Marketing vs. Advertising: What’s the Difference?

It may seem like advertising and marketing are two concepts that share exactly the same objective. In fact, they
do have the same objective: alerting consumers to products and services being sold. Marketing and advertising
have many things in common, but there are some differences. Comprehension of these differences and
similarities will help any business or organization with their strategy for customer and audience acquisition.

What Is Marketing?

Marketing is a process that involves design, creation, research and data mining about how to best align the idea
of a product or service with the target audience. Marketing helps to define the product even more than the
actual product does.

How Do You Market?

Marketing involves research and analysis. This involves studying audience response and creating language and
design that will best influence that audience. Certain groups of consumers respond better to images and words
than others. Slogans and mission statements that best communicate the “message” of the product are essential
to marketing. Marketing strategy can be broken down into the 4 P’s: product, place, price and promotion.

The message of a marketing campaign transmits what kind of people can use the product, what kind of
environment best suits the product and other related information. The message is communicated through
marketing materials, which create tone and personality of the product as well. Another aspect of market research
is pricing and ways to distribute the product.

What Is Advertising?

Advertising is the literal process of making a product and service known to an audience. It is the description used
to present the product, idea or service to the world. This generally entails advertising campaigns in the media. An
advertising campaign uses creative positioning in the media. Advertising must be timely and used in a specifically
strategic way.

How Do You Advertise?

Advertising gets the word out about a product or service. This involves creating a campaign that aligns with the
wants and needs of the prospective audience. A great advertising campaign uses a mixture of media to best
generate excitement for a product.

For example, if the product is geared toward a younger audience, then social media platforms like Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter might be the best way to reach that audience. Other consumer groups may respond better
to radio, television or print ads. Most advertising campaigns use a combination of media to reach the widest
audience possible.

What Are the Similarities Between Marketing and Advertising?

First of all, it’s important to note that advertising is a component of marketing. Marketing refers to preparing a
product for the marketplace. Advertising is making your product and service known to an audience or
marketplace. Advertising is a specific step of marketing. Advertising uses the data and research collected by
marketing strategies to best communicate the brand.

1
Marketing is a more controlled and wider-reaching process, while advertising is specific to brand communication.
In a way, marketing is both research and practice, while advertising is straight practice. Marketing involves
consumer behavior and marketing research, while advertising involves creative endeavors like design and
multimedia production.

Ways of Event AdvertisingAs eventprofs, a "build it and they will come" attitude towards events just won't cut it.
Even if you are the best event planner in the world, if people don’t know about your event, they won’t attend.
Like any marketing plan, your event advertising needs to start with a strategy. With the ever-competitive event
market, it is important to stand out and while this may come at a price, it makes the effort worthwhile.

The right event advertising program attracts the demographic and attendees you want to your event, adds
marketing reach for your sponsors and elevates the event brand for the client. Here are some of the best
opportunities you have for creating an event advertising strategy that adds value and inspires action.

DEFINITION

Advertising is the active communication, promotion and marketing of a product or service to a potential
consumer.

When people use the word advertising, they often think of traditional paid media (TV, radio, print) and the ads or
commercials that interrupt the content that they are receiving. With the evolution of marketing platforms to
include owned media (websites, social media channels and blogs or podcasts), the definition of event advertising
has expanded beyond traditional media and even social media, to include all digital marketing strategies that an
eventprof may leverage to drive awareness, engagement and revenue generation for an event. Event advertising
can include almost any marketing activity, including earned media from experiential engagement activities or
stunts, influencer partnerships and creative cross-promotion activities that will fulfill the strategic objectives of
your event.

HOW TO PROMOTE AN EVENT SUCCESSFULLY: START WITH A SOLID STRATEGY

While there are many methods of promoting an event, it is important that you identify your objectives and
prepare your marketing strategy in advance so that you can gauge and focus your efforts in the right direction.

