Planning A Fundraising Gala

Love this campaign by Stella. "Worth it" ✨ Playing off a familiar scene we all know. That claustrophobic bar. Enter "Claustrobar" You're crammed shoulder to shoulder... Getting bumped left and right. Then you get your first sip. Makes it all worth it. 👀 Or does it...? We're seeing the OPPOSITE trend for B2B events. Marketers want smaller more niche events. Think dinners with 15 to 25 people. ONLY the exact ICP they want. We just did our Q1 retro at The Alliance 🧵 NEW Q1 EVENT DATA FOR YOU: Dinners under 25 people drove 3.4 times higher average pipeline per attendee than 200+ person field events Sponsor satisfaction scores were 27 points higher for private dinners vs traditional happy hours Events with personalized pre invite cadences had a 35 percent average acceptance rate among ICP targets Renewal rates on sponsor programs anchored around curated dinners hit 82 percent, compared to 58 percent for "open bar" events Thats why we're doubling down on niche events. Dinners and intimate VIP exeperiences. Why they worked so well: Step 1: ICP first targeting Every attendee list starts with sponsor aligned ICP firmographic filters: Company size, role seniority, industry fit, existing buying intent. Step 2: Personalized outreach Dedicated in house teams send direct invites framed around relevance. We track weekly acceptance rates and optimize touchpoints if we fall below 30 percent. Step 3: Pre event intel Sponsors get attendee insights two weeks before the dinner. They know which companies and titles are coming so they can plan the content PRECISELY for that audience to make it hyper relevant. Step 4: Structured conversations No loud music. No random crowds. Strategic seating charts and guided conversation topics aligned to the topics attendees and sponsors care about. This makes the experiences great for BOTH the company sponsoring and the attendees. Ends in a win win for everyone. Example for you: At our Austin dinner for a sponsor in Jan - 17 handpicked senior leaders attended - 76 percent of attendees booked follow up demos within 21 days - The sponsor sourced $3.2 million in net new pipeline which was 3.1 times their original goal TLDR Invest in more dinners ✌️ 

4 steps framework for organizing a net zero event. (Offsetting your carbon footprint should be the last one) When planning sustainable events - most companies think of offsetting first. And other 3 important steps are usually skipped. If you don't want to make the same mistake. Follow this framework: Step 1. 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 Make a conscious effort to avoid venues, transport, or other activities that create more emissions than others. Step 2. 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Focus on improving efficiency, reusing materials, and minimizing waste to lower the overall carbon footprint of the event. Step 3. 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 Substitute high-carbon activities with low-carbon alternatives. Consider virtual or hybrid events to reduce travel-related emissions. Step 4. 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 Invest in carbon offset projects to balance out the emissions that cannot be eliminated, such as renewable energy projects or reforestation initiatives. Following these steps sequentially lowers your event's footprint to begin with. Minimizes waste and saves the natural resources along the way. And reduces offsetting cost too. So when you are organizing your next event. Focus on these biggest emission sources first. And apply the 4-step framework to each one of them. Start with 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Responsible for 45% of emissions. Use shared vehicles, public transport, or carpool. Offer virtual attendance options. Then consider the 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 Contributes to 20% of emissions. Choose venues with renewable energy. Opt for green or LEED-certified buildings. Then think about the 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 sources Makes up 15% of emissions. Source food locally. Offer plant-based options. Avoid food waste. And plan for 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 Adds 10% to the emissions. Select venues with waste management programs. Use biodegradable utensils and reusable items. And finally, 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 That contributes to 10% to the emissions. Use renewable energy sources. Schedule events during daylight hours. So by following this four-step process. And focusing on the bigger emission sources first. You can plan a more sustainable event without any external support. 🌍 And you don't have to be a sustainability pro for it! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now that I've shared the framework and steps, excuses like 'We lack the expertise' or 'It will cost more' just don’t cut it. What’s your excuse now? Comment with the lamest excuse you’ve heard for not organizing sustainable events? #SustainableEvents #NetZero #GreenMeetings

