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Event Promotion Gone Terribly Wrong + 3 Tips for Success


— May 19, 2020

Taking advantage of different social media platforms is the first and one of the most vital steps towards a successful event promotion, so be sure not to skip it under any circumstances.


Your business is finally blooming and you’re getting ready to launch a new product or service, but you don’t really know how to plan out your event promotion? Look no further because we’re here to help you out! Here are three examples of event promotion that went terribly wrong, so that you know what NOT to do, as well as three amazing tips that’ll help you organize and promote an event with success. Just stay with us, keep on reading, check them out, and get down to business right away!

Why certain event promotions were doomed to failure

  • A terrible celebrity endorsement fail

Needless to say, many companies and businesses choose to hire celebrities to promote their products and events, and there’s nothing strange about that, right? Well, of course not – until a PR company decides that putting words in other people’s mouths is a great idea. That’s exactly what happened with DeSean Jackson, a famous American football player, who was hired to promote a Nokia party a few years ago. They wanted him to share a specific message on Twitter; however, he retweeted the whole thing – including the instructions from the PR company. Even though he deleted the tweet quite quickly, it certainly made him an object of ridicule for a while! 

  • An inappropriate Easter church service spelling fail

Another event promotion fail made us realize that proper spelling indeed matters a lot – especially if you’re a primary school administrator in charge of sending out an event reminder to dozens of parents. Here’s what happened: a primary school administrator from the UK was sending a message to the parents to remind them about the upcoming Easter church service, telling them to bring their dirty Wellington boots that need to be washed. But here’s the catch – instead of ‘dirty Wellies’, the administrator misspelled it as ‘dirty willies”, which has a rather rude connotation. Of course, they apologized to everyone who felt offended by the message, but one thing is certain – proper spelling truly is essential!

  • A super embarrassing hashtag fail

Yes, everyone knows that creating authentic hashtags is an important part of any event promotion, but you know what? You should be extra careful when brainstorming, especially if you don’t want to end up like poor Susan Boyle, a famous Scottish singer and a Britain’s Got Talent contestant. Her new album was about to come out, so her PR team wanted to create a ‘Susan Album Party’ hashtag, which ended up looking like this: #susanalbumparty. However, many people interpreted it in a drastically different way, claiming that it sounds like this: Su’s Anal Bum Party. Even though that wasn’t at all what they wanted, the truth is that this hashtag was trending on Twitter and succeeded to raise awareness of the event. But, it surely isn’t the smartest marketing idea, is it?

How to organize an event promotion with success?

  • Take advantage of social media promotion

    Smartphone with “Social” on the screen & various social media icons, sitting on computer keyboard; image by Geralt, via Unsplash.com.
    Smartphone with “Social” on the screen & various social media icons, sitting on computer keyboard; image by Geralt, via Unsplash.com.

Taking advantage of different social media platforms is the first and one of the most vital steps towards a successful event promotion, so be sure not to skip it under any circumstances. First of all, come up with a Facebook page focused on your event and then share it in a bunch of different groups. Paid promotion is also a good idea, as well as creating a Facebook event where people can read everything about it and confirm their attendance. Instagram is another widely-used platform you should take into consideration, as well as LinkedIn. These can help attract the right audience to your event if you post enticing photos and share short videos about the event. Twitter and similar platforms will do the trick, too, depending on your target audience, so try them out and you’ll see what we were talking about!

  • Install signage that sends a clear message

When it comes to the event itself, your company’s visual identity should be one of your top priorities, which is why you should try your best to do it right. Besides that, many people have stage fright and feel very nervous when attending an event, so your next concern should be making sure that everyone feels as safe and welcome as possible. In order to get everything done in the best possible way, all you need to do is to buy a quality media wall that can boost your company’s visual identity while effectively sending your message at the same time. For example, a few media walls should represent your company’s logo and the basic information about your business and event, whereas other ones should include encouraging messages, such as ‘all are welcome here’ or even provide a phone number people would call if they feel unsafe. Depending on your target audience, incorporating messages in different languages, such as Spanish or French, is also a great idea!

  • Come up with unique hashtags and infographics

When speaking about successful event promotion, everyone knows that unique hashtags (not like the previously mentioned Susan Boyle one), as well as infographics, play a huge role in the process. Firstly, these are an easy yet fun way to spread the word about your event – especially if you decide to collaborate with influencers who can take your event promotion to a whole new level. Also, designing a branded hashtag that works only in the context of your marketing is a fantastic idea, so give it a try and you certainly won’t regret it. As for the infographics, you must know that these are one of the best means of digital promotion. These are so amazing because they provide the audience with all the information about your business and the event itself, while being presented in a nice graphic sheet that will catch everyone’s attention. That’s exactly what you want, right? 

As you can see, there are so many fabulous ways to make your event promotion as successful as possible, so that it doesn’t end up catastrophically like the aforementioned ones. If that’s your biggest concern, all you have to do is to stick to our useful tips and you’ll do everything you can to make your event promotion right. That’s a promise!

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