Promotional events can be held for a variety of reasons and are beneficial for all industries. They allow customers to get authentic engagements with brands that are of interest to them. While some promotional events are held when a new feature or product is added by a company, that doesn’t always have to be the case. Many attend promotional events to learn about a new brand, try a product or service, and be able to network with those in attendance. Below are 4 tips for running a successful promotional event.
Make a plan
You need to know exactly what the objective of your event is and why you are hosting it. Also, you need to have a set plan that includes every detail leading up to your event and what will be happening the day of. By making a plan, you can assign tasks to individuals on your team to make sure everything gets done. Also, you can keep track of all the costs from the venue to any items you are giving out. Having a detailed plan will keep you on track and make sure you complete everything on time.
When making a plan, one of your top priorities needs to be picking a venue. While it might depend on the size of your event, you should try and find a venue that is out of the ordinary and intriguing to your guests. If there is a new networking space or a nice bar, you should try looking there first. Your venue needs to be convenient to your attendees, and also relate to your company. If your company is promoting a new drink or alcohol, then hosting your event at a nice bar would be a great option. If your company is promoting a new software, then a networking space where you can guarantee free wifi in order to show off your product is a good option.
Market your event
Marketing is crucial when it comes to promotional events. It’s the easiest way to get the word out about it. You should create one design so you can have a consistent marketing campaign across all social media platforms. It’s even better if you can take the design and use it for offline marketing efforts as well. With this, you can have handouts at your event that use the same design. Also, if needed you can use the design for any signs to direct attendees where to go once they get inside your venue.
Aside from marketing on social media for your event, you should create an email. You can send it to clients so they are aware of the event. However, this can be tricky if you have a handful of clients that are in different states. The benefit of sending out an email is that if someone can’t attend the event, they can just simply ignore the email. You never know where people will be and you might be surprised about who would travel to attend your event.
Think about your giveaways
Promotional items are important for a promotional event, so you need to think about what would appeal to your audience the most. Depending on what you come up with to give out at your event, there’s a large possibility that the items will be used for a while by your attendees. Luckily, there are endless possibilities when it comes to promotional items so you aren’t just stuck giving out pens.
Depending on your company and what you offer, there are many different paths you can go down when choosing promotional items. A tech company could benefit from giving out a branded power bank or adapter. If you’re a clothing company that focuses on athletic apparel, a branded water bottle or headphones would be a great idea. If you aren’t exactly sure what items to get, you can never go wrong with branded umbrellas, coffee cups or reusable tote bags. Regardless, there are many options out there so you can give attendees a lasting reminder of you.
Evaluate your success
Evaluating the success of your event will help you know what worked best and what needs to change for any future events. While there are many ways you can evaluate your success some measures are to look at the attendance, sign-ups the day of, direct purchases, and enquiries.
Another easy way to get direct feedback about the event is to have guests fill out a survey. The best way to do this is by having the surveys be anonymous so that you know people will truly be honest. You can either leave the surveys on a table and offer a promotional item if people fill them out or you can share a QR code so people can fill it out quicker. Regardless of how you have attendees fill out a survey, make sure you go through and read them all so you know what to change or plan ahead for in the future.