Marketing for these events requires not only working with
sponsors and media, but also realizing the many resources needed
to promote special events. As stated earlier in Chapter 4, sponsors
and media can be utilized to help make events even more suc-
cessful. Figure 7-1 shows how a sponsor might contribute to an
event.Media Sponsors and Events
The media play an important role in marketing events. The media
face stiff competition from other media outlets, both print and
electronic, and one way to set themselves apart is to become a me-
dia sponsor of events in their community. WRC-TV, the NBC af-
filiate in Washington, DC, realizes the importance of this type of
sponsorship. On one three-day weekend in October, the station
was the official media sponsor of AIDS Walk, Taste of DC, and the
Rock N Race. With the use of on-site signage and banners as well
as news personalities on site, the television station demonstrated
its commitment to the community while setting itself apart from
the competition. How much does this cost the media? Typically,
advertisements are placed into time slots that have not been sold
or station promotional mentions are aired, which don’t count as
advertisements, thus not depriving the media of revenue. The me-
dia can help play a critical role as unsold advertisement inventory
can be used to ensure awareness of events.Instead of white space appearing in a publication’s advertisements,
sponsorship advertisements can be inserted. Thus, depending on
how many advertisements are in a day’s paper, the event adver-
tisements can be inserted on a space-available basis.RADIO
A common promotional vehicle for fairs, festivals, and other spe-
cial events is working with the promotion department of a radio
station to become a partner in an event. Typically, one radio sta-
tion will want exclusivity as the radio partner or sponsor and, in158 Chapter 7 Marketing Festivals, Fairs, and Other Special Events