When the subject line said “Announcements Concerning EMC World 2009”, I became curious. Is EMC cancelling their user conference?   After all, AIG and Bank of America took a tremendous amount of heat for their sales meetings.   The profitable Northern Trust was recently roasted for its sponsorship of a golf tournament, causing the bank to initiate the return its billion-dollar TARP handout. 

So, is EMC cancelling its event?  No.  It was just a poorly written subject line.  EMC is blasting forward with a welcome reception featuring the Gin Blossoms and a customer event at Universal Studios. 

There are mixed messages about event-related spending circulating in the market place.  As a marketer what are you supposed to do?   Here are a few suggestions.

·         Assess the annual event calendar and rank each event, using current business objective criteria.  Ask practice and sales leaders to participate in this activity.

·         Review contracts and note which can be cancelled, modified or entered into at a later date.  Use your leverage as a participant/sponsor to gain the utmost exposure.  If you plan to participate at a tradeshow, be clear about what will happen to your deposit should the event be cancelled for lack of participation.

·         Check budgets and trim the fat.  Send a lean team, reduce the amount of printed materials and limit internal T&E. 

·         Get the absolute most for your money.  Negotiate hard for extras—speaking opportunities, ads, online exposure.  Create a no-fail, iron-clad plan to manage every aspect of the activity—including follow up.  Maximize every minute you have in front of prospects, partners, customers and the press.     

·         Consider hosting a virtual event.  Virtual events are gaining momentum and acceptance.  Companies are hosting virtual and blended live/online events with terrific results.  For some inspiration, check out the recent Best of Web Virtual Trade Show or Event award winners.

Taking a proactive and inclusive approach to managing marketing events will eliminate surprises and keep the marketing team from being burned.  Events are highly visible activities, and still offer wonderful opportunities for the marketing team to shine.      

This entry was posted on Monday, May 25th, 2009 at 11:02 pm and is filed under Economic conditions, Events, Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.