Farewell

This semester in HOSP 170: Event Sponsorship & Promotion has taught me more than I signed up for. I really feel like it prepared me for my future career. I don't know what I expected to learn in an event marketing class but I guess I thought it would be a bit more dry.

I learned much more than just how to plan and promote and event. I learned more than how event sponsorship worked. I learned more than event marketing jargon.

I experienced a big charity event and learned about their sponsorship. I learned about the event planning business. I put marketing into my own words on my blog. 

Biggest takeaway: creating a brand for myself and my business and not selling myself short. Such an important lesson to learn; I'm glad I got the chance to be in this class and listen to the wisdom of my professor, Nicole Matthews, owner of The Henley Company.

Big ideas for my future in events!

What's Hot Now

The event industry is booming in many different areas. And marketing is the basis of their success. Let's look at a few different types of events and see what they're doing to stay hot in today's market.

Nonprofit: Krochet Kids International

This nonprofit uses marketing to its advantage. They have commercials on TV, a YouTube channel, a website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and a blog. If it's a social media trend, they're there. It totally fits their mission, who they are, and who their target market is. Their product is placed in popular stores of the generation they market to as well. I'd say they know what's hot and they're doing it right over at Krochet Kids.












Corporate: Forte Events

This corporate event planner in Colorado must be doing something right as well. With clients including FedEx, ConAgra Foods, Canon, and GE, they have to know their stuff and do it well. I was particularly impressed with the Forte Events website as well as their Twitter profile. To stay hip in today's market, a corporate event planner needs to offer it all but also do so in a well-organized and presented way. A professional website and relevant Twitter page is a great way to do that.

Conference: Engage!12

Today concluded this amazing wedding business conference in Palm Beach. I wasn't there but I still know it was amazing. Why? It was all over Twitter and I knew about everything that was going on and heard about everyone who was there. (Way to make an aspiring wedding planner really jealous!) When a conference has it's own #hashtag, (and it's actually used frequently), you know its good. The wedding industry icons that were at this event prove that Engage!12 knows what it's doing and is definitely a hot event. This event was featured on The Breakers hotel blog and of course, had it's own well put together website with tons of information.

Hello, my name is . . .

Sponsorship is an interesting relationship for businesses. It has to be a win-win to work properly for both parties. If I were drafting a sponsorship letter for a potential sponsor, it would go something like this.

Dear [insert sponsor here],

My company, SoCal Events, is interested in having your company sponsor an event we are producing in honor of Earth Day. We would like to invite you to help put on this event by sponsoring an activity or concession stand at our Earth Day Festival.

The event will be held on Monday, April 22nd, 2013 at the Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego, California. The event will consist of various local cleanup activities including a beach cleanup and roadside cleanup as well as various booths selling food and providing information on environmental care. This will be the third annual Earth Day Festival presented by SoCal Events and we are excited to expand our attendance and participation this year with your help.

Your generous sponsorship would be highlighted by the following:
~ A complimentary booth at the event
~ Your company name on all printed materials and the website
~ Your choice of environmentally friendly water bottles or tote bags with your company name and logo

The estimated 800 participants would benefit tremendously from your generosity. The cost to sponsor this event would be $1000. I would greatly appreciate your phone call to further discuss your partnership with SoCal Events and this great event.

My telephone number is (888) 555-2121 and I look forward to talking with you. Thank you for your kind consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

[Me]

Hollywoodland

Welcome to Hollywood where they have an event for everything. One of the biggest: movie premiers. I may have never planned a Hollywood movie premier but if I were, I would want to create a premier event for The Avengers. I know that a premier already happened and this is old news but I love it and I think it would be an exciting event to put together.

What my event would involve: Pre-movie red carpet and cocktail party, premier movie showing, the biggest baddest after party of them all.

Hollywood does it big. And this was a pretty big movie. So the event would have to go all out. Drinks, fancy food, dancing, press coverage, celebrities, and a huge screen of course! But going all out costs a lot. This is where sponsors come in. 

Sponsors want to get involved with big movie premiers like this because they get good coverage at an event that people have been talking about since they started playing the previews in the movie theaters. But no matter how great a sponsorship opportunity is, you still need to find the right sponsors with the right prospective audience. 

For The Avengers, the target market is a younger generation who enjoys the superhero comic books and movies as well as celebrities looking to be seen all over town at big events such as this movie premier. So what brands would be ideal sponsors for an event like this?

Here are my picks:

Marvel- They own the characters. They probably would want to sponsor their own movie.

Regal Cinemas- The movie has to be shown somewhere. Why not have a sort of in-kind sponsor to show the movie at their theater?!

Popcornopolis- Movies call for popcorn. Movie premiers call for gourmet popcorn. (Celebrities like fancy stuff)

Threadless- A T-shirt design company because movie premiers need official t-shirts. And why not have a design contest for regular people like us to win a trip to the premier! (Young people like to win stuff)

Sponsoring Hope

Nonprofit companies are very unique. They strive to help others. But like any business, they still need funds to run their business. That's where sponsors and sponsorship events come in! Nonprofit organizations often put on events in order to attract and gain new sponsors for their organization. 

