Event Marketing: How to Successfully Promote Events, Festivals, Conventions, and Expositions

Other Types of Corporate Meetings

There are numerous purposes for which corporate events are

planned, many of which incorporate the same marketing princi-

ples described earlier. Among them are:

1. Training Seminars. Similar to association seminars and
   workshops, these sessions incorporate speakers and panels
   discussing specific subjects such as industry trends, new
   scientific discoveries and theories, and changing market de-
   mographics. A clear concept of the topic and the benefit
   (what the participant will learn)is an important goal of mar-
   keting the message to participants.


2. Product Introductions.New product introductions are mul-
   tipurpose events. They are primarily educational events, de-
   signed to teach salespeople and corporate officials the ben-
   efits of new products or services they must sell. In addition,
   the gathering may be used for ancillary management meet-
   ings or franchise orientation sessions. Product introductions
   may also feature celebrationsof new products and corporate
   innovations, aimed at corporate employees as well as whole-
   salers, distributors, retailers, and even the general public.
   Dramatic presentations, complete with cutting-edge audio-
   visual extravaganzas, elaborate staging, music, and enter-
   tainment, are often the platform upon which new products
   are displayed and described.

What does this mean to those who market such events? Obvi-

ously, the nature and level of sophistication of the event will bear

on the marketing approach. The key, however, is this: An analogy

can be made to the difference between corporate and association

meetings regarding mandated versus voluntary attendance. A new

product introduction for company employees mandates their at-

tendance. The messagemust be promoted, but not the attendance.

However, distributors and wholesalers are typically less subject to

corporate requirements for attendance. They are often more inde-

pendent from the corporation in the distribution and delivery sys-

tems and, in those cases, must be persuaded to attend through

marketing. This is truer for retailers, who sell many brands and

products and may be less interested in learning firsthand the de-

tails of the new products. For those publics desired to be in at-

140 Chapter 6 Marketing Corporate Meetings, Products, Services, and Events