer store. Questions arise: whose interests are taken into account in this case and what did the organizers of the event want to say to the audience in this way?

b) When creating an event, the company is so focused on its own interests in demonstrating its own “coolness” that it completely forgets what is interesting to the consumer. That is, the event is so saturated with advertising of the company that the consumer loses all interest in it. For example, during one presentation for an hour and a half, they talked about the technical features of a certain product. Technical features are certainly important. They can be described in detail in the booklet. But listening to them for an hour and a half as presented by technical specialists who cannot speak in public and into a microphone will not stand even the most loyal consumer ...

2. Time and place.

Two parameters that need to be taken into account, they will be set in part by goals and audience. Partially - to be the conditions of the external environment, the wrong time will not allow your target audience to visit your event, the wrong place - can scare away the target audience and attract people you do not need.

When determining the time of an event (both date and duration), there are many external factors to consider: season, weather conditions, calendar (holidays, weekdays and weekends), traditional ways of structuring your audience's time. For example, you may not gather an audience for an event, because it's the day before the holiday - and everyone is not up to your event. Or you can do it the other way around: collect it precisely due to this, if the format of the event fits into the traditional pastime of the pre-holiday days of your audience. It is important to consider parallel events that are relevant to the target audience. A large outdoor event may not attract many people just because, for example, an interesting football match is taking place on that day and at that time.

Determining the venue, it is necessary to build on the goals and taste preferences of the audience. In most cases, the venue of an event plays a major role in deciding whether or not to attend. Is it easy to get to it? Does the situation correspond to the accepted and comfortable, will he feel “at ease” there? Does your chosen place have any established image? How will it influence the opinion of the audience? All these questions are worth asking when choosing a venue for your event.

And only having decided on the first two parameters, you can start planning the content of the event itself (in professional slang - content). The content should correspond to the audience, place, time and informational occasion. Every detail, whether it is the design of the venue or the performance of artists, must be correctly integrated into the concept of the event and work for the integral idea of ​​the event. The script shouldn't be long. Advertising, entertainment and entertainment moments should be organically combined in it.

Regardless of whether you are planning a business presentation or a bright mass holiday, you must remember that a person perceives 80% of the information with his eyes. And only 20% - the rest of the senses. If you do not know how to "occupy the eyes" of the public, then the public will not listen to you. When planning your script, make sure every moment of your event is spectacular.

And, of course, remember that the cultural and aesthetic component of the event should be relevant to your target audience.

4. Information support of the event.
Of course, your audience should know about the event in advance. Depending on the format and scale of the event and the characteristics of the audience, a period of one to two weeks is sufficient for local events. There are exceptions, but they are rare. The larger your event is, the more time and money it takes to participate in it, the earlier the notification should start.

Notification methods depend on the format of the event and the intended audience. This can be direct marketing - if we are talking about corporate events and the circle of invited people is known in advance and limited, or advertising in the media if the event is open and mass. For mass events, outdoor advertising and leafleting (distribution of information leaflets) will be effective. In the case of an audience under the age of 35, it is appropriate to use the Internet.

In any case, when choosing an arsenal of information resources, it is necessary to take into account not only the target audience of the event, but also the nature of the event itself, the relevance of information about it within the framework of a particular information resource.

The second wave of information about your event should be launched after it has been held. These are the so-called "post-outputs" of information in the media and the Internet. In the case of small events and events designed for a limited circle of people, this can be dispensed with, but do not forget that any mention of the event in the media in the news format raises the status of the event, gives it significance, both in the eyes of the participants and in the eyes of the rest of the public. Plus, it's an extra way to remind consumers of your brand and its positioning. Therefore, if there is an opportunity to inflate the event into a certain information occasion, you should not refuse it. How many people will attend your event? And how many learn about it from the news? We will return to the topic “event - information about it” at the end of our article.

3. Event Marketing - how it happens

“This year, MTS gave everyone a New Year's gift and
canceled on New Year's Eve advertising on the "First
channel "... next year MTS is preparing to make
even more valuable gift... MTS will pay
Baskov's absence on the air ... "

In order to make it easier for you to navigate the formats of events and their marketing opportunities, we will outline the main ones and briefly describe their features.

Opening

The very name of the format suggests that in this case we have a distinct and not invented information reason: the discovery of something. You can open anything with noise and pomp: from a new boutique to a new factory. Of course, the noise and the pump will be of a different nature and scale.

