Successful Event Promotion: Create WV 2008

The picture at left, while somewhat blurry and low-res, shows one important measurement of the success of an event: a packed house!

At Maple Creative, we measure a successful event in three ways:
1- Packed house, standing room only
2- Full media coverage
3- Smiling happy client

The fellow standing on stage is our smiling, happy client, Mr. Jeff James. Jeff, who is one of the most gifted, passionate leaders I've ever known, is the chairperson of the Creative Communities Team of Vision Shared. Working with Jeff and his team of passionate volunteer leaders (change agents), made promoting the Create West Virginia 2008 Conference "an easy sell." In Jeff's words, "I feel good that the event execution has been in Maple's hands this year. It's great when things are organized. Great work by your team.

In terms of full media coverage, the state's newspaper, The Charleston Gazette, wrote two excellent stories. One was published on the 2nd day of the conference; the other, a conference recap, was featured on the front of the Sunday business section. These and many other positive stories were the result of a strategic, statewide media plan that we implemented over a four-month period from July through October. In crafting this plan, we worked carefully to create compelling storylines that provided diversity and relevance by focusing on various aspects of the conference: keynote speakers, record attendance, entertainment, venue and diversity. In such work, it is important to offset media fatigue, helping to mitigate reporters' potential burnout on event coverage. Again, in the client's words,"Really great work…I’m hard pressed to think of any event I’ve read more about since I’ve been to WV the last three years."

When we talk about full attendance and standing room only, we are not exaggerating. The goal for attendance was 300, which represented a healthy 20% increase over the 2007 event. In the end, we had over 400 participants in attendance. Despite the fact that we over-prepared, we still ran out of lanyards and name-badge holders. And on the final session of the last day, a full assembly and keynote presentation, when we expected some attrition, the venue catering staff had to set up extra tables and had to rush to prepare extra lunch plates. What a good problem to have!

In the end, this success story is one of planning & execution, teamwork & passion and the implementation of a leadership team's vision!

Event Attendance 54% Increase

Through the efforts of a hardworking team of marketing professionals and passionate volunteers, registered attendance for CreateWV 2008 Conference is up 54% above last year. We had three big media hits this week, including a Daily Mail story about our keynoter, Rob Kitchin. We'll be doing some live blogging from the event, guest writing a news story and assisting with a special satellite news feed of our interview with First Lady Gayle Manchin from the event site at Snowshoe, W.Va. Tons of excitement and tons of momentum are rolling into the Create WV Conference 2008. Man, I love my job!

For more on the strategic marketing plan for this truly special event, read on.

Marketing an Event: What's Most Effective?

October is peak event season in our world. Conferences, annual meetings and grand openings abound. We are working hard and having so much fun promoting an exciting, important event. The CreateWV '08 Conference is right around the corner, Oct. 20-22.

We've had the honor of promoting this event, again for its 2nd year, working with a very talented planning team and an army of enthusiastic volunteers. The strategic, layered marketing plan, which commenced in July, includes the following tactical elements:

• Earned media - press releases, Op-Eds, feature articles, newspaper tab, radio interviews
• Direct mail - two postcards and an invitation brochure
• Social media - blog posts, blogger carnival, Twitter presence, Facebook - event, group
• Buzz / WOM accelerators - traveling art display of creative cones, "No Misoneism"
• Advertising - a few targeted program/newsletter ads, banners, Facebook ads
• Sales offers - early bird special, group discount program
• Web site, event Web site and blog - all working in concert

The conference is almost sold out, with about 400 attendees registered. The event registration process involves a step to ask folks: How Did You Hear About CreateWV? After 100 days, we've got a good set of data to show what's working to drive such great results:

100 registrations from Direct Mail

50 registrations from Word-of-Mouth/Referral

5 registrations from Media/News

* (the other 200 didn't bother to tell us. we'll forgive them.)

What can we learn from this? In our electronic communications world, marketing messages printed on paper are still important and can be very effective.

W.Va. Eastern Panhandle - Creative Community Under Construction

Though I have lived in Charleston, W.Va., for the past 15 years, I was born and raised in Martinsburg, a small town in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Before I settled in Charleston, I lived all over the eastern U.S. (during my GE days). That gives me some perspective and a basis for comparing places. Let's compare the creative community aspects between the Capital Region and the Eastern Panhandle.

For the sake of background, let's define a creative community. This post, and others like it, is presented in support of the CreateWV initiative and the Vision Shared Creative Communities Team. Basically, a creative community has a significant presence of creative sectors of the economy, such as technology, science, research, design, entrepreneurs and professional arts. But importantly, in addition, creative communities are marked by outstanding educational institutions & programs, as well as interesting, rich and inviting "third places" like parks, museums, coffee shops and galleries. Thriving, prosperous creative communities also have strong, abundant and accessible technology networks and are tolerant in nature, accepting and welcoming all types of people. For more background, check out CreateWV.com and the CreateWV blog. And if you really want to embrace the concept, come to the Create WV Conference 2008, Oct. 20-22, at Snowshoe Mountain Resort.

Charleston is a creative community, without a doubt. Sure, it has room--and potential--for more creative growth. But there's a critical mass of creativity here. From FestivAll to Art Walk, and from the Clay Center to Mountain Stage, there's plenty to enjoy in terms of creative arts, fine arts and entertainment. But enough about Charleston. Several other bloggers will be touting creativity in the capital of the Mountain State.