IDENTIFY YOUR GOALS

Not all event advertising campaigns are designed with the same end in mind. First and foremost, you need to
establish what you hope to achieve by advertising. For example, you could focus on creating more awareness of
your event or client brand leading up to your event, try to get more website traffic, drive event app installs, or
simply to make sure you have a full house by pushing ticket sales. Once you know what your goals are, you can
create campaigns that match your objectives. If you have no idea what you’re trying to do, your chances of
succeeding are pretty low.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Knowing your audience is the best way to advertise successfully to existing customers, and also to seek out
people who would be interested in your event. As part of the event creation process, you certainly will have
identified your audience demographic. This will help with your marketing strategy as you can use this specific
information to find the perfect target market for your events.

2
Brainstorm and research what motivates your audience. Create small audience segments to advertise to. This
means you can create content that appeals to certain groups and advertise directly to them. Speaking directly to
someone about a subject they care about is the best way to grab their attention and get them to take action.

KNOW YOUR EVENT

While it may seem obvious that you need to know your event in order to market it, sometimes less experienced
eventprofs begin their event advertising before they have a clear idea of what they have to sell. Know the “why”
of your event and be clear about what the benefits and features are of your event product.

Be clear on your ticket pricing levels, any special discounts, group deals or upgrade offers and be strategic in how
you are marketing them to avoid extending Early Bird deadlines or finding you have to “paper the room” with
complimentary tickets in order to have enough bodies there.

FIND THE CONNECTION

Now that you know your audience and know your event, find the connection. What are the commonalities and
obvious shared interests between you and your target market? Leverage these connections to streamline your
event advertising and make the most of your allocated budget.

EARNED MEDIA:

FIND THE HOOK FOR FREE EDITORIAL COVERAGE

Depending on your event, one of the best ways to get free event advertising is to earn it! Earned media refers
primarily to leveraging your relationships in the original formats or online versions of traditional media market
(TV, print and radio) to “earn” free, editorial coverage of your event. Often you can achieve this through a well-
written media release.

Alternatively, strive to form a relationship with your local media outlets and they may provide sponsored media
resources for your event in exchange for an opportunity to be involved or have an activation at your event.
Integrate sponsorships, relationships or unique activations to earn media beyond what you could afford to
purchase. Here are some examples of events that have earned great media.

USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO BOOST YOUR ENGAGEMENT

While generally, social media is a free tool for events and brands to use to promote their events, there is more
involved in leveraging these channels well.. If you create social media channels but have no followers or likes, all
your efforts to push out interesting content about your event will not be heard/seen. Your first objective must be
to locate your audience and cross-promote your various updates across all platforms.

 Leverage Hashtags to Connect Your Community

Choose a strong hashtag that works to aggregate all your posts. Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke encouraged people to
share a coke with someone they knew, even if they weren’t there. Suddenly people were scouring shelves looking
for their name and the name of loved ones.

 Maximize the Speed of Social Media for Timely Updates

The speed of social media makes it perfect for surprise ticket giveaways or contests. If you need to boost
attendance, you can use social media to offer a time-limited discount or other special deal.

EMAIL MARKETING MAKES A PERSONAL CONNECTION

3
Email marketing is the electronic version of direct mail marketing and contrary to popular belief, it is NOT dead! It
involves sending marketing messages, predominantly via email and can contain rich content and specific Calls to
Action. A Call to Action clearly states what you want your audience to do. It may be to click through to a website
for more information, or buy a ticket from your online ticket site, or follow your event social media accounts.
Always clearly state what you want your audience to do next.

For successful email marketing, you need to have access to an established and well-curated email database and a
very strong subject line that will cut through the volume of emails received by your target market. Use strong
images and graphics to engage the reader and avoid any terminology or practices that could be considered as
“spam.”

Be very aware and respectful of your country’s anti-spam legislation before using this strategy. It’s always safest
to use a double opt-in strategy by confirming the participant’s intention of joining your list.

 Use the Personal Touch to Connect with Email Marketings

Drivers Note, a simple tool used for tracking your business mileage, will send you a friendly email if you haven’t
used them to track any trips in 14 days. The email will express concern for your well-being by asking “Is
everything alright?”. Use this example of a caring follow-up to engage with guests or sponsors that have not
committed to next year’s event.

