Why Event Marketing Matters

Event Marketing is a marketing strategy in which a company promotes a product or service in an event setting for three main goals: increasing overall sales, establishing relationships with customers, and improving brand awareness. These events can range from sporting games to art festivals to tradeshows. At the events, a company strives to interact with customers by providing samples of products, distributing information, and answering questions. In this way, a company can directly engage the consumer with the product or service they are advocating, allowing them to reach out to the public in a personal way.

Is it really worth all the extra time and effort to plan a promotional event for your company especially when the number of impressions you gain are far fewer than through traditional advertising? The answer is yes. On average, a person sees about 3000 advertisements a day, making it difficult for any one particular ad to have a lasting impact on a potential customer. Event marketing, however, provides consumers with an entire experience that is bound to make a lasting impression. In essence, a marketer decreases the overall number of touches with consumers, but makes each touch matter a whole lot more.

A great example of a company using event marketing to develop deeper relations with customers is Coca-Cola, which produces its new Gold Peak Iced Tea drink with a homemade taste. To promote their new drink, Gold Peak has been and still is present at numerous events with samplers and reps distributing information about the product, and most importantly, giving out product samples. A promotional or event staffing company, such as GC Marketing Services, hires the samplers and brand ambassadors to interact with potential consumers and to serve as the public image of a brand. The campaign has established brand awareness, relationship building opportunities, and a chance for customers to actually taste what it is Gold Peak says they do. The results from the marketing campaign have been impressive; Gold Peak continues to increase their sales and develop stronger relations with consumers. It has been an overall success and has maintained a strong influence in the consumer world.

Marketing is about building relationships with consumers; event marketing precisely seeks to achieve this objective by focusing on one-on-one interactions in areas where there are lots of potential customers.  Strong relationships establish brand loyalty, and also encourage consumers to spread the word about products and services to their friends. Another aspect of great marketing is raising brand awareness, which is made possible throughout the many types of interactive and engaging modes of event marketing. Overall, event marketing is a critical component to use for promoting a company’s products and services and it is no surprise why it is becoming an increasingly popular marketing strategy.