Are you an Old‑School Event Marketer or a New‑School Event Marketer? Old‑School: - “Bigger booth, bigger budget” = strategy - Swag splurges & steak‑house dinners with zero ROI math - Measures success by registrations instead of pipeline - Treats the conference as a one‑day stunt, then closes the spreadsheet - No persona segmentation, same agenda for prospects, customers, & partners - Relies on badge scans, fishbowls, and luck for lead capture - Ignores virtual or hybrid formats (“We’re an in‑person company!”) - Engagement stops when the lights go off, no post‑event nurture track - Decisions made on gut feel, not unit economics or understanding the P&L New‑School: - Begins with ICP clarity and a revenue‑backwards event brief - Maps the entire attendee journey: pre‑event teasers → in‑event moments → post‑event campaigns - Uses AI for smart matchmaking, personalized agendas, on‑site coaching, and post‑show enrichment - Integrates every touch into CRM & RevOps dashboards: CAC, payback, influenced ARR, CLTV - Collaborates with Sales & CS to find expansion opps with customers, not just hand-offs - Blends formats: micro‑webinars, community roundtables, regional pop‑ups, to lower CAC and widen reach - Scores success on quality meetings, pipeline velocity, and expansion revenue - Runs Calendar & Capacity tests to right‑size staffing before adding headcount - Partners with the CFO, budget tied to strategic KPIs, not vanity metrics - Knows why the event hit (or missed) the number and evolves assumptions quarter‑to‑quarter Event marketers can’t win on their own. The best know how to involve each team throughout the process. It’s not just execution. It’s communication, evaluation, and impact. In conclusion, new-school event marketers are strategy partners. Not task rabbits. New-School event marketers pick modern event tech. Check out Accelevents --> https://hubs.la/Q03fjrP30

I’ve been leading demand generation strategy for events at Microsoft and these are the top 3 key audience marketing strategies: First step when assigned to an event 🔍Segmentation and Targeting: It’s super important to understand the audience by breaking them down into specific segments based on their unique needs and behaviors. This enables us to deliver tailored messaging and campaigns. For example, we might segment our audience into "enterprise customers," "small businesses," and "individual users." By customizing our approach for each group, we ensure our marketing campaigns resonate and address their distinct challenges thus drawing them in as registered attendees. Secondly, a focus on ✍🏿Personalization and Engagement: As a demand gen lead, I want to make our interactions feel personalized to ensure our target audience engages with any content we put out so we can foster deeper connections. This includes personalized email campaigns, product and event recommendations, and targeted ads. In our touch points we also showcase various other pull-through methods such as interactive content such as webinars, surveys, and live events to keep our audience engaged. By understanding and addressing individual needs, we create a more meaningful and impactful relationship with our customers and partners. Last but not least 📝Storytelling and Content Marketing: As a storyteller myself, it’s important to me that we craft compelling narratives that showcase the benefits of our products and services through our events. Through a mix of content formats like blog posts, whitepapers, case studies, and social media updates, we tell stories that highlight how our solutions solve real-world problems. For example, we might share stories about how our cloud services have transformed businesses, or how our AI technologies are driving innovation, or how AI-skilling is making an impa on real people. This approach helps build an emotional connection with our audience, making Microsoft a trusted and relatable brand. These are only a few key strategies, but, by implementing these strategies, we drive demand generation and build lasting relationships with our customers and partners through our event experiences. As a demand gen lead, my workstream is the first touchpoint to the potential attendee — and I love to make it a magical one. Are you an event marketer? What are your marketing tactics? Share below. Here's to successful marketing! 📈🚀 #theBOLDjourney #audiencemarketing #eventmarketing

According to Bain & Company, people were willing to pay a +12% premium for sustainability-marketed products in 2023. For years, not implementing sustainable solutions into events have been cited with concerns around cost, which is hurting the industry's ability to innovate and frankly, are not entirely accurate. ➡️ if events choose plant-based menus over beef, costs are cut significantly. ➡️ if events cut down on unnecessary design elements + consumption, costs are cut significantly. ➡️ if the event is hosted locally and/or virtually, costs can be cut in various ways. to name a few. And...any of the above can enable budget for services such as composting, which, in 2024, should be standard operating procedure for venues + caterers, anyway. Next, do compostable disposables cost more than plastic? yes, and... 🛑 compostable disposables live in landfill for 200+ years if not properly industrially composted. 🛑 plastic lives in landfill for 400+ years, if not recycled properly (black plastic is unable to be recycled, ever, at this current juncture). One solution? use extra budget freed up from your plant-based menus and limited consumption to incorporate real equipment (china, flatware, glassware, etc.) and staff to support the washing of these elements, instead. How to make a case that the 12% premium go to your event budget? Paint the long term picture of increased employee retention, better attendee engagement, brand reputation and positive event associations aligned with consciously prioritizing sustainability to your client, boss, agency, etc. Even for those still only analyzing outcomes through the lens of revenue, these are all the historic signifiers of long term success, not short term gains. Prioritizing longevity requires sustainable innovation; whatever business or position you are in. #eventsofpurpose #sustainableeventstrategy

