Probably each of us has come across a hostess wearing the uniform of a flight attendant, handing out some tourist office business cards, and we have also admired acrobats and fire-eaters, while tasting some ethnic food on an opening day of a new restaurant. Remember those festival days when we all got lots of promotional gifts and we felt good going away with armfuls of free goodies? Well, this is how event marketing works – to everyone’s benefit.
What is event marketing?
The expression “event marketing” means a promotion by a company, brand or idea, during a special event. It can be a festival, picnic, concert, trade fair or a sports competition. Its aim is to draw the event participant’s attention to the brand message at that moment when he or she is having a good time and is in a great mood. Thanks to this there is a chance that he or she will associate the brand with positive emotions.
“Companies from the consumer sector that target Poles in the UK willingly take part in outdoor events for this nation in order to create their image of a brand that supports Polish families in the UK and helps to continue their traditions and customs, such as hospitality or love of Polish cuisine. They want their brands to be associated with taste, family and fun. Family outdoor events let participants experience all that.
In the era of mass media and social media, events have greater and greater significance in communication with customers. An event is a way to create a company’s image, to shape social opinion, to educate people on a specific subject, to build brand engagement, and ultimately to boost sales.
Benefits
According to the results of the survey conducted by the Event Marketing Institute in 2012, 58% of event participants buy the product and 86% become regular clients of the company. Thanks to direct contact, an organization has the possibility to have a strong influence on the recipients. At the same time, it is a great way to attain from a potential customer, an opinion that will help to make products or services better, and that satisfy the needs of the target group in a more efficient way. The events that attract this nation are great channels for acquiring new sales leads for companies from the financial, legal and insurance sectors that often target Poles in the UK. After a short conversation, we get to know what customers’ expectations are, get their personal data and consent to contact them later on. All this creates an opportunity to present a company offer.
A supplementary benefit from using this communication channel is the possibility of publication in the media, or better traffic on social media.
It is worth remembering that event marketing is sometimes the only opportunity to promote brands whose promotion is legally limited, for example, in the case of spirits.
How to promote an event efficiently, both offline and online
“Our experience shows that traditional communication channels such as posters or distribution of leaflets in Polish hot-spots are not as effective as on-line promotion”, says Anna Dobiecka, Account Executive from All 4 Comms agency.
Why? In the case of on-line promotion, you can reach a greater number of recipients, as well as check how many people are interested in the event and declare taking part in it. In this way you have social proof, and the so called viral effect – people interested in the event share the information about it with their friends, and at the same time multiplying it. Consequently, the message reaches people who are not fans of a specific organisation yet, but would probably be interested in the event. One also cannot overestimate the possibility of informing people about changes regarding the event very quickly (date, time, place or course of the event). Off-line promotion is limited, but it should not be underestimated. Resigning from it, we decide not to communicate with users who do not use the Internet on a daily basis. This is not rare among Poles who live in the UK and have jobs that do not require access to the network.
Contact us, if you need help in finding events appropriate for the promotion of your brand, or if you need some directions on how to promote your product or service efficiently during events targeted at Poles.