Marketing collaborates with PR to assure that every ticket sells; makes follow-up calls to key individuals for ticket sales; assures that everyone associated with the event has the information needed to sell tickets; works with models, board and committee to fill tables; works with wine & fashion retail partners, and wine societies to promote event; finds creative ways to sell tickets (like hair salons, doctor's offices, etc.); creates incentives for ticket sales; works with chairs on budget. View & Download: Marketing & PR Timeline
Ideas & Inspirations
Learn the Lingo! We have lines and lines of fun phrases for your copy. See these pages
Print Promotion Print posters, save-the-date & rack cards and put them EVERYWHERE: Salons, coffee shops, office boards, gym boards, grocery store boards & checkout registers, etc. Place save-the-date & event ads in magazines. (Try to cultivate a media partnership with the magazine first. See ideas in next section.) If possible, have at least one prominent post-event ad thanking your sponsors.
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Strategy: Cultivate Partnerships Think of all of your current & potential partners and use them to market the event. Possible partners include your host committee, marketplace vendors, local media, event sponsors, etc. Use your partners as promotional outlets. Ask them if you can place posters and promotional cards in their establishments, if they could forward e-mails, distribute materials, etc. Moreover, ask them all for names for your mailing lists!
Possible Partners include:
Your Committees Speak with all committee chairs and have the ask their committee members & volunteers to: Give names for your mailing lists; distribute posters, save-the-date cards, etc.; and also forward all promotional e-mails to their friends and colleagues.
Host Committe The main objective of the host committee is to use their contacts, connections and influence to help promote the event. So make sure you take advantage of this resource!
Event Sponsors Work with your Sponsorshipcommittee to gain sponsors' support in promotion. Ask them to hang posters, keep stacks of save-the-date cards next to their registers, etc.
Event Vendors Work your Marketplace committee to gain vendors' support in promotion. Ask them to hang posters, keep stacks of save-the-date cards next to their registers, etc.
Local Media Contact media in conjunction with your PRcommittee. •Partner with local media outlets to become "sponsors" of your event. This helps you obtain better marketing & PR, and possibly reduce ad costs. The Media Partnership Materials give ideas for approaching local media outlets:
·One month before the event: “ Save the Date/Event Announcement” appears in the magazine ·Month of the event: ¼ page event ad, which also thanks event sponsors ·Pre-event e-blast to magazine subscribers ·Have event listing on the magazine's website calendar ·100 magazines for VIP swag bags ·Gallery of fun event photos in the magazine's “Scene” section (online &/or print) ·Post-event ad thanking event sponsors
Sample partnership idea with a local radio station:
·Ticket giveaways: 1 month before the event people have to call in to spell the names of shoe designers in order to win "sought after" tickets. Great promo!
Sample partnership ideas with a local fashion blogger:
Blogger Tasks (benefiting charity event): ·Pre-event blog post covering either charity launch party or another pre-event ·Promotion of the event through blogger's social media outlets ·Post-event blog post covering actual event ·Mention of the event in any blogger newsletters
Charity Tasks (benefiting blogger):
·Mention blogger on WWS website and social media ·Mention in event invitation ·¼ page in program ·2 tickets to the event
•Recruit Media asContest Judges: The Orlando team had a local fashion blogger judge the Best in Shoe contest. She took pics of the shoes with her iPad and posted the best on her blog. She then announced the winners from the stage. Before the event,she promoted the event to her followers. After the event she provided a lot of post event press. She has 23,000 fans in Facebook! If you don't have a prominent fashion blogger, a local magazine or newspaper fashion personality is an ideal candidate.
•Pitch or suggest stories to local media about your event. This is mainly a PR task. View media story pitch ideas.
Note: If you are negotiating a media partnership, ask for the magazine to provide a stylist to assist the Fashion Committee with the fashion show. Many magazines have stylists in-house, and if they are not in-house full-time, they are often under retainer. This should be requested in the beginning of the negotiations of the partnership.
Send Regular E-blasts!(See Long-Term Event Timeline for schedule) Do this is conjuction with the PR committee. Our graphics department helps you create and also provides templates for:
Market VIP Tickets The VIP tickets are a major marketing incentive. You charge more for VIP tickets, and also sell more VIP tickets. At the Napa Valley event, for two years, they sold 2/3 VIP tickets ($250) and 1/3 general admission ($150). Call the VIP tickets something cute like "Platinum Pump" tickets. Work with your Charity & Event Chair to find great ways to promote these tickets.
Benefits to Market:
• During the fashion show, the VIPs get table seating (round tables along the runway), food and wine service (courtesy of the vintners and Shoe Guys), and a special gift bag. General admission guests receive theater-style seating for the fashion show and they do not receive wine or food service. • Market that proximity to the fashion/auction stage is determined by contract receipt date, so book early for the best seats! • Designate VIP parking areas or valet parking • Distribute special VIP lanyards for people to wear (think backstage passes). One idea is 3" x 5" printed tags on ribbons worn around the neck. • Create special roped off "VIP only" area with a wine & food pairing, and a special wine. • For an upcharge on the VIP tickets, offer special “Girlfriend Section" seating during the fashion show & auction. In Naples, the "Girlfriend Section" was lounge seating on either side of the runway. Each section could hold 12 people. They had their own shoe guy to provide the wine service.
Entertainment
Girls just wanna have fun! All marketing materials should emphasize the fabulous entertainment value of your event!
Lessons Learned
Who's party is it anyway? • Communicate your charity’s mission! At the event mission posters placed around the room help, as do a powerful video and/or speaker to remind guests why they're there.
