Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Dan
Louie
! " ! . $ % % . & ' % '
danielklouie@gmail.com
CONSUMER EVENTS MARKETING 101 | 2
INTRODUCTION
Companies
are
slashing
or
eliminating
marketing
programs
given
the
current
economic
environment.
If
your
organization
has
a
sufficient
marketing
budget
to
launch
a
new
product
or
service,
you
are
very
fortunate.
As
the
Consumer
Events
Project
Manager
at
Volvo
Cars
of
North
America,
I
launched
several
new
vehicles.
I
designed
and
implemented
experiential
drive
programs
where
consumers
test
drove
the
new
vehicles
on
closed-‐course
tracks.
Automobile
companies
produce
these
events
to
create
marketing
awareness
and
excitement
that
will
lead
to
future
vehicle
sales.
As
I
was
planning
these
drive
programs,
I
researched
marketing
events
best
practices
both
inside
and
outside
the
automotive
industry.
Unfortunately,
no
definitive
document
existed.
I
thus
created
my
own
consumer
events
best
practices.
The
following
five
principles
have
been
thoroughly
tested
with
much
success.
These
principles
will
work
in
any
industry.
We’ve
all
heard
of
the
four
marketing
P’s
(product,
place,
price,
and
promotion).
Now
we
have
the
five
P’s
for
successful
consumer
events.
CONSUMER EVENTS MARKETING 101 | 3
1
PARAMETERS
CLARIFY THE MARKETING OBJECTIVES
Having
clear
marketing
objectives
is
an
important
first
step
to
produce
successful
consumer
events.
Your
marketing
objectives
are
the
foundation
for
the
event
planning
and
implementation.
The
marketing
objectives
should
be
defined
and
agreed
upon
before
the
project
starts.
You
must
understand
the
project
objectives
and
then
determine
the
deliverables
needed
to
achieve
them.
Many
organizations,
however,
skip
this
planning
step
because
they
are
too
busy
implementing.
Others
may
not
have
an
internal
process
or
corporate
culture
that
encourages
stakeholders
to
clarify
and
agree
on
the
marketing
objectives.
Your organization cannot afford to produce a consumer event with vague marketing objectives.
Early
in
the
planning
stage,
I
facilitated
meetings
with
key
stakeholders
from
Marketing,
Training,
Public
Relations,
Product
Planning,
Advertising,
and
Finance
and
established
clear
S.M.A.R.T.
(specific,
measurable,
attainable,
relevant,
and
timely)
objectives.
Note
that
objectives
can
be
subjective
as
well,
as
long
as
they
are
clearly
defined
and
agreed
upon
by
the
stakeholders.
The
S40
launch
objectives
were
documented
and
distributed
to
the
team
members.
As
the
project
progressed,
I
often
referred
to
these
marketing
objectives
to
keep
the
team
focused.
?
2
PROCESS
USE AN OBJECTIVE DECISION MAKING PROCESS
We
make
decisions
all
the
time:
what
to
eat,
which
clothes
to
wear,
which
television
program
to
watch.
In
these
cases,
the
risk
of
making
a
wrong
decision
is
fairly
low.
With
your
marketing
events,
however,
the
risk
of
making
wrong
decisions
is
much
higher.
The
quality
of
the
event,
budget,
customer
satisfaction,
etc.
could
all
be
in
jeopardy.
Vendors
are
your
partners
in
the
project,
so
the
vendor
selection
process
is
very
important.
Choosing
a
vendor
can
sometimes
be
a
very
time-‐consuming
and
painful
process
if
decisions
are
made
subjectively,
or
are
emotionally
charged.
But
it
doesn’t
have
to
be
that
way.
?
Would
your
organization
benefit
from
an
objective
process
for
selecting
the
best
partners?
CONSUMER EVENTS MARKETING 101 | 5
▲ Generate alternatives
Evaluate ▲ Screen alternatives through the MUSTs
Alternatives ▲ Compare alternatives against the WANTs
Assess
▲ Identify adverse consequences
Risks
CONSUMER EVENTS MARKETING 101 | 6
3
PARTNERSHIP
VIEW EACH VENDOR AS A VALUABLE PARTNER
Once
you
have
selected
your
vendors,
view
each
of
them
as
a
valuable
partner.
I’ve
found
that
relationships
based
on
mutual
trust
and
respect
will
result
in
more
collaboration
and
smoother
project
implementation.
As
I
developed
rapport
with
my
event
partners,
I
found
that
they
would
readily
share
their
insights
and
experiences
to
develop
innovative
solutions.
The
partners
also
had
access
to
resources
who
could
do
things
faster,
cheaper,
and
better
than
my
own
contacts.
I
had
partners
go
beyond
the
contract
details
/
project
scope
because
of
the
goodwill
that
I
had
earned
with
them.
In
particular,
several
partners
shared
that
they
enjoyed
collaborating
with
me
because
I
acknowledged
and
respected
their
staff.
Bottom line: treat people with respect and you will be rewarded many times over.
?
What
type
of
relationship
does
your
organization
have
with
its
vendors?
