Guide to Marketing Your On-Campus Event

Guide to Marketing Your On-Campus Event...... 1 1. Introduction...... 1 2. Plan Ahead...... 1 A. Who's Your Audience? ...... 1 B. Create a Marketing Plan...... 2 C. Publicity Design ...... 2 D. Vary Your Tactics...... 2 E. Environmental Impact ...... 2 3. Online Marketing...... 3 A. Online Marketing Tools at Columbia...... 3 B. Other Online Marketing Tools ...... 4 4. Analog Marketing: Fliers and Beyond ...... 4 A. Where to Print...... 4 B. Where to Hang Fliers...... 5 C. Ethics of Fliering ...... 5 D. More Analog Marketing Ideas ...... 5 5. Audience Development ...... 6 A. Why It's Important ...... 6 B. Stay in Touch...... 7 C. Collaboration...... 7

1. Introduction

So you finally have everything ready for your event - the space is reserved, everything has been purchased, the performers are rehearsed, and you're good to go. Now how do you get people to actually come see all your hard work?

There are over 150 student groups at Columbia and thousands of events every year. Your event will almost certainly be competing with performances, classes, lectures, meetings, and more, each vying for the attention and attendance of the Columbia community. This guide is designed to help you make your event more visible and reach out to the kind of audience you want.

2. Plan Ahead

A. Who's Your Audience?

First, determine who your audience is. As exciting as your event may be, there's simply no way for you to interest everyone on campus. Targeting a specific audience will enable you to use your resources wisely, reaching only those who are most likely to respond. Is your event geared to those with a specific interest or affiliation? Who attend a specific school? Think outside the box. For example, a student production of Fiddler on the Roof would want to target theatre enthusiasts, musicians, and family and friends of the performers, but could also consider reaching out to the local Jewish community and human rights activists.

B. Create a Marketing Plan

For every event, you should have a clearly thought-out plan for all of your advertising. This will save you from frantically hanging up posters the day of your event! The plan should include a schedule for all promotional materials, such as when to create an event on Facebook or when to send out emails to your group's members. Think about the timing of your plan so that you don't advertise too early (people will forget about your event by the time it comes around) or too late (no one will know it's happening, or they'll have made other plans).

C. Publicity Design

Carefully consider the design of your marketing. Start by thinking about a couple of key aspects of your event that you want to promote most strongly; this could be the sponsoring group, the performers, the content of the event, the cause behind it, etc. Design your event's logo and posters around those ideas, using eye-catching images.

Above all, all visuals should be clear. Someone stumbling across your event on a calendar, flier, or email should be able to tell exactly what the event is and when. Don't get too carried away with flashy graphics or excessive text; most people won't spend more than a couple of seconds looking at your publicity, and you need to convey all important information to them in that time.

Also, make sure that your publicity is unified. This doesn't mean everything has to look exactly the same, but they should be clearly related. Define your promotional language ahead of time and use the same phrases on posters, in emails, etc. Use the same image (or variations on that theme) for all of your materials; the viewer should be able to mentally connect your poster with the email they received and the Facebook message they got.

D. Vary Your Tactics

People receive information in different ways, so make sure to reach them in as many ways as possible. The internet is a great way to reach people in many different ways - by email, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. You can also couple that with an analog component, to reach people on campus who may not be in your online network, or to emphasize your online message. Don't limit yourself to just one form of publicity.

E. Environmental Impact

Consider the environmental impact of your marketing plan. It is difficult to make much of an impact with one flier in a sea of others plastered on a bulletin board; this method also demands huge resources both to pay for the printing costs and the environmental impact of so much paper. Non-paper marketing tends to be cheaper, easier, and more effective. 3. Online Marketing

A. Online Marketing Tools at Columbia

- Keep a listserv and email past event attendees: This is an excellent way to cultivate your audience and reach out to those who are already interested in your work. If you use the Ticket and Information Center to sell tickets for your event, they can provide you with the names and email addresses of all your attendees.

- Register your event at the Ticket and Information Center: In addition to selling tickets, the TIC will also advertise your event on their website and LCD screens at the TIC in Lerner Hall.

- Columbia Arts Group And Resources List - A listing of all Columbia's arts and culture groups. Make sure your group's information is up-to-date. Let us know if any information is missing or needs to be changed by emailing us at [email protected] with "Student Group Revision" in the email title.

