Thinking Up a Great Event? Remember the Memory
What is great event marketing?
A simple yet sophisticated event my wife and I attended years ago comes to mind. The sponsor, Ameriprise, rented out building space and held a wine and chocolate tasting/pairing event. We were not sure what to expect, but, wow, were we pleasantly surprised.
The night’s presenter was Maximillian Reidel, who is now president of Reidel, the premier wine glass maker. He started out the evening with some good-natured humor and then got down to business.
He spotlighted several different kinds of wines – Cabernets, Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, just to name a few. He showed us how to drink them. And he showed us which glasses to use for each. I never thought the type of glass would influence the taste of wine, but, boy, was I wrong.
The big reds tasted much better when aerated and served in big glasses. The whites tasted better chilled and served in smaller glasses. And it was incredibly noticeable when wines were served to us in “jokers,” which were small Styrofoam cups.
Then Reidel paired the wines with certain types of chocolates, courtesy of Lindt. The results? C'est magnifique!
We left the tasting with swag, which included Reidel wine glasses, boxes of chocolate – and, most importantly, a great memory.
Never underestimate the “fun” factor
People don’t want to just sit and listen at an event. They want to be part of the action. That is exactly what happened with an Octoberfest event that my wife and I once attended. We didn’t know what to expect then, either. What we got was a taste of Bavaria in Addison, Texas. People wore lederhosen. The smell of bratwurst floated through the air. Authentic German music played in the background.
Once the “bier” tent opened, the Paulaner beer started to flow. The whole night wanted to make you jump up and dance to the sounds of accordions. And I never thought I’d want to dance to accordion music!
As with the Ameriprise event, this one worked because it was professionally staged. But that is table stakes when it comes to putting on a great event. Addison, Texas’ Octoberfest was just a fun – and, yes, memorable – experience.
It is hard to think of a better way to promote brand loyalty and drive sales than through great events. Ameriprise? We were already clients – but happy ones. Paulener? We hadn’t had it before – but that changed real quick.
Making World Cup memories
Great events are hardly restricted to food and drink. Though let’s face it – if food and drink are around, it can certainly liven things up.
My marketing and communications agency, Clients First, is driving a grassroots initiative that we are calling Team DFW and that is designed to help local bars/restaurants capitalize on the World Cup. To the extent they are planning related events before/during the tournament, we can help them promote them. More specifically, we do the PR with the local media, bring local social media influencers on board and help turn what will likely be a healthy number of new customers into regulars through digital marketing.
While 3.8 million people are projected to be coming to town for the tournament, they will leave when it's done. But for those who live in DFW, they won’t. The 14,000 Argentinians already living in the Metroplex are among them. Hoping some of them will think of one’s bar as their go-to spot for World Cup watch parties – and other events in the future? Consider hosting an "Argentina Week" event prior to the tournament.
Will World Cup-themed events and watch parties be memorable? One would think. The World Cup is, after all, the world’s most popular sporting event. So yes, think professionally staged. Yes, think swag. More than anything, though, think memory-making.
You pull that off, they’ll come back, again and again. With or without the chocolate.
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