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IMC ReportIntegrated Marketing Communications

Discipline

Events and experiential

Meeting people in person or online: live events, virtual events and trade shows.

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Events and experiential marketing meet people in person or online: live events, virtual and hybrid formats, trade shows and brand experiences. They offer depth rather than reach, hours of attention and real conversation, which suits complex sales, launches that need a stage and communities that need a place to meet. An event is also a content factory, and its value is decided by the follow-up.

  • Events and experiential
  • Sponsorship
  • Public relations
  • Email marketing
4 channels carry one message: Events and experiential, Sponsorship, Public relations, Email marketing.

Events and experiential rarely works alone: the disciplines it usually works with, reaching one person.

Start with the 101Events and experiential 101: the whole pictureHistory, how it works, where it is used, what it costs, the rules, its limits and when to choose it, with every claim sourced.Read the 101

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What matters when choosing

  1. A stated objective for each event, and the measure that will judge it.

  2. A follow-up plan ready before the day, so that leads are scored and routed within days.

  3. Content planned from the talks, announcements and photos, for the people who did not come.

  4. Accessible venues, websites and streams.

  5. Suppliers' choices on travel and build, which drive much of the cost and the footprint.

Questions to ask vendors and agencies

  1. What must attendees know, feel or do afterwards, and how will we know?

  2. Who follows up each lead, and how quickly?

  3. Which parts of the event will become content, and who produces it?

Common mistakes

  1. Booking an event with no objective, so that it cannot be judged.

  2. Letting leads wait weeks for a call until they go cold.

  3. Counting heads instead of outcomes.

What it is good at

  • Hours of attention and face-to-face conversation.
  • Consented first-party data collected at the source.
  • Trust built by meeting in person.

What to watch for

  • A high cost per person, and small audiences compared with media.
  • Hybrid formats double the production work.
  • One bad experience is remembered, and data is lost if the follow-up is weak.

How it is bought and priced

Trade shows are bought as space from the organiser, plus the stand, travel, staff and lead-capture technology; conferences can be sponsored, attended or owned outright. Brand experiences are production budgets for venue, design, build, staffing, permits and insurance, often run by an events agency on a project fee.

Typical disciplines

Platforms that fit (3)

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  • EventbriteCovers Events and experiential
    Strong match100
  • CventCovers Events and experiential
    Strong match100
  • BizzaboCovers Events and experiential
    Strong match100