An event marketing agency is a company that works to promote the special events of client corporations. This can include trade shows, job fairs, conferences, circuses, theater productions and concerts. When choosing an agency to represent your company's events, you should consider general factors such as experience, capabilities, value and reputation. You may also want to consider the agency's understanding of your corporate culture, image and audience base.
Experience in the industry is most certainly a key consideration when choosing an event marketing agency. Agencies whose main focus is event promotion and that have marketed numerous events are usually more likely to be able to develop and execute an effective, on-time and on-budget marketing campaign. Some agencies specialize in certain types of events or in events for certain industries. You will most likely not want to choose an agency that specializes outside of your event type or industry.
You will want to ask prospective agencies who is on their client list and find out the kinds of events they have promoted. For example, if your company is a hospital and you are planning a health fair for the local community, your audience will be very different from an office supply company planning a trade show event for existing and prospective clients. You'll want to ensure that the event marketing agency you choose has promoted health care-related events in the past or at least has the understanding and capability to effectively reach your prospective audience. Client lists are also a good way to verify an agency's reputation.
Consider evaluating an event marketing agency on the value it can provide rather than on the price of the proposal. There will be times when an agency's proposal is simply outside your budget, but if more than one agency provides a plan that falls within the budget, consider the services, experience and reputation you receive under each proposal. You may find that neither the least expensive nor the most expensive is the best value for your dollar. The most expensive option might provide services you do not need and the least expensive might be excluding important touch points.
All typical considerations notwithstanding, the event marketing industry is an ever-evolving, highly creative industry. There may be occasions when a new, innovative agency is a better choice than a proven, experienced agency. This happens most often when the client company has an offbeat corporate culture, is promoting a new and novel concept or product or is hosting a highly unusual event. In these cases, the fresh approach of a creative but less experienced event marketing agency may be more effective. If you choose an agency with little experience, however, be aware that you may encounter issues in the execution stage of promotion.