The changing face of Event Marketing

Sean Williams November 2, 2011

Flow for the hour

• Introduction

• The Canadian Digital Landscape

• Some interesting examples

• Going forward

Who is this guy?

• I’ve been in marketing for almost 20 years

• Done the ‘big’ agency thing (i.e. Leo Burnett, Dentsu, etc.) and worked for companies in marketing/sales roles (i.e. Nikon and Molson)

• Set up ‘marketing consultancy’ business in 2007

• Clients in retail, tourism, automotive, higher education, telecommunications, and of course, events

• Offers strategic counsel, as well as a variety marketing and communication services

• Holistic approach with endless resources

What I’m hoping to achieve this afternoon

1. Put forward some relevant information regarding the ‘digital landscape’ in Canada

2. Highlight some ‘industry’ references

3. Offer some advice and suggestions moving forward

Claim

I’m happy to report that this is a compilation of ‘Canadian’ specific data from a variety of sources. This compilation of data means the information may not always correlate.

Also, additional sources of ‘proprietary’ or custom data should be sought to confirm numbers given here before using them for business planning purposes.

The digital world

http://www.youtube.com/user/Socialnomics09#p/u/5/x0EnhXn5boM

What’s happening in Canada

We’re a pretty active bunch... online

We are social beings

Usage just keeps going up

How things look based on age

Where we converse, share, and view

We LOVE facebook

Over 16.5 million

Canadians are on

2011 Checkfacebook.com

It’s our top online destination

It’s not just for young people

Every month, 71% of Canadian

Internet users visit

Canadians like video too

2011 comScore

We consume a lot

Monthly activity with video

We tweet...

2010 website-monitoring.com

...but it’s not for everyone

2011 Little Fish, Big Pond Blog

Social networks are key news sources

Apr. 2011 CMRC

It’s also where we engage and ‘like’

48% of Canadians with social networking profiles ‘like’ or ‘follow’

at least one brand or company

Of this group, they follow an avg. of 6.7 brands

2011 Ipsos Reid

We also like our ‘smart’ phones

2011 Quorus Consulting

Q4. Do you have a regular cellular phone or do you have a smartphone? Base: All respondents; n=2,003

What do we use them for

2011 Quorus Consulting

Q9. Which of the following activities do you do on your cell phone? (Prompted questions)

We still enjoy ‘traditional’ media

‘Locally’, we’re engaged by TV and the internet

Television Radio Newspaper Magazines Internet Out of home

61.3

6.8 7.1 8.3 11.4

1.7

Q: Which ONE of the following media carries advertising that you believe to be the most engaging?

Source: BBM Analytics OmniVU May 2011 – Atlantic Canadians 18+

What does this all mean

• People are connected most of the time

• Social networks are here to stay

– They’re more than just ‘social’ networks

– If you can get them to ‘like’ you, you’re in

• It’s not just facebook

• Video, video, video

• Mobile devices are ‘smarter’ and aren’t

just for talking

• Traditional media is still relevant

Industry examples

Juno Awards

Juno Awards

• One of Canada’s top events

• In all key social media channels with an ongoing presence

• Is for everyone and embraces everyone – Has a lot of facebook posts and retweets

• Wasn’t too active on facebook or twitter during 2011 event

• Site doesn’t feature social media buttons (under ‘Media’)

Bust a Move

http://www.youtube.com/user/bustamovehfx#p/u/36/AQg98H-VwBs

Bust a Move

• A relatively new event to the Halifax market

• Arranged a unique ‘launch’ event that went viral – Over 28,000 views of one video

• Used social media to generate PR and ‘word of mouth’

• Event continues to evolve and uses a variety of social media tools

• Halifax website could be more engaging

Halifax Pop Explosion

Halifax Pop Explosion

• Looking to elevate their presence in the market

• Active and integrated across all digital channels (i.e. social media)

• Reported ‘real-time’ during event

• Garnered a lot of ‘talk’ and saw a high level of interaction – Posted a follow-up survey

• Achieved great results this year – best so far

Going forward

Why should you use social media

• An effective tool to add to your marketing mix

– it’s one of many pieces

• Tools are free – the thinking and resources

cost money

• Get a read on people – pre, during and after

event

• Gage your success and/or reputation

• Support stakeholder involvement and

sponsorship activation

• Connects to those that want or plan to attend

How to use social media

• Chose the right channels (don’t tweet for the sake of tweeting)

• Include some sort of promotional twist • Sign-up or register ‘socially’ • Report ‘real-time’ • Engage those not in attendance • Keep going... after the event • Ask for input

Now what?

Talk to your ‘customers’ – find out how best to engage them

Map out a plan – strategy, goals, content, tools, resources,

tracking, KPIs, etc.

Don’t disregard the past – there are tools you’ve used in the

past that have worked

Start slow – don’t overwhelm yourself with social media ‘toys

and tricks’

Listen, engage and act – the worst thing you can do is

nothing

Revisit and adjust – if it’s not working, change it

Thank you sean@williamsmarketing.ca facebook.com/swmgroup @swmgroup linkedin.com/in/seanwillliams Google+ (Sean Williams) seanwilliamsmarketinggroup.tumblr.com