As an entertainment technologist you may ask, why is marketing important for live events? Without marketing an event will not have an audience. People tend to spend their earnings on experiences they personally value. Loyalty is demonstrated by repeat purchasing.[I] One example of a live event that is repeatable is pop music. Fans are loyal to an artist and or a style of music. They tend to buy tickets with friends to have a group experience. Marketing helps audiences find value in an event; then the audience will be lured into buying tickets. Social media marketing relies on word of mouth of one consumer to another. An example would be clicking the I am attending an event button, on Facebook. This choice notifies the event presenter and the consumers friends of their intention to attend. A virtual chain of events starting with reading the post, choosing to attend, and then notifying a friend who may also be a fan but is more likely to attend the experience with a friend. A good marketing analyst tracks all the clicks to learn if that specific marketing strategy (the Facebook post is effective.)[ii]Social media platforms are designed to target and engage a variety of people by their profiles. Profiles being defined as different age groups, interests, and accessibility through, phones, tablets, and computers.[iii] In 2017 a study determined that the most popular social media platforms for marketing Coca Cola was Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.[iv]Marketing allows for presale of tickets and an opportunity to collect data about who bought the presale tickets. The information allows the marketing team to update their plan to go after similar customer profiles who may also buy tickets.
Good event producers will analyze a proposed event to determine if the show will sell enough tickets to cover costs and earn a profit. The profit allows the producers to set aside funding for the next event.
Marketing Planning
- When one presents an event, one needs to develop reasons for why the public will attend:[v] Large events such as festivals are important social meeting places. Studies emphasize the important role festivals play in constructing place meanings and contributing to the social, cultural, political, and economic activities of places, particularly in cities.[vi] A good marketing plan enables the attendee to purchase their tickets.
- Why are you producing the event?
- What makes it special?
- How does the event build connections?
- Can you repeat the experience?
- Who is the potential audience?
To start the process, define the event. What makes it unique. Is the experience repeatable?
- Example: A music event. One artist who sings, plays guitar, and presents personnel compositions about life in Brooklyn.
- Write a mission statement. The statement should include specific and measurable objectives of the event. It should be realistic, measurable, and relevant. Look at the City Tech Theatreworks mission statement it is an umbrella over your event.
- A statement that demonstrates the purpose of the event.
- What is the activity?
Example: A music event to expose up and coming artists to a young vibrant audience.
- What are the objectives of the event?
- What does the producer get out of the event?
- What does the performer get out of the event?
- Why is the event good for the audience?
Example: Sell 100 tickets, share profit with artists, fun environment for audience.
- What is the value proposition? The opportunity to go to an event improves the quality of life for the attendee.[vii] Being loyal to an artist or a genre of music allows a person to create a personnel identity with the genre.[viii]This allows them to derive pleasure from the experience.
- Provide a value the customer recognizes. (Relevant)
- Positive outcome for the customer. (Benefit)
- Be worth the effort put out by the customer to buy the tickets and attend the event. (Energy)
- The experience of attending the event should be an opportunity not a liability. (Risk)
Presenter provides (relevancy/ target customer) get (benefits) by only (energy) without (risk).
Example: The concert provides a young audience with an hour of music for a low cost at a centralized location.
- Create an elevator pitch to attract the customer. The spoken pitch has 30 seconds to attract a consumer. Start with a question. include a fact, be personnel, end with a question. The pitch may only be read online but it should be a statement that if said aloud has power behind the ideas and information.
Typical pitch content
- A problem and solution (Value and trust)
- A fun fact (Attention grabber)
- Appeal to emotions (Demonstrated empathy)
- Advocate for your artist
Example: Do you love live music? Billy D is playing live at the civic center next Friday. Do not miss out on your chance to see Bill D live. Do you want to reserve your seat now?
- Determine your Target Audience
The next step is to define the target audience. Break them out into groups by affiliations and age. The more we clearly define the group the better we can target our audiences. Second, we define what the goals are we want to achieve for each group. Third we define the audience technology, what we think each group will view online to find events they are interested in. We want to define our audience, why they want to attend our event, what methods they will use to find the event and what we can do to encourage our audiences to return to experience another event.
Audience use of technology
Look at the list of audience technologies. They are mostly social networking systems. to get the most out of our marketing we need to devise a plan to create social marketing strategies to support our events. It is important to understand the messaging for each age group may not be the same even if it is for the same event.
Make a table with four columns; demonstrating the audience by age/interest, why they would be interested in the event, types of technology they use, and types of apps and software used to view events and buy tickets.
Example
| Audience | Use | Technology | Apps/Software |
| 50-60 yrs old | Find information about events they may want to attend | Cell phone/Tablet | Facebook, Eventbrite |
Marketing Channels
Go to the assignment page and create a set of documents for an assigned event.
[i] Wakefield, K. (n.d.). Team Sport Marketing. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Team_Sports_Marketing/exr1B2ZIBvcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=why+do+people+buy+tickets+to+events&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover
[ii] Shahbaznezhad, H., Dolan, R., & Rashidirad, M. (2021). The Role of Social Media Content Format and Platform in Users’ Engagement Behavior. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 53(1), 47–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2020.05.001
[iii] Shahbaznezhad, H., Dolan, R., & Rashidirad, M. (2021). The Role of Social Media Content Format and Platform in Users’ Engagement Behavior. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 53(1), 47–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2020.05.001
[iv] Kowalczyk, C. M., & Pounders, K. R. (2016). Transforming celebrities through social media: The role
of authenticity and emotional attachment. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 25(4),
345–356. doi: 10.1108/JPBM-09-2015-0969.
[v] Hixson, E. (2014). The impact of young people’s participation in events. Developing a model of social event impact. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 5(3), 198-218.
[vi] Danielle Lynch & Bernadette Quinn (2022) Understanding the influence of place on festival making and artistic production in the local urban festival context, Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure, and Events, 14:3, 242-261, DOI: 10.1080/19407963.2022.2033250
[vii] Hixson, E. (2014). The impact of young people’s participation in events. Developing a model of social event impact. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 5(3), 198-218.
[viii] Havitz, M. E., & Dimanche, F. (1997). Leisure Involvement Revisited: Conceptual Conundrums and Measurement Advances. Journal of Leisure Research, 29(3), 245‐278
