The document provides a comprehensive guide on effective event marketing strategies, focusing on types of events, selection criteria, and promotional tactics. Key recommendations include pre-event outreach to potential leads, ensuring motivated staff presence, and utilizing marketing materials that clearly communicate value. It emphasizes the importance of follow-up and leveraging event participation for broader marketing content and brand awareness.

1. EVENT MARKETING
Top tips and do’s and don’ts

2. ADAM PEMBREY
▪ Marketing Manager: Legal Technology Company
▪ 12 years experience
▪ Managed over 200 events
▪ Vast majority B2B, small amount of B2C travel events

3. EVENT MARKETING: AGENDA
What are the different types of event?
How do you choose which events to run/attend?
What aims and objectives are you looking for?
How should you promote the event? Internal and External
Human Resources: Motivated Staff
Marketing Resources: Make sure what you are displaying appeals to the delegates
Qualify: Each person you speak to, who, what, why etc
Record Everything: Don’t miss/lose info
Follow Up: Allocate, Personalise, Analyse
Content: Images, Videos and Stories

4. EVENTS
Exhibitions: Big venue (NEC,
Excel etc) hundreds of
companies, thousands of
delegates, challenge is being
seen/heard.
Conferences: More of an
educational event, hotel,
smaller number of sellers, less
time to speak to the
delegates.
Festival: B2C, star attractions,
informal.
Customer:
Retention/Relationship above
Acquisitions.
Networking/awards: B2B but
informal, outside of the
workplace.
Online: Webinars, Video
Conferences etc

5. WHICH EVENTS TO DO?
Who are the delegates? Job
titles, companies, influence
Numbers: Delegates to
exhibitors, how many can you
expect to speak to?
Organisers: What is their
position in the market? Does
working with them add
credibility?
Location: Is this an area of
opportunity? Do you have
customers/reference sites
there?
Cost: Not just for booking
space, consider the full
investment needed for
materials, staff attendance,
follow up etc. What ROI are you
looking for?

6. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
What do you want to achieve?
New Business Leads? How many? What is your average conversion rate?
Brand Awareness? How will you quantify and analyse this? Web visitors, key word searches, inbound enquiries in the
months following?
Account Based Marketing: Is there a particular person or business you want to get in front of? Sell to or partnership
with?
Money: Are you flat out looking to sell a product there and then? Gain donations, book experiences?
You must have a clear plan of what you want to do before you attend any event. Also know how you are going to
measure of you are successful or not.

7. PROMOTION
How you promote your event,
or your attendance at an event
is vital. Who do you want to
see?
Lapsed leads: Great
opportunity to re-connect with
potential customers who have
not been responding.
New Prospects: Invite them to
the event and ask them to meet
you there. Having pre-booked
appointments is a great way of
keeping the stand busy.
Potential Partners: Are there
companies you would like to
integrate/collaborate with?
Invite them to sit down for a
coffee at the event.
Customers: An event is always
a good opportunity to meet
with current clients and ensure
they know you care and are
happy to have them.

8. HOW
You know who you want to see turn up but how are you going to get the message to them?
Social Media: The most obvious. Regularly post updates about where you are going to be and why anyone should come
and see you. Maximise your coverage by using event hashtags and tagging in event organisers/other sponsors.
Email Marketing: Be smart about this, not just scattergun. Use your CRM data to create lists of prospects/customers in the
local area and surrounding, and/or those that fit the profile of customer you want to attract. As mentioned, run reports on
lapsed leads and perhaps cancelled clients who you want to reconnect with.
Telemarketing: Get on the phones and call these people. It’s a reason to get in touch.
Print Ads: Find out if there is a show guide or a magazine being distributed at the event, include an incentive of some kind
(discount, prize draw) on the ad to get people to come to your stand.

9. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Make sure the people you
designate to be there are
motivated to do so, it’s not enough
to just order them to.
This must be the most important
thing to them at that time, hence
they will want to be there, be on
time and not be distracted.
Depending on the length/nature of
the event, picture it like managing
a sports team, you need to rest
and rotate your stars to get the
best out of them. Allow people
breaks.
Everyone needs to be on message
and knows exactly what you are
communicating. No one should be
there to hand out a flyer.

10. DO’S AND DON’TS FOR STAFF
▪ Do turn up early, get the stand looking perfect
▪ Do dress smartly and appropriately* (Depending on brand image)
▪ Do stand up, smile and start conversations with delegates. Be approachable and welcoming.
▪ Don’t use your phone on the stand.
▪ Don’t spend time talking to fellow staff.
▪ Don’t eat on the stand

11. MARKETING MATERIAL
The marketing material you take to an
event must get across quickly and
concisely what you do. This includes
the stand graphics.
At an event people are having a tonne
of information thrown at them, they
are glancing around looking for
something that interests them.
Hit them over the head with it, ‘Gap
Year Work Placements’ ‘Cloud
Hosting’ ‘Graduate Sales Recruitment’
‘Skateboards for Dogs’ whatever it is
you do, make it crystal clear.
Avoid phrases like ‘Market leaders in
over 20 different countries’ ‘The
perfect solution for your business’
‘Over 30 years of excellence’ in the
context of an event these are
unproductive.

12. MAXIMISE YOUR PRESENCE
As mentioned, get an advert in the show guide.
Look at getting a speaking slot, this adds great credibility, though the topic is
important. Teach the delegates about something that’s important to them.
Investigate additional sponsorship opportunities, the bags, the lanyards, coffee
area…. Stand out from everyone else.

13. QUALIFY THE PROSPECTS
▪ Who are they?
▪ Do they fit the profile of customer you want?
▪ Do they have a current requirement?
▪ Do they have budget?
▪ Do they have purchasing authority?
▪ What are there time scales?
▪ Get a commitment from them, then move on. Don’t spend
too much time on one person.
▪ Once you have qualified the prospect record that data
concisely and comprehensively. Ideally use a tablet/laptop
to enter it straight into your CRM.

14. ALLOCATE/FOLLOW UP
Make sure every opportunity is
allocated and someone is
designated to follow up on it.
Don’t just rely on a generic ‘thanks
for visiting’ mail shot, make it as
personalised as possible, remind
them what you spoke about and
why.
If they are not responding try a
different tactic, re-allocate to
another person, send them a copy of
your flyer in the post. Don’t hassle
but be persistent.
How will you measure the success?
Sales/revenue, more members? Web
traffic/search terms?

15. CONTENT
An event is a great source of content for your marketing resources. You should be writing articles
about why you are attending before hand, posting images of the products/services you’ll be
displaying on social media before hand and taking and posting multiple images throughout.
An event is a great opportunity to create some great video footage, some of it to post live on social
media, some of it to take back, edit and post later with some nice graphics and music.
Create at least one news piece/article about your attendance, include images of the stand looking
busy and/or one of your team doing a talk. Nothing looks better than real people interacting with
your business.

16. CONCLUSION
▪ Events are not an activity that stand alone
▪ They take days, weeks and months of preparation
▪ Don’t just turn up and hope for the best
▪ Stand out from the other sellers
▪ Follow up smartly, efficiently and effectively
▪ Leverage the event to generate material for your other
marketing channels

17. THANK YOU: ANY QUESTIONS?