- Arts Initiative E-Newsletter - This e-newsletter lists a sampling of exciting arts and culture events both on and off campus. It goes out every Friday, reaching over 15,000 Columbians. Email your event's information to [email protected] to ask to be included.

- Bwog: This popular campus blog lists events on its sidebar, along with a picture and link to your website. To be included, email the details of your event to [email protected] a day before you want it to appear.

- Columbia Events Calendar: An online calendar listing Columbia events of all kinds. Submit listings one week before the event.

- This Week At SIPA: An listing of events that is posted both online and around SIPA. Fill out the form online to be included.

- Theatre Division Events: A weekly e-newsletter showcasing works by current or previous School of the Arts students. For inclusion, email Jamie Hardy.

- P&S Club Calendar: Online calendar of events hosted by the Physicians and Surgeons Club at the Medical School.

- Student Council Listservs: All student councils have a weekly e-blast featuring announcements and events. To be included, contact your class council or the council's Executive Board.

- Columbia University Performing Arts League (CUPAL) Listserv: Reaches a large listserv of students interested in the performing arts. To get on the listserv or list your event, email [email protected].

- Music Performers Program E-Newsletter: A weekly newsletter sent out to on-campus musicians and also posted online. You must email submission requests to [email protected] by Tuesdays at 5:00pm.

- Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) "Just a Note" e-newsletter. Deadline for submissions is 12:00pm every Wednesday. Send your listing to Marta Equilin at [email protected].

B. Other Online Marketing Tools

- Facebook: Make an Event online and invite your friends. You can also ask everyone involved with your event to change their Facebook profile pictures and statuses to advertise.

- Twitter: Create a Twitter account for your group to advertise your event, link to articles of interest, and generate discussion. You can also tweet @CUarts or other groups who may be interested in your event.

- CUArts Fan Page: Post your event on the wall of CUarts' Fan Page.

- Blogs: Consider creating a blog for your group to share your work and post information. You could also approach another blog about doing a feature on your event or allowing you to post as a guest. For starters, try the CUarts blog.

- Contact heads of departments or professors that may be interested in your event and ask them to pass the word along to their classes.

- Create a website: Google Sites, Free Webs, and Office Live are all free and user-friendly.

- Create a video: A video can be a great way to showcase your event and get people excited. Post it on YouTube, embed it onto a website, or email it out to your friends.

4. Analog Marketing: Fliers and Beyond

A. Where to Print

If you do decide to print posters, palm cards, and/or programs, there are numerous options available, depending on your needs. Below are just a few, in increasing level of cost.

Columbia Printers Every Columbia student gets a certain quota of pages to print for free each week from the Columbia printers. By utilizing the quotas from multiple members of your organization, you can print a large volume of material without cutting into your personal printing needs too much. You can only use quota to print black and white on 8.5"x11" pages.

Barnard Document Services Located in the basement of Milbank Hall, Barnard Printing is fast, efficient, and very reasonably priced. They are very willing to walk you through the printing process to make sure that you're getting what you want. Orders are usually completed in just 1-2 days.

Online Printers There are a number of online companies that provide cheap, good quality printing services, such as 4 Over 4 for paper goods and Custom Ink for apparel and promotional items. However, you must plan ahead when using these services because they may take a while to ship. Columbia Printing Services Located in the basement of the Journalism school, Columbia Printing provides top-notch printing for a variety of needs. However, their rates tend to be a little steep for most student groups.

Village Copier Village Copier is the local brick-and-mortar copy shop, with two locations on Broadway at 112th Street and Amsterdam at 118th Street. They are used to student customers and are accommodating, but their rates are extremely high.

B. Where to Hang Fliers

Due to the typically high volume of fliers on Columbia's campus, it is necessary for Facilities to remove them routinely. Don't waste your paper! Instead of sticking fliers in every open space you see, target your distribution to get maximum results. For example, if you are having a visual arts event, hang fliers near the Arts classrooms in Dodge or near the studios in Prentis. Below are the available places to hang fliers on the Morningside campus, according to their visibility.

