Marketing and PR for Events

This article discusses various marketing and PR tools for events, including sales promotion, advertisements, public relations, and personal selling. It also covers the inverted triangle model for writing press releases and the marketing planning process for events. Additionally, it explores the reasons why companies sponsor events and the ethical considerations event organizers should keep in mind when accepting sponsors.

Marketing and PR for Events 1
MARKETING AND PR FOR EVENTS
Student Name
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Professor Name
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Marketing and PR for Events 2
Question 1
Sales Promotion  This is a consumer-oriented tool that encourages sales through inducing
various marketing activities on direct consumers so as to allow them to
act quickly on either making repeat purchases or more substantial
purchases. Besides, sales promotion includes marketing activities that
aim to add value to products or services for a short period in order to
stimulate sales (Todorova, 2015, pg. 371).
 This promotional tool is composed of short-term incentives including
premiums, loyalty programs, coupons, price reduction, samples,
contests and mail-in offers (Promotion Mix, 2018). The incentives only
act as supplements and not substitutes for the benefits acquired from the
product.
 In events, sales promotion can be promoted through giveaways such as
free tickets or free promotional goods such as t-shirts or caps. These
free giveaways draw people and entice them to attend particular events
or do something since people love the feeling of acquiring things for
nothing. Giveaways have a positive impact on events.
Advertisements  This is a form of marketing communication that involves paying in
order for a message to be disseminated to many people at one time
regarding a brand (Promotion Mix, 2018). Advertisement seeks to
persuade or encourage a large audience to take a particular action.
 The message or idea in question may be disseminated through print
media, televisions, radio, videotape, web page, billboards or posters
(Sales and Marketing, 2018). Also, advertisement adds value to the
products, and the advertiser has control over the content being
advertised.
 In events, deciding on the type of advertisement to be employed is
crucial and different aspects should be considered. First, identifying the
audience to attract. Secondly, investigating the demographics to be
reached by the advertisement is also crucial (Hoyle, 2002, pg. 44).
 This is because marketing executives promoting larger events may
require broadcast media in order to reach both international and
national audiences. On the other hand, local events can be advertised
through local flyers or newspapers.
Public relations  It involves communication that is purposed to promote an
organization’s image or products through noticeable or measurable
effects (Todorova, 2015, pg. 371). The primary objective of public
relations is to influence public opinion or achieve an understanding

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with an audience.
 It promotes the value of an enterprise. Public relations may include
elements such as news conferences, publicity, and press releases. The
goal of public relations may vary depending on the role it plays. For
example, the creation of brand awareness, offsetting of negative
publicity or displaying the association of sponsors in an event (Hoyle,
2002, pg. 46)
 In events, public relation is a crucial aspect since it achieves something
advertisements, sales promotion or personal selling can’t achieve. This
is because it drives acceptance, cooperation, and understanding on the
audience in order to participate in an event. Public relations also assist
in discovering partner marketers who aid in marketing an event.
Personal selling.  This promotional tool seeks to achieve a personal presentation of ideas
to a client hence being able to persuade the client to make a purchase
(Todorova, 2015, pg. 371). This form of marketing acts as a support for
the other forms of the promotional mix while being supported by them.
 It is considered the most effective tool for creating buyer convictions
about an idea or product. Its relationship oriented since it seeks to
achieve a long-term commitment. In events, this tool can be useful in
certain settings. For example, when an agency coordinates an event, this
becomes an opportunity for personal selling of various brands to
different clients hence achieving the objective of the event.
Question 2
The inverted triangle plays a crucial role in presenting the essential elements of a story at
the beginning of a document (Inverted Pyramid, 2018). This model can be considered when
writing press releases for events since it allows the skimming of the most relevant information.
In writing a press release for an event, I would adhere to the following inverted triangle model
structure;
a) Main facts.

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In the introductory paragraph, I would include the critical information I would wish to share.
In this paragraph, I would highlight what the purpose of the event is, where it would be, when it
would be and lastly what my target market is.
b) More detail.
In the subsequent paragraph, I would add more information that expands on my introductory
paragraph. For example, I would highlight why the event is a must attend to the group. This
would build up my key information for the event.
c) Quote
I would then quote the company or individual organizing the event so as to give credibility of
the event. This would make the press release more personable.
Figure 1.1 Source: https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/external/news/publicising/how-to-write-a-
press-release/inverted-pyramid/
d) More detail.
Then I would provide more information on the quote. For example, I would highlight what
people are to expect from the event and how they can benefit from it.
e) Quote

