INTRODUCTION
WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? |
| "Usually," "Ordinarily," "Frequently," ''Virtually," "Sometimes," "Possibly," "Perhaps." |
| One of these qualifiers applies to every statement, recommendation, approach, concept, or pronouncement in the following pages. It may not be set in type, but it's there anyway; read every line with these caveats in mind. |
| Remember: there are almost no absolutes in event marketing. |
| What produces a notable success in one case can paralyze another. A sizzling success in Tucson might turn out to be a frigid flop in Minneapolis. Furthermore, what works fine for one kind of event in either city can work foul for a different kind of happening in the same city. Even time changes things; the fight approach this year is possibly next year's wrong one. |
| Not even a universally-accepted definition for the term "event marketing" exists.There are as many definitions as there are event marketers. And many professionals either disagree on or have fuzzy understandings of some rather common words, like "advertising," "publicity," and "promotions." But so we can understand each other as we travel together on the following pages, we'll need to agree on some meanings that come pretty close to broad acceptance. |
| Event Marketing/Sponsorship |
| Financial or in-kind support of a non-business related activity, including sports, the arts, festivals, observances, parades, causes, and similar types of activities, usually for the purpose of reaching one or more specified business goals. A special event involves audiences, spectators, or crowds in a recreational pursuit. |
| Obtaining time or space, free of charge, in the news media for the purpose of bringing a person, organization, happening, thing, philosophy, image, cause, or other matter to the attention of the general public or segments thereof. Most often, publicity appears within the editorial format of both print and broadcast media. |
| The purchasing of time or space in the communications media for the purpose of conveying one or more prescribed messages, usually designed to sell, convince, or move to action. Messages are ordinarily recognizable by distinctive advertising formats in print media and by commercials on television and radio. Outdoor advertising, such as billboards and readerboards also fall under the broader umbrella of advertising. |
| Various marketing techniques aimed at attracting attention to an entity and creating or intensifying a desire for it to be purchased or accepted, usually through incentives. These may included consumer sales enhancers such as sweepstakes, contests, and other proof-of-purchase benefits; product trial opportunities; added value offers; sales force motivators; and retailer incentives; among others. |
|
