Event Scale: Key Considerations for a Successful Marketing Event

The benefit of event marketing is that brands can leverage this strategy in a manner that is best suited to the objective.  In other words, event marketing is what a brand makes it. For a brand activation to be successful, however, marketers need to zero in on one thing: what marketing goal it needs to accomplish. Is it mass awareness? Customers’ first-party data? New sales prospects or qualified lead conversions?

Answering this question is the first step to knowing how big or small your event marketing strategy needs to be. While the logistical task of executing a full-scale marketing event may seem daunting, the needed pieces will fall into place with the right answers to these questions.

How to Scale an Event Marketing Strategy That Meets Your Brand’s Goals

1. Know where your audience is and go to them

You already know who your target consumer or customer group is. Now the question is where and how can you engage them in a face-to-face environment? If you’re looking to piggyback onto an existing event, like a festival or sporting event,  the event itself will do the hard work of attracting the audience; it’s your job to make sure your brand’s presence resonates with your target consumer and is cost-effective for you. When evaluating an event opportunity, understand first what positive outcome will make the all-in investment worthwhile.  If it’s your brand’s first time investing in event marketing, consider starting small in order to scale and optimize later.

2. Leverage the event to engage the audience

A common mistake brands make with their first event marketing opportunity is assuming that simply being present will attract awareness and attention. Another misconception is that a brand’s messaging strategy will automatically be relevant at any event. The brilliance of event marketing is the relevance created between the audience and your brand in a unique, almost exclusive space. More simply, the brand that will get the greatest share of customer attention (and positive sentiment) is the brand that acknowledges the environment and the connection that brings brands and customers together. Crafting a unique message for the occasion that still fits within the brand strategy is a strong way to engage with audiences pre- and post-event.  The messaging strategy often leads marketers to the event that delivers it best. To maximize event impact, focus on creating immersive and interactive experiences that resonate with your target audience. Experiences that they can participate in while getting to know your brand.

As passionate representatives, brand ambassadors can effectively connect with attendees on a personal level, reinforcing key messaging and fostering long-lasting brand loyalty.

3. Offer something that benefits them

The size and scale of your event marketing strategy depends on many variables. Still, an important one is what you’ll offer the audience as a value proposition. Is it a promotional offer or swag item? Is it exclusive to event attendees? But ultimately, can the brand afford to extend this offer to every person who engages? Does it help or harm the ROI? Answering those questions first will help determine if the event being considered is the right fit. If large-scale with mass audience appeal, expect the overall investment to increase, and watch the success KPIs closely. Any offer is a worthwhile strategy to attract attention and engagement, but it must fit two criteria: benefit the audience first and move the needle for your brand second. How that needle moves is up to your overall business objective, but also understand that with any offer, your goal is for consumers to give you something in return – a social media mention or content post, a sign-up or lead, a sale, or something as simple as brand recognition and affinity that may lead to future sales and loyalty.

Once you decide how event marketing fits within your company or brand’s activation strategy, ATN is your experienced partner to guide you through the execution of hiring the right event staff to deliver your brand’s message and impactfully engage with event attendees. Our expertise makes the hiring process of event teams or trade show staff a seamless part of your planning process. Our partners look to us for regional and national events, where we’ve provided experienced professionals for nearly two decades.

Contact ATN to learn more about our event staffing services and how we can help you reach your goals.