Is it REALLY possible to create, promote and execute an event marketing project for your business for only $150?
Yes.
If you review last Friday’s entry you’ll see examples of both promotions and cross-promotions (which I am calling experiential partnerships.) Using the first two examples:
Attend a food tasting at Restaurant A, and
Attend a trunk shown at Boutique C, and enjoy a WINE TASTING from Bar D with incentives (or BOUNCE BACKS) from both businesses as awards for participation.
Please allow me to propose a sample, small yet effective budget for making these events actually happen. For only $150, you can choose from the following advertising and promotional resources:
Design of electronic flyer: I’d spend no more than $50
Two weeks of Facebook Ads: I’d spend no more than $80
Two e-mail blasts: No more than $50 with the right software, contract
Two SMS text blasts: No more than $50 with the right software, contract
Printing of a small hard copy flyer: No more than $80 with the right vendor, contract
Printing of hard copy posters: No more than $25 at FedEx Kinkos or Staples
Sending staff out to promote the event: No more than $50, or create an incentive program where they are rewarded based on attendance from their list, efforts
Posting the event information on your company web site: Free
Asking staff to post the event information on their Facebook page: Free
Asking staff to Tweet about the event: Free
Asking friends and family to e-mail their own network about the event: Free
Asking friends and family to call their own network about the event: Free
Asking friends and family to text their own network about the event: Free
Asking friends, family, vendors and colleagues to do the same: Free
Posting the event on local media social webs sites: Free
E-mailing relevant media a press release about the event: Free
Asking staff to verbalize the upcoming event to customers and guests: Free
For the mathematical purists out there, I acknowledge in advance that pursuing multiple options above might break the $150 barrier. I acknowledge that even with great vendor contracts for e-mails and texting – a very large database could break the $150 barrier. Let’s remember that we are only talking about $150 here. For many businesses, even $300 is more than affordable, even in a horrible economy.
Truthfully, it will cost no less than THREE TIMES this amount of money for one single print ad in most local daily or monthly publications. It can cost three times this amount of money for ONE DAY for bidding on Google AdWords.
Now let’s talk briefly about ROI. Let’s say you have 75 people show up. Each pays a $10 admission fee to participate. Even if you split the admission totals with an event partner (let’s say a non-profit organization) you net $375 from the gate alone, which is over DOUBLE the proposed initial investment of $150.
Furthermore and perhaps most importantly, people actually show up and presumably have fun, too. Experiential and event marketing programs are inherently designed to yield a primary result of actual attendance or traffic.
Bottom line: your business has means and resources to drive traffic and revenue right now at a very, very small cost – which may even be shared by an event partner such as a neighboring business, a non-profit organization, or a vendor.
"Throw A Party!" Create and implement experiential marketing solutions (aka events or promotions) that are personal and memorable for locals such that you redirect existing and ongoing consumer traffic and revenues to your business or brand.
