Advertizing

First, is the event too big for you to handle? Your first decision is whether you should send it to a specialized company. This will be more likely the case if:

On the other hand, it is more likley that you can handle it yourself if:

If you have the ability to handle it, then read on.

 

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Target population

Your first task is to decide on a target population. In other words, what particular kind of person are you trying to attract to the event? The reason is that you will get far better results for your advertizing if you can focus it on those whom you want to attend. If you simply try to get anybody, you will usually waste most of your advertizing budget.

Describe the key features of the target population related to marketing the event. For example, you might define them using the following categories:

  1. Constituency: Do they recognise your organization name or any branding? Have they attended this event before? How much loyalty do they have?
  2. Demographics: What is their age grouping, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status? These will tend to indicate some kinds of likes and dislikes.
  3. Location: Are you they local or city-wide?
  4. Likes and dislikes: How do you know they are interested? What kinds of images and messages do they prefer? What kinds of messages will put them off? These can be quite subtle but can still determine whether or not they come.
  5. Decision-making patterns: Do they like to try new kinds of events? Or are they loyal to particular kinds of events and unwilling to try new ones? When do they make their decision to come: early or at last minute?
  6. etc.

What else do you need to know about the target population to do a profile analysis?

  1. What do you really need to know? And what do you need to know it for?
  2. What kind of data is readily available (e.g. past and current registrations, networks, etc.)?
  3. How will you collect any other data you still need?
  4. Can you give people an incentive of some kind for giving you data?
  5. How can you design data collection to suit your needs?
  6. How will you analyze data?

Your publicity will work better if people already know the organization running the event and have attended in previous years. Growth of a recurring event tends to be incremental, so you should be aiming for a good percentage increase on the previous event.

 

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Define the event

It might sound silly, but you need to ask "What is the product and who is the client?" For example, a large amateur sporting associaton hires you to run a final play-off series for boys' basketball.

For the boys, the "product" is a chance to win the basketball final. For others, it is a series of exciting basketball games where the whole season is on the line.

When it comes to attracting people to come, you have various kinds of clients for this one event:

Consequently, you need to focus your marketing on:

 

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Choice of media

You will need to decide which media you will use and set an implementation timeline.

Your constituency will probably have its own communication channels, so you should choose the media that will work best for those channels. That is the way to get your advertizing materials into the hands of the target audience.

Your main kinds of media are as follows:

You might also give an avenue for more information. For example, a brochure might refer to the website for more details. An invitation might give people a telephone number or email address.

It's a good idea to have a way to measure the effectiveness of your advertizing, and some media are better than others. For example, websites give instant information. Flyers give you none.

 

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Designing media

All publicity materials and the website need to look impressive and reflect a consistent brand and theme, so you will usually need a graphic designer to give them a high quality, innovative design. Your graphic designer will adjust the design to be attractive to the particular target audience, and you cannot presume that a particular design will work just because it looks good.

Whichever kinds of media you use, you need to:

  1. Clearly identify exactly who is holding the event and their contact details
  2. Provide information on:
    1. What kind of event it is
    2. What will motivate them to respond positively
    3. Date and starting time (and perhaps finishing time)
    4. Accommodation details (if relevant)
    5. Fees/ticket prices, what it covers, and how to pay
    6. Venue address, access, and parking details
    7. What kind of response you want (e.g. register online, buy tickets, RSVP)
    8. How much time people have to respond
  3. Enclose registration form (if applicable).

You might also need to specify what people need to bring. This is especially relevant for participants in sporting events.

  1. Exactly what equipment do participants need to bring?
  2. What will you provide?
  3. What if people want to bring their own equipment anyway (e.g. because it is better or because of personal preference)? Can they negotiate? If so, who with?
  4. What equipment storage facilities will you provide for their equipment, and what security arrangements need to be in place?
  5. How will you inform participants beforehand?
    • Case: One country's cycling team showed up at an international sports event without cycles, because they mistakenly thought that the local event managers would provide them.

 

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Monitor response

Check whether your advertizing is being effective. If you find later on that you need to boost attendance (for example, if ticket sales are slow), you should check what you can do. For example:

 

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