Depending on the structure at your work-place, you might have a year-long events calendar … or you might just wing it. If your marketing team has detailed planners, they actively seek opportunities to push your brand. But if they’re more about charm and personality, they might just ‘hear about important gigs’ and rush to #represent. As they say on the web, ‘60% of the time, it works every time.’ #Anchorman. But it’s not an approach we recommend.
So, since you’re asking our top tip for 2019 is to get organised. Put together a team of planners. Remember, you want this meeting to be productive, so keep the group small, and populate it with the right people. You want staffers who are directly involved in events, and who are known for their forward-thinking. You also want (at least one) quick decision-maker, or you’ll end up waffling all day. If discussions get stuck in a spiral, s/he can rein everyone in.
Mark Your Calendar
Start with a Google search of top Aussie events related to your business segment. These could be trade shows, seminars, and conferences. You can also identify business tangents. For example, a cultural festival or musical concert can be a promotional opportunity for anyone from electronics companies (earphones and portable speakers) to food and beverages. When you identify an event, write it down and mention the link to your business.
Now, look at the dates and venues to decide which ones you can attend. If budgets allow, you should be present at one event a month, or maybe one a quarter. This is just an exploratory meeting, so you don’t have to get too specific with your finances. Just cover the basics – how big is the team that will attend, what will it cost to get them there, how much for food and board, that kind of thing. This automatically eliminates events that are too pricy.
You should now have of at least ten events you can participate in. Divide them into categories e.g. hard sell, cultural awareness, product launch, industry specialists etc. This will inform the kind of banners you require. For example, a social event needs a more soft-sell approach, so you want clever, indirect advertising. Using the example of electronics companies, you could provide wireless earphones to attendees. (First five free, with discounts for the rest.)
Craft The Right Message
If it’s a trade show, there are probably hundreds of other earphone hawkers, so your promotional materials should focus on distinguishing your USP. In terms of portable banners, you want a healthy mix, and your options are dictated by the brainstorming session (that you’re doing right now). Say you have eight cultural shows and two trade shows. It means you’ll lean more heavily towards soft-sell. But you don’t want to do ten different event banners …
So you can order and print four or five playful but generic banners that work at all eight events. Think ‘Enjoy the Soulful Sound of the Outdoors’ vs ‘Celebrate the Rhythm of Darwin Alice Springs 2019 Festival.’ Since you already know the venue, you can find out how many of your events are indoors / outdoors, open-air/enclosed space, grass/turf/concrete. This helps you select your banners accordingly. And if you need further guidance, you can always call us up.
To source, the right banners for your 2019 corporate events, call Display Systems today on 1300 Displays.
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