Sporting Events and Sports Event Marketing… Finding YOUR fans!

Sports Event Marketing at Your Next Event

Sports are everywhere – all the time. So many television stations with so many commentators. There is truly a fascination with all types of contests. This time of year gives us the top 3 United States competitions all at once and keeps me glued to my set as often as possible. The NFL, NBA and NHL keep the sports enthusiast quenched and at times overwhelmed trying to keep up with all the highlights. From individual games to tailgate parties, there is always one underlying element that seems to draw in the average and avid fan alike: The live event aspect.

There is nothing like going to a game and being in the thick of the action and excitement. Sure, you can stay at home and watch your favorite team from the comfort of your couch with all the convenience and none of the headaches. Why leave your humble abode to brave the elements of weather, unruly patrons, and outrageously priced concessions? The answer is: for the the thrill of the live event! We all crave bigger and better experiences where the enhancement is worth the risk and cost. We want to be part of something that is bigger than ourselves and sports event marketing creates that feeling.

Setting up a stage and seeing a live band perform in the parking lot outside the stadium pumps up even the most understated fan and gets him or her ready for the battle that is about to ensue. The warm up before the main event has been going on for centuries; from the Roman days to present. Live events fuel sporting events at every level. Sports Marketing agencies have been coming up with strategies to capture the consumer from before, after, and during the game with giveaways, contests, or just plain old sampling campaigns. The more elaborate, the better as companies seek out opportunities to market to their target consumer. Interactive semi- trucks are positioned in parking lots of sporting venues to give fans the opportunity to experience a product or service like never before. From telecom services to Kielbasa culinary creations, sports event marketing firms are there to capture the attention of the crowd.

Expand beyond the stadium and bring your consumers to where YOU are

Every game is another opportunity to reach the masses and the most successful Sports Marketing firms have to wow them to get their attention. Live event activity makes that happen and brings the rubber to the artificial turf. Live bands and half time shows from all star games to the championship finals all need the wind beneath their wings. All marketing agencies commit penalties to try to get a spot at these opportunities and are willing to negotiate aggressively to get in the fray. Live event production companies such as In Depth Events are the backbone in keeping this tradition going and thriving – never wavering in their commitment to execute a flawless experience for the client and the consumer.

You can find our team of production experts at most major sporting events – and not just around the stadium! When a major sporting event comes to town, the opportunities to get one-on-one with consumers are almost limitless. New York will be filled to the brim with large corporations doing private events for their most valued customers at many venues all over the city. The NBA All-Star Jam will have basketball themed interactive displays all over New Orleans and all sponsored by major shoe and clothing manufacturers. Austin will be doing double duty this year with SXSW in March and the X-Games in June – which means Auditorium Shores will see huge amounts of traffic and people from all over the world will be enjoying the overall “Keep Austin Weird” vibe. In all of these cities, stages, audio systems, lighting rigs and bands will arrive days before the final event to attract consumers to brands.

So the next time you’re at an arena or coliseum, look around! Enjoy the experience in the hosting city, and allow yourself to be enveloped by the sports event marketing that continues to compete for your attention and at times rivals the sporting event itself. Fight on my fellow experiential enthusiasts!

I hope this blog has been informative for our event planner clients! For more information on In Depth Events and our event production capabilities, please Ask Us a Question today. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you on your event!

Image of Holiday Event Lighting at Exxon Mobil Headquarters

The Holiday Season and Live Events – The Perfect Marketing Match

The Holidays are here folks – whether you are ready or not! That means holiday themed live events across the country will be taking place to capitalize on the perfect marketing opportunity. Like aged cheese and vintage wine, the holidays and live events go extremely well together.

It’s All About the Live Events

From company Christmas parties to outdoor Holiday festivals – live event activity is featured this time of year! The most successful live events are great at creating that warm, nostalgic feeling we all crave especially around the holiday season. There’s no better way to accomplish this than by implementing rocking music and a live interactive stage production amping up the yuletide crowd, sending them into a frenzy of frankincense. In Depth Events has been there (and done that), creating magical moments for all while bringing products to the people in fun, creative and effective ways.