Stop from here

======================================================================================

INFLUENCERS AND PARTNERS CAN TAKE YOUR MESSAGE TO THE MASSES AND PROVIDE AMAZING REACH

Influencers are famous people who use their popularity or following to amplify your event’s message. Popular
faces or well-known influencers such as minor celebrities, bloggers, and vloggers/streamers as well as industry
experts are useful because they have their own following who trust them. Being endorsed by these influencers
can be a way to make use of “word-of-mouth” referrals which are known to have the best conversion rates. This
is also much more effective as they’re seen as more truthful and dependable and can have huge followings and
engagement.

 Be Unique When Choosing Influencers to Reach Unexpected Audiences

(Maybelline stepped away from the usual celebrities to leverage other industry influencers, such as beauty
bloggers and vloggers to leverage their message.)

 Leverage Timely Opportunities to Make Your Message Meaningful

 Match your influencers to the product or service

4
 Use Sports Stars and Their Influence to Expand Your Audience

Cristiano Ronaldo used his influence and following to promote the Nike brand, following in the footsteps of
Michael Jordan and Lebron James.

Add an Element of Crowdsourcing to Event Planning to Build a Bigger Audience

COMMUNITY CALENDARS PUT YOUR EVENT WHERE ATTENDEES ARE

Many media outlets and community websites offer a free community events calendar where eventprofs can list
their upcoming events at no charge. Even online ticket systems like Eventbrite or TicketMaster will include your
event on their local event listings page as part of your e-commerce agreement. Look for ones that support you by
adding images, video or other content to help demonstrate the theme of your event.

Ex.Global Events List

Build Momentum to Events

While the Olympic Games are certainly the most high-profile sporting event out there, the ceremonial Olympic
Torch Relay of the lit torch builds excitement for the main event. People line the streets to be able to be a part of
this unique experience.

Experiential isn't just another marketing buzzword. It's fast becoming one of the most heralded methods for
driving sales, awareness and brand advocacy with plenty of data to back up its claims. This is great news for
eventprofs because if anyone knows how to create an experience that leaves a lasting impression, you need look
no further than the event industry.

Reach a Large Audience with Billboards

Large and in full, public view, billboards can be costly (particularly in prime positions such as this example). But
they are incredibly effective if your event has a broad mass appeal. Do your research on some of the best areas
for your demographic and popular places that they may frequent, including other local events. Use this to your
advantage when deciding on positioning. Make billboards flashy to stand-out, particularly if they are in direct
competition with other advertising, or alternatively find a spot where your board will be on its own!

Go Higher in Event Promotion Using Blimps, Airships or Planes to Reach Large Crowds

Self-navigating blimps, airships and planes can be a fun way to promote your latest event as there is very little
competition in the sky. Blimps tend to be light and filled with gas to maintain their shape. The one shown in this
example is big enough to have a variety of information or simply your event or brand name highlighted.

Use Bus Signage to Draw More Localized Attention

Using local transport can be a good advertising option because you know the route they run so you can select the
bus choices that will reach most of your target audience. Often it is the only advertising on the exterior of the
bus, so there is minimal competition. As they drive around with your signage it becomes a regular reminder of
your event or brand which increases recognition and long-term prospects.

Flash Mobs Draw Attention in Public Spaces

5
Exciting one-off (staged) performances that appear to be random can cause a buzz for upcoming events. The
important thing is to make an impact and make it interesting. You can opt for something brand or event-related
such as the theme. For example, if you are having a James Bond-themed event you could create a flash mob
dance to one of the movie tunes with participants dressed in suits.

Leave Your Mark with Graffiti Artists to Improve Community Relations

Improve local areas or create temporary walls to legally showcase local graffiti artists and promote your event.
You could turn it into a mini competition to create the best art piece for your promotion that can be showcased
at your event. It is important to get permission from your local council or authority first, but there may be areas
that need sprucing up and as long as it is tasteful it can be organized and allowed as a promotion. Be aware of
local restrictions and consult the city before proceeding. If it better pleases local officials, you could offer to
whitewash your works after the event ends as an incentive to improve worn down areas that need attention.

Wrap Public Pillars to Bring Your Message to Large Audiences

This 360-degree version is a fun way to incorporate the shape into the signage. Again, as with billboards, the
location is key to reaching your intended audience.