This is the most popular format of events, but despite the seeming simplicity (“what to develop there? Let's stage a couple of artists, play something - and that's it”), it is events of this kind that are the most difficult to make successful and memorable. Partly the point is the banality of the informational occasion, partly the fact that the concept of such events is often not really thought about. They made some noise, cut the ribbon - and okay.

The main task of the opening, as a rule, is to attract as much attention as possible to the target audience to the appearance of the object being opened on the market. For this purpose, if not all, then many means are good. At the same time, the presentation of the object itself takes place partly in a natural way - visiting it by guests. Therefore, when planning the opening, it is precisely the elements of the show that are able to attract the audience to the event and, accordingly, persuade it to visit the facility, come first when planning the opening.

When planning an opening event, be careful about the length of the event and the entertainment program. This is where most mistakes are made. The event should not be too long, so that the audience does not start to disperse without tasting the climax, but it should not be too short, so that the visitors do not get dissatisfied with the fact that they have wasted their time on such a modest performance. The program should be ideologically linked to the occasion by at least 30%.

Presentations

Basically, these are closed events, although there are exceptions. Product Presentation: 80% event dedicated to the product itself. Therefore, most of her time should be devoted to him. When developing a presentation, take care of the maximum illustration and entertainment of everything that you will talk about, otherwise your audience will turn sour and get bored. At the same time, spending most of the time on entertainment elements during a presentation is inappropriate. The purpose of the event in this case is to maximally interest the consumer in the presented product and give him complete and comprehensive information about it. Projectors, flash presentations, demonstration videos and other technical means can help you with this to ensure the entertainment of the process.

An open presentation should be carefully thought out in terms of design: well-designed mobile stands, video panels will help make it bright and dynamic.

When preparing a presentation, take care that your guests will take away from there besides impressions: branded folders with presentation materials, CDs with electronic presentations will help your guests recall the necessary information about your product at any time.

Exhibitions

All exhibition events can be divided into 2 types: more rare - when you arrange an exhibition dedicated exclusively to your company and its product, and commonly used - when you participate in some kind of industry exhibition. In both cases, it must be taken into account that the main focus of this event is the demonstration of the product. Exhibitions have a lot in common with presentations, but since this event is more extended in time, with a free schedule for attending participants, in this case we do not have the opportunity to build some kind of organic dynamics of the process. The main focus of exhibition design is on static means of display (stands) and means of continuous presentation of the product: for example, small bright presentations on the screen. In any case, take care, first of all, of the external design of the event venue: it should be memorable, convenient and present your product in the most favorable light to everyone who wants to get acquainted with it.

Often exhibiting companies seek to diversify their exhibition activities, including elements of the show. There is nothing wrong with this, but you need to remember the following:

• Firstly, most of the exhibition events are aimed at corporate consumers and possible intermediaries, people who are quite serious and busy; the exhibition itself is more of a business than a festive event, so entertainment elements will not be entirely appropriate in this format.
• Secondly, if you want to be remembered by visitors with the help of bright and extraordinary moves, make sure that they are ideologically connected with your product. Otherwise, the memory of the performance will remain, but your product will not.

One of the quite appropriate ways to fix the memory of contact with you in the format of an exhibition is small souvenirs.

Holidays

Here, too, there is a wide range of options: participation in city-wide holidays (for example, City Day), creating an event for a national holiday (for example, March 8) or creating your own unique event (for example, a company anniversary). There would be a desire to arrange a holiday, but you can think of a reason.

Depending on what kind of holiday it is, the specifics of the organization of each of them will differ, but there will be one thing in common: a holiday is a holiday and the entertainment part in its content should be given at least 80%. Moments associated with your brand and product should be in its format as separate inclusions against the backdrop of a bright spectacular presentation. The marketing effect of events of this kind is achieved by linking your brand with an abundance of positive emotions received by the audience. That is, the public automatically "swallows" your brand and information about your product, "absorbing" your holiday. In order for your brand to be well “learned”, it must be organically combined with all other elements of the holiday and play the role of “seasoning” in it, giving a special taste.

The holiday is not complete without gifts and treats. Make sure your guests leave happy.

The holiday is an emotional and bright event: balloons, fireworks, colorful decoration will help you create the right atmosphere.

