I recently had a conversation with a client about their upcoming event and the most effective way to market it to get the message out there. The client, whilst very keen for a new look for the annual event (ie something new, fresh and exciting), still wanted to run the same marketing campaign as they ran last year. Now, whilst last year's campaign was good (in fact it was great!) and was hugely successful, there's a fundamental flaw in any plan to use it again because it was so good and successful - it's the same as last year.

The marketing of an event - in this case, a simple invitation - is the first impression a prospective guest has of your event, and as the old saying goes, first impressions last. If a prospective guest receives an invitation and it looks the same as last year, the first conclusion they'll draw is, "It's the same event as last year - nothing new, I've seen it already - why would I want to go to this again?" All your good intentions quickly disappear into the bin.

In a similar way, having a glitzy, glamorous and/or clever invitation to your event will lead your prospective guests to the one conclusion - it'll be a glitzy, glamorous and/or clever event. Now, whilst this might be true, it's the perception in your guests' eyes that really count - will they see it as glitzy, glamorous and/or clever?

Branding your event is much the same as branding your business - it needs to represent what the event stands for. Therefore, any pre-event marketing needs to represent the event's objectives and the experiences guests will encounter when they attend, whilst also being consistent across the board. So, if you have a new-look event, the branding should also be new-look. That way your guests will be excited and full of anticipation on what they'll actually experience "on the night".

But be careful - don't fill your guests full of excitement if they're going to be disappointed at the event. I recently experienced this after receiving a very clever, multi-level invitation to a product launch, and I have to say I was VERY excited to attend and to see what all the fuss was about. I arrived at the venue to find an event that had been slapped together with a budget that was clearly lack-lustre and quickly brought disappointment to many of the guests (the collective groan as people entered the room was unmistakable!).

When it comes to marketing your event (big or small) stick to one simple principle - match the initial message to the outcome. So, if your event has a new look, make sure your guests are excited about this. Likewise, if your event is glamorous - make the message glamorous too. BUT, if the event falls short of the message, consider either (a) revising the message; or (b) revising the event. Doing this will make walking the fine line of event marketing just a little easier.