Sky's The Limit...

In 1953, Buick issued a special 50th Anniversary Skylark. Among the many unique product features were power brakes, power steering, power windows and a power antennae for the foot-operated radio. To top it off, the owner's name was inscribed on the center of the steering wheel. Only 1,690 special edition Skylarks were issued that year. They cost about $5,000 each -- that's about 30% more than their top of the line vehicle that year.

Last year Beth and PJ took me to a vintage car show for Father's Day. It was great. I love old cars and find their history fascinating. But my marketing eye noticed a missed opportunity for some smart marketer. The top-notch show was held at a high-end shopping center to draw store traffic.

But there was no sponsor for the event. The show was packed out with crowds of young and old car enthusiasts. I laughed as we parked our dusty mini-van. Many of the highly buffed and polished old cars in the lot could have been in the show! It was a great opportunity for a local brand (Turtle Wax?) to get a bunch of marketing mileage through sponsorship.

Last year, event marketing in the U.S. jumped 15% over 2002 to about $152 billion according to PROMO magazine. And another 15 - 20% jump is projected in 2004. Using events as branded education or entertainment is a powerful medium. One marketing agency president says "experiential marketing...brings the ad to life."

Classic research finds that the more involved you are with a message, the more likely you are to recall the brand and the message. So event marketing -- supported by traditional advertising and PR makes good sense. And I would guess the 72% of brands reported in PROMO that now sponsor events agree (60% host their own event). The survey shows brands dedicated about 11% of their marketing budgets to events.

How can you use an event to rally your customers and prospects? What can you do to entertain or educate them while subtly promoting your brand? Perhaps you should create your own event. Or perhaps there is an existing one that's crying for sponsorship.

-Phil Sasso