“Event marketing” is a term that crops up most frequently in the corporate event sector, perhaps because most corporate event planners or event managers sit within a marketing department. But there is some confusion over what exactly event marketing entails.

There are many forms of event marketing in the corporate space. It’s not only marketing the event itself, although that is a piece of it. It’s also about how you portray your brand at or within an event and how you engage with your audience.

The lines between event planning, event management and event marketing are often blurred. Even if you are strictly responsible for event logistics or operations, your job has a marketing component. Whether you’re driving the message or simply responsible for executing on it, event marketing is all about delivering an experience.

You want the attendees at your event — whether it’s an executive breakfast, a user conference, an incentive trip or a booth at a third-party trade show — to believe in your brand, product, service, community or whatever else you may be promoting.

In the past decade, the term “experiential marketing” has been applied to event marketing. And now, “brand activation” is used more frequently to describe a segment of corporate event marketing, often to differentiate from a conventional exhibit booth.

According to brand experience agency Cramer, “a brand activation is any campaign, event, or experience that enables your brand to engage directly with consumers and build a loyal brand community around your product or service.”

Isn’t that something we should all get behind? Event marketing is strategic; it’s motivating; and it is another way we can show the value of events and the people who make them happen.

That’s why our content focus for February is going to be on event marketing. We’ll be bringing you more content on event marketing than ever. You’ll learn memorable, strategic and innovative ways of delivering event experiences that will leave your audience wanting more — and practical tips and information to help you achieve your goals.

Do you have any questions on event marketing you’d like us to cover? Please reach out to me directly at dwmenegus@corporateeventnews.com.