By Van Adams

The vast majority of golf outings I have ever participated in or produced, golf balls bearing the event or sponsor’s logo were always distributed.  Gone are the days when placing your brand’s logo on a golf ball, or any other item, is enough to create maximum exposure for your brand.

Consumers are bombarded with images and marketing messages 24/7 that can leave them immune to your marketing message and call to actions. It is important to strategically use logo placement in meaningful ways that will have a lasting impression on your target audience.

So what can you do to maximize your brand at events?  Here are a few ideas:

On-Site Logo Placement. 

Think beyond traditional event signage. Consider logo placement on floors, walls or ceilings through custom GOBO style lighting.  A well-designed ice sculpture incorporated in the food or beverage station serves to maximize the brand visibility and adds to the event décor. Registration tablecloths, wait staff aprons, podiums and the dais are great surfaces for logo placement.

Product Demonstrations.

Who doesn’t enjoy a little show and tell every once and a while? Product demonstrations provide the perfect opportunity to educate the consumer. The “touch and feel” element allows for one-on-one interaction between the brand’s representative, the product and the potential consumer. Consider setting up a test drive area for your auto sponsor, or a cooking demonstration for your cookware brand sponsor. In either case, the vehicle or appliance becomes your logo placement.

Sampling Opportunities.

Taste buds can be discriminating, food and beverage brands often take advantage of the opportunity to show attendees how to prepare the products at home and share different recipes using those products. Sampling opportunities provide another way for a brand representative or ambassador to connect directly with the consumer - gaining immediate feedback on the product(s) being sampled. Sampling can go beyond food and beverage as well. Personal care products, such as cosmetics and fragrance can provide sampling opportunities as well.

Contests & Promotions

Give attendees the opportunity to be interactive and win a prize that they can take home or make arrangements for pick up /delivery. Contests and promotions can vary from “enter to win”, “coupon redemptions”, “scratch and reveals”, and so on. Just about anything imaginable. So be creative.

Media.

Traditional media elements such as press releases, and interviews aside, consider custom electronic invitations and online registration. Display promotional clip showcasing brands that are involved with the event on monitors throughout the event.  Allow brands to stream live footage from the event and have a videographer onsite to capture the event for promotional use post-event.

The Gift Bag.

For some, the better the gift bag, the better the event experience. Items included in the gift bag should have value consistent with the caliber of the event and have life beyond the event day (perishable items non-withstanding).  It is an added perk when the actual bag used to hold the premiums can be reused!

Logo placement on gift bag items should have a clear connection with the item it is emblazoned on. For example, a gardening company might place their logo on individual packages of plant seeds vs. a memo pad. In some cases, sponsors provide logoed items already in their possession for the gift bags.  Just be sure the items are appropriate for the event, and your audience.  Keep in mind that not every sponsor’s brand will have an appropriate place as a give-a-way item. And that is okay.  This is where you can call on creativity to find other ways to maximize their brands throughout the event.

Unless it’s a gift certificate, resist the urge to put flyers and other printed materials in the gift bag. Save the printed materials for display areas, where people who are interested can take copies as they wish.  This not only reduces the amount of wasted paper, it also saves the sponsor money by making better use of their marketing materials.

Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box and move away from the cookie cutter approach with logo placement. Move beyond the logo on the golf ball and bring the brand into play throughout the event.

Adaptation of original works penned by Van Adams, first published in Corporate Marketer Magazine to help marketers maximize their exposure during the economic downturn. “Going beyond the logo on a golf ball: tips for maximizing your brand at corporate events”

http://www.corporatelogo.com/articles/maximize-clients-logo-at-golf-outings.html