Events typically account for 21% of corporate marketing budgets according to Splash (SplashThat.com), which means that if your marketing budget is $1M per year, $200,000 will be allocated to event marketing. To achieve a good return on investment from event marketing, it's important to consider the following: 1. Forecast the challenges that your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) will face in the future and lead the way in changing their mindset, behavior, and approach to implementing solutions. 2. Plan events at different stages of the marketing funnel: - For awareness, consider panel talks, conferences, founder live sessions, debates, and community meetups. - For consideration, host thought webinars, case study deep dives, and events with partners. 3. Set measurable metrics for events, including: - The number of relevant ICPs invited - The number of relevant ICPs who attended - Brand affinity - Net Promoter Score (NPS) - Brand reach generated - Demos - Signups - Potential revenue (in case of longer sales cycles or time-to-paid conversions for shorter cycles) - Sentiment of people who talked about the event - Number of people referred to for future events. 4. It is recommended to have a combination of personal and automated communications throughout the event campaign. Personal Communications: - Invitations from the founder - Invitations to team members - Shoutouts to the community - Shoutouts to creators - Promotions for influencers Automated Communications: - Sending necessary communications to educate and entertain attendees, as well as to set expectations regarding what to look forward to during the event. - Conducting surprise polls and contests during the event. - Configuring email/phone number automations based on the relevant ICPs (Ideal Customer Profiles) with appropriate messaging. Hope this helped today for anyone who wants to crack #eventmarketing in #b2b. Feel free to share it within your org and help your peers grow.

Why 90% of Marketing Campaigns Fail Before They Begin? Most marketing campaigns don’t fail because of bad execution. They fail before they even start. Why? Because they’re built on shaky foundations. Here’s what typically happens: 👉“Our product is for everyone.” The moment you say that, your campaign is for no one. Successful campaigns speak to specific people, with specific needs, in a specific way. 👉“We’re the best in the market.” Great—but what makes you different? If you can’t answer that in one sentence, neither can your customer. 👉Jumping to “Let’s run ads” or “Let’s hire influencers” without a plan. Tactics without strategy are like playing darts blindfolded. You might hit the target, but it’s pure luck. Viral dances? Chatbots? AI tools? These can amplify success, but they’re not a shortcut. A broken strategy amplified is still… broken. “We want to increase engagement.” What does that mean? Engagement is a vanity metric unless it drives a business result—sales, signups, or retention. Here’s the truth: The campaigns that win are the ones that start with clarity—on their audience, positioning, strategy, and goals. Before you launch your next campaign, ask yourself: 👉Who exactly are we speaking to? 👉What makes us different? 👉How will we measure success? Marketing isn’t just about getting loud. It’s about getting CLEAR. Get the foundation right, and your campaigns won’t just launch—they’ll land. Have you seen campaigns struggle because the basics weren’t clear from the start? What’s your experience? #marketing #campaigns #growthmarketing

