The Ultimate Guide to Event Marketing for Business in 2025 At the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, my previous employer was just weeks away from its annual conference, and our event marketing efforts were in full swing. After a year of promotion, we never expected our plans, let alone the entire world, to get shut down. But if I learned anything during that time, it’s just how valuable those events were. While we can see people’s faces through video calls and hear their voices over the phone, there’s something about being in the same room IRL (or in real life, if you will) that just hits differently. And that’s why event marketing is so powerful. Today, 80.4% of businesses hold in-person events as their most impactful marketing channel. In fact, Forrester found that 48% of teams say events are more important today than before the pandemic. Conferences, galas, tradeshows, happy hours — they’re all different, but they all help businesses better understand and connect with their audience and customers. According to our 2024 State of Marketing Report, 16% of marketers plan to try experiential marketing this year, while many others are increasing their event budgets or trying to get more out of their event marketing strategies. If you’re one of them, this guide is for you. (But for the purposes of this guide, we’ll focus on being a host.) Events of all kinds can be considered “event marketing.” You can organize a small roundtable of seven to...

What Is Event Branding? + 5 Examples to Inspire You The look and feel of events changed exponentially after March 2020 as companies moved live events to virtual spaces. But whether your event is online or in-person over the year ahead, event branding is essential to create a memorable experience for attendees. When I joined Adobe MAX 2020, for example, the virtual event felt as close to an in-person experience as possible. The opportunities to learn from accomplished speakers energized me and made me feel connected to the company. That's no surprise, because 91% of people have positive feelings about a brand after joining events. But memorable experiences don't happen randomly — they're the result of thoughtful event branding. Whether you're planning an upcoming virtual conference or outdoor meet-up, it's important to consider the branding behind your event. You want to consider your company's values and essence, yet design a unique, event-only brand that stands out. To host an event that wows your audience and has a real impact on your business, here's what to keep in mind. First … well, what is it? What is event branding? Like a company brand, event branding is made up of many elements including a logo, website, app, marketing materials, stage design, speakers, sponsors, and event swag. Some elements are similar to an organization's brand, but the event brand must stand on its own. Think about how branded events — like Dreamforce, INBOUND, or 29Rooms — are separate yet related to the companies hosting...

What Is a Breakout Session? Having gone to many meetings, I can definitely say that I sometimes get overwhelmed. While I enjoy the content being discussed, I can feel tired and wish for a break to decompress before throwing my mind back into absorbing the information. I’m sure I’m not alone in these feelings, that many of us want to absorb all we can while still having the opportunity to temporarily disconnect and let our minds wander. What we’re looking for is a breakout session, where meeting hosts understand and accommodate for the need to take a break and specifically carve out time for them. This post will explain what a breakout session is, explain how to plan for a successful one, and present ideas that you can incorporate into your next meeting. These sessions are less structured than general meeting sessions, and typically allow attendees to participate instead of simply sitting in the audience and listening. While these sessions can be related to the overall meeting content, they can also focus on unrelated topics. Breakout sessions can happen during both in-person and virtual meetings. The former typically send attendees to different areas of a conference venue, and the latter use breakout room functions native to virtual conferencing tools. These sessions are especially important during virtual meetings, where there is already an element of built-in disconnection as attendees are in their own respective locations. Below we’ll go over some ideas that you can use to incorporate engaging...

25 Post Event Survey Questions to Ask Just like Joey from "Friends," we recognize the importance of giving and receiving in marketing. One of the best things to give and receive is feedback. Without feedback, we would never be able to improve. And even though it's hard, feedback is a great way to measure success. With a post event survey, you'll learn what attendees thought about the event, how they heard about it, and what they enjoyed most. Measuring attendee satisfaction will help you improve your event marketing and figure out what's working and what isn't. In fact, 90% of virtual event organizers use surveys to measure attendee satisfaction. And 80% report that attendee engagement and satisfaction were KPIs used for measuring event success. To design a post event survey, you'll want to ask several types of questions -- from Yes/No, rating, to open-ended questions. Below, let's review the best post event survey questions to ask. 1. How satisfied were you with the event? First and foremost, it's important to ask attendees about their overall satisfaction with an event. You can also ask participants to rate specific things including the venue, date, speakers, vendors, catering, quality of sessions, amount of sessions, and more. This will help you gauge specifically how well you did in each area, but also the overall satisfaction of attendees. This is probably the first and most important question that is asked on most surveys. It's a great starting point for the specific questions...

7 Types of Corporate Events One of my favorite episodes of "The Office" is called Launch Party. During this episode, Dunder Mifflin hosts a corporate party, plus several satellite parties when its website launches. Hilarity ensues. But during your corporate event, you probably don't want to kidnap the pizza delivery person, and you might want to spell launch correctly on the sign. As a business, you probably have several corporate events on the horizon, whether it's a team-building event or a seminar. In this post, we'll learn about the different types of corporate events, plus give your party planning committee a few virtual event ideas. Now, let's dive into the different types of corporate events. 1. Seminars A seminar is an event that's focused on educating people, whether it's your customers or employees. It's similar to a conference or a workshop. A seminar is usually a short event, while a conference might be a several-day event with multiple speakers. On the other hand, a workshop is usually a small, intimate event with only a few registrants. You might consider hosting a seminar as a way to get leads and introduce people to your company. 2. Retreats A retreat can be held to simply bond with your team, or you can sell tickets to customers. This is usually a several-day event with several workshops or seminars to attend. Sometimes the purpose is just to relax, but other times it's to learn, strategize, and plan for the future....

15 Creative Examples of Branded Pop-Up Shops Marketers spend a lot of time trying to nail down abstract concepts. They're tasked with turning brainstorming sessions and comments sourced during focus groups into campaigns that sum up everything about a brand's identity in a neat, tidy, and most importantly, interesting way. But what if a consumer could walk into a room and fully experience your brand with all their senses? Pop-up events offer just that -- the chance for consumers to get up close and personal with their favorite companies in a truly immersive setting. In this article, we'll cover:  What is a pop-up shop? Pop-up shop ideas How to do a pop-up shop How to market a pop-up shop Examples of pop-up shops for inspiration Consumers love the lure of exclusivity, and brands love the unmatched opportunity for experimentation. Pop-Up Shop Ideas Your goals will dictate the type of pop-up experience you want to create and how you'll implement it. 1. Temporary Retail Space If you're transitioning your business from online to brick-and-mortar, a pop-up shop is a way to simulate the retail experience and gain valuable insights into considerations such as operations and demand... without the risk of commitment and overhead. 2. One-Time Event Even if you're not testing the local retail market, an event-style pop-up where the press and...