Now that "event marketing" is cool again, in other words,out of the penny-wise, pound-dumbass closet it's been stuck in since the dot-bomb crash, is it time to budget for glam venues and uber-cool sites for your product announcements? Perhaps not, but---it's time for common-sense marketing: make your stage, which provides the context, consistent with the content of your announcement. What a concept, huh? It astonishes me how many people ignore this simple principle. Result: they miss a great chance to amplify their message in a memorable, personal way. Truth be told, you may not need a gleaming hotel ballroom or a cavernous convention center. Unless your name is Steve Jobs, the more intimate and cozy your venue, and -- here's the key -- the more RELEVANT, the greater the chance for your brand to resonate. A museum that focuses on specific kinds of exhibitions may represent the perfect backdrop for your product. Most museums, eager for exposure and support, are only too happy to oblige. History museums might be just the thing for an announcement of product with a historical angle. Better yet, use the history angle to emphasize the "history" being made by your announcement. Be careful here, however. If you're stretching too far, you'll break and look really stupid in the process. The point is, if the medium is the message, then the context can enhance the content. Event marketing is alive and well. Don't believe people who dismiss it as passe. Parties are fun, and great parties are great fun. No one was ever bored into buying anything and the old sales adage that "it's all in the presentation" didn't become an adage by coincidence. Identify the right context, and have fun with it.
