Galas and other special events can become spectacular fundraising opportunities for nonprofits. In order to maximize the event’s impact, though, marketing it properly is essential. An effective event campaign should have its own goals and marketing plan, and often its own visual identity as well. Events can be tremendous fun and a great way to engage supporters, so building excitement into your marketing will help encourage involvement in the months before the event, increase participation, and keep the positive impression lasting for months afterward.
Create the Event Marketing Plan: Start with Your Values
Hone in on what motivates and moves your supporters and think precisely about how the event can highlight those issues. Let constituents know how this event will support the organization’s cause and what their participation will mean to its goals.
An event is also a good time to attract new supporters. Your event and its marketing is a great opportunity to tell your story to a new audience using photography, stories or graphics with statistics that evoke emotion. The values your cause espouses—treating substance misuse, rescuing animals, or finding a cure for disease—can be freshly told as part of the campaign.
The Best Event Marketing is Branded
From your very first save-the-date announcement, all of your event materials should be branded, introducing the look and flavor of the event early in the process and continuing in that spirit to build awareness and anticipation.
You can use recognizable colors, themes and logos from your regular marketing materials, and elevate or expand on those visuals to create interest while keeping them recognizable. For the CURE Epilepsy 25th Anniversary Gala, Trillion created a celebratory pattern based on the three lines from the CURE Epilepsy monogram which was presented as shiny silver foil on the invitation. We also expanded the graphic further to become a timeline image and visual tool for the event, digital assets, video content and more. The design was translated into printed materials, video assets, and digital files used in email blasts, social media and venue signage. We started early and built all of the assets over time, according to when materials were going to be distributed.
If your event has a special focus or theme, transmit that in the event branding and marketing materials from the very beginning. For The Green Vale School Gala Event, Trillion paid homage to the Roaring 20’s. We created an Art Deco look for “the Party of the Century” theme by using shades of royal and navy blue that echoed the school’s coloring, mixed with gold.
The glamorous invitation featured an open-ended metallic gold outer envelope with a personalized wraparound label for a great first impression. Gold foil stamping on the outer invitation created a beautiful luster and contrast between the blue colors and the shiny foil. Design elements on the interior carried the theme throughout the invitation package.
Additional branded materials were created to promote and support the event including website graphics, digital assets, venue signage, and a highly stylized photo booth.
Branding your event using creativity and design escalates the excitement about the event itself. There’s nothing wrong with creating a little FOMO (fear of missing out)!
Effective Marketing Campaigns Follow a Timeline to the Event
A truly effective event marketing campaign starts months before the actual event. Begin by sending out save-the-date announcements and creating appealing social media posts.
When using your email list, utilize your donor data to segment and personalize your outreach. First-time donors might be offered special introductory materials or background information on previous events. Major donors can be offered sponsorship opportunities, VIP pre and post-event opportunities, special tables or other opportunities at the event.
Add pertinent content to your website. A dedicated landing page can be established to correspond to your marketing and include a call to action to buy tickets, secure sponsorships or other opportunities. You could also add a popup to the home page to promote the event to first-time visitors of your website.
Sponsorships Amplify Marketing
Sponsors should be secured early in your timeline and could be a large portion of your event fundraising goal. Look for sponsors that have a natural intersection with your cause so that connecting with your supporters allows them to increase their own brand awareness and exposure to potential customers. Your approach to them should highlight the values of your organization, the size and excitement of the event, and the benefits your event will bring to them. Sponsors are your partners in marketing the event. The more they promote their own sponsorship, the more attention it draws to your event and your organization as a whole. Sponsors can bring their network/guests to the event who, if properly cultivated, can become future supporters of your organization.
Event Marketing Creates Momentum
Repeated and multi-channel marketing messages will let you reach your supporters in a number of different ways to create a sense of drive and excitement. Studies show that the fun of looking forward to an event provides almost as much happiness as the event itself, so help your supporters to feel the joy of expectation.
- In addition to a formal invitation, email and social media, use press releases, posters, or print ads.
- Create a hashtag that supporters can use to post in advance of the event to share their own stories and experiences related to your cause.
- Collaborate with local influencers, other non-profits, or businesses that share your mission; their endorsements can expand your reach.
- If you have sponsors, get them to spread the word. This helps them as well! They can get more mileage out of their sponsorships.
The Party’s Over … But Not Really!
After the event, follow up with your supporters to reiterate its success. Share photos on social media, express gratitude to the attendees, and celebrate the amount of total funds raised. Send out a press release to local media outlets, especially if your cause helps the community in some way. Create a blog post about the event with photos that you could send out via email. Use your branded visual identity to recall the excitement and success of the event. By sharing with your supporters the impact their contributions made and keeping them engaged with your organization’s ongoing work, you’re building upon the excitement for the next event!
Event Marketing Boosts Fundraising
You will spend considerable time, effort, and money planning your event, so make sure you market that event robustly to get the largest ROI. We have helped many nonprofits with their overall fundraising efforts, and we have seen the power of event marketing, often helping our clients to surpass their fundraising goals. We’d love to help you, too! Reach out to us to learn how your next event could be your most successful fundraising event ever. Give us a call at 908.219.4703 or complete our contact form.
