According to a 2012 study by the Event Marketing Institute, 58% of event marketing participants purchased the marketed product after the event, and 86% of these consumers became regular customers. With those kinds of results, what is event marketing? And should you incorporate it into your marketing strategy?

Here’s one definition of Event Marketing:

Event marketing is a promotional strategy that involves face-to-face contact between companies and their customers at special events like concerts, fairs, and sporting events.

I’d expand on that definition to include non-sales goals such as fostering goodwill with clients and building loyalty. You may have your own definition.

Types of Events

Here are just a few of the events you may employ in  your strategy:

Auction, Awards, Breakfast Briefing, Celebration, Class, Conference, Convention, Debate, Exhibition, Fair, Fashion, Show, Festival, Tasting, Forum, Hackathon, Immersive, Interview, Networking, Panel discussion, Presentation, Product Launch, Q&A Session, Quiz, Rally, Reunion, Ribbon Cutting, Roast, Roundtable, Treasure Hunt, Seminar, Book Signing, Symposium, Competition, Walking Tour, Workshop

In the debut of “Marcia’s Medleys,” featuring guest Jackie Egidio, we discuss the elements of successful event marketing accompanied excerpts from “Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook.” It is evening radio, after all!

If you prefer to jump around the broadcast recording to the marketing discussion, here’s where you can find the key points: