Costs continue to rise and event promoters are facing a harsh reality of spending more money on social media ads diminishing returns. You are taking on 100% of the financial risk before a ticket is even sold. 

Co marketing with local, non competing brands flips this dynamic and you can instantly double your promotional reach while cutting customer acquisition costs in half. If you are marketing an event alone you are paying for every single impression. When you co promote with a local business, you have direct access to an audience you would not have otherwise. Splitting the cost of social media campaigns, billboards or physical flyers instantly cuts your marketing costs by 50%. 

You are also able to tap into a partner’s active email list, sms database or social channels, and they can do the same. Your event is now being marketed towards proven buyers who already trust the brand you are partnering with. 

Identifying ideal local brand partners 

In order for co promotion to work, you need to find businesses who share your target audience demographic but are not direct competitors with you. You want to combine audiences that naturally overlap. For example:

• Craft Breweries, Distilleries, Local wineries
  • You can offer exclusive pour rights or feature custom drinks on the day of the event using their beverages. In return the brand can run featured ads about the event in their businesses or feature the event in their monthly newsletters they send out to their loyal customers.
• Boutique Hotels
  • Offering exclusive package discounts that includes a room at the hotel, tickets to the event and vip shuttles to and from the event for guests for events that bring an out of town crowd or is a multi day event where guests are looking for places to stay. 
• Nearby Restaurants
  • The restaurant can offer an exclusive discount when dining if guests show that they have tickets to the show. This fills up the restaurant before the show and will also drive customers to buy tickets to the show in order to get the discount. 

Structuring a high converting co promotion campaign

• Build a single shared offer
  • Make it simple for the customer, “Show your ticket at Restaurant X and get a 20% discount off your dinner” or “Scan the QR code on the bottle you buy from Brewery Y and get $5 off your ticket”.
• Co fund the marketing campaign
  • Set up a joint social media ad campaign where both brand handles appear as the creators and split the ad budget. This way you can target a broader audience at a lower cost.
• Execute Email Blasts
  • Dedicate email blasts to your customers about your partner highlighting their brand and they can do the same for you and include a feature about your brand to their customers.

Protect your brand

In order for the partnership to be successful it must have clear boundaries. Define ad spend splits in writing before launching campaigns and ensure all logo placements and brand guidelines are respected. 

Stop absorbing 100% of the marketing risk and costs for every show, and partner with strong local brands. This allows you to build a collaborative marketing engine that protects your brand, builds community ties, and fills your venue for half the price.