Event Department – a live communication agency – organises around sixty events per year. Think about brand events, award shows, galas, premieres, employee parties, congresses and press events. Events have become an essential part of the marketing mix, says Maxime Coesèl, event manager at Event Department. In this interview, she explains how Momice helps her with the communication around events.
The Esquire Best Dressed Man event is an event Coesèl is particularly proud of. “This will be the third year I can take on this event as project manager, which is very exciting. It is a high-quality brand event at which the invitees will step into the world of Esquire. It is very important that all elements fit the brand. For me, it’s quite a challenge to ensure that all of Esquire’s partners can have a fitting activation that increases the value of the event at the same time.”
Events are an indispensable part of the communication strategy
The opportunity to create content during events is very beneficial. It results in reaching both the invitees and the online target audience – through aftermovies, for example. “Next to the PR output of a movie premiere, the aftermovie and social content should attract people as well. The perfect social content is innovative and surprising, resulting in widely shared online posts and a trending event. That is also our added value. In addition, we ensure to get the most out of the available budget and to add value through sponsors and partners. We do more than just organise a good party.”
Events are an important form of direct communication with the target audience, according to Coesèl. “It is important to focus on live communication, especially in times with so many stimuli. You can leave an impression that lingers more than through television commercials, for example. As a marketing department, you achieve the best results with events and it is therefore not surprising that more and more brands see their added value. Events are a marketing tool that is indispensable in the marketing mix.”
Events show involvement of the target audience
“Organisations are becoming increasingly aware that live communication is a creative and distinctive way to bring their message to the attention. An event can be a stand-alone tool, but it is even better when the event is part of the entire communication strategy. Fortunately, events are becoming increasingly strategic and creative.”
Read about the 8 steps for an overall event strategy here.
Coesèl draws inspiration from the Gouden Giraffe [Golden Giraffe] Event Award. “There, you can also see that events have conquered a place in the marketing strategy. For example, the National Curling Championship achieves an impressive media value. Events not only help with communicating internal goals with employees, but are also proven means of shaping external communication. Live communication really is something different from liking or sharing a message on social media. Thanks to live communication, attendees ‘experience’ a brand and feel involved in it. After the event, we measure the effect by evaluating the objectives. The attendees’ reactions and value of all the free publicity (both online and traditional media) are relevant for this.”
Momice adds value
The event communication is an important part of the organisation of an event, says Coesèl. “We send out invitations and create event websites with Momice. That first moment of contact with the target audience is of great importance. After all, it is the first impression the event can make. From that moment on, all communication (except for the event itself) with the target audience runs via the Momice platform. That is why this must also be completely in line with the concept and appearance of the event. Momice makes that possible.”
“We used to send printed invitations – which is very expensive – or simple e-mail invitations. Now we can create and send invitations easily and quickly with Momice. It looks much more professional, is more streamlined and saves us a lot of time. If we had to keep track of invitees manually, with Excel for example, I would go crazy. So we are very pleased with this event registration software. In addition, the Momice team is always ready to think along and – if necessary – create custom solutions.”
The event manager of Event Department attended the last edition of Connecting the Dots, the event series by Momice. “The amount of event managers there that indicated they don’t really know the event objective really surprised me. I think the Event Blueprint offers a solution for business or corporate events. It is very useful that Momice organises events like that.”
Conclusion
Event Department helps organisations with all sorts of events and forms of live communication, such as brand activations, premieres and employee parties. According to Maxime Coesèl, events have become an essential part of the marketing mix and are distinctive from other forms of communication. Thanks to Momice, Event Department saves time and the first moment of contact with the target audience runs smoothly and clear. As a bonus, Connecting the Dots provides to be of added value for event managers.