Credit: Elizabeth Yates

Fly Inflatables for Eye-Catching Interest that Draws Crowds

Bring in Oversized Props for Social Media Shares

Large or giant props can cause a buzz and stir, particularly if they are kept within the event theme but not
immediately obvious. They prompt others to come up and ask questions to find out what the props are about.
They are also an excellent photo opportunity and a favorite to get trending on social media if you combine with a
special hashtag or add multiple props in a certain area for people to find as part of a game or treasure hunt.

Get Noticed with Walking Letters and Get Your Message Out There

This walking messaging can be more engaging to the public than signage. Plus, it offers the opportunity for the
staff to answer questions. Since it’s mobile the team can be hired for the day and cover several different areas or
stay in one location.

Create Pop-Up Shops for Increased Branding

Work with your event sponsors or use your own products to create a pop-up shop for promotion of your latest
event and sponsors. For example, for an upcoming running or sporting event you could create a pop-up shop for
trainers that includes energy drinks or advice from professional coaches. Pop-up stalls and shops tend to create a
stir because they are temporary and this adds an element of FOMO that attracts others to get there before it
goes away. Plus, it’s a great way to test out swag bags or get feedback on different event elements.

6
Write down up to here

===================================================================================

EVENT ADVERTISING IDEAS

Nobody likes being bombarded by advertising. On top of that, fewer people are watching mainstream TV,
listening to the radio and reading newspapers. Instead, they are consuming just what they want, when they want
it. The audience is deliberately avoiding advertising. Even internet advertising is suffering because people have
either become ad-blind or they are using ad blocking software.

Bad news, for brands and marketing agencies alike?

Actually, not really.

These new viewer preferences just require us to think differently. Make sure that your base promotions are
dialled in to what your audience wants and where they are at.

USE EVENT WEBSITES TO SELL YOUR EVENT

Having a presence on the web for your event is no longer an option – it is essential! Nowadays, having a strong
online presence can either make or break an event. Whether your event has its own URL and website or is a page
added on to a company’s main website, it will be the public face of your brand and an important source of
information on programming, sponsors and, of course, how to get tickets.

Even with the additional cost of creating and maintaining an event website, doing so is almost always in your
favor. Here are some examples of great websites that keep the hype going from year to year.

Maximize Video to Engage Website Visitors

This event website makes great use of video and other graphics to really give you a sense of the event
environment and build FOMO.

Build the Idea of Exclusivity into Your Mailing List to Give People a Reason to Subscribe

The Cult Gathering brings together the top brands in the world - no wonder their event and webpage is on point.
New users are prompted to provide their contact information in order to access “premium content” – a great way
to build your database.

Streamline Your Color Palette to Place More Emphasis on Your Message

The Brand New Conference manages to communicate its integrity and seriousness through the use of black and
white. Sometimes you can say more by scaling back all the bells and whistles and focusing on the content.

Use Colors to Set the Tone and Attract the Right Audience

In addition to being bilingual, the fun and unusual colors in this website help to communicate the light tone of
this event. The site helps guests know what to expect out of the experience.

Understand What Drives Ticket Sales and Present that Information Boldly to Entice More Sales

7
Make sure the content that is important to your guests is front and center. Coachella’s website focuses on listing
all of the entertainment and performers on the home page.

Offer Free Swag to the First 500 Ticket Buyers (to be collected at the event)

INVEST IN PAID MEDIA TO SKYROCKET YOUR REACH

Whether you choose print, radio or a more expensive TV campaign, there may be a place for paid media in your
event advertising campaign. Although using these channels can often be expensive, you can get more bang for
your buck by negotiating a sponsorship agreement that exchanges paid media coverage for partnership
marketing benefits with your event.

Reach a New Audience Through Targeted Facebook Ads

Use Facebook ads to amplify your message to new audiences. Make sure that your post is very visual as this
leverages the strengths of Facebook to ensure better success. These ads show on the side of the Facebook
screen, while boosted posts show in the timeline.

More on this in the next section….

