Whether you're new to event marketing, or you're looking to turn your events into a revenue-generating machine, this 10-chapter event marketing guide has everything you need to plan, promote, manage, measure, and optimize a successful event program, including templates, real-life examples, bonus resources, and more.
Though this guide has been carefully curated, feel free to digest it any way you want. Want to jump around chapters? Or read it front-to-back? Have a specific topic in mind? This resource is here for you, any way you want it.
Welcome to the Universe of Events. Before we dig into the specifics, let's start at the basics.
Event marketing is the process of deepening an individual's relationship with a brand, product, service, or idea through in-person experiences. It includes hosting and sponsoring events, and all of the promotions and communications that go along with it.
While event planning has been prevalent since the days of Cleopatra, more and more businesses are leveraging events as a crucial touchpoint to drive their business forward. In a 2018 survey, 93% of organizations stated their companies prioritize hosting events, while 85% prioritize sponsoring events.
It's come to the point where digital ads have become white noise, online marketing channels are saturated, and audiences are getting harder and harder to reach and engage with.
Consumers have always craved human, in-person experiences. But it's even more important in our post-digital world. Events are providing crucial face-time (and an alternative channel) with key audiences to actually move the needle and drive revenue.
And it works. According to a recent study by Harvard Business Review of 739 global companies, 54% of brands believe that events are the most effective marketing channel compared to any other marketing channel. Yowza.
Things are a-changing. The events industry is undergoing a full-on renaissance, and with the growing investment in events and the maturation of technology and data, events are now measurable, predictable, and trackable (and, there is even a direct correlation between a company's revenue growth and their event activity).
At Splash, we’ve seen it in our own top-performing customers. We call them Event Optimizers, and they’re the future generation of event marketers who are exceeding business goals, capturing critical market share, and connecting their events to revenue.
This guide contains our best practices, and things we’ve seen work well for some of our top customers. Keep in mind: every business is different. Be an Event Optimizer: test and experiment with your event marketing strategy to find out what works best for your organization.
