Why Event Marketing will be THE Marketing Tool of 2018

Event Marketing has had some rough times during the last 10 years. It was one of the first cuts in marketing budgets of brands, during the period of 2007/8/9/10. And afterwards, lots of event agencies and event marketing in general had to struggle to get back in the game. 

But now, event marketing is going through a huge revival. And I even think event marketing will be thé marketing tool in 2018. Let me explain you why your brand should invest in it seriously.

Social Media has been around for a while now. In the beginning it was about sharing a couple of textual status updates and about defining your relationship as being complicated or finished.

But now, thanks to a couple of new features on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc people want to share much more of their experiences on social media. They want to show their friends how amazing their life is. I am not here to tell you if I think that is good or wrong, but I only observe that this is the human behavior of today. And make no mistake, this is not only about the youngsters. People of all ages make photos or films of what they are experiencing right now. As soon as something spectacular happens, it is stunning to see how quickly people take their phones to record it.

There. I said it, something spectacular. Can you feel the link to event marketing already?

As people want to share their amazing experiences on social media, they want to be at amazing experiences. And that's where your brand needs to play a role! You need to create amazing brand experiences through a couple of events, where you invite your target groups. This where you provide them a great time, by storytelling in a subtle way about your brand, by creating stunning decorations, having instragrammable food, serving perfect drinks and showing what your brand is all about.

This should not be expensive! It should just be strongly related to your brand DNA. It's not about money, it's about creativity! Be creative, so that you can reach to the emotional centre of your potential customer.

Let them be amazed, surprised and offer them some fun. 

It is right then that your event will be shared on social media by all your guests. That's called "priming" your event - get your event to be seen by many more people than your guests on the event. 

It's also there that influencer marketing comes in the game. Find out who the influencers are in your market, and invite them to your event. You will see, they will love the personal approach, and they will promote your brand on social.

This way, you will be able to create a Brand Experience. Both offline and online.

That is how you create an amazing ecosystem around your event marketing.

People want to share experiences. And they want to feel the real deal. The real physical stuff. The real taste, the real conversation, the smell of the roses... That is exactly why event marketing will be so important in 2018 and beyond! It's about event marketing and digital marketing that go hand in hand, to rule the world of brands.

Is your brand ready for this amazing new world of possibilities? 

So... That's it! Hope this was useful to you? If you liked this, please share it with your network, share it with your friends. And if you want to connect, please feel free to contact me by e-mail laurent@lapinquotidien.com

Written by Laurent Lootens, owner and Founder of Lapin Quotidien and So-Phi.