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On this part, I would highlight more themes and ideas to be addressed in the event in order to
expand on the points pointed out earlier. For example, specific themes involved in the event so as
to provide a clearer image to the people attending the event.
f) Additional comment.
On this point, I would summarize what has been presented above with an addition of some
comments of any information I might have omitted. It acts as the conclusion of the press release.
g) Optional bio
Including an optional bio would be essential since it provides credibility of the person writing
the press release (Zhou and Zhao, 2018, pg. 53). Elements such as academic background and
events interests would also be crucial. In writing the press release, I would add the optional bio
due to the relevance of the event.
Question 3
Marketing planning refers to the process of analyzing marketing situations for the
purpose of developing, implementing and controlling marketing activities in order to achieve
objectives (Saget, 2006, pg. 121). Since the market situations tend to be harsh due to the
changing business environment, advanced planning of the marketing is crucial to every
organization in order to provide value to consumers. The marketing plan process for an event
includes four distinct elements, and they include; goal setting, situation reviewing, strategy
formulation and implementation.
1. Goal setting.
Understanding the purpose of the event is of crucial concern. The goal setting process
opens the option to think about different questions. For example; who is the target audience?
What is the profit margin expected? Does the marketing plan for to the purpose of the event?
This process lays the groundwork for the event (Tay, 2018). Besides, this step of goal
formulation should utilize the SMART format of identifying and achieving objectives. This
means that the objectives need to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-specific
(Du et al., 2018, pg. 211). After designing the objective of the event, comparing them with the
greater vision of the marketing plan would be essential since it will aid in shaping the final plan.
In designing the goal of the event, I would consider the following areas;
a) Who is the target group is?
b) Who will in the management aspects of the event?
c) Which marketing messages may be effective?
d) Who will acquire the feedback?
e) Most relevant information to be shared?

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f) Will the event have any impact?
2. Situation reviewing.
Before setting up the event, determining what is available or what you have is of crucial
concern also. For example, one can use the SWOT analysis tool to determine if planning for the
event can be a success. Besides, this will assist in determining if the marketing objectives are
attainable (Preston, 2012 pg. 55). In this phase of the marketing planning, carrying out a
marketing audit will be key. This will allow the analyzing of the presence of competitors or
market conditions for the event to work out. Therefore, if according to the analysis, the
marketing of the objectives is unattainable, the objectives will be reevaluated (Du et al., 2018,
pg. 213). In this stage, I would consider the following elements in order to analyze the situation
critically;
a) What is the impact of any of the previous event conducted?
b) What reach did the event get?
c) Do I have a proper team to conduct the event?
d) Are the funds required available?
3. Strategy formulation
After conducting the situation analysis, strategizing on the marketing plan will be
significant. The strategies will assist in identifying tactics to be used in approaching the target
audience. The strategies chosen for the event should automatically be flexible and affordable
(Saget, 2006, pg. 69). Different tactics including the marketing mix, market segmentation and
also risks will be considered. The plan must be able to identify effective procedures of applying
the marketing mix tools, segmentation, and other factors in order to reach and influence more
people. In this phase, I will consider the following in formulating the strategies;
a) What will the best promotional medium for the event?
b) Where will be the best location for the event?
c) How will I attain more audience at the event?
d) What budget will ensure the event is effective?
4. Implementation.
In this phase, all steps outlined are put into action. The other steps act as a guide for the
event to be actualized in order to achieve the objectives set (Tay, 2018). However, remaining
flexible is essential due to changes in consumer response, risks, or competitive partners. When
implementing the event, I would consider the SWOT analysis since it would provide the
necessary aspects to consider in case of risks or threats that would lead to failure. Besides, I
would ensure the objectives are achieved hence determining the impact of the event.

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Question 4
Companies might choose events for different reasons. They include;
 Brand awareness.
If a company is able to get in front of a large audience through sponsoring a broad
audience, it would rather sponsor the event in order to display its brand visuals to the audience
who have never heard of the company. The bigger the event, the better it will be for the business
since it will gain more media exposure (Higgins, 2016).
 Repositioning of a brand.
Events are crucial for business since they are able to alter the public perception of a brand
(Higgins, 2016). This allows the consumers to love, cooperate and support the brand hence
helping the business in question to compete better in the market.
 Social responsibility.
Companies desire to sponsor events so that their brand may align with a particular cause
that consumers are passionate about. Businesses want the world to know that they care about
their customers and the community at large (Higgins, 2016).
However, companies might desire various things in order to sponsor the events. One,
exclusive access to sell what they want to the audience. For example, since McDonald's was a
long-term sponsor of the Olympics, they had exclusive rights to sell chips and other products on
the Olympics parks while others were banned (Five sponsorship deals that went wrong, 2018).
Two, the company may demand that their promotional materials such logos, banners and other
materials be structured in a particular way such that their image is enhanced in the event
massively (Grohs and Reisinger, 2014, pg. 1021). Lastly, in case the event hosts some
celebrities, the companies may desire to have access to them in order to promote their brand.
An event organizer should not accept any sponsor due to different moral and ethical
decisions. One, we have age. Different sponsors sponsor events are adult based hence may affect
young people morally (Messner and Reinhard, 2012, pg. 249). Two, we have gender. This is
crucial since equality promotes justice. However, events that seclude a particular gender may be
harmful to the audience. Lastly, we have race. Different races of people should not be
discriminated against through organizing racial-related events. The events should support all
races.

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