Use Humor to Get Noticed in a Sea of Tough Competition

Of course, you don’t need big money to make a big impact – but it helps! And advertising for the Academy
Awards comes with a great example of paid media. This TV commercial leverages humor to look back on one of
the most harrowing situations for eventprofs (the mix up of an awards envelope) to promote the next event

CREATIVE PRINT COLLATERAL THAT JUMPS OFF THE PAGE AND GETS NOTICED

With a continuing focus on environmental sustainability and a growing distaste for disposable paper products, be
very strategic in setting size and quantities of posters and postcards before sending them to print or consider
recycled products. The long-time work horse of community and music festivals, there may still be a place for print
collateral in your event advertising.

Add Giveaways of Value to Your Collateral to Increase Word of Mouth Marketing

The Launch trade show gives away a flyer, lanyard and other items with their collateral to make the material
more memorable.

Make Your Collateral Stand Out in a Crowd if You Want People to Hold Onto/Read It

Go beyond the standard postcard or tri-fold brochure with die-cut paper or interesting folds like this:

Think 3D to Build More Engagement with Your Collateral

Create something totally unique that will remain on your guests’ desk well past the event. Perhaps try this
camera promotional item or another creative shape.

HOW TO PROMOTE AN EVENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA EXAMPLES

Social media used to be free, outside of the time investment in finding/creating and posting good content. Today,
organic views are still possible but diminishing considerably. That doesn’t mean social media isn’t a good tool for
event promotion and advertisement. Here are some tips to help you maximize the benefit of your use.

8
FIND THE RIGHT PLATFORM BY LOCATING YOUR AUDIENCE

While Facebook is currently the most popular social media tool for event promotion, be sure to consider the
possibilities with Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and even LinkedIn. Depending on your event and your target
market, each of these platforms can help amplify your message.

However, popularity of platform only matters in regard to your audience. If they’re elsewhere, that’s where you
need to be.

FACEBOOK FINDS YOUR EVENT FRIENDS

Facebook is the largest social network in the world. With more monthly active users than WhatsApp, Twitter and
Instagram combined, it makes sense to explore how you can use the platform to sell more tickets to your event
and excite attendees leading up to the day.

The potential customers you can reach through Facebook for free is a constant battle against

keyboard_arrow_right The increasing amount of content published by everyone else, and

keyboard_arrow_right personalized news feeds limiting content to only what Facebook deems the most relevant

Facebook is a master at data collection; so much as that it’s motives have been called into question recently. Still,
there are a host of tools you can use to better understand your audience, assuming they’re on Facebook.

It’s also easy and inexpensive to get started with advertising on Facebook with the default minimum daily budget
of just $5/£5. The Advert Manager tools track results to help analyze the ROI.

USE FACEBOOK PAGES TO BUILD COMMUNITY FOR YOUR EVENTS

Invite Attendees to Involve Friends for Greater Reach

ToughMudder really leverages the challenge of the event into challenging you to form teams and compete
against your friends. This strategic peer pressure invokes FOMO to increase registrations.

Go Live to Entice Interest in Your Event for Next Year

Use video and Facebook Live to get your page to the top of the ranks. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival has great use
of live and video postings to peak your interest. It can also be leveraged as a teaser for future events.

MASTER GREAT FACEBOOK EVENTS TO REACH A LARGER AUDIENCE

Use a Velvet Ropes Strategy to Drive Interest

Want your event to be highly sought after? Counter-intuitively, make it difficult to get tickets! This Facebook
event leverages FOMO by requiring you to be “invited” to attend.

Understand Your Ideal Attendee to Increase Advance Ticket Purchases

This video game event organizer promotes well in advance of their events. They have a passionate and
committed audience that books a year in advance.

9
LEVERAGING TWITTER FOR GREATER CONVERSIONS

Master the Use of Hashtags to Ensure the Right Group Sees Your Posts

Twitter can be a fire hose of information. Using hashtags will help people discover you and stay knowledgeable
about updates.

INSTAGRAM SHOWCASES VISUAL APPEAL

Share Intriguing Images to Inspire and Interest Your Audience

Instagram is one of the hottest social media tools out there with the under-35 crowd making this their go-to for
connectivity. With the massive use of images and hashtags to help you find what interests you, eventprofs need
to maximize what Instagram can offer in both event ideas and advertising promotions.

