Event marketing is the big trend everyone is talking about. In fact, 41% of marketers call them the most effective marketing channel and 77% of marketers are using experiential marketing as a key piece of a brand’s ad strategy. 

While it’s easy to create an event for marketing purposes, creating the right event can be a bit more tricky. We’ve already discussed how to choose the right event type and which KPIs to track. Next, we’ll tackle finding the right venue based on your marketing goals and event type.

The venue you choose sets the stage for your marketing event. Sure, you could just create a standard booth at whatever relevant trade show is closest to your HQ, but is that going to give you the most impact for your efforts? We believe finding the right venue is vital to running a smooth event marketing campaign. Here’s how.

Choosing the Right Event Venue to Align with Your Marketing Goals

Learn from Past Events and Customer Demographics

The first and most important step is to look at the data you’ve gathered from past events. Review what went well and what went poorly. Hopefully, you’ve gathered feedback from your attendees to help guide you. Consider how space was used at these events and if it could have been configured more effectively. Did you have enough room to accomplish your goals? Was there space for networking? Was the space quiet enough for easy conversation? Did you have room for one-on-one meeting spaces? 

Next look at data from customer demographics and social media. Does your brand have a large following on the east coast? The west coast? Middle of the country? Maybe you’re gaining traction in a specific city or region. Or perhaps there’s a market you’ve recently broken into where you’d like to spread the word a bit more. When choosing where to host your event, be strategic. Traveling to a different city on the other side of the country might be worth the cost and effort if it’s done strategically. But picking the wrong host city could mean an event that fizzles before it even begins. 

Plan Your Space 

Once you’ve reviewed all the data available to you, it’s time to set out a space plan. Be sure to consider the various ways space will be used and the needs of your event. The information and feedback from past events should help. 

But more than simply laying out an event space, you’ll need to consider the design of the space. Its feel, smell, lighting, textures, and comfort are all relevant. You want your guests to feel welcomed and to associate positive experiences with your brand. A booth close to the aroma of food stalls might be too distracting and split visitors’ attention. Poor lighting might make it hard to see your materials. Uncomfortable seating (or none at all) might mean customers spend less time at your event than you had hoped for. 

Finally, you want everything to be on-brand. A fashion brand activation event should look very different from a tech event. Luxury brands should have a different feel than their less extravagant cousins. Color, texture, decor, and other aspects of design should all work together to tell the story of your brand.

Consider Convenience

The last thing you want is for your event to be difficult to find or otherwise inaccessible. Is there ample parking available nearby? Can attendees get there by public transit or rideshare easily? Are there rooms available for guests coming from out of town? Will guests feel comfortable in the neighborhood? Consider the environment around your event as much as inside it. 

Inside, you’ll want to make your event easy to navigate and simple to understand. Clear signage, maps, and event staff who are ready and able to help are all helpful to guests. Schedules should be easy to read and follow. There should never be a time when attendees don’t understand where to go or what they should be doing. 

Finally, don’t force attendees to waste time standing in lines. Instead, manage waitlists with technology. A waitlist app like NextMe can keep track of appointments and queues efficiently while allowing guests to make better use of their time. Not only that, the technology allows you to present marketing information to interested parties without the need for them to download anything. And it will collect data and create custom reports for your use in planning your next event, so you can improve on your efforts year over year.