Our Digital Marketing & Events Enthusiast Annie is here to share her advice and key takeaways from her exciting time during university placement working on a recent event management project.
From the get-go, my placement immersed me into agency life. I was trusted to lead on a key client project with the support and guidance of Managing Director, Cerri. With a keen interest in events and how to use digital marketing to make them a success, I was over the moon to deliver event marketing support for “The Spirit of Africa” – a fantastic evening of Africulture delivered by the awesome Africulture Network local charity in collaboration with the International School Aberdeen (ISA).
This was a priceless opportunity. I’m all about events, especially when it comes to music and entertainment, so getting involved in the branding, planning and promotional process has always piqued my interest. You can imagine how buzzing I was to take charge!
Before diving into the nitty-gritty of event management, we had to develop an engaging brand that had meaning and resonated with the target audience as well as establish a solid marketing strategy to define clear goals and objectives and how we would deliver. It was vital to spread the word about the new local charity and their first ever event so we could secure sponsorship, supporters and of course sell tickets. With a creative, robust strategy in place, it was time to implement.
I found my days flying by as I worked alongside our Creative Lead to whip up sponsor packages, design snazzy event materials including programmes, invites, and flyers, put together an epic promotional video, and even build a slick website – incorporating some SEO magic. Once the essential materials were complete (the client loved everything by the way ), I hopped on the social media train and developed a diverse, creative schedule to plan and draft content. And let’s not forget about the email marketing campaigns on Mailchimp, keeping subscribers in the loop with all event updates.
This project was a real game-changer for me in terms of skill development. I learned how to organise and manage my time effectively, juggling tasks and prioritising my workload like a pro. To make the event sound fresh and exciting, I had to tap into my creative side and bring our visions to life through captivating content that truly celebrated the rich and diverse culture and traditions of Africa.
This whole experience opened my eyes to just how much effort and work goes into managing an event and promoting it effectively. Marketing is essential to the process, as it’s the driving force behind event success. It’s mind-boggling to think that without proper marketing, convincing the audience to attend or support the event would be very challenging.
I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been offered this fantastic opportunity during my placement. And to make it even more epic, I have now joined the team part-time, which allowed me to be involved in every step of the project, from start to finish. This has helped me grow and excel in so many ways, and I’m beyond excited to dive into similar event projects in the future…. watch this space, we may have a certain birthday event celebration of our own coming up soon…
My key takeaway from working on this project is how important it is to have a well thought out promotional strategy if you want to maximise attendance and raise awareness in the months leading up to your event. The following are other important takeaway’s that will help you achieve your event management goals…
Key Takeaways:
- It is important to produce a range of materials that clearly articulate the event value propositions, highlights and vision via well-crafted copywriting for better outcomes.
- A well-thought-out social media schedule helps you to plan ahead engaging content to reach the right audience and ensures that you highlight all the benefits your event has to offer. Keep them interested!
- Another essential aspect of event marketing is creativity. Giving your event a creative subject and making sure the content is attention-grabbing will boost the event’s presence and raise the likelihood that people will want to attend.
- Ensure that your event landing page is user-friendly by optimising it for search engines to draw visitors who might not be familiar with the brand and/or to ensure that those looking for it can find it.
- Short videos can be very effective, especially when used on social media platforms to increase engagement.
Starting the event marketing process as far in advance as possible helps your event build a better brand presence and eventually reach a larger audience.
