In years past, the events people were usually at the bottom of the marketing food chain.
If a company wanted to launch a new product, first they’d bring in the ad agency, then the PR firm, and then the event folks. For many years when I ran my event agency, that was the pecking order. If it were possible to have a “kiddie table” off to the side when everyone would meet to discuss a particular product or brand launch, that’s where we would havebeen seated.
And who could blame the client? Compared to advertising or public relations, a live event reached only a tiny fraction of people. Granted, the impact on the people who attended a live event was far greater than any other marketing medium. However, the cost per person was through the roof.
That was then.
How Events Became More Cost-Effective
Two fundamental changes in recent years have completely turned this dynamic upside down.
- Traditional ads are being ignored. People are getting their TV from Netflix, or at the very least they are using DVRs and fast-forwarding through commercials. They get their music from iTunes, Pandora or Spotify, again, bypassing traditional advertising.
- Social media has enabled a live event to dramatically leverage its spend. Previously, if you spent $100,000 on an event that drew 500 people, it cost you $200 per person reached. With social media, those 500 people who are on site are sharing the event with their networks, raising the exposure to perhaps 50,000 people reached in total. Now the math gets interesting: The same $100k divided by 50,000 people drops the cost per person reached down to $2.00.
As a result of these two dynamics, marketers are increasingly looking to live events as the cornerstones of their campaigns, and using advertising and PR to support such events. This is good news, given the unmatched power of live events as a marketing vehicle.
What’s more, it’s good news for recent college graduates and other job seekers. The number of meeting, convention, and event planning industry jobs is projected to experience a 43.7% increase by 2022, about triple the normal growth rate according to a 2012 Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
U.S. News & World Report Magazine recently ranked the Meeting, Convention and Event Planning profession at #12 within the Best Business Jobs category.
What Live Events Offer that No Other Marketing Medium Can Match
A live event is a marketer’s dream. Let’s break down the reasons why.
- It’s the only marketing vehicle that lets consumerstouch & demo the product. Seeing a photo or video of a new car is no match for sitting inside one, smelling the new car smell, touching the leather, playing with the cup holders, and really visualizing yourself driving one. All this without the sales pressure.
- Live events provide unparalleled opportunities for community building around a brand. You can like all the company Facebook pages you want, but that pales in comparison to meeting, mingling or drinking with other like-minded individuals. Think of all the people who go to college or pro football games, and arrive hours before the game starts to tailgate together in the parking lot. Think about how intricately that experience weaves them into the fabric of the fan base. Likewise, there’s a reason why sales people like to wine and dine their clients, rather than exchanging emails.
- In effect, a live event is a massive brain washing chambercreated around your messaging. Think about it. You control every aspect of the experience: the venue, menu, drinks, signs, music, personnel, décor, photo ops, branding, presentations, giveaways, etc. Smart event producers design all of that toward achieving the goals of the client / host brand.
- Events are perfectly designed for social photo sharing. If someone posts a picture of their entrée when they go out to dinner, how many photos do you think they’ll post from your event, with all visual sharing opportunities you’ve created in the venue? Good live events become social sharing porn.
No other marketing channel offers this level of messaging, community-building, and product interaction.
With over 20 years of industry experience, Howard Givner is a widely recognized, award-winning expert in the field of special events. He currently serves as Executive Director of Event Leadership Institute.
