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

(such as the general public) who are not under the direct control

of the corporation, but are critical to its marketing successes.

Maximizing Media Relationships

If you are responsible for marketing a corporate event, your great-

est challenge may be to impress upon media of all types that the

event is “newsworthy” and of importance in providing benefits for

those interested in the product or service. To achieve this, the mar-

keting professional will identify the elements of the event that will

have a positive impact on the community at large: A unique prod-

uct introduction; a community service; financial contributions to,

or corporate investment in, a city asset are among the approaches

that will grab the attention of local print and electronic media. On

the other hand, simply issuing a press release that your company

is holding its national sales meeting at the local convention cen-

ter probably will not raise the eyebrows of the news editor. While

advertising is an effective media tool, it is inherently considered

biased. Nothing establishes credibility as well as editorial cover-

age of the event and its purpose.

The marketing approach requires research into the media op-

tions within any geographic area being targeted. There exist nu-

merous media alternatives in which awareness, and even personal

relationships, may be established and reinforced.

Print Media

■Trade publications

■Industry and consumer magazines and periodicals

■Internal and external newsletters

■Newspapers

■Local/county shopping news

■Business journals

■Church bulletins

■Flyers for office reception areas and customer counters

■Publications of allied companies and related associations

■Publications of schools and colleges

■Travel and airline publications

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