In her last breakout session of the day, Amie Stein of Local Media Association, talks about revenue-generating event marketing.
Some of the benefits of local events to local media are that local media have credibility with the community and they have a huge network of relationships with potential advertisers, partners, vendors and service producers who can help in the making of successful events.
While event marketing and awareness can be costly, media companies have resources readily available for public communications and they are able to access those resources at a reduced cost and sometimes even for free.
When creating events, consider who your audience is and what they value. It’s also important that you have a good understanding of their lifestyle and that you have determined how you can be a resource to them. The value and success of local event marketing is based on understanding the relationships you have with your audience. For your event, you may choose to partner with an already existing event in need of “rebranding,” create a new event where you see a gap, or compete with an already existing event.
So, how does your event make money? You can sell tickets to the public, sell sponsorship packages, provide opportunities for exhibitors as well as direct pay for service. For sponsorship packages, Stein suggests “Premiere or Presenting” level sponsorship packages be priced at $1,500 to $5,000 or more per sponsors for community events such as shopping centres or malls. These sites appeal to major sponsors because they provide them a new place for their product. Packages can include demo space for two, three vehicles or triple booth space for personnel, banner signage, logo across top of all event marketing, public announcements and ad space in an event guide. For the “Event Sponsor” level, rates should be between $999 to $1,999 or more for newspaper-hosted events. These events could include bridal expos, cooking and lifestyle shows, family festivals, etc. Creating multiple categories and securing one main sponsor per category is ideal. Packages can include triple exhibitor space, 30 minutes demo/stage time, banner signage, logo across the top of all event marketing, space in the event guide, public address announcements and free event tickets.
It’s important to align priorities. Meeting once a week all year to review work on existing opportunities, if niche or marketing staff is not available, then existing sales staff can sell sponsorships and booth packages.
Some of the core products to market your event are: print house ads, poly-bags and post-its, and inserts. Partnership media opportunities include billboards, cinema and broadcast partners. Digital ways to market your event could be through niche websites, pre-roll video and apps. Lastly, you can also market your events with contests via print or posting it on social media sites like Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
Here are some things to keep in mind for the venue: make sure it is convenient and secure, has plenty of parking spots, has easy load in/out, has exhibitor space and identify the staging needs. Make sure to have media coverage of the event, adequate staffing, goody bags for attendees, contests and prizes, and make sure to have entertainment.
Event marketing will leverage your brand, create new partnerships, replace stale sections or products, and is a fun way to involve your staff.
