The value of event marketing

Event marketing — a mythological term in our industry that sometimes strikes fear in the hearts of the marketing managers. Expense, staff time out of the office, logisitics, and how do we even measure if it's effective? Maybe we shoud just rely on the old tried and true methods of print advertising or the newfangled social media. Our target audience will get the message, right?

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With ever-shrinking budgets and the evolution of social media, many companies are taking a hard look at how, or even whether, event marketing fits into their overall marketing strategy. From a cost perspective (CPM), event marketing by the numbers often calculates as the most expensive, least efficient form of marketing. Conversely, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram cost pennies in comparison and can put your brand in front of hundreds of thousands of eyeballs — if that's your goal.

But that's not reall the goal, is it? Marketing your brand and products to a passionate enthusiast audience is not simply about name recognition. Brand recognition alone will not get your potential audience to buy your product – especially within an industry that is driven by enthusiasts. Enthusiats need verification; they need credibility. By nature, enthusiasts will talk about the products they purchase to other enthusiasts, and they want to be proud to tell the story.

We propose that it's not the number of impressions, but the quality of impressions that really drive business. Standard marketing measurements are typically stated in impressions, and the more brand impressions the better. For decades, print media has dominated the automotive enthusiast-marketing arena because of their ability to show huge numbers of impressions. But the paradigm is changing.

Over the last several years, there has been a trend of increased event marketing for a number of different reasons. The most important reason is the ability to connect directly with your target audience and consumer. There’s nothing more valuable than a one-on-one interaction to create an indelible impression for your brand and products. It gives you the opportunity to tailor your message in a precise manner that resonates with the individual.

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Just like "the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts”, event marketing can provide significant value when integrated into a multi-faceted marketing program. When combined with print, social media, internet marketing, in-store or retail marketing and promotions, event marketing can serve as a platform to help increase the overall value of the marketing strategy.

As one facet of a well-rounded program, boots on the ground at enthusiast events builds credibility for your brand and products. Enthusiasts make the connection that you are there, with them, actively participating in the industry they love. It’s also an opportunity to allow your target audience to see, touch and feel your product – something that print or social media doesn't do. A positive one-on-one interaction allows you to create a connection; bring the consumer “into the club” so to speak. It makes them feel special and creates a personal bond, an establishment of trust. That bond will resonate then next time that enthusiast picks up a magazine and sees your ad — rather than pass over it like white noise, the interaction will cause them to pause and pay attention to your message. They will seek out your social media posts, they will visit your website and, ultimately, they will buy your product.

Even participation also provides current, valuable and relevant social media content. What's the purpose of social media if you have nothing relevant to share? Nothing creates credibility more than real-world testimonials. And, you want instant and relevant feedback on a new product, or advice on what your target audience really wants? If they're at an event and in your booth, they're interested enough to spend their time and hard-earned money to be there — they will share their thoughts.

Event marketing is about image — communicating who you are and why your brand is better. FM3 attends more than 100 national automotive events annually on behalf of our clients, and we cover the gamut of performance automotive events. Road racing, drag racing, off-road, autocross, car shows, trade shows; we interact with a broad spectrum of automotive enthusiasts every weekend of the year. We've seen it all — from the best to the worst. Here's our top five list of things to focus on to get your brand noticed:

Use knowledgeable and interactive staff. This is key for building credibility.
Create a visually impressive display and keep it clean. This sounds simple, but requires effort and many companies don’t do it.
Positioning of the staff and displays within the booth is critical. Don't clutter it up — that's not inviting or welcoming.
Have a clearly defined message. Don't overcomplicate things, you only have about 2 minutes maximum to create an impression.
Collect data. Don't miss the opportunity to re-engage with your target consumer with a simple thank you communication.

Properly executed event marketing can create a positive and lasting impression for your target audience. Share of mind ultimately leads to share of market.