How Can Events Contribute to Product Branding and Image - Assignment Example

How Can Events Contribute to Product Branding and Image Evaluate the extent to which are events have now become an established option for companies to market their brands, products and services Introduction In today’s consumer oriented world the marketers need to seize all the opportunity to earn trusts, generate good will and start a relationship with prospective consumers. It is tempting for the companies to stick with marketing tactics which will take least amount of money and time to execute. Every organisation needs to stand out in the crowd and event marketing can help the company in doing that. It can range from large scale international tradeshow, small webinar, or an executive – level private function. Event marketing has now become an integral part of the demand generation mix. Thus a combination of offline and online marketing is important for any company’s bottom line. In the past few decades there has been focus on the concept of event marketing. According to Kotler event marketing is defined as occurrences which is designed to communicate specific messages for target audience but in a broad sense and does not include communications potential of events. In this area many research has been conducted and it includes experiential marketing, lifestyle marketing, public relations, relationship marketing and marketing communications. The idea of event marketing was studied by Lenson and Schreiber in 1994 and it focused on event marketing and lifestyle. This report will discuss about the importance of event marketing for a company. Discussion Types of Events Online events Companies have the option of going for many events which will suit them accordingly. The online events help connect the participants and presenters through a web-based interface. The common types of online events include virtual events, webinars and live streaming events. Such kinds of events usually cost less than in-person events and help them to connect with geographically dispersed target. Webinars These are also known as web conferencing or webcasts and it revolve around presentations, workshops or discussions which is delivered through web and it happens on demand or in real time and last for around 30-60 minutes. Interaction among participants is possible through real time webinars and provides the opportunity of receiving and discussing information on a topic to be presented. Real-time webinars help in interaction among the participants on many levels and which allows attendees to ask questions directly to the presenters. Virtual Events Virtual events allow individuals to participate with each other in a virtual environment but have the feel and look of an offline event. It combines the networking with the educational elements of a conference. Here the consumers visit the virtual booth and meets staff, collect materials and ask questions (Saget, 2006, p. 83). Live Streaming Events These are live events which one can stream to their viewers. Customers can conduct these using a simple webcam. There are many applications like Upstream and Livestream along with other options like Hangouts, Google+ which offers live service to the customers. Live Streaming events operate like a webinar and hence should be promoted accordingly (Cunningham and Taylor, 1995, pp. 123-129). Physical Events These events need physical attendance and interaction to take place in person. Such kind of events needs more investment than online ones. Offline events enable face-to-face interaction which is essential for building long term relationships. Simple events like a personal meeting and handshake can have a prospect on the customer. Tradeshows It is physical gathering of individuals in a particular profession or industry in a forum which typically includes many companies in a specific market. A company can participate in such an event to show off their product or to expand their network (Allen, 2010, p. 115). Conferences These are firm specific marketing events which gather publics for the purpose of delivering information like a user summit. These events are usually bigger than seminars and held by organisations for educational or training purposes. Seminars The term seminars are use to indicate road shows, smaller meetings or filed events. Here an expert shares information with audience in formal, traditional style. Others include filed events or road show event where the companies take the message of the companies to the public or partners or to employees. Breakfasts, Lunches and Dinners These events targets both specific customers and prospects. The number of individuals can be larger with 50 or more attendees or smaller with 6-10 attendees. On large scale, it can include presentations as part of the event (University of Florida, 2012, p. 29). How can events contribute to product branding and image In 2012, National Football League filled the southern tip of Times Square with NFL players to launch the new NFL jersey designs. Again in another event, the Russian models were using the 45th Street Island between Seventh and Broadway Avenue as a fashion runway for Maybelline. These kind of event marketing known as experience marketing is getting importance not just for the entire country but around the world. What started as pretty boys and girls passing samples of candy bars, shampoos, deodorant and snacks has now gained importance and include many extravaganzas at NASCAR, SpringBreak etc. Today experiential marketing as moved from being the edge of the marketing media plate to being the nexus. According to Kerry Smith, the founder of Event Marketer magazine events were previously measured by number of samples delivered and per cost of it. Today traditional marketing is not an effective medium of breaking down defence mechanism of consumers. Face-to-Face marketing has become the best way to connect with consumers. In present day, reaching to consumers is not a challenge but connecting with consumer with. Tactile engagements where consumers can touch, feel, taste the product instead of simply reading it enhances and deepens the relationships. Consumers have found more and more ways to sidestep the marketer media and compel them to take them on streets. Presently the growth of experiential and event marketing is achieving a growth rate faster than the economy. In 2011 it achieved a growth rate of 3.6% in 2011 as compared to 7.8% in 2012 since the communications technology and the social media are now concentrating more on events which drive sales (Hanlon, 2012, p. 1). Through event marketing companies tires to engage with the consumer community deeply so that they can themselves promote the brand. For example Toyota and Jeep created a total interactivity tool. The off-road aficionados took on themselves the task of finding the trail ways and discuss it with other enthusiasts. The Trail Team was an excellent event since it attracted a huge consumer base. The aim of event marketing is to create an experience which is so relevant and engaging that the brand loyalist consumers talks about it with their friends on social media and be a part of the brand work which helps in creating a consistent presence (Schreiber and Barry, 1994, pp. 263-271). Red Bull is an excellent company which