Eastern Panhandle Snapshot
Let's shift our focus eastward by about 300 miles or five hours driving time. The state's Eastern Panhandle is a small, four-county region of some 175,000 residents. Geographically, statistically and economically, it is part of the huge and growing Baltimore-Washington, MSA. While Charleston is somewhat landlocked, the Eastern Panhandle lies in the midst of a very metropolitan, urbanized part of America. In fact, five other state capitals are a shorter driving distance than its own capital.

The differences don't end with geography. The terrain is different; the Eastern Panhandle is relatively flat. The media is different; the major TV networks broadcast from DC and Baltimore and the local newspapers rarely report on new from Charleston. The economy is different, too; there is no coal mining in the Eastern Panhandle. Instead of WVU and Marshall sports fandom, in the Panhandle the mantra is "Go Orioles!" or "Hail to the Redskins!"

By contrast, Martinsburg and the Eastern Panhandle is not as much of a creative community, at least not in a "boundary" sense. While there are not as many creative assets within the four-county panhandle, there are hundreds nearby. From the National Gallery of Art in Washington, to Wolf Trap (concerts and stage) in Northern Va., there is so much to enjoy within an hour's drive. Residents of the Eastern Panhandle cross borders and boundaries all the time. In fact, along one 30-mile stretch of I-81, you can cross four state borders. If you live in the Eastern Panhandle you move about--quite a bit--and things like county/state borders are less important. In that sense it's more cosmopolitan.

Building It Out
What could be improved? If I could construct a creative project in the Eastern Panhandle, I would "build" a few more quaint "third places"in Martinsburg ... maybe a place with coffee and music, an arts & crafts center (like the Lillstreet Guild in Chicago), a gallery for local artists and a high-tech incubator. Plus, I'd love to see some re-gentrification of some of the historic neighborhoods in downtown Martinsburg, perhaps some downtown lofts.

Special Place - Shepherdstown
One of the gems of the Eastern Pahnandle is Shepherdstown. This spring, I had the pleasure to spend a day in this quaint historic town. Shepherdstown, founded in 1734, is a college town, home to Shepherd University, a charming liberal-arts school. The core village in Shepherdstown aligns German Street. Many of its shops, storefronts and homes date back to the 1700's. Its picturesque beauty is highlighted by the stunning "New England-esque" chapel (former courthouse) and a centuries-old library. On top of all of this historic beauty is a palpable creative vibe.

On that warm day in late Spring, I spent hours at the Sweets Shop on German Street, working (on a free local WiFi network), sipping coffee, snacking and soaking up the creative vibe. Afterward, I browsed the village, visiting a couple art galleries, bookstores and the library. The combination of the foot traffic, college students, beauty, history and charm inspired me. In the true essence of a Creative Community "Third Place," I could have stayed there a very long time. It compelled me, and it draws me back. (By the way, Berkeley Springs is a real gem of a creative place, too, with a thriving art scene and Jeane Mozier's creative leadership.)

I still love my home region, the Eastern Panhandle. My friend and colleague, Sandy Sponaugle of Platinum PR, has the joy and privilege of living and working there. Her office is but a few steps around the corner from the aforementioned Sweets Shop and just across from that wonderful old library. I look forward to reading her perspective on the creative aspects of the Eastern Panhandle. Finally, thanks to Jason Keeling for organizing and shaping this blogger carnival in support of CreateWV and to Jeff James for his tireless, inclusive and skillful leadership of the Creative Communities Team and the CreateWV Conference.

A to Z of Marketing: Q is for Quell

If you’ve noticed the Marketing Genius blog has been surprisingly quiet lately, it’s because Skip and I have been attending the first annual Create West Virginia conference all week. This event brought together a mixed bag of the state’s leaders for an insightful planning session on how to attract and retain New Economy jobs in our region. It was an amazing, productive experience and I encourage you to see for yourself at http://www.createwv.com/.

There’s no doubt that the Create West Virginia conference was a smashing success. But if you rewind the tape about six weeks, here’s what you’d find:

> A nervous planning committee that needed at least 200 registrants, but only had 60.
> A five-figure budget deficient.
> A few secondary team members voting to stop work altogether for fear of going down with a sinking ship.

How do you overcome negative numbers? As any seasoned event planner will attest, you dig in, you target, you expand your reach, you mail, you call and, yes, you physically get in your car and go tell people why they need to attend. It takes leadership, grit, tenacity, faith, and a lot of shoe leather to make it happen – but it can be done.

On the other hand, it is far easier to sit in the corner and poo-poo the effort, so that’s what most people do. Don’t be one of them. Quell the pessimism. Quell the inherent voice that says, “This will never work”, “We’ve never done it that way”, and so on.

If you find yourself becoming a CAVE person (i.e. a Citizen Against Virtually Everything), realize that you are holding back your team, then make a vow to find the germ of greatness in every “bad” idea. Build on that until it becomes something you can rally around.

Finally, work like hell.

And that’s exactly what the planning committee of the Create West Virginia Conference did - which is why they had well over 200 attendees at their event - and why they are already planning for next year.