The day at the CONFEX exhibition (http://www.international-confex.com/) at the end of February was quite a shock for a Wimborne girl! It was a huge hive of activity, ideas and experience. The exhibition was all about creatively engaging with clients/prospective clients. That was the crux of it – creative engagement.

We are bombarded by so many messages each day, most of which are blotted out by our tired brains or just ignored. That is why it is so important to forge meaningful connections, relevant to the target and encouraging participation. The flexibility to respond when you sense that the market is moving in a different way is essential, instead of bobbing along with the flotsam.

A very interesting speaker, Phil Crowther, explained that events (be it a concert, a public show or a party), which are high risk, were also high opportunity. Why? Because they creatively engaged with the target audience, encouraged participation and were voluntary. That does not mean there is no strategic direction, on the contrary it is as structured as all the other marketing routes. A good event is designed with objectives and evaluation in mind, however, that is often where the problems arise.

An event needs to be integrated into an existing marketing and branding strategy, not isolated, but included in the strategic direction. When that is successfully accomplished the risk is reduced, without reducing the opportunity.

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Imagine your new website goes live. You’re ecstatic about the feel, the look, new functionalities and – even better – the increase in visits, which might (and should!) Ultimately lead to more business. And then, one year on – what do you do? Do you look at your stats? Do you know what’s going on on your website? How many people have visited, where they came from, how many referrers you have? How long they stayed and what pages they looked at?
Or you’re engaging in email marketing. How many split tests have you done recently? Do you know what your database likes? Does one part of your recipients always receive a different version of your emails or does everybody always get the same design, same message, same “from”, same everything? And how many times do you change your Google AdWords to see if you can get in those extra % clicks…
Do you know which digital mix gives you the best conversions…?
Do you constantly test and improve…?
If the answer is yes – great! You’re doing the right thing to monitor improve your communication with the customer then this is what marketing is all about. If not, it is worth considering – simply because in the fast changing digital world something that worked last week, last month, last year can be the spanner in the works now.
The magic formula is testing, testing and again testing. Everything that can be changed in your digital mix is worth testing to ensure that your marketing works. Test your website (layout, images, design, the options are endless), test your email marketing, try different ads in your Pay-per-click, play around with your banners, test different approaches in Social Media and see what works and what doesn’t.
And then go out and do something about it.

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Inspired by a keynote talk from Craig Mawdsley at the TFM&A last month, I felt compelled to share some of his/my (mainly his) thoughts on uncertainty. The Head of Planning at AMV BBDO argues that marketers should embrace uncertainty, rather than embark on the long and arduous pursuit of predictability. I agree.
There is a real danger that over thinking strategy can lead to missing the crest of your perfect wave – the one you’ve been waiting for. To add to your frustration, you had the knowledge and awareness to see it coming, but didn’t have the confidence to hop on without being certain of the outcome.
Here’s a new philosophy: Doing beats thinking. Allocate a small but fixed amount of your time and resource to experimentation with new strategies; ideas that you wouldn’t bet your budget on but are engaging and out of the ordinary. Then listen, learn, and back success. Having the confidence to embrace uncertainty should ensure that you fail small and win big.
I am certain of this – it is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong.

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Planning and organising events can be a headache and take up a lot of your valuable time. If you are taking on event organisation, here are some tips that RT Media have developed to help ensure you get the most out of it.

Planning Objectives
Well in advance of the event assess your event objectives. What do you want to achieve? Who is your target audience? What should your audience leave with? (key understanding or messages).

Budget
Most people have Ferrari ideals, but only want to commit Mini money to their event. Be realistic as to how much you can allocate to the event and what you would expect for your budget. Prioritise items and requirements, which will help you when you need to make decisions.

(more…)

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