1. Festive Event Management
Subject Code: CEM4103
Lecture 6
Publicity & Marketing for Festive Events
Developed & Presented by :
Roy Ying
Note: Pictures used in this
power point file is for academic
Purpose only

2. Tools in Festive Event Publicity &
Marketing
• Analysis of target audience community
• Traditional mass media
– Media agency vs media contacts
• New online / social media
• Pre-event activities

3. Target audience
It’s the “who” in event marketing
• Age group - media consumption behaviour
– Question: what is the main difference
between a teenager and a retiree?
• Income group – presentation, message
and communication medium
– Question: If you a wine seller, what message
(and where) would you want to market to a
group of millionaires? Would it be the same
for a group of budget-conscious house wives?

4. Target audience
• Place of residence – traveling behavior.
Although HK is small, commuting time is
still an issue, and it’s relevant to marketing
plan
– Question: where would you want to place
outdoor media if your festival is held in Shatin?

5. Discussion
Shatin Lantern Festival
- Who would go?
- Who would not go?
- Who’s their target?
- How to attract target
audience’s attention?

6. Discussion
• This the case of Sha Tin Festival, the
identification of target audience can be as
simple as:
– Local community
– Fans of artists
– People associated with the sponsors and
supporting organizations

7. Discussion
• With target audience identified, what
should be the communication medium?
– Mass media
– Leverage on artists’ popularity
– Communication channels via sponsors and
supporting organizations
– Local community support

8. CASE STUDY 1
It’s a GRAPE Love
Affair

9. •52% between 36 to 55;
•60% household income
over $76,000
•34% household income
over $100,000
•36% reside in the
Los Angeles/Orange County
DMA
•38% reside in Riverside
County
•13% reside in San Diego
County

10. Observation: It looks like a fairly evenly distributed
demographics.
Question: What communication strategy
marketers need to deploy to reach out to all target
audience?

11. Observation: 60% of target attendance falls within
the income range of USD76,000 to USD125,000.
USD
Question: How does it affect the communication
strategy?

12. What is Traditional Media?

13. Still main stream
• Although new media has emerged to be a
very important communication channels,
events are still heavily promoted via
traditional media…

14. From Temecula Valley
Case Study
Print 68.6 million
impressions.
Appeared in 30 publications
– 13 Magazines including
Westways
– 17 Newspapers including
• Los Angeles Times,
• Orange County Register,
• San Diego Union Tribune

15. Five television
shows
• Channel 6 Ruben Galvan
(San Diego)
• Channel 5 Gayle Anderson
(Los Angeles)
• PBS California Life With
Heather Dawson
• Pilot show with news anchor
Jane Monreal “See Jane
Run”
• Broadcast spots highlighting
Festival on NBC, Los
Angeles
• Broadcast spots highlighting
Festival on ABC, Los
Angeles
• Broadcast spots highlighting
Festival on ABC, San Diego
• Wealth TV – Cable in San
Diego

16. 2,250 inches of Printed
publicity in newspapers,
periodicals and magazines.
More than doubled our print
impressions over the
previous year.
NC TIMES & Californian 4
page insert prior to the
Festival and 3 page review
after event
FRONT COVER on Press-
Enterprise Entertainment
Insert week of Festival
FRONT COVER on NC Times
Entertainment Insert week of
Event
FRONT COVER and 4 page
pull out in NEIGHBORS
NEWSPAPER June edition
Full page color cover of event
in Jurupa, Colton and Loma
Linda News

17. What is new media?
• Is this what you think as new media?
Quick question: Which ones are not available in China?

18. Let’s look at some data

19. Let’s look at some more data
• From a survey by HKAIM
– 90% have used social media in past 6 months
– 56% of them have 3-5 accounts
– Types of accounts:
• Social network
• Instant messaging
• Video sharing
• Internet forum
• Blogging
– 46% spend 1-3 hours a day, 39% spend less than 1
hour a day, and 5% spend more than 6 hours a day

20. Comparison among marketing tools
-- from HKAIM survey

21. Meaning for Festive Marketers?
• If your audience can be reached online via
these social media platforms, what should
you as a festive event marketer be doing?
• Let’s look at the Case Study…..What they
have done in 2009 vis-à-vis 2010

22. RADIO TELEVISION
94.7 The Wave Time Warner in Southwest
95.5 Klos Riverside
K-earth 101 Orange County
KOST FM North San Diego
KNX 1070
Melinda Lee Endorsement FIOS/Verizon Cable in
Go-Country Inland Empire
Kfrog 95.1 & 92.9 Orange County
KOLA 99.9 FM Los Angeles
KATY Radio
Q103 NETWORKS USED
FOOD
Smooth Jazz
A&E
KYZY
TRAVEL
KSON USA
KIFM TNT
CNN
PRINT CMT
North County LIFETIME
Times/Californian
Neighbors BILLBOARD
Valley Business Journal INTERNET
OC Digest

23. SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Utilizing
•Facebook
•Twitter
•Blip
•Youtube
•Ping
•4-Square
•Selected Radio Stations
Designed to Drive Fans, Followers & Guests:
•To Sponsors place of Business
•Sign up as a fan, follower for future
communications
•Develop Buzz about Festival before
advertising

24. Pre-event Activities
• Give your target audience plenty of time to “get to
know” your festival
• The audience to your pre-event activities can
give you an indication of how successful your
festival will become
• Use the media wisely to anchor more coverage
so to create a higher level of event awareness
among your target audience

25. This is a competition held prior
to the Festival so to create
public awareness for the wine
who took part in this event. Guest Judge from KTIE 590
“Let’s Dine Out” Allan Borgan
Plus judges from:
• Temecula Creek Inn
• Pechanga Resort & Casino
Winners were announced
• E-blast
• Californian
• Neighbors Newspaper
• KTIE 590 Radio
• KTLA-5 - Television News
• San Diego 6 – Television News
• At Festival
• In Press-Kits given to media attending
event

26. Agenda
• Tools in festive event marketing
• Steps in strategic publicity process
– Pre-event publicity preparation
– Selection of themes to be promoted
– Publication of program book

27. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Event logo / visual • Local tourism agency
• Theme message • Sponsors
• Posters, banners and
• Festive event
signage
website
• Database for direct
• SEO marketing purpose
• Social networking • Program book
• Press • Day one publicity
– Advertising
– Spokesperson
– Pre-event activities

28. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Event logo / visual – necessary if this
event is to be held periodically. Logo
becomes an extension of the festival
• Theme message – sometimes can be
referred to the “tag line” of an event. Eg.

29. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Selection of theme message
– It does not have to be very fancy
– A simple event highlight can do, but it should
be as unique and relevant as possible
– Media needs a headline to publish your news
– Audience needs remember what is the reason
for coming to your festival
– Sponsors needs a reason to pay money to be
associated with your event

30. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Festive event website
– What are the key elements in a festive event
website?
• Festive event background / history / FAQ
• Feature activities / program rundown
• Ticketing information / discounts
• Venue location / dates / opening hours / traffic
• Promotions / video / photo galleries
• Sponsors’ links
• Exhibitor (if applicable) corner
• Contact information (general / media)
• Relevant festival’s exchange links

31. Example – HK Asian Film Festival

32. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• SEO – search engine optimization
• There is no short cut to elevate your search
engine ranking. The following are keys to
success:
– Build content to generate user experience
– Keywords (make sure they are current)
– Provide glossary in your festival
– Provide FAQ
– Exchange links to other festivals or partners
– Festival discussion forum
– Video content / photo galleries / download area

33. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Social networking

34. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Press – most festive events target at the
general public. Mass media (i.e.,
traditional media) is very important.
– Some advertising, but should be targeted
(and to satisfy sponsors)
– Spokesperson is recommended for hosting of
pre-event activities or media interviews
– Pre-event activities can serve as an early alert
to your target audience

35. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Local tourism agency – they can be your
ally in drawing overseas visitors
– The following are not even co-organized by
the HKTB, but they are heavily promoted in
overseas market by HKTB

36. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Sponsors – apart from financial
contribution, they also add to the publicity
of your event

37. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Posters – for pre-event marketing
purposes. Usually they are placed in
outlets where your tickets are sold or in
offices of your partners
• Banners and signage – onsite event
collaterals for branding, and fulfill
sponsors’ entitlements

38. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Database for direct marketing purpose
– Common sources of database
• Past visitors to your festival
• Your festive event partners’ contacts
– Members of associations or clubs
– Subscribers of magazines
– Uses of online portals
• People who have registered with your festive
event’s websites
• Next step is to design a “call for action” e-
mail campaign to encourage attendance

39. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Program book – It’s a useful tool for:
– Serving as a prime location for sponsor’s
messages
– An informative reference for visitors, which
helps alleviate pressure on info counters
– Advertisement for future events by organizer
– A potential revenue generator (i.e., coupons)
– Update on event rundown
– Useful contacts

48. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Day one publicity
– Most cultural events last only one day, it is
important to generate media interest on the
event day
– For commercial festive events, they usually
last a few days (i.e., film festival, food & wine
festival). Day one is most important.

49. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Notes in press release
– Press releases ought to be balanced with
organizers, co-organizers, sponsors and
event highlights.

50. Steps in strategic festive publicity
• Reporting of media success

51. Class Exercise
• Suppose you need to produce a festive
brochure to be handed out to each
attendee to the festive event that you are
working on for the group project, how
would you plan the table of content?
• Please nominate a representative from
your team to present in front of other
classmates.