Outdoor Events & Advance Ticket Sales

Over the weekend I heard a radio spot for an upcoming local event.  Any time I hear or see something event related my ears and eyes take notice. The first half of the radio spot was what one would expect; “come out to a great family event,” date, time, location, etc. But the second half of the commercial was the really interesting part. All of the information in the second half of commercial was dedicated to information on purchasing tickets.  That didn’t make any sense to me. Why dedicate half a radio commercial solely to ticket information?  There is little use in giving people ticketing information if they haven’t been convinced to attend your event.

Think Web Centric
In my opinion all your advertising should lead to your web site.  Think about the process people use today to find out more information on just about anything. If a person is interested in something, they’ll probably go online to get additional information. Integrate people’s behaviors into your event marketing strategy.  Whatever event advertising you’re running should give good incentive to get people back to your web site.  You can use something as “for more details visit our web site (insert web address).”

You Can't Change Their Mind
If I had to redo the radio spot from above, I would have dedicated more time to building curiosity or value about my event to the potential target market. Your event advertising, regardless of how good, is unlikely to change the mind of your target market. I can’t think of any event organizer who has a big enough advertising budget to change the public's mind.  People are predisposed to being interested in your event.  Keep your advertising efforts on those people most likely to attend.

Don't Try to Cram Every Last Detail
Don't overload the listener with details. "Less is More" is applicable to radio advertising. Too many event organizers try to cram every last iota of information into advertising. If listeners take away only one thing from your web site let it be the web address of your event web site.

Here is another article that includes additional advice on radio advertising:

• Your Domain Name and Radio Advertising

Whatever advertising you’re doing, focus on delivering the value of your event before you ask for the sale. You’ll get a lot more people to your event.

Want to get more great info? Check out the articles below:

• Advertising and Marketing that Sells
• Providing Massive Value in Your Marketing and Advertising
• P.T. Barnum on Advertising
• Why Well Planned Events Fail
• Turn Your Event Into an Experience

• The Event Promotion System
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