We currently have the largest potential donor class in history. Baby Boomers are reaching peak giving age with unprecedented wealth. The number of high-net-worth households has grown substantially. Yet the percentage of American households reporting charitable donations is actually falling.  How do we explain this paradox? There may be an answer in the data: The decline in reported giving correlates directly with plummeting church attendance. As fewer Americans attend religious services regularly, collection plate giving has fallen dramatically. According to data from Giving USA, the percentage of total charitable giving happening at Church has fallen from 50% in the 1990s to roughly 29% today. Meanwhile, direct marketing channels are capturing a larger share of those who do give. While traditional giving methods like collection plates see declining participation, direct marketing is actually growing in importance. Direct mail continues to outperform expectations. Despite being declared "dead" repeatedly, it consistently delivers stronger response rates than many digital alternatives. This makes sense when you think about it. Our physical mailboxes are less cluttered than they were 20 years ago. Meanwhile, our email inboxes are overflowing. A well-crafted direct mail piece stands out today in ways it couldn't when everyone was doing it. At the same time, electronic giving continues to grow. The convenience of digital donations aligns perfectly with modern lifestyles. What does this mean for nonprofits? 1. Double down on direct marketing. As traditional giving methods decline, these channels become even more crucial. 2. Focus on integration. The organizations seeing the best results combine direct mail with digital touchpoints. 3. Use data to drive decisions. Track which channels perform best for which donor segments. 4. Test timing variations. How quickly you follow up after initial contact dramatically impacts results. The fundraising landscape is changing rapidly. But these shifts create new opportunities for organizations willing to adapt. What changes are you seeing in your donors' giving preferences?

ART OF MANAGING MASSIVE CROWDS. Crowd control management is a complex field focused on managing large human gatherings safely and efficiently. One of the most common strategies is the use of barriers and fencing to guide crowd movement, creating controlled entry and exit points while minimizing potential bottlenecks or stampedes. The psychology of crowd behavior plays a significant role in planning. Engineers study how people tend to follow each other, move toward open spaces, and avoid obstructions, which influences the placement of paths and exits. Zoned areas or sections are designed to limit overcrowding in specific areas. This technique helps manage the density of people in different locations, such as splitting festival grounds into separate zones to prevent too many people gathering in one place. Surveillance technology, including drones and high-tech cameras, is increasingly used to monitor large crowds. This allows real-time analysis and can quickly alert authorities to emerging issues like congestion or aggressive behavior. Temporary structures like modular grandstands or elevated platforms provide organizers with flexible seating or viewing options while maintaining crowd safety and flow. Sound-based crowd control techniques, like using loudspeakers to provide clear instructions or warnings, can help prevent panic or direct people in case of emergencies. Crowd modeling and simulation software is often used to predict how people will move in different environments, allowing planners to design venues that minimize risks and improve evacuation routes. The concept of "herding" is often applied. By subtly influencing the movement of individuals, crowd managers can steer large groups toward safer areas without them realizing they are being guided. Visual signals, such as colored lights or flags, are commonly used at events to indicate designated areas or to guide crowds away from certain locations. The use of buffer zones or empty spaces between different crowd segments prevents the merging of groups, reducing pressure in critical areas. Tactile pathways or textured flooring are sometimes used to subtly guide crowds, as changes in texture can influence how people move or stand. Police and security personnel often employ non-invasive methods like horseback patrols or mounted units, which can have a calming effect on large crowds while also providing a commanding presence.

Exploring the diverse world of table service reveals a range of styles tailored to various dining settings and cultural norms: 1. American Service (Plated Service): - Food is meticulously arranged in the kitchen and promptly presented to diners. - Commonly observed in restaurants and laid-back dining environments for its efficiency. 2. French Service: - Exudes sophistication and formality. - Involves partially preparing dishes in the kitchen and showcasing final touches at the table or from a specialized cart (gueridon). - Demands adept staff and a more leisurely pace. 3. Russian Service (Silver Service): - Showcasing culinary finesse, meals are prepared in the kitchen and elegantly served in communal dishes. - Skilled servers meticulously dish out portions using utensils at the table, embodying a formal dining experience. 4. English Service (Family Style): - Promotes a communal dining atmosphere where platters are brought to the table for guests to help themselves. - Typically favored in familial or casual gatherings. 5. Buffet Service: - Encourages guests to indulge in a diverse array of dishes arranged on a central table or counter. - Can be self-serve or overseen by attendants for a seamless dining experience. 6. Gueridon Service: - Building on the elegance of French service, Gueridon adds a touch of culinary theatrics by preparing or flambeing dishes tableside. - Offers a bespoke dining experience, creating an engaging spectacle for diners. Each style encapsulates unique elements, catering to distinct preferences and enhancing the dining journey with its individual charm and flair. #HospitalityEnthusiast