Paul is technically “the organizer” but he’s not in charge of promotion. Promotion is someone else’s job. Clearly though he has oversight for the area and a tremendous amount of interest. Let’s face it, as organizer he can plan and organize a remarkable event, but if ultimately it is poorly attended, his hard work (and major investments in programming) will be underappreciated. AND without adequate ticket sales, net proceeds will be weak, and that puts next year’s event into jeopardy as well.
The set up….
I want to thank my friend Paul King, Executive Director for Victory Days for the inspiration for this blog post…Perhaps I’ll even get a series of posts out of this thread. We’ll see how far we get on the topic with this post and what remains to be discussed. Your comments will help to guide the future of the discussion.
I want to share the declaration that I’m truly committed to being-of-service to event organizers through this blog site. So recently, when I was experiencing a bout of writer’s block, I reached out to Paul for some problems to help solve. I love to help solve problems so this got my juices flowing.
So here’s our working topic….If Paul’s not the promotions guy, what’s his practical role in successful event promoting?
One of the first things that come to my mind is the organizer’s role in selecting and shaping attractions. Paul is in a unique position to select and shape individual attractions which contain the maximum amount of promotional attributes …I call these promotional attributes Attractor Factors™ and believe they play a practical role in achieving the attendance and ticket sales goals of your event.
To gain promotional perspective, it is useful to divide attendance goals by the number of major attractions and come up with a benchmark number. An attendance goal of 40,000, divided by say 10 key attractions, means you should select and shape each attraction to attract a minimum of 4000 visitors through each special interest group (SIGs).
I did some research for a client once to enhance the Attractor Factors™ for car shows. I learned that a typical community car show will attract in the neighborhood of 3000 visitors. But if you include a cool vehicle available for sale, promote a celebrity appearance, and feature a vehicle from the period that is famous or notorious, you can potentially triple the number of collectors and hobbyists you might otherwise attract. That’s pretty cool! Every weekend, car enthusiasts have many shows to choose from around the region. More of them will select your event, even if it is a bit further away, if you give them enough stand-out reasons!
If Paul increases the Attractor Factors™ of 5 or more of their featured attractions, he just might qualify for the promoter of the year award!
So select some outstanding food and beverage options, because great food always attracts, heap on the hospitality options because you know people love to be catered to, and seek out the kid friendly components that match your event theme because Mom’s buy most of the family entertainment packages and they know what it takes to impress the kiddos.
There’s definitely more to say on this topic so we’ll pick up here next time. Paul and I would love to hear your thoughts so please join in the conversation. We look forward to your comments.
About Linda Sparks