Understanding how to go about this can be tricky. You want to respect the true meaning of what holidays represent while hitting your key demographic numbers. Folks have to be entertained, while still being exposed to your promotional campaign. There is a fine line that needs to be traveled that does not overwhelm and offend the consumer. Make sure everyone is having a great time before introducing a product or service for consumption. A successful promotion has to be incorporated into the theme of the event.

Make Sure Your Event is Seen and Heard

Of course, using the best audio, staging and lighting company available is key to providing the most effective message. That’s where the experts at In Depth Events come in! Company Christmas parties will be booking entertainment and malls will be booking carolers and church choirs for their shoppers. In addition, tree lighting ceremonies, municipal festivals and 5k Holiday runs need the best possible production to make sure the message gets across to your attendees – even if the message is simply Happy Holidays!

So this is for all you marketing and event companies out there trying to spread holiday cheer to all the caroling consumers out there. Keep it genuine and intimate. Know that the holidays are actually sacred for many people and they don’t want to be nut cracked over the head with pushy and heartless Scrooges thinking only about the bottom line. Don’t forget to add some awesome live entertainment along with the essential fake snow in areas that don’t receive much precipitation. (Yep…our experts do that as well.) Happy Holidays – we’ll see you at the closest simulated North Pole!

Hopefully this blog has been informative for our event planner clients! For more information on In Depth Events and our event production capabilities, please Ask Us a Question today. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you on your event!

Image of U.S. Flag during Patriotic Events

Stage and Production Rental Services for Patriotic Events

At In Depth Events, we love doing outdoor festivals – and we’ve done hundreds of them, all over the country. However, some of our favorite types of events are patriotic events and festivals.

Providing the best stage and rooftop system for your patriotic event

As I am writing this, I am sitting side of stage at an airshow in McKinney, TX. The local police, firemen and EMS personnel are here, as well as several vintage planes from WWII and other armed conflicts and a Vietnam-era tank. In Depth Events has provided a 32 foot x 24 foot load bearing rooftop with flybays, and a 32 foot x 24 foot’ stage with a monitor wing. It’s a beautiful November day in Texas and the last skydive team included a WWII veteran, a Korean War veteran and a Vietnam War veteran.

Although I’ve never served in the military, I’m proud to be an American. Our production rental team, event professionals and technicians all come from different backgrounds, but we’re all proud to be a part of patriotic events – whether the event is a huge Fourth of July extravaganza for a City or for a smaller regional show benefiting wounded veterans.

For any event, you can trust that our event staff will provide exactly what you need. The stage and rooftop we’ve provided today is the perfect structure for this event. We’ll normally discount our production rental services for non-profits and today’s event is no exception. At In Depth Events, we’re honored to be a position to give back our services to people that have provided the very means for us to be in business.

Turnkkey production rentals or stand alone production services

In Depth Events is a full service production company, providing audio rentals, lighting rentals and generator rentals in addition to our stage and roof systems. However, production rentals is a very small industry and many times, we’re referred a show by a production company that may not offer some of the services we do. Today, Alford Media is handling audio and lighting and provided the referral to the end client for our stage and rooftop.

As you are reading this, you may be an event planner or another production company needing our services. Our audio rental inventory is available with our stages and rooftops or as a standalone production rental. Our lighting inventory is extremely diverse, and our special effects department can provide amazing, dynamic effects for your next event. Our production rentals services can be turnkey, but for some clients, they’ll only need a specific area of our expertise. In either case, we’re happy to work with you!

On site, I’ve got a great band on stage and I’m enjoying watching the children eating cotton candy and wondering over the vintage planes. The adults are enjoying themselves as well, but they seem a bit more pensive. A child doesn’t have the capability to understand the sacrifices that the people in these planes made. As an adult, and a parent myself, I can only hope to identify with the heroes represented here – and I’m honored to be a part of this event and all our patriotic events!

