Vincent Moulden, Digital Media Manager at Thompson Management Associates, is responsible for creating and marketing mobile apps for his clients events. After finding the right provider and creating an app that’s just right for his clients, he also spends time on marketing the said event app to his clients attendees. Below Vincent shares what marketing strategies and tactics work for him when marketing his clients event apps.
One Key Marketing Lesson Learnt Along the Way
“You definitely have to promote the existence and usefulness of the app. Mentioning it once or twice in an email will not get the results you want.”
Take-away: Don’t be afraid to remind attendees over and over to download the event app.
Best Marketing Channel to Get the Word Out About the Event Apps
“I would say a combination of email, print and in-person. We have a diverse set of attendees so everyone needs to be communicated with differently. I will send an email and hand out printed material but I am also willing to download the app for our less tech savvy attendees.”
Take-away: Tailor the channels you use to the attendees. This may include print despite the irony!
The Most Successful Event App Marketing Tactic
“For our events we send out several email blasts before and during the conference that include information on how to download the app. For some clients I even record a how to download and use video. We also print out business cards that we hand out at the registration desk when attendees pick up materials. We include it on our event guides and also mention it in our opening ceremonies.”
Take-away: To market your app and increase adoption rate, you need a multi-channel marketing strategy tailored to the channels available to you.
Event App Marketing Timeline
“We start marketing a week before the event and this works well for us although I will say we’ve never tried sooner. Our attendees generally wait until the last minute for most things so we feel that promoting it too soon will cause people to push it to the side. Promoting later causes a sense of urgency.”
Take-away: Creating urgency is crucial. At Yapp, we recommend marketing the app when you start registration – key is to be creative with giving attendees a reason to download such as “start networking now” or “participate in a poll”.
Advice to Others Marketing their Event Apps
“It’s good to assign one person on staff who is responsible for the app. Creating it, knowing how to use it, knowing how to download, etc. I think it’s good to have that go to person who can cover all the bases.”
Samples of Vincent’s Event App Marketing Materials
1. A video Vincent created about how to download and use the event app also showcasing specific features in the app.
2. Posters Vincent has used to encourage attendees to download event apps at client events.
3. Email he sent out marketing the event app.
Ultimate Event App Marketing Resource
Marketing your event app requires a strong marketing strategy leveraging all of the channels available at your disposal. However, it does not need to take a lot of time and effort on your part. Get this free Event App Marketing Guide that has a multi-channel marketing strategy, tools, resources and editable marketing materials.
