5 Types of Field Marketing Events to Add to Your Marketing Toolbox

Planning

Sep 21

Planning

5 Types of field marketing events to add to your marketing toolbox

Sara Iannacone · 9/21/2023

Field marketing is a powerful approach for companies looking to build brand awareness and drive sales. In particular, field marketing events. So today, we’re sharing all you need to know about this powerful event marketing strategy!

Field marketing events are one of the most powerful ways to engage potential and current clients. Unlike traditional marketing techniques, which may rely on mass media or digital channels to reach potential customers, field marketing events take place on the ground, in real-life settings where consumers can interact directly with brand ambassadors and experience products in an immersive way. The result is building meaningful and impenetrable connections between you and your target audience.

So today, we’re talking about all things field marketing events, from what they are and what kinds to add to your strategy.

What is field marketing, and why are events a good strategy?

Field marketing can typically be defined as concentrated marketing efforts on the ground in a specific region or location. The field marketing team’s goal is to bring your product or service to your people! By bringing your brand directly to your ideal consumer, field marketing events create opportunities for memorable experiences that can help build brand loyalty and generate buzz around new products or services.

Events are powerful for field marketing because they allow you to get creative in a way that directly addresses the unique needs and desires of the area you’re targeting. People using your product or service in NYC may differ in desires or pain points, or even aesthetics, than someone in Dallas.

For this reason, your field marketing efforts allow you to adapt your marketing strategies to the unique characteristics and preferences of each area, ultimately increasing your chances of success in those markets. Effective field marketing requires careful planning, local market research, and the ability to connect with customers on a personal level.

Here are a few ways you can do that:

Different giveaways at your events—Cowboys tickets vs. Giants tickets or a lease for the top-selling product in the region
Engaging different community groups that pertain to your business in each area
Changing up marketing efforts and marketing language to suit diverse target audiences
Regional menus for mingling over meals
Being mindful of cultural norms and customs in different regions—especially when hosting international field events—to ensure you avoid unintended offense or misunderstandings in your marketing

These are just a few! How you change it up will depend on the event type, which we’re digging into next.

Powerful field marketing events for ROI

So, what types of field marketing events are most powerful in terms of ROI? While it depends on what your marketing, we’ve found that these are most popular for our clients:

Product launch events

By hosting a launch event, you’re inviting prospects and current customers to experience your newest products, hands-on, in an environment that is oozing with excitement.

Invite influencers to create social buzz, choose a trendy venue and creative caterer, ask current clients and prospects to join. This type of marketing could get more people talking about your brand and create positive associations with it.

A few features you may want to add are:

Immersive branding: You want your logo and imagery that align with the region and product wrapping around the venue on every blank surface.
Live demonstrations: Have your product managers cultivate captivating live demos where people can use all five senses to engage with the product.
Get media coverage: Invite the local press to join you if it’s a market you need a little more buzz in.
A compelling hook: Why are they going? While the chance to see your product first is huge, it’s sometimes not enough. What are the giveaways? Who is going? Create a little FOMO.

Educational workshops

By educating your target audience with your products at the forefront, you’re opening their eyes to the capabilities and opportunities. At the end of the workshop, offer them a discount on your product or service that’s a limited-time offer.

Plus, the main thing with marketing is that you want to build trust to lead to sales. Educational, value-based content for your audience is going to be the key to building that.

Distributor/channel partner meetings

Field marketing should also work hand-in-hand with your regional distributors or channel partners. They can either do quarterly meetings where they offer demos and perks for the channel partners or help them host field marketing events for their own clientele to increase third-party sales.

Networking events

Many high-ticket sales start with relationship building that begins in the marketing phase. With this, host monthly networking events for your target audience to start building those relationships.

You can do things like:

Wine tastings if you’re close to Napa
Lunch and learn events
Cocktails and connections evening events
Breakfasts with your CEO

Get as creative as possible and focus on tying everything back to your current offers.

For simplified private dining reservations, check out our partner, SixPlus.

Community engagement events/Pop-up shops

When there’s a local fair, festival, or event, you may want to get in on it with a pop-up shop if your ideal audience will be in attendance. These types of high-traffic events are game-changers when it comes to local marketing.

You’ll want to think about:

Having interactive elements like a product demo, free samples, giveaways, etc.
Using visual merchandising techniques with lighting, signage, and décor to create eye-catching displays that draw prospects in.
Leveraging via social media pre-event by sharing teasers and sneak peeks of what locals will find.

The ROI for these could be sales at the event or simply generating more emails for your list.

Customer appreciation events

Sometimes, the best field marketing events are simply to say thank you. When you treat your customers with respect and gratitude, they’re more likely to become return customers. Try to do these regionally at least once a year! And if you want more tips on how to plan these and why they’re important, check out this blog.

Need help planning your field marketing events?

Our BoomPop team plans more than just team offsites. We help clients create custom events—many of which are field marketing events designed to bolster their engagement, reach, and bottom line. Let’s chat about your current event marketing strategy and how we can help!