This is what I might do if I were planning an annual fundraising event for a local nonprofit. One awesome nonprofit here in San Diego is the Surfrider Foundation. I'm going to formulate an event as if I were planning it for this local organization.

Where: Powerhouse Park, Del Mar, CA

This community center is located in a popular beach community where surfers definitely reside and surf. It's the perfect combination of surfer-friendly atmosphere and locale as well as a nice place to hold a fundraising event in their upscale small event center.

Who: An event like this needs to bridge a gap. Surfers like the Surfrider Foundation but they aren't always necessary the people with the funds that we want at the event. So this event needs to cater to both the surfing community as well as local philanthropists. Also, possible sponsors must be invited to sponsor the event itself and to come to the event. Sponsors must be aligned with the cause. In this case, they should be interested in surfing, oceans, beaches, or other beach sports and activities.

Marketing: Since the event is kind of for two audiences, marketing for the event must cater to each of these groups as well. It must be located where surfers will see it and where the people with the money will see it. I would definitely use social media for all of the above. And I believe print marketing in surfing locations and hangouts would be well-received in the surfing community. 

It would also be very important to include the logo and keep a cohesive look with the logo and the event.

In addition to selling the event, we must sell the Surfrider Foundation mission since the goal is to support the cause. The Surfrider Foundation's mission is to protect oceans, waves, beaches, and their enjoyment by all of us. What does that mean for a fundraising event planner? Enjoying the ocean must be incorporated. In this case, the location does a lot in this area. When you bring someone to a beautiful beach with children playing and surfers surfing and families enjoying the sun and sand, it's easier to convince them that the beach is a worthwhile cause to support and protect.

Anyone who is going to give money to a cause needs to feel like they are getting something back. Yes, there are those just plain philanthropic people with lots of money who just want to help everyone. But most people want to see a return. The event itself should be part of this. Treat the attendees well with god food and comfortable accommodations during the event. Give them something to take with them even if they don't give any money that night. Goodie bags aren't just for third graders!

I believe that firsthand testimony is a great tool for fundraising events. People relate to other people. If you have someone share a story about how the Surfrider Foundation benefitted them or their family, you have the emotional game going for you. 

Le Artiste

Grand Opening! Exciting words for anyone opening up a new place of business. But how do you go about creating a public relations strategy that will bring you customers and keep them coming back? Have a look at these pointers I gave a local artist for her brand new art gallery.

Be online. 
In this day and age it is essential for any up and coming business to have an online presence. Even for an art gallery. People search EVERYTHING online. If you want people to know about you, you have to meet them where they already are. So have a website, a well designed website that showcases who you are. If you can, get into social media to make yourself and your company more personable to potential customers. And work with search engine optimization tools and companies to make sure people are finding your website online.

Get to know people.
You need to know who your market is if you expect to sell anything to them. Decide who you want to sell to and get to know things about them. Where do they live? What do they buy? How old are they? What is their heritage? What stores do they shop at? Then use this information to create a place they want to come and buy the art that you are creating for them. Maybe even hold an event catering to this target demographic! Introduce yourself and your product.

Embrace community.
Awareness of the community you are in and are catering to is essential to run a business like an art gallery. Know about the local events and culture. Inform yourself about local issues and community organizations. They may want to join forces with you or you may just learn more about your market. Either way, knowledge and community are good things.

Social Media Marketing

What do you think of when you hear BMW? Luxury? Money? Well yeah, those are pretty valid thoughts. I bet you don't think of Generation Y, the 20- and 30-somethings, buying a brand new BMW. But thanks to social media marketing, more and more of the younger generation is getting into the luxury car industry. 

BMW is targeting the younger market with social media campaigns on Facebook and Twitter. And luckily for them, they're eating it up! "BMW claimed a $110 million revenue gain for its 1-Series line by wooing customers with a Web-only campaign." BMW has 54 different Facebook pages each targeting a specific audience. They were even ranked number one in an aptitude index showing the effect of social media on luxury brands. Clearly, BMW is using social media marketing to its advantage.

BMW also uses traditional marketing to also appeal to their more traditional audience. In order to grow the brand, they must grow their marketing to appeal to multiple audience. By using both social media marketing and traditional marketing strategies, BMW can gain a larger audience and potential buyers. “We see social media as a key component to all of our marketing and communications strategies,” said Trudy Hardy, Manager BMW Marketing Communications and Consumer Events.” I think Trudy Hardy knows what she's talking about.

Sources:
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Social-media-driving-young-buyers-to-luxury-cars-3631074.php
http://www.bmwblog.com/2011/06/02/bmw-ranked-1-in-social-media-aptitude-by-digital-innovation-think-tank-l2/