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

event by interfering with the expectations of the attendees. Be-
sides local holidays, marketers must be sensitive to ethnic and re-
ligious holidays and celebrations.
Whenever marketing an event outside of your normal venue,
contact the convention bureau or chamber of commerce to deter-
mine local holidays or special events, such as parades or sporting
events, and their effect on the daily pace and commerce of the city.
You may find that the celebration can become an unexpected as-
set for your event—or, as in my case in Paris, a liability.

4. WHERE?

Location can be a key asset in promoting an event. A banquet
event in a downtown arena may be emphasized because of the
availability of public transportation or valet parking. Promotion
for a golf outing at a prestigious country club may well emphasize
as the “opportunity of a lifetime” playing the course, with the
fundraising purpose of the event an added advantage to partici-
pating. A company meeting held on Navy Pier in Chicago rather
than a hotel or convention center was positioned by an event plan-
ner as a unique opportunity to enjoy an event “on Lake Michigan,”
3,000 feet offshore with a spectacular view of the Chicago skyline.
In other words, the location of the event can be a critical ele-
ment in driving sales. Among the assets you should look for as
benefits to promote are:

■In urban areas, the availability of public transportation, valet

parking, convenience, and efficiency of travel

■In rural areas, a chance to enjoy panoramic views and pas-

toral scenery

■In shopping malls, an opportunity for centralized activities,

ease of parking, and ancillary shopping and entertainment

features to enjoy

■At resorts, the ambiance of pools, golf, upscale shopping,

beaches, and gourmet dining

■At airport hotels, the inherent efficiency of getting the work

done with minimum travel and commuting time because of

the fly-in, fly-out design of the location

For bed-and-breakfasts, marketing materials can create a rustic
environment of times gone by, augmented by a fire in the fireplace,

The Five Ws of Marketing 39