Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) Acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Narrm, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and to Elders of all First Nations communities that visit MCEC.

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Event Marketing Top 5 Tips

By Liz Kozmevski|

The past 18 months have seen a fundamental shift in the way we plan, promote and run events all across the globe. With the evolution of virtual and hybrid events as a necessary response to the COVID-19 pandemic, driving digital engagement is now more important than ever. The tips below are a great place to start finding the right messages - and channels - to create meaningful connections with your audience.

  1. Know Your Audience – Always start with your audiences and ask yourself some key questions. What motivates them? What do they engage with? What do they want to see, hear, and experience? Understanding your target audience and what they want will help you define your event parameters, purpose and priorities.

  2. Have a Clearly Defined Purpose – Understand and articulate the why of your event, then use it to dictate the who, what, where, when and how.

  3. Use Social Media, Email and Website – These channels continue to prove the most effective way to drive awareness and engage with your target audience, regardless of budget, timeline or scope. While digital channels have always been an important part of the marketing mix, digital engagement since Covid has skyrocketed. Expectations for the digital experience will continue to rise and it’s important to shift focus from digital transaction to digital engagement.

  4. Tailor Your Content Strategy – Thanks to digital channels and metrics, we have far greater insight than ever before into what our audiences want to experience and engage with at different points in time. Building a sense of community with your customers and using insights to ensure your content is tailored to each channel and audience will deliver deeper engagement with your event and show why the experience you’re delivering is one that can’t be missed.

  5. Consider the Entire Journey – Think your event marketing is done and dusted once your event goes live? Think again. Customers want digital access to everything, and the most successful events have combined the digital and physical worlds to generate a global experience. During-event promotion (FOMO) and post-event hype can drive ongoing engagement for weeks, months, even years after your event is over, creating advocates for your brand or business and increasing attendance and support for your next event. Liz Kozmevski is the Senior Manager, Marketing at MCEC and an experienced end-to-end marketer with more than 14 years global marketing experience.