"At the dais sat nine women: four California wine country powerhouses, four of Kentucky's legendary hostesses and the ninth, a gracious and British-accented moderator. The audience, an invitation-only group of women clad in Hermes scarves and David Yurman jewelry, listened intently as the panel followed the lead. The discussion began by highlighting the differences, and similarities, of the high-stakes social and entertainment scenes of the panel's respective areas of the country — and the business event was well on its way.
The discussion, aimed at marketing a distinctive line of merchandise for "gracious, elegant living," was offered by L. V. Harkness. Following a trend in event marketing that has increased its share of many marketing budgets over the past few years, L. V. Harkness owner Meg Jewett extended invitations to a targeted group of local women in an effort to build and reinforce the image of her new lines. Californian Sandra Jordan, seated on the dais, discussed her new line of elegant, silver-plated serving and table pieces, some including pieces of horn, pointing out that they reflected the casual hospitality of wine country entertaining. Anita Madden countered with julep cup quips from the tales of her famous parties. And it was Jessica Bell, hostess extraordinaire of Jonabell Farm, who best represented the Southern disposition on entertaining with her comment, "We do the duck thing - appear calm and cool on the surface, paddle like hell underneath." It was lifestyle branding at its best.
The power and benefit of events like these are undeniable. "Ads push. Experiences engage Good event marketing campaigns reflect the client's core values," wrote Lisa Hurley in Hitting the Street, published in November 2006. According to the EventView 2006 study from Meeting Professionals International and George P. Johnson Co., "Eighty-one percent of businesses can't be wrong. That's how many companies are turning to event marketing to make a meaningful impact." It is an effort to put the product and the consumer together. This fifth annual study indicated that, although the percentage has slightly declined over the last five years, 24 percent of marketers still believe that event marketing delivers the best return on investment — well ahead of Web marketing, its closest competitor, at 18 percent.
Lifestyle publication Real Simple took its event to the masses to market its message. To highlight its "Holiday Solutions" theme, it set its event in the mall. For one month, custom living room scenarios were set up in a number of malls featuring the topics they focus on — entertaining, style, beauty and gift giving — and offering an experience, gift or idea to their target market of female shoppers. The topics were brought to life, as were the advertisers. Items displayed were available for sale at many of the mall's stores. According to reports on the results, more than 100,000 consumers visited the events, and the coverage on television created roughly 330,000 more broadcast impressions.
The product and the consumer had been formally introduced, and the result was rewarding.
Lexus believes in the event process as well. After years of the "Taste of Lexus" campaigns, a refreshed approach featured a marketplace that offered upscale menus, including crab cakes with lemon kiwi relish, mini pastries, charred pepper and mozzarella on crostini. The efforts relayed "quality versus quantity," and the lifestyle branding continued on with spa treatments and golf instruction being featured. When the numbers were tallied, 40,000 visitors in 12 U.S. markets participated in the events, twice the number from the year prior. A third-party analysis gave the campaign a 165 percent return on investment.
As the L. V. Harkness luncheon wound down, the East and West coast speakers compared notes and prepared for the evening's events. A food and wine pairing was planned, and offered would be wines from California's Kendall-Jackson winery, whose CEO, Barbara Banke, stepped away from the dais and spoke with Kentucky's own Phyllis George. Founder and CEO of J. Wine Company Judy Jordan would have wines included in the event as well. That evening, another list of invited guests would have the opportunity to sample wines and recipes from the California vineyards, as well as experience the execution of a strategy that has proven successful in the marketing efforts of a growing number of businesses. Taking their cue from the successes of larger companies, smaller concerns are finding their own success with similar plans and directing more of their marketing budgets to events that directly engage their target markets.
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