Las Vegas is world-famous for our conventions and meetings. During 2019, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported our city hosted 6,649,100 conference attendees, which was a 2.3% increase from the previous year. Marketing Charts indicates that trade shows and conferences are one of the top-3 sources buyers turn to when researching a vendor’s products and services.
Per the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, tourism, entertainment, and gaming are a key driver of the state’s economy, accounting for 433,405 statewide jobs in 2019, 117% above the national average. “Many of these jobs are tied directly to the meeting and events industry,” shares Edlen’s Julie Pazina, who is a member of the Nevada Commission on Tourism. “While a number of events have moved from an in-person to a virtual component, this is challenging for the many workers in the state whose job is to facilitate these face-to-face meetings and put Nevadans who rely on spending from these events in peril. The hope for many in the events industry is that the appetite for face-to-face interaction will be greatly increased once conventions and large meetings safely return.”
For the sake of this article, special events can be large or small, business casual to formal, and inside or in the great outdoors. Pre-COVID-19, most events were face-to-face; yet now, planners are leaning into virtual online sessions. And these are a critical part of any marketing strategy in getting airtime with clients, potential customers, donors, partners, vendors, influencers, and even coworkers.
For not-for-profit organizations, fundraising galas are successful events that raise critically needed support for important causes. Las Vegas fundraising expert T. Clay Buck, CFRE, says, “Special events have traditionally been good ways to raise significant revenue for nonprofits, but it is sometimes challenging to turn that into long-term, sustainable support. Fundraising amid the Coronavirus pandemic is challenging us to find new, innovative ways to connect with everyone in the community who cares about nonprofits’ missions—it’s not just about re-creating the same experience in a virtual platform, it’s about how to connect with a donor’s personal values and philanthropy.”
2-4-6-8: Let’s Make Our Event Great!
While the pandemic has made large-scale, in-person events impossible, planning virtual and in-person events still rely on similar principles. Here are some considerations to make your event a win:
See the entire playing field. There is a saying that goes something like this: “Don’t create your special event in a vacuum,” which rings true on multiple levels. One of them is that the tradeshow, gala, or online launch event shouldn’t be the end-all-be-all of a marketing plan. It is one portion of a carefully crafted strategy, which should also include strong branding, value proposition for your target audience, and communication throughout both traditional and digital channels.
Suit up the right team. Along the same lines as the above “planning in a vacuum,” one shouldn’t get going without the right players involved from the beginning. And players can be on your team, vendors, partners, and your targeted attendees. Leveraging an audience matrix as a part of your planning strategy can be a critical tool for executing a big Zoom meeting or virtual fundraiser.
Get the game plan right. The audience matrix is a visual way to document a compelling value proposition to each person or group you are targeting, and the message will and should be different for each. It is also a big part of the “five Ws and bonus H.” By determining the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of your special event, you will have an easy blueprint for crafting a compelling agenda and energetic environment.
Marketing is more than a commercial break. Once your event details are set, it’s time to communicate with your attendees. And like any marketing strategy, consider multiple ways to chat about your conference or fun run within different channels. A well-designed mailed invitation followed up with a personal email can be two ways to share your message; another is a social media strategy that highlights unique aspects of the event.
Like professional football, event planning is both an art and a science with a healthy dose of strategy. As with anything, practice, planning, and post-game review can make any novice planner a well-rounded player.
This post was originally written by Shan Bates-Bundick for the Vegas Chamber’s August 2020 Business Voice magazine. Click here to view the original article.