Live Event Marketing is Glowing in the Dark

How our Production Crew Turns a Live Event into a Glowing Marketing Extravaganza!

Understanding what events work and which never live up to the hype takes walking a very fine line. Now, more than ever, our live event marketing industry is looking for new, unique and innovative ways to get their clients and brands message across to event attendees. How does a marketing firm create this type of environment? They need help from innovative production companies! It’s important to choose a production company that has experience working with marketing firms. Only the two combined can create strategies that will incorporate the experiential components essential in making a truly successful (and memorable) live event.

A great example of our willingness to work with clients on experiential event trend is our Black Light 5K’s. At In Depth Events, we provide several clients with the live glow events elements necessary to cover crowds of up to 15,000 with high intensity UV in outdoor environments. These events are executed nationwide – offering a unique and memorable experience for all guests from all demographics. Event though my title is Live Event Market Manager, I was recently invited to help our crew build a Black Light 5K in Pomona and have a new found respect for the hardworking technicians that are my co-workers.

Hard at Work with the Black Light Production Crew

It starts with the team setting up the stage and trusses the night before in the center of the race track. It takes about 4 1/2 hours to complete the 20 foot x 20 foot stage and ADA ramp. It’s braced, locked in place and reinforced to provide stability for the DJs. And it’s built level on very un-level grassy ground. While the stage was being built, another crew built trusses at the start and finish lines of the race. This involved setting up pieces that were 20 ft. high with black lights being secured to all sides of the structure to create the glow effect the client required.

The next day the team returned at 8am to continue the build. They had their work cut out for them as they began creating peripheral staging to hold additional speakers to enhance and magnify the ultimate sound experience for the Black Light run participants. They set up 2 mini stages directly behind the main stage to literally pump up the volume. This turned out to be essential as the crowd far exceeded the expectations of the organizer!

Lighting and fog equipment for live glow events has to be secured to additional trusses that were placed on stage to help create the ultimate dance party experience which occurred directly after the run portion of the event. While half the team continued to finish setting up the sound system, lighting, and black lights for the main event area, the other half of the production crew had to set up even more trusses, lighting and audio at four additional locations throughout the run path.

Attendees began arriving at 4 pm and the gates were opened at 5 pm. The first wave crossed under the start line at 6:30 pm, and, after completing the race, went straight to the party area where the DJ’s were pumping music into the crowd. On entry to the party area, each attendee was given packets of UV reactive powder to throw in the air, on their friends or themselves! During the event, nearly 15,000 attendees showed up to Glow the night away under the high intensity, long throw black lights that were set up by our crew. These attendees came from every demographic and included every age group. However, the primary demographic seemed to be young couples with kids, definitely in the middle to upper income range and fitness minded. It was hard to see who was having more fun – the 30-something parents or the 12-17 year old kids at the stage barricades! Everyone was dancing the night away, glowing in UV reactive clothing and covered in UV reactive paint.

How to turn the Black Light Run into a promotional vehicle for my clients’ brands.

Since I was a guest on the production crew, I also was privileged enough to help with load out – and, I gotta tell you, it comes down much faster than it goes up! While I was working with the technicians, my mind turned to how I could use this event experience to promote my clients brands. Would live glow events work for promoting a sports brand? What about a non-profit? Can a glowing logo make a better impression than a print logo? Which of my clients would be interested in having their product presented at such a unique event in front of 15,000 consumers with disposable income?

The answer is, of course – all of them! But how best to utilize my new-found knowledge to help my clients? A sports drink client could certainly do giveaways. A sporting manufacturer could certainly give away UV reactive t-shirts. What if a client was willing to build an entire event to promote their brand? With a dedicated base of customers, a well-planned event could generate significant impressions for any of my clients. As I limped back to my car with the loaded trucks behind me, I was thankful that I do live event marketing for a living, and not production setup! I’ll be reaching out to my clients with my new ideas – and with the crew of In Depth Events in my back pocket, you’ll be sure to see my clients brands glowing soon!

Author: Robert Chapman