How to activate the perfect international marketing strategy for your event or festival

A fact of our industry is that the financial viability of a given event relies on thin margins. As a result, attention to detail is a must. When it comes time to market your event, in order to achieve a successful campaign, event organisers have to optimally use all channels available to them. It sounds simple, but it doesn’t matter how great your lineup is or how unique your event setting is, if no one knows about it.

Another fact about events is that international customers spend more money than locals. Even before they set foot in your venue, international customers will have had to travel to the area, likely have had to sort accommodations and potentially local transport as well. These are three areas that promoters can use to add up to 10-15% to their revenue stream outside the walls of their event. Not only do these offer financial gains, but they also offer prime opportunities to accrue useful data about your customer base which in turn can be used to optimise your future campaigns even further.

Event travel was the pervasive trend in the events industry pre-pandemic and as all countries around the world have been in the process of coming out of various levels of event and travel restrictions, Festicket surveyed 140,000 festival-goers to see if the trend would continue in the post-pandemic world. It looks as though this will be the case with 79% of respondents saying they are comfortable with attending events now, and over 50% answered they are ready to travel internationally to attend events. 

Build one-of-a-kind experience packages with egTravel 

In order to appeal to international customers, an event must address all of the customer’s needs. This means having offerings for international and local travel, accommodations, and interesting things to do when in the local area (such as sightseeing tours, food tourism options, etc.) egTravel is a one stop shop for putting together comprehensive offerings for international customers. Our team of experienced travel professionals are here to do all the heavy lifting by building and promoting bespoke travel packages for your international and domestic fans alike.

Tell the story of your event and location

Once your offerings are in place it is important to promote not only your travel packages, but also the event location itself. Of course it is crucial that international customers are interested in your event, but it is almost equally important that they are interested in the local area as well. Content showing off the unique character and charm of your event’s surrounding region can grow the experience of your event into a holiday and a chance to experience a new, interesting destination. 

Speak their language 

In order to reach the broadest audience possible and increase SEO in other countries, this content should be translated into multiple languages. As a truly global operation, all our egTicketing, egTravel and egMarketing products operate in 9 translated languages, over 40 accepted currencies, 16 local payment methods and make use of localised international marketing expertise. If you believe your event would resonate with people in a particular country or you have specific countries you’d like to target, putting out press releases in local authoritative publications is a great way to promote your event and ensure it reaches the right audience.

Get social 

Any successful international marketing campaign has to utilise social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok each appeal to slightly different audiences, so it’s important to understand who your target audience is and which platform is best to reach them through. Paid marketing on social media platforms and search engines such as Google is also a useful tool to connect you with international audiences in specific countries and demographics.

Host an offline activation in another country

Creating a pop-up activation in another country is an incredible way of bringing your brand closer to your international audience, while also giving them a real life taste of what your event has to offer.

Spanish giant Mad Cool did this to perfection back in 2019 when they partnered with us to host a pop-up event in London’s Shoreditch area, which featured an outdoor chillout area, free beer, live music, live art and giveaways that included free tickets and merchandise.

Event-goers were also able to get a discount on their event tickets via Festicket, while Mad Cool achieved great exposure and managed to secure press clippings in prestigious local press such as NME and Vice.

‍If you’re interested in finding out more about how Event Genius can help you attract fans from all around the world to your events, get in touch today. Our friendly team would love to hear from you!