LINKEDIN SPOTLIGHTS THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Use LinkedIn to Reach Higher-Income Professionals

If your event is more business focused or you want to target certain professions or industries, LinkedIn provides a
similar amplification opportunity as Facebook. Be sure to respect the professional nature of this platform when
posting and leverage connections to spread news of your event. Event companies that have business clientele
can actively advertise their events and registration through their posts

PINTEREST INSPIRES SALES

Use Pinterest for One of the Highest Conversion/Purchase Rates on Social Media

While Pinterest is not the primary platform for promoting events, you can often find your audience by using your
target market’s primary hashtags. Pinterest also gives you the opportunity to build anticipation by posting images
of event materials and what guests can expect to see or experience at your event. Need another reason to use
Pinterest? 90% of weekly pinners use Pinterest to make purchasing decisions.

SOCIAL MEDIA MUST-DOS FOR GREATER TICKET SALES

Show Examples of What You Want Your Event to Be Known For and You’ll Become It

Offer Attendees (or Potential Attendees) Something They Want Every Day to Become a Valuable Resource

Be Clear in What Your Event Offers

Create a Question to Spur on Debate and Get People Talking About Your Event

Yanny or Laurel? Was the dress white and gold or blue and black?

Use a Participative Installation as a Pre-cursor to the Event

WORDS TO PROMOTE AN EVENT EXAMPLES - CHOOSE YOUR WORDS WISELY

Words to Promote An Event Examples - Choose Your Words Wisely

audience engagement using evocative terms and descriptions (“key words”) and carefully chosen adjectives

marketing and SEO strategy with commonly-used terms (“keywords”) for search engines to index and improve
organic search rankings

It is important to understand your target audience and choose your keywords strategically. Keywords are the
most common words used by your customers when performing searches for products or events similar to your
event. Understanding your customers and how they search is critical to getting found.

Google’s Keyword Planner is a great resource for understanding what words your audience may be using when
they search for events like yours and which is most likely to attract the most attention.

USE FOMO (FEAR OF MISSING OUT) TO DRIVE PEOPLE TO ACTION

Of course, you will want to leverage the “why” of your event to create an urgency and FOMO (Fear Of Missing
Out) in taking that Call to Action – be it buying tickets or committing to participate. Here are some examples of
how you would incite FOMO.

Employ Social Sharing Features to Encourage Attendees to Share Their Plans with Friends (and drive purchases)

Enable your ticketing site to encourage ticket buyers to share their purchase on social media with text such as “I
am going to this event. Are you?” You can accomplish the same thing by designing a badge and making it
available for attendees to share on their social channels, blogs, or websites.

Drive Ticket Purchase by Showing How Few Tickets Are Left in Early-Bird Pricing

Employ a ticketing feature that lists how many tickets are still available with discounted pricing (and manage your
capacity so this number appears low).

Focus on Your Guest to Make Them Feel Like You Are Talking to Them Specifically

Use some of the best tactics employed in great event marketing to make your event advertising hit the mark.
Advertising experts agree that your text should focus on your audience and what they want, not what you want.
Consider the message from their point of view and use the words “you” and “your.”

Prompt Attendees to Purchase with a Countdown Until the Event

Show the Benefits to Drive Purchase Decisions

Benefit statements as opposed to feature statements will also help sell your event. For example, if your event
includes a lot of presentation or sessions, instead of saying you have a large number of speakers you may want to
speak to all the choice and variety attendees will have to choose from. Use words that answer the “why?” or “so
what?” question and you will be on the right track.

Provide a Themed Gift so More People Will Read and Value Your Communications

Inspire Your Potential Audience to Help Them Achieve Their Dreams

11
This image quote inspires and alludes to the importance of building your own tribe. Potential attendees will
self-identify that this is something they want in their life and seek it out at this event.

Match Two Distinct Words Together to Combat Email Fatigue

When you juxtapose two words that don’t normally go together, it makes an impression.

Help People to Find Their Tribe

Self identifying as a group can drive strong affiliations and loyalty.

Make People Feel Amazing to Improve Retention

Challenge Your Audience to Act or Be Inspired

Use Save the Date Language to Ensure People Make Arrangements to Attend

Social calendars book up fast. Personal invitations use “save the date” requests. You can too.

