Event Marketing Creates Lasting Bonds With Business Customers

Spring is a time for big events, especially in the world of sports. We’ve just concluded March Madness, with the Duke University Blue Devils emerging as the NCAA men’s basketball champions and they’ll be teeing it up at the Masters this weekend. And in Chicago, hope springs eternal as the Cubs and White Sox prepare for new seasons. Will 2010 finally be the Cubs' year?

Fans invest a lot of energy and emotion in these events. Wise businesses can capture some of that same interest through effective event marketing. Event marketing can take many forms, from simple to complex. At one end of the scale, your event could be an open-house, sponsorship of a fund raiser or a product demonstration at your facility. On a more elaborate level, the event could be a major trade show display or a rolling exhibit housed in a semi-trailer like golf equipment manufacturers use at major tournaments. Budgeting for celebrity speakers adds yet another program dimension when it comes to event marketing.

Whatever format you choose, event marketing has multiple benefits in building bonds with your customers, helping short-term sales and building brand value over time. These benefits are confirmed by the results of an Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) study, conducted in partnership with Gallup & Robinson and Exhibit Surveys.

According to the researchers, “The unique value of event marketing is its ability to foster positive attitudes via a focused combination of marketing, relationship building and event experience."

The researchers also found that B2B marketers should focus on capturing measures of emotional and "engagement-rich" activities that create awareness and attract people to events. A good example of capturing both emotion and engagement is a "Cinco De Mayo" trade show we conducted for a wholesale distributor of Mexican and ethnic foods.

The Mexican theme with a red, white and green color scheme, vocalists and a Mariachi band created a festive atmosphere that reinforced the emotional elements of the holiday and the client's role in the celebration. Exhibit booths with product samples provided actual business engagement for the hundreds of customers and buyers who attended the first-time show.

This is just one way you can use event marketing as part of your overall communications strategy. To learn other ways, call us at 847.657.6011 or e-mail us.