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

item on the expense side of your budget. Therefore, it is impera-
tive that you carefully research the price of each line item so it
does not adversely affect the event’s overall bottom line. During
the budget development process, you must reevaluate your mar-
keting strategy for the event to ensure fiscal soundness for your
plan. During this phase of development, you need to evaluate the
rate of return on event marketing (ROEM). To establish your ROEM,
use the formula shown in Figure 4-3.
For example, if the projected net profit for an event is $40,000
and the marketing assets are $280,000, then the ROEM is 14 per-
cent (40,000/280,000
.14). There is no set “magical” number for
an event to be viable from a marketing standpoint. Each event has
to be analyzed to determine if the ratio of marketing expense to
event profitability is worth the resources to continue. When con-
sidering the ROEM, the higher the ROEM percentage, the more fi-
nancially viable the event becomes (see Figure 4-4).

Developing the Budget 89

Projected Net Profit / Total Marketing Budget (Marketing Assets)
ROEM

Figure 4-3
An evaluation of the event’s return on event marketing is critical
to ensuring that marketing activities are not negatively impacting
the profitability of the event.

ROEM
Financial Viability

Projected Net Profit Marketing Assets ROEM

$19,250.00 $275,000.00 7%

$41,250.00 $275,000.00 15%

$55,000.00 $275,000.00 20%

Figure 4-4
The financial philosophy of the organization and the overall
goals of the event will determine the desired ROEM. A rule of
thumb is that the ROEM “sweet spot” for most marketers is
approximately 15 percent.