EVENT PROMOTION TECHNIQUES EXAMPLES

The days of simply selling product based on its benefits are over. In an age where we're bombarded by
advertising, consumers have learned to self-filter. To break through the noise, you've either got to be very loud or
very different. As the line between events and marketing continues to blur, experiential marketing is the
confluence of the two. Customer engagement and customer experience are intrinsically linked. Deliver an
experience that is positive, and thus, memorable.

Take It to the Streets for Larger Impact and Greater Brand Recognition

Produce Branded Giveaways to Amplify Your Brand

Use Humor to Make an Impression and Be Remembered

Add Event Advertising to Unusual Places to Reach a New Market

State the Obvious to Ensure Your Message Is Heard and Understood

Create an Interactive Space Outside of Your Event to Encourage Having Fun with Your Brand

Draw Attention to Your Advertising by Placing Something Unexpected Nearby

SPECIAL EVENT ADVERTISING EXAMPLES

If your event is a conference or meeting, you may have a list of attendees from past years or a membership list to
start from. And of course, with private events or receptions, your guests are invite-only and these names would
come from your client. With special events, you have to reach farther and wider to build awareness. This is where
the “sky is the limit” approach works well. Here are some great examples:

Use a Branded Item to Advertise and Achieve Recognition from Distances

12
The band Pink Floyd has used giant inflatable pigs as promotion for their concert shows for 40 years and even
used it on album artwork and merchandise.

Brand Areas You Can’t Paint or Wrap for Bigger Brand Awareness

Your event logo could be almost anywhere at night using a gobo projection. Try it on sidewalks or even the side
of a building! Best of all, no clean up.

Use Sculptures and Creative Design to Advertise in the Run-up to Your Event

Catch Their Attention (and get more social media shares) Using an Ordinary Item in an Unusual Way

Make Your Message Mobile to Reach a Large Local Audience

Get Your Event Noticed with a Larger Than Life Visual Mirage

Artwork and Photo Credit: UrbanCanvas

Use Curiosity and Graffiti to Cause a Social Stir

Convey a Secretive Message to Intrigue the Locals

Have an Event Mascot and Make Sure it is Seen

Order Branded Apparel to Increase the Number of Event Ambassadors You Have

IN CONCLUSION

Doing your research and coming up with an effective marketing strategy prior to picking your promotional
tools will help you make better decisions and allow you to utilize them more successfully. That being said,
creative ideas and guerrilla marketing can help your event stand out amidst the noise of the competition.
Experiential marketing, and by extension, events in general, give brands the opportunity to engage with their
audiences on a much deeper, more personal level. Rather than simply persuading, such is the wont of
marketing, real-world events can help develop a much more meaningful relationship between brand and
audience due to greater investment on the part of all involved.

EVENT MARKETING AUGUST 31, 2017 AUTHOR: TETIANA HANCHAR2 LIKES2 COMMENTS

5 Best Creative Examples of Facebook Event Advertising and Event Promotion Strategy

Don’t mind some new audiences finding out what your next event is? Create a Facebook ad! With the endless
possibilities of Facebook advertising, it’s now possible to generate strategic content with the use of audience
targeting.

In fact, Facebook advertising is the means for you to reach people based on demographics, location or
behavioral factors with no magic wand!

Why should you create an event on Facebook?

13
Have you ever tracked your organic content on Facebook? Then you must have noticed that there aren’t any
consistent patterns in the way they appear in news feeds. Due to the rapidly-changing Facebook modes of data
structuring, it becomes really hard to predict whether organic content will reach the target audience or not.
This is where Facebook advertising comes in. If you want to build your social presence on Facebook, boost
traffic, and gain leads for your business – you gotta go for it.

4 Components of Successful Facebook Ads for Event Promotion

Making the best use of your PPC budget is possible if you know how to make your ad promote the Facebook
events with top efficiency.

Check out the 4 key features of an ad that can turn your event into a super nova.

#1. It’s visual.

The harsh Facebook reality demands images. According to the stats, the ads that entail visuals are far more
likely to be shared and are more memorable in general. Use the lesson and pay proper attention to the
Facebook ad look.

#2. It’s relevant.