4. Event Marketing - event sponsorship

Kindzmarauli is the official sponsor
unrest in Georgia.

A separate way of event marketing is sponsorship of existing events. It has its pros, cons and its own specifics.

By participating in events as a sponsor, you get the opportunity to “light up” your brand in non-advertising events. As a rule, these are fairly high-profile events that have a certain meaning for the target audience and arouse their interest: sports and city holidays, club parties, various competitions and shows - these are just some of the events in which you can participate as a sponsor and deliver your advertising message to the audience of these events.

There are several advantages of event sponsorship as a way of marketing communication:

1. The semantic and emotional connection of a non-advertising event significant for the audience and your brand and message. By creating a separate event that promotes your brand, you invite the audience to participate in your promotion. As a spectator or participant in your advertising event, the audience feels like the object of advertising. By sponsoring a cultural event, you "get" the audience for the event, regardless of their relationship to your brand and your marketing cause. In addition, your brand is emotionally "connected" with those cultural and life values ​​that the sponsored event is related to.

For example, sponsoring a sporting event, you declare that the value of your brand is a healthy lifestyle, sponsoring children's parties - associate your brand with values ​​such as family and children, sponsoring a club party - talk about what is important for your brand values ​​such as freedom, communication, modernity and innovation.

There are also some "pitfalls" here - the danger of associating your brand with an event that marks values ​​\u200b\u200b“conflicting” with your brand. That is why, when choosing a sponsored event, you should think not only about its mass character, the volume of media support and the relevance of the target audience, but also about what meanings and values ​​you associate your brand with in the minds of the audience.

2. Depending on the volume of your participation in the event, the amount of your sponsorship costs will vary. But in any case, they will be lower than when holding such an event on their own. You will cover with your advertising message the entire, or almost all, audience of the event with one or another intensity. That is, event marketing through sponsorship is more cost-effective than creating the entire event at your own expense.

Another point that needs to be considered when planning event sponsorship as a marketing communication channel is the format of your participation. The traditional elements here are the sponsor's logo on the advertising of the event, the placement of banner extensions at the venue of the event and the holding of competitions from the sponsor. In fact, the possibilities of sponsor advertising in the format of the event are not limited to this. Do not be afraid to show imagination and come up with some new and unexpected ways, most likely they will bring a greater effect. Of course, these methods should fit into both the format of the event itself and its image. For example, handing out a small souvenir to all the guests of the event or a small spectacular performance featuring your brand can be much more effective and memorable ways of communication than a traditional prize draw. In the format of many events, it is possible to conduct "gift for purchase" promotions or simply leafleting (distribution of flyers) or sampling (distribution of product samples).

5. Event Marketing & Public Relations

“Two friends meet. One says:
- Imagine, yesterday, for fun, through the newspaper, he announced that there would be a gathering of fools in the central square of the city at 12 o'clock.
— Ha-ha-ha! Perhaps no one came?
The whole square was packed!
— Yes you that?!
“Everyone has come to see who will come!”

Event Marketing can become one of the important tools of a company's PR policy. If your event is significant and large enough, it may be worth inviting journalists to it so that they cover it in the media, thereby giving the status of the event and mentioning your company once again. At the same time, the solution of certain PR tasks can be carried out by creating special events and holding events.

In solving some communication problems, Event-management and Public relations move hand in hand. For example, for an innovative knowledge-intensive business, this may be holding conferences on acute social problems related to the subject of this business - with the invitation of representatives of interested media and public organizations. Such events and their subsequent informational coverage will help position the company, give it status and fame in the right circles, interest the public in its products and services, and declare itself as a reliable and responsible market player.

In any case, when planning a special event, think about it: is it possible to inflate a sufficiently interesting informational occasion out of it? If your event is of a socially significant nature, perhaps the media will agree to publish informational material about it for free. If the event is purely commercial, it may be worth giving information on a paid basis. A good channel for free communication can be various news feeds on Internet portals - it will be enough to send a press release and photos from the event. However, individual publications can also publish such press releases in news format. The more your event will be discussed and voiced after it is held, the better, the more emotions will be associated with your brand, not only among the people who attended the event, but also among the rest of the public.

The main thing here, as well as when planning other elements of event marketing, is to remember the relevance and expediency of a particular message in a particular context or format.