Event Marketing, Fashion, and other things I have no business talking about

Let’s say your church had an event every year(and no, this story isn’t about a church so don’t ask) that is it’s biggest event to attract new people.  You used to do this event in the spring, but other “churches” were having their big event in the spring so you decided to move yours to the fall.  When you moved it to the fall you had to change the name because the name was associated with spring.  After several years of holding this event in the fall you decide to update and change the name.  You spend months and money branding and promoting the new name/event.  The event is somewhat of a success and you feel that the new name has become imprinted on the minds of those you are trying to attract.  So, what do you do to follow that up the next year?  First, you wait until very late in the year to start promoting this event.  Already, people are asking, “Are they having “insert name of you event here” this year?”  Word leaks out slowly with few details.  When the event is finally announced, you have changed the name, schedule, and format of the event while putting it at a time when a large chunk of the people you are trying to reach will be unable to attend because of another big community event.  That is the kind of marketing you don’t need.  I think with events of any kind there comes a critical point where you lose your audience.  If they don’t have the info in their hand by a certain date then you can forget about their participation.  It’s like getting a wedding invitation 2 days prior.  People are so busy these days and if you’re event is important enough for them to attend then they need to know about it ASAP.  That means you have to plan ahead and get your work done early.  When they do find out about your event it needs to be worth their time.  Would people drive 4 hours for a 4 hour event?  People do that every weekend for many college football games, but those dates are on their calendars months in advance.  I will drive 5 hours to a 2 hour U2 show, but they only tour every 4 years or so and there are normally 2 shows within that driving distance.  Are you giving people enough bang for their buck?  And, no, having a free or low priced event doesn’t always cut it.  Give me a moment to put my soapbox away.

On a lighter note, here’s a new site I found:  PuffyShirt.com.  I found this great article on Pastoral Fashion that I thought you would like.  I just invested in some print T-Shirts and now I guess I’m gonna have to lose more weight so my suits will fit again.  Where’s my Spider-Man tie?