Understanding Event Marketing

[ad id=”187″]In today’s competitive world of businesses, a number of brands are vying for market shares. As a result of this, companies’ engagements in promotional activities have become quite significant in order to reach out to target customers. One of such promotional activities is event marketing.
Event marketing is marketing through events; where event is considered the actual marketing tool to attract target group. Event marketing is also a promotional strategy a company uses to make face-to-face contact with their customers through concerts, fun fairs, exhibitions etc. Brands use events marketing in form of entertainments, like shows, contests, parties or fun fair, to reach out to consumers.
The Power of Events
• A successful event marketing campaign provides value to consumers beyond information about a product or service. This is because a discount offer, free sample of gifts, or winning of prizes will make customers feel like they are receiving a benefit and not just attending a live action commercial.
• Through event marketing, companies can register favourable impressions, and establish long-lasting relationships with consumers. Practitioners of this marketing function believe that event marketing campaigns have the ability to create enduring relationships with targeted market segment. Relationship building is not restricted to customers alone but also targeted at distributors.
• Through event marketing, a targeted group can be effectively reached in an environment without noise. This makes it easier for a company to establish a personal relationship with consumers, which is a major reason as to why event marketing is growing in popularity these days.
• Event marketing provides companies with opportunities for goodwill creation among influential individuals or groups in the business.
• Event marketing can be used to test a new market opportunity. Companies can use the local event to collect reactions and ideas before entering a market. They can also take the opportunity to establish relationship with local distributors. The event can also become a way of showing the advantage of using the product in real circumstance or situation. It can also give opportunity for other sales promotion activities.
• Event marketing can be used as the engine room in running a company’s overall marketing strategy through yearly sponsoring of a number of specific events to generate maximum support for a company’s marketing efforts.
• A company can use event marketing to generate brand or product awareness, especially newly introduced products.
• Event marketing has the capacity to deliver personal satisfaction to consumers by way of entertainment, having fun etc. which no other marketing communications medium can give.
• By using event marketing, media clutter can be penetrated, and through it, a relationship can be established between the brands and its target group.
• Event marketing tends to offer interactive opportunities (for both buyers and sellers), direct feedback, and creates opportunities for free samples of products. It also provides a platform for exchange and sharing of knowledge between marketing professionals.
• Event marketing allows for real test marketing where brand owners can easily identify what consumers’ desire from products or brands is.
• It allows for a more focused sales and communication strategy to audiences whose attention has been captured through the event. Such a situation is very valuable, given the ineffectiveness of traditional modes of communication in holding on the attention of the audience in cluttered and fragmented media.
Reasons why companies take to event marketing
• The economic incentives attached to event marketing and the need for companies to adapt to new and unconventional ways of communication has given rise to this concept. It is more effective and less costly.
• It helps companies to break out of media clutter and use it as a strategy that can engage both management and customers at once.
• Companies can have the opportunity to have total control of event – this takes care of timing control normally associated with other communication channels (both traditional and online).
• Through it companies can perfectly match their target audience and use such to enhance their image and sales.
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Sizes of Events
In terms of sizes, events may be categorized as follows:
• Mega Events: These are regarded as largest events with high standards of competition. Examples include: FIFA World Cup, Olympic Games, African Cup of Nations etc. A mega event aims at attracting visitors from many countries of the world. It takes place for several weeks and, sometimes, held after every two to four years. Mega events attract wide media coverage and publicity both international and local.
• Regional Events: Regional events are targeted at regions mostly in the areas of tourism, culture, football and sports etc. They are second to mega events. They attract wide media coverage both international and local. These types of events could also be held after every two to four years. Examples include- All Africa Games, Commonwealth Games etc.
• Major Events: These are events organized to attract a large number of participants and gatherings from sports to entertainment, culture and tourism. Examples are: Tourism Investment Summit, Nigeria’s Centenary Celebration, Calabar Cultural Carnival etc.
• Minor Events: Most events outside the above three fall into this category. It is here that most marketing events fall into. Companies’ annual marketing events also come under this category. Meetings, birthday parties, party conventions, award ceremonies, exhibitions, and many other community and social events fit into this category.
Types of Events
• Sporting Events: Sporting events centre mostly on the areas of sports. They could be held in towns, cities, states and across countries. They attract sports men and women from different parts of the world.
• Entertainment/Arts and Culture: Entertainment events have the capacity to attract large audience . These include musical concerts, celebrity performances, movie releases, new yam festivals etc.
• Promotional Events: Promotional events are mainly held by companies for their product launch. The aim of promotional events is generally to create awareness, attract patronage and induce product purchase trials by consumers.
• Meetings and Exhibitions: Meetings and exhibitions come in form of events. They attract a lot of people. Companies use them for product test as well as to gather market information about their products or brands in order to remain in business.
• Festivals: Various forms of festivals are becoming popular events. Companies can decide to sponsor events of this nature as avenues to promote their brands. Examples are Eyo Festival in Lagos, Argungu Fishing Festival in Kebbi State, New Yam Festivals in Ibo land etc.
• Family Social Gatherings: Family social gatherings, like weddings, birthday parties, burial ceremonies etc., are now becoming big events especially in cities. They provide opportunities for family members and friends to come together. In most cases, brands can give support to demonstrate their corporate citizenship.
• Fund Raising: This is equally an event. Where the main aim is to raise funds. For example, political parties raising funds to kick-start electoral campaigns, associations raising funds to establish a ‘foundation’ to fight cancer ailments.
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Conclusion
Event marketing is preferably used to complement and strengthen the other tools in the promotion mix, not to substitute any of them. Event marketing is marketing through events; where event is considered the actual marketing tool to attract target group. Event marketing is also a promotional strategy a company uses to make face-to-face contact with their customers through concerts, fun fairs, exhibitions etc. Through event marketing, a company can establish favourable impressions and long-lasting relationships with consumers. This explains its growing popularity these days.
Assignment:
Your company, which you are the head of marketing, is planning to hold a small event aimed at introducing the company’s new brand or product to consumers aged 20-45 years. Come up with a small proposal of not more than two pages for the event. First prize- N10,000 worth of recharge cards and the two other best written answers will get N3,000 worth of recharge cards each. Written answers should be sent to:info@brandiq.com.