Author: Monika Zeminová
Date of Publication: 04/11/2022
You know what people remember most? Surprisingly, it's not viral videos or funny gifs. People always remember longest what they actually experience. So, if you want customers to remember your brand or a newly offered product, offer them an experience.
What does event marketing mean in practice?
Event marketing is a long-term form of communication that is based on a predetermined corporate strategy. Therefore, event marketing includes activities through which a company tries to give to its customers experiences related to its brand or products. With the help of events you can easily attract or reach new customers. Apart from this, you present your products/services or build good relationships with business partners. After all, networking and public relations is essential for any business.
What are the basic features of event marketing?
Experience
As we mentioned above, your customers will remember what they experienced the longest. Conveying experiences is much more effective than impersonal messages from the media.
Interactivity
Create a dialogue with your customer and make them feel unique. Show the world your company's executives and representatives to put specific faces to your brand. A personalized approach is a guaranteed key to success.
Self-directed
Don’t repeat the concepts of your competitors. Do it your way because you know your customers best.
Good dramaturgy
Uniqueness and creativity are the keys to creating a great atmosphere. Give your customers an experience they will remember for a long time.
Event marketing is an opportunity for:
● attracting and gaining new customers and clients
● motivation and opportunity to influence business partners
● strengthening relations, trust and loyalty of customers, partners, employees, communities
● presentation of products and services (sales promotion)
● presentation of values and visions
● strengthening and supporting identity and corporate culture
● expanding credibility and brand awareness (public relations)
Types of events and examples from practice
The essence of good events is their uniqueness and non-repeatability. Therefore the types of events are countless. Thus, to get a better idea of them in practice, we can look at events in terms of their content, the mediated experience or the audience they address.
Informative events
The main goal is to mediate information that is wrapped in an entertaining program. A typical example is the introduction of a new product. The presentation of the latest models of smartphones from the biggest manufacturing giants still plays a major role in informative events. Unboxing has become a genius multimedia show, attended by thousands of journalists and influencers from all over the world. As a result, hundreds of thousands of viewers watch it with bated breath every year.
Fun events
They are used to build a long-term brand image. The goal is to create a powerful experience primarily through entertainment. What’s more, the helping hand of entertainment events is concerts or sporting events.
Events taking advantage of the opportunity
A company can link its communications to the celebration of an anniversary, holiday or the achievement of a significant event. It depends on what goals the company sets and looks for appropriate events accordingly. Typical examples are Open Days, which celebrities usually attend, top management, and journalists. Of course, we can’t omit customers who have a unique opportunity to peek behind the curtain of their favorite brand.
All the events listed so far have a common characteristic. In particular, they are an external form of brand communication towards current or potential customers, journalists and the general public;
. That’s why we call them public events. The next category is corporate events, which are part of a company's internal communication and target employees, key suppliers or shareholders.
What are the specifics and benefits of event marketing as part of a company's internal communication and what can it bring you?
Event marketing within a company is usually used to improve employee motivation and increase employee loyalty to the company. This includes motivational seminars, product training, kick off meetings, etc. For example, in practice, we can think of it as a celebration of the company's extraordinary results. In addition, this celebration might include an interesting accompanying programme (e.g. a concert) and refreshments. In fact, the most common form of motivational event in a corporate environment is teambuilding. It is used to motivate employees or company partners. Its aim is to create a sense of cohesion.
All in all, creating a unique experience for your employees or customers with a long-term effect should be the goal of every event. To create and mediate an unforgettable experience, you will need long-term preparation. Also, you should clearly define goals and, most importantly, answer two basic questions:
Why do I want to organize the event and
What do I want to achieve?