You don’t want to pay a plumber if he can’t fix the leaks, do you? The same goes with Facebook advertising. Since
you have to pay for clicks and views, make sure that the content for your ad complies with the expectations of
people who do those clicks. What’s more, the way users engage with your content influences your relevance
score and shapes Facebook’s opinion about you.

#3. It includes an enticing value proposition.

A successful Facebook advertising makes people want to make that click. To win the maximum clicks, you have to
call upon your inner marketing genius and think about an appealing statement or an eye-catching headline that
will do the magic for you. Whether it’s a discount or a social proof, make sure that it will work for audiences you
want to attract.

#4. It has a clear call-to-action.

Your Facebook ad is, basically, pointless for users if it doesn’t include a clear CTA that tells them what to do next.
You can enable successful promotions on Facebook if you have an irresistible call-to-action enticing the users.
ProTip: Make sure it’s urgent so that the users don’t postpone the action. The words like “access now” or “offer
end soon” will give you the desired results.

5 best creative examples of Facebook event advertising and event promotion strategy

We’ve prepared 5 top examples of a Facebook event promotions that bore fruit in 2017.

1. Web Summit 2017

One of the largest annual tech conferences in the world, Web Summit is a database of iconic Facebook
advertising examples. Let’s go through the lessons that Web Summit 2017 the promotion has prepped for us.

Takeaway #1:
14
Use people to engage people. If you look through the Web Summit Facebook ads, you’ll notice a pattern: amiable
faces, conference settings, interview reports, and photos of the team make the ad promotions look truly
authentic and invigorating.

Takeaway #2:

Promote lucrative discounts.The discount campaigns that Web Summit 2017 set in motion drove huge traffic on
social media. To boost the engagement, the contest organizers launched a large program, Women in Tech, that
allowed purchasing early bird tickets for 85 euros plus getting two free tickets for friends. The “tag a friend”
campaign, as well as “free tickets for 1000 developers,” “free tickets for Irish students” definitely helped in
making the social media ads go viral.

Takeaway #3.

Double engagement by promoting pre-/post-event activities.Web Summit 2017 organizers have successfully
aligned conference promotions with the promotion of the Surf Summit that’ll be taking place two days
beforehand. The benefits don’t need to be explained: additional traffic, plus additional target audiences.

2. Totally Thames 2017

The major river celebration that takes place every September in London, Totally Thames, employs a “split-
promotion” strategy for successful Facebook advertising. To score more chances for user engagement, the
organizers decided to split the festival into micro-events and promote each of them separately.

Takeaway:

Provide an option for everyone. If you have diverse activities being planned in the within the frame of your event,
don’t hesitate to promote them as independent workshops or meetings through Facebook ads. Even if some of
the users won’t get fascinated by your event announcement, they might find a specific part of it pretty
interesting.

3. Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Videos and live streaming are the Facebook ad magic wands in 2017. With a growing interest in video promotion,
effective advertising on Facebook doesn’t live long without live contents. Have a look at how the largest art fest
in Scotland, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, engages the audiences on Facebook. The number of views speaks for itself.

Takeaway:

Capture your users’ attention by using live video promotions. As the most successful Facebook ad campaigns
reveal, providing an insight into event activities is very promising.

4. Eurovision Asia

It’s hard to find something that would work better for a spectacular event’s promotion than promo videos. The
promoters of Eurovision Asia, which is the Asia-Pacific version of the world-famous song contest, know the drill.
To attract the maximum number of fans, they took the flavor of Asia, mixed it with impressive show sets and
good music, and voila: Facebook event promotion strategy complete!

15
Takeaway:

If you know that the view of your event will definitely wow those people who you want to attract – go for an
impressive video promo!

5. Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea

People have to know what they stand to gain by attending your event. Or, what changes their contribution can
bring about. Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea, which is an annual charity event cooperating with the Cancer
Council, proves the point.

Takeaway:

Purposeful events evoke sympathy. Don’t hesitate to be direct about the role of an event attendee in your
Facebook ads, and you’ll get driven audiences standing on your side.

Conclusion

Examples of Facebook event promotions prove that audience targeting may be full of creative techniques and a
juicy agenda. Learn from the best and shape your own success!

To simplify your event planning experiences, get started with GEVME. Free of charge, free of trouble!

16