makes use of the events for making off-the-grid experiences for its enthusiasts. For example the company uses hosts of Holy Shit tab on the website which features everything from man and his motorbike to CliffDiving Series in Grinstad, Norway. It is difficult to build relationships which are multi-sensory in nature (Gaur, 2009, p. 152). Event marketing is not only about events but the concept is elastic in nature. It creates tactile engagements for people to touch, feel, smell and taste products face to face instead of only watching or reading about it. This helps in enhancing and deepening the relationships. In effect it indicates that the true, authentic and valuable relationships are multi-sensory in nature (Wood, and Masterman, 2008, p. 11). Chevrolet for example created a standalone retail event named Beats by Dyre in Manhatten which sells directly to the customers. In big channel stress thousands of products tires to grab attention, but Beats creates an environment where the consumers look into value proposition. Events like live performances by artists and dj happen and it makes the consumers get connected with them. The audience are not interested in being segmented on the basis of demography or separate category. The consumers prefer to be spoken as an individual. Companies have understood that a live person can connect much quickly with the consumers than digital medium. It is important for companies to connect the experiences of the consumers with the company’s experiences. Once the consumer starts to have share experiences, the company makes mental connection. This becomes a face for the company and it becomes unbelievable powerful. It is important for companies to know the science of events so that they can deliver something tomorrow in a city which is going to be flawless. Marketing companies have peeled back the layers of how fans think about the products and how they surround their brand which opens up new avenues. The companies need to look at how people are behaving and try to go deep into it instead of blindly creating. They need to put focus on experience and moments of truth which drive passion and leaves a deep impression of the soul of brand (Preston, 2012, p. 96). Event marketing which used to be an afterthought is now emerging as the centre of attention because media amplify events which draw attention to them. The companies now create event marketing with the help of social media channels. According to a study, almost a third of all companies use social media with event marketing but only a third of the events is used to promote offers. The companies now want customers to fall in love with their brand attributes and values. He companies now want to link the brand experiences to everyday life of the consumers and thus create a positive mini-memories and associations which can be felt in the brand through brand imprint and brand passion more deeply. The events, effects and all that surround them will keep increasing. For example in 2912, Mountain Dew launched a new flavour in a live event which they converted that into online content and used it as their TV advertising. Through this the companies tries to create lasting memories which goes beyond normal of TV. It is concerned with putting the people together so that they not only share the same wallet purchase but shares kindred values as well. Event marketing is like putting face to face the consumers within the bubble of communal zealotry and joy (Hanlon, 2012, p. 1). Measuring Effectiveness of event Marketing According to report by Association of National Advertisers around 62 % of the marketers report for being satisfied with the ability to measure the return on investment of event marketing initiatives. The most common way used by marketers to measure effectiveness of an event are Return on Objectives (ROO) and Return on Investment (ROI). There are two important metrics which can measure the ROI and ROO of event marketing are social media buzz and media exposure generated. There are other metrics used to measure ROO and ROI which include awareness of brand, awareness of sponsorship of the brand or company, Attitudes towards brand, lead generation, product or service sales, response to sponsorship, product or service sales, TV logo exposure, response of trade or channel partners, entertainment of key prospects or customers, lower customer acquisition cost and response of employees or internal constituents (Nanji, 2013, p. 1). Conclusion Event marketing presently encompasses an important domain for marketers. They need to have face to face interaction with the consumers so that they can connect easily with the consumers. There are many types of events which a business can organise depending on the style of marketing. It can range from online like webinars, virtual events and live streaming event to physical events like tradeshows, conferences and seminars. Through event marketing the consumers can touch, feel, taste the product instead of simply reading it enhances and deepens the relationships with companies. The company tries to promote the brand themselves and engage with the consumers. Many companies now use social media as part of event marketing to increase the brand presence. It is important for companies to recognise that event marketing is not only about events but the concept is elastic in nature. Event marketing helps in enhancing and deepening the relationships. In effect it indicates that the true, authentic and valuable relationships are multi-sensory in nature. References Allen, J. 2010. Marketing Your Event Planning Business: A Creative Approach to Gaining the Competitive Edge. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Cunningham, M. H. and Taylor, S. F. 1995. “Event Marketing: State of the Industry and Research Agenda”, Festival Management and Event Tourism. Vol. 2(3), pp. 123-129. Gaur, S.S. 2009. Event Marketing And Management, 1E. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd. Hanlon, P. 2012. Face Slams: Event Marketing Takes Off. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickhanlon/2012/05/09/face-slams-event-marketing-takes-off/3/. [Accessed on: 22 March. 2014]. Nanji, A. 2013. How Marketers Measure the Effectiveness of Sponsorship and Event Initiatives. Available at: http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2013/12106/how-marketers-measure-the-effectiveness-of-sponsorship-and-event-initiatives. [Accessed on: 22 March. 2014]. Preston, C.A. 2012. Event Marketing: How to Successfully Promote Events, Festivals, Conventions, and Expositions. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Saget, A. 2006. The Event Marketing Handbook: Beyond Logistics and Planning. New York: Kaplan Publishing. Schreiber, A. L. and Barry, L. 1994. “Lifestyle and event marketing: Building the new customer partnership”, Lifestyle & event marketing. Vol. 16 (2), pp. 263-271. University of Florida. 2012. The definitive guide to event marketing. Available at: http://www.ufsa.ufl.edu/uploads/mcda/Marketo-Definitive-Guide-to-Event-Marketing.pdf. [Accessed on: 22 March. 2014]. Wood, E.H. and Masterman, G. 2008. Event Marketing: Measuring an experience?. Available at: http://www.escp-eap.net/conferences/marketing/2008_cp/Materiali/Paper/Fr/Wood_Masterman.pdf. [Accessed on: 22 March. 2014]. Read More