Corporate Event Marketing

What is it?

Corporate event marketing is a promotional strategy that involves linking a company to a specific event (sponsorship of a sports competition, festival, etc.) to support corporate objectives. It is also referred to as a sponsorship.

Reasons to do it

• Raising a level of recognition in the particular field of which the marketing is targeted towards
• Creating relationships to people and other businesses
• Causing social marketing through the event
• Building a brand through particular themed events
• Creating an experience that allows people to make memories and the company is further remembered

According to a study conducted by George P. Johnson Co., 81% of businesses are relying on corporate event marketing in order to make a meaningful impact on their customers.

Event Marketing in Action

Avon Heritage Duct Tape Festival

The Avon Heritage Duct Tape Festival is a community event in Avon, Ohio that gets the community to celebrate duct tape. People in the community, as well as businesses, use duct tape to create booths, sculptures, clothes, and floats. This was a great idea of Shurtech Brands because it is fun for the community, gets people to buy their product, and generates high amounts of community engagement from the citizens as well as businesses. It is also a great way for the local businesses to generate recognition within the community because most businesses in Avon and the surrounding area will have booths and/or floats that will give away free samples and information. The Avon Heritage Duct Tape Festival has been around for almost a decade and will continue to be a community favorite for years to come.


Target

Another example is something that Target did. Target created an event called the Target Back To School After Hours Shopping Event, which had a goal of creating relationships with college students. Target stayed open late and had an operating, free bus service that provided transportation to and from college campuses. Brand ambassodors met students on campus with pop-up campus maps that showed the best places to study on campus, where to watch sports games, as well as directions to Target stores. A total of 24,000 students attended this event and this resulted in a total sales increase of 11%. 

Benefits of Event Marketing

• Ability of starting a dialogue

• Through event marketing, you can create connections because you are talking to some one face-to-face and not over the internet or through a commercial. This allows for the company to present the best-targeted message because you are having a conversation with the person and can personally explain the product and/or service.

• Personal connection

• This builds trust with customers and people associated with the company. With a display of what your business is, a customer is more likely to approach the business and ask what it is all about. By creating a memorable experience for the customer, you are creating more than just a sales pitch, and the customer is more likely to use your product.

• Immediate fulfillment

• Booths and staff can immediately answer customer questions and provide information. The client does not have to wait for a returned call or e-mail to receive an answer.

• Brand awareness

• By creating a display that the customer can actually see, they are more likely to remember your brand and business in the future because they were able to physically relate with what you are offering to them. This creates awareness and this can further help spread the word about your product.

Corporate event marketing is all about experience, and if it is a fun and memorable experience for the people your company is interacting with, then that will be beneficial for the company when these people remember those experiences and buy their products later on.

Questions

1. What are some examples of event marketing that you have experienced and what impression did it leave about the company?
2. Have you ever had a bad experience with event marketing?
3. How do you think event marketing could be utilized in our project?
4. What industries do you think would need to utilize event marketing the most?

Sources

http://www.academyofmarketing.org/event-marketing-sig/event-marketing-sig.html
http://www.playwithapurpose.com/marketing/index.html
http://specialevents.com/newsletter/Event_marketing_takes_products_to_people_20061031/
http://www.exhibitresources.com/blog/2009/05/the-unequaled-benefits-of-event-marketing/

http://www.ducttapefestival.com/

http://www.specialeventsanswers.com/corporate-events/corporate-events-marketing/corporate-events-marketing/