Highly Public - These are removed every morning. - Outside bulletin boards (around main square of campus, outside Hamilton, Hartley, and Wallach, Barnard bears)

Moderately Public - These are removed every Monday morning. - Lerner (columns, bulletin boards, etc.) - Hamilton (bulletin boards in the stairwell) - Residence halls (assigned locations, bulletin boards)

Targeted - Removed at indefinite times. - Other class buildings (Dodge, Kent, Pupin, Lewisohn, Uris, etc.) - Union Theological Seminary, School of Social Work, Teacher's College, etc.

You are not allowed to hang fliers anywhere except in designated areas, according to Columbia policy. If you want to increase your visibility beyond the scope of those designated areas, try some of the more unconventional ideas below.

C. Ethics of Fliering

There are a lot of events at Columbia, so be considerate of others when you flier for your group's event. Don't hang posters directly over another group's. If space is tight, try to leave other posters uncovered as much as possible. Once your event is done, remove your own advertising materials and recycle if possible. Consider using recycled materials to make your signs; these can be both eye-catching and environmentally sound!

D. More Analog Marketing Ideas

- Hang a banner from Ferris Booth balcony (Columbia recognized groups) or Barnard Hall (Barnard recognized groups). You create the banner and then speak to Facilities to hang it. Banners may only stay up for a couple days.

- Lerner Display Cases: If your event is taking place in the Lerner Black Box or Roone Auditorium, your group may use the glass cases in front of the space to advertise. Using your space reservation confirmation, you can talk to Carol Arnold or Willamina Diaz- Gerloven to reserve the cases.

- Event Apparel: Create t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, etc. for your event that participants can wear around campus. There are several sites online that will print apparel for you; all you need to do is send in the graphic. (Example: CustomInk)

- Publicize on WBAR Barnard College Radio or WKCR Columbia University Radio.

- Attend a performance and talk to cast/crew afterwards about your upcoming event.

- Approach RA's to post on floor bulletin boards or email out to their floors.

- Create stickers, buttons, or balloons with your event's logo to give away.

- Public promotional performances - on the Sundial, Low steps, in Lerner, just inside Barnard gates, in John Jay dining hall, etc.

- Offer a surprise gift for a member of your audience at an early event to draw more crowds for later performances.

- Mailbox stuffing: Lerner Mail Services will place fliers in student mailboxes for you at a charge, or allow you to do it yourself for free.

-Merchants on Broadway: Ask local merchants to let you hang up fliers or give out palm cards in their stores.

- Lerner Ramps: Set up a table on the ramps to talk to passersby and raise awareness (just remember to reserve the space first).

5. Audience Development

A. Why It's Important

It's great to have one amazing event that completely sells out. But what about the next event? Think about ways to make sure your audience members are still interested in your group even when you don't have an event going on. This will help make sue that your audience keeps returning for more, but it will also help spread positive word of mouth buzz about your group. Put yourself in your audience's shoes: what information would you want to receive? How would you want to receive it? How would you want to be treated as an audience member? Naturally, your promotional efforts will amp up when you've got a big event coming up, but make sure that you don't disappear entirely afterwards or else your audience will forget about you. B. Stay in Touch

- Stay Present: Secure a loyal audience by reaching out to them between events through your email listserv, Facebook page, blog, Twitter, etc. Send out updates about what your group is up to, sneak peeks at upcoming events, or share links and stories that your audience members might be interested

- Right after an event, send out an email to all of the attendees to thank them for coming and let them know what your next event will be.

- Observe Others: Stay in tune with how people are accessing information, and then make sure that your group has a presence in those channels as well.

- Solicit Feedback: Listen to your audience members, both before an event and after. Learn what they liked and didn't like so that you can improve for the future. Try surveying audience members to ask what they would like to see more of in the future.

C. Collaboration

Collaborating with other groups can be a great way to develop your own audience. It's cheaper to pool your resources, and you may benefit from each other's creative ideas. Your event will also attract more audience members, since it unifies the patrons of two separate groups.

- Talk to groups with a similar mission about linking to each other's websites or publicizing events to each other's listservs.

- Produce an event jointly with another group. Maybe a dinner event could invite a music or dance group to perform, or two theatre groups could team together for a night of one-acts. Reach beyond the arts themselves to include environmental, political, religious, or cultural groups when you're doing an event that may overlap with their mission.

- Double-Billing: Package your event with another group's event happening at a similar time by marketing them together, offering special deals to patrons of both shows, etc. This can be a great way to help maximize a limited space reservation, as well as developing your own audience by reaching out to existing fans of another group.