The organization of events is a very useful communication tool for companies since they allow: to optimize profits and sales, to capture or to fidelize clients, to present or to publicize a product, service or company, to create a better experience of brand and to generate cohesion between the employees and their integration in the company.
In order to organize a successful event we must be very clear about the objective we are pursuing, what message we want to convey and which target audience we are addressing. Once we have this clear, it will be time to choose the type of event that best fits our needs.
Types of events and their purposes
Congresses: these are meetings that are held periodically (annually, every two years…) in which people belonging to the same organization, to the same profession or with a common interest in a specific topic participate.
The reasons that lead to organize a congress should be: to transfer information, generally about news in the sector, and to make sure that the information arrives at the same time and to the group of people to whom it corresponds to receive it. It can also pursue the objective of facilitating debate and the involvement of a company’s employees. The duration of a congress ranges from two to five days.
Seminars: Seminars are educational meetings in which a group of experts impart knowledge to the participants through instructive talks to improve and expand their training.
The average duration of the seminars is two days and the groups participating in them are small (about fifty people maximum).
Conventions: it is a company meeting whose objective is to study the progress of the company, the objectives, results, etc. At the same time, it has an integrating character, since it aims to motivate and unite the team of workers in order to achieve the objectives together.
Conferences: these are events whose main characteristic is the public appearance of one or more personalities to give a speech on a specific subject and with a certain interest for society in general or for a group of people from a specific sector. The conferences admit different formats and, sometimes, the press is summoned to publicize the event.
Conferences: they consist of meetings on a monographic subject that is of interest to all those attending. They can last up to a week. The participants participate actively, as they do not receive the information already prepared, but rather seek it out by their own means in an atmosphere of collaboration.
Fairs and exhibitions: these are large-scale events in which companies in a sector exhibit their products at a specific time and space so that visitors can get to know their products or services.
Companies set up their stands, which become marketing tools, to boost their business and present their new products to an audience interested in their products. Fairs and exhibitions attract many people and represent an important source of income for exhibitors, organizers and the city in which they are held.
Launch of a product: at a launch, a new product, a new company or a new organization is presented to the media and the attending personalities, which is going to come to the market.
A successful product launch requires research, planning and a skilled and expert marketing team. The new product must meet the needs of the consumer in terms of quality, price and function.
A product that does not transmit new emotions, new values, new advantages and is not capable of generating an impact on the consumer, will not be a successful product launch.
Openings: openings become an ideal instrument to showcase achievements, new facilities or company buildings. The aim is for the whole public to know what is going to be inaugurated and what it means, both for the organisation and for consumers, clients, staff, etc. For this reason, the presence of the media and the dissemination on social networks is essential.
Workshops: workshops are interactive activities between those who teach the subject and those who participate in it. The usual duration is a maximum of four hours, and can be part of another type of larger event. They can be organized to train the company’s employees, or to introduce new products or services to customers.
Leisure events: These include musical, sporting, cultural and gastronomic events. The aim is to promote the recreational aspect of the event through fun, and to strengthen and consolidate the links between employees, customers, suppliers or the general public.
Once it has been decided to contemplate the events within the market strategies of a company, it is basic to study the audiences beforehand, to be able to understand and structure what type of event is the most appropriate when it comes to transmitting the message to the public.
And for an event to be as successful as expected it must be approached in terms of creating, generating and connecting, so that the concept of the brand is able to effectively link with the audience.