Event marketing, part 2 of 3

By Chris Law

Event Marketing, part 2 of 3

In my time with Z102.9 and 1600ESPN, I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of several events and live broadcasts.  Many went very well, others unfortunately didn’t.  Here I have a mini-list of things to consider before booking that live broadcast for your birthday bash.

1)     Make sure there is something in it for the customer.  Yes, we covered that in part one, but I need to mention it again here because frankly, it’s just that important.  Peoples’ lives are busy and if you want your customers to make an appearance at your party, they need to have a reason.  Free popcorn, free soda, and balloons for the kids just won’t cut it.

2)     YOU need to be the star of the show.  Few people will show up at an event just to see our on-air staff, and those that do typically aren’t your best customers.  Radio personalities are very good at talking to people over the air, so let’s get them talking about your event and the reasons your customers should stop by.

3)     The most important element of a live broadcast is the commercial package that comes with it.  Before people can attend your event, they have to find out about it.  Yes, some of your customers will hear about your event in real time with the live on-air breaks, but that pales in comparison with how many people will find out about it via the commercials we run before it.  A live broadcast without an up-front advertising schedule is nothing more than someone standing out front of your business with a really big megaphone.

4)     Don’t forget about your existing customers.  The most likely people to attend your event are those that already know and love you.  Let them know about your event well in advance via email, phone calls, signage at your place of business, newsletters, your webpage, Facebook, twitter, while they shop… you get the idea.

5)     Timing, timing, timing.  This can mean a lot of things.  Thinking about throwing a 1^st anniversary party for your winery?  That might be a problem if it’s located on a scenic and twisty road in the middle of January.  Putting together an outdoor event in June?  Better have a backup plan in the event of rain.  Thinking of a big Saturday sidewalk sale in Iowa City in the fall?  Better check that Iowa football schedule first.

6)     Make sure you are ready for it.  Live remotes can be great tools to help a grand opening get off the ground, but if things aren’t running smoothly they can do more harm than good.  Nothing is worse than having throngs of people show up to opening night at your restaurant only to find out the computers don’t work right, your servers don’t know the menu, and your head chef doesn’t know medium rare from medium well.

These things all appear common sense, yet anyone working in radio very long has been a part of an event in which some or all of these things weren’t considered.  In part three, I’ll share details of a few events I’ve been a part of--some that went well and others that didn’t.