Chapter 1
Your Event Marketing Plan is Missing a Key Ingredient
You have to call six vendors, answer your sales teams’ Slack messages, and prep your leadