Promotional Tools
Promotional Tools
Promotional Tools
When choosing event technology to market your conference or event, you want to select the
tools to best serve your event’s specific needs. Generally speaking, event organizers utilize event
marketing tools for a variety of reasons, such as:
1. manage attendee registration: Organizers use social media and various promotional tools to
create buzz around their events and drive prospective attendees to event registration pages.
3. Stay organized: The best event marketing tools promote seamless communication and
collaboration so that event teams can work in tandem on promotions, registration, and event
ticketing campaigns, as well as track workflows and performance.
4. Overcome audience engagement challenges: Event management software helps organizers
engage their attendees before, during, and after the event. Features like gamification can fuel
exciting pre-event promotions, while event communities power year-round audience
engagement.
Each special event will be marketed differently depending on its individual purpose, objectives,
and markets. Marketing needs to be aimed at the target market, meaning the potential attendees.
The team needs to determine whether the target market is a specific group or the general public,
and whether groups of special interests can be attracted.
The physical area and the population from where an event may attract visitors, is called the
catchment area. The importance of an event usually determines the catchment area of the target
market, which grows in relation to the size of the event and links the complexity of the marketing
directly to the complexity of the event. Knowledge about the target market enables the organizers
to reach and influence it, in terms of raising awareness of the event and convincing potential
attendants to go. Various strategies for event promotion are used to attract the potential
customers. Awareness should be created through campaigns, advertising and Public relations
with the stakeholders. Since this is an online event, promotional materials will be ultimately in
game.
Website – Every annual event should have a website which gives essential details. This is an
excellent source for advertising and promotion.
Newspapers – Local and regional papers will usually publish feature articles on events –
especially if they are well written and have photographs attached. It is important to email articles
and photographs as attachments so that they will not have to be retyped.
Radio Stations – Many local radio stations have early morning talk shows which welcome event
celebrity as a guest. What a great way to promote at no cost. Stations will often trade
sponsorships for advertising spots. It is important to establish a good relationship with station
officials putting vendor applications online, photographs for media, and updates
Television Stations – Most television stations have community calendar spots on air and on their
websites.
Posters – Posters are a most for most events and festivals. Many festivals design an annual logo
to reflect their theme and use it on their posters and tshirts. Posters come in all shapes and sizes
and should be placed in high volume traffic locations.
Close Down, Evaluation and Legacy
A close-down of an event has both physical and administrative aspects. The physical close-
down will involve the taking apart and removing of the equipment, whereas the
administrative side of the close-down will involve filing, completion of accounts and paying
bills, and collecting feedback.
The administrative side of the close-down will involve picking up comments and noting down
verbal feedback, but also the settling of accounts and bills, acquittal of contracts, along with an
evaluation of how contractors and suppliers have done their job. The outcome will show the
successfulness, in financial terms especially.
Event-Evaluation Techniques
Conducting surveys or providing feedback forms during and after the event to gauge attendee
satisfaction. Evaluating your success against the aims and objectives you identified at the
beginning of the event planning process. Preparing a SWOT analysis to examine the strengths
weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with your event.
SWOT Analysis:
Your SWOT Analysis should be conducted upon receipt of completed surveys and individual
feedback from event attendees. The SWOT Analysis firstly examines the strengths and
weaknesses of the event, which should be determined with consideration given to the original
event aims and objectives.
Strengths of the event may include:
Strong attendance numbers
Wide range of food and beverages available
Satisfaction with entertainers
Ten new members recruited as a result of event
Some examples of event weaknesses are:
Too few volunteers Limited media coverage Expenditure exceeding income
A SWOT Analysis also reviews opportunities and threats associated with the event.
Opportunities are future prospects for improvement and threats are potential future impediments.
Opportunities for improvement could include:
Increasing attendance at future events
Obtaining more sponsorship assistance
Continuing future events into the evening to attract a wider range of attendees
Future threats might include:
Event disruptions due to inclement weather
Loss of key organising personnel, leading to a lack of direction for future events
Inability to cover event costs due to limited income
Events are often celebrations of creativity and cultural uniqueness, local customs, lifestyle and
talents, and can thus have significant cultural impacts. Preservation and revitalisation of unique
cultures and traditions can be promoted by events. Some events leave social legacy or intangible
impacts.