CONSUMER EVENTS MARKETING 101 | 7
4
PREPARE
PLAN FOR THE UNEXPECTED
You
are
busy
implementing
your
project
plan,
but
have
you
thought
about
potential
problems?
These
potential
problems
can
sabotage
the
best
planned
event.
For
example,
what
will
you
do
if
you
have
inclement
weather
or
the
vehicles
are
delayed?
A
comprehensive
marketing
plan
must
include
potential
problem
analysis.
Potential
problem
I
used
the
Kepner-‐Tregoe
potential
problem
analysis
is
used
to
analysis
(see
Figure
2)
when
developing
the
project
protect
actions
or
plan
for
the
S40
drive
event.
The
process
identifies
plans.
When
a
project
potential
problems
and
the
likely
causes,
develops
simply
must
go
well,
preventive
actions,
develops
contingent
actions,
and
sets
triggers.
Often
times,
potential
problems
risk
is
high,
or
a
are
not
examined
because
it
is
negative
thinking.
myriad
of
things
can
go
wrong,
potential
Inclement
weather
was
a
concern
for
the
S40
problem
analysis
reveals
the
driving
factors
and
identifies
ways
to
lower
the
risk.
Potential
problem
analysis
directs
experience
and
February
event
on
the
East
Coast.
Since
I
could
not
creativity
to
prepare
prevent
Mother
Nature
from
providing
snow,
I
for
the
future
and
to
prepared
for
contingent
actions.
I
upgraded
the
presentation
venue
heating
system
to
handle
manage
acceptable
extreme
cold,
ordered
additional
winter
crew
risk.
clothing,
and
had
snow
removal
equipment
on
standby.
As
luck
would
have
it,
it
did
snow.
Thus,
the
contingent
actions
were
set
into
motion
and
the
event
continued
without
any
interruptions.
Identify
▲ State the action
Potential ▲ List potential problems
Problems
Identify
Likely ▲ Consider causes for the potential problem
Causes
Take
Preventive ▲ Take actions to address likely causes
Action
Plan
Contingent ▲ Prepare actions to reduce likely effects
Action & Set ▲ Set triggers for contingent actions
Triggers
CONSUMER EVENTS MARKETING 101 | 9
5
PEOPLE
INTERACT WITH CONSUMERS AT THE EVENT
After
all
the
planning,
implementing,
and
anticipation,
your
project
managers
and
vendor
partners
should
attend
the
event.
First,
they
will
see
first
hand
if
the
consumers
“got
the
marketing
message.”
Second,
consumers
are
more
than
happy
to
share
what
they
liked
and
what
needs
improvement.
For
example,
several
consumers
mentioned
how
they
enjoyed
the
night
time
concert
in
conjunction
with
the
drive
event.
Others,
however,
wanted
to
drive
competitive
vehicles
(not
offered
due
to
safety
considerations,
throughput
goals,
and
venue
space).
By
attending
the
event,
I
evaluated
partner
performances
and
noted
how
effective
they
were
at
communicating
among
themselves
and
with
the
consumers.
I
also
acknowledged
those
partners
on
the
front
line
for
their
diligence
and
professionalism.
Many
were
taken
aback
because
I
was
the
first
client
to
ever
thank
them
in
person.
Other
company
stakeholders
also
attended
the
event.
The
training,
public
relations,
product
planning,
advertising,
and
finance
managers
thus
had
better
appreciation
for
all
the
planning,
problem
solving
and
detail
work
that
went
into
the
project.
More
importantly,
they
experienced
the
event
like
a
consumer
so
they
were
not
surprised
by
the
event
results.
The
partners
who
interacted
with
the
consumers
came
away
with
a
clearer
picture
of
the
Volvo
customer
and
gained
insight
on
how
to
effectively
market
to
them.
?
Do
your
employees
and
partners
attend
events
and
interact
with
consumers?
CONSUMER EVENTS MARKETING 101 | 10
?
Mr.
Louie
has
over
twenty
years
of
experience
in
the
automotive
industry
including
brand
building,
market
research,
strategic
planning,
advertising,
and
consumer
events
marketing.
Dan
is
a
Six
Sigma
Black
Belt
and
also
a
Kepner-‐Tregoe
Problem
Solving
and
Decision
Making
Program
Instructor.
He
has
extensive
experience
both
managing
and
participating
in
cross-‐functional
teams.
Dan
thrives
on
designing
and
executing
marketing
programs
ranging
from
grass-‐roots
events
to
multi-‐million
dollar
product
tours.
He
is
quick
to
establish
rapport
and
to
develop
trust
with
all
team
members
from
staff
to
executive
management.
Dan’s
strong
interpersonal
skills
and
process
background
make
him
an
effective
problem
solver.
Contact
Information:
Dan
Louie
64
Knollwood
Irvine,
CA
92602
949
533
8636
(cell)
danielklouie@gmail.com
NOTE:
You
are
welcome
to
copy
and
distribute
this
Special
Report
as
often
as
you
wish.
Please
include
the
author
information
above
when
doing
so.
Thank
you.