This document discusses event marketing from two perspectives: promoting an event to maximize attendance, and using events to promote a brand through sponsorships. It covers the four Ps of marketing as applied to events - product, place, price, promotion. Event marketing involves understanding the target audience, positioning the event experience, and promoting through various paid, earned and owned media channels. Effective sponsorships require activation opportunities for sponsors to engage with attendees at the event.

1. Event Marketing
BREAKING IT DOWN

2. 2 KINDS OF “EVENT MARKETING”:
 Promoting your event
to maximize attendance or revenue
(event planner’s perspective)
 Using events as a tool
for promoting your brand or product
enabling 2-way connection with a target audience
(sponsor’s perspective)

3. Marketing Basics:
“The 4 P’s”
 PRODUCT
 PLACE
 PRICE
 PROMOTION
PEOPLE!

4. For events:
 The Product:
 the Program & overall Experience
 The Price:
 registration , tickets, subscription
 time invested by attendees
 The Place:
 destination, venue
 Date & time

5. What’s the difference between
“Marketing” & “Advertising?

6. Case Study:
THE LEMONADE STAND
 Moral of the story:
If you create a good match between the first 3 “P’s”
(product, price, place) and your “People”...
you won’t need to do much with the 4th “P” (promotion)

7. The big secret:
“All four Ps need to be aligned
with your target audience.”

8. “Target Marketing”

9. “Segmentation”

10. Is it better to be
“all things to all people”,
or target a Niche?

11. Describing your target audience
Geographic
Demographic
Psychographic
Behavioral

12. Examples of Psychographic Criteria
personal preferences, how we think
Psychocentric
vs.
Allocentric
Nielsen’s Lifestyle Segmentation System

13. “POSITIONING”
 What is unique about your event experience?
 What sets you apart from the competition?
 What do you want to become known for?

14. How would you “position”
your project event experience?
(answers the question, “Why should I come?)
Timeout:

15. the 4th P:
PROMOTION
 Promotion really means
communication with your target audience

16. Three big questions:
 Where are they hanging out?
 Why am I communicating (objective)?
 What is my message?

17. Communication strategies:
 Paid Media Advertising (print, broadcast)
 Online media (websites, search, ads)
 Publicity (a.k.a. “earned media”)
 Social Media
 Personal Selling (example: Sponsorships)
 Event Marketing (using other events!)

18. The Publicity Arsenal
 Press release
 Social media campaign
 Images/B-roll/YouTube channel
 Celebrities, featured guests,
“experts”
 Press kit (print and/or electronic)

19. The key to “earned media”:
“If you want people to talk about you,
you have to give them something
to talk about.”
(works for visuals
or video, too.)

20. So what’s your story?
 People are interested in people...
 so good stories are
almost always about people.
Brainstorm!

21. The other perspective:
EVENT SPONSORSHIPS

22.  DONOR – donates money or goods/services,
typically for the good of a non-profit organization or
cause (a philanthropic relationship)
 SPONSOR - provides money, goods or services in return
for advertising & promotional benefits and/or access to
a targeted audience , as a marketing expense (a
business relationship)
Difference between
a “Donor” and a “Sponsor”

23. Types of Sponsors:
 Title Sponsor – sponsor is part of the name of the
event: “KeyBank Vermont City Marathon”
 Presenting Sponsor – mentioned after the name of
the event: “The Rose Bowl, presented by AT&T”
 In-Kind Sponsor – provides goods or services, rather
than cash (airline tickets, food & beverage, media
exposure)

24. Sponsor types, continued…
 Official Sponsor – a product that is an event’s
exclusive sponsor
 Media Sponsor – print, radio, television or website
sponsors
 Co-Sponsor – shares sponsorship of event with other
sponsors

25.  Name/Logo Visibility in event promotional
messages and/or on-site at the event
 Opportunities to interact with a target audience
 Face-to-face networking & selling opportunities
 Demonstrate or distribute sample product
What you have to sell at your event:

26.  Opportunity to host key customers, clients or
employees at event
 Naming opportunities for places or activities
 Preferred location of a booth or presentation
 Promotional rights - posters, t-shirts, brochures,
special offers, etc.
What else can sponsors get?

27. The key to kick-ass
sponsorships:
“Activation”
 What opportunities do you have
to enhance your event experience
by integrating sponsors ?
 How can sponsors engage with your
attendees?

28. Activation Channels:
1. On-Site (the experience)
2. On-Air
3. Online

29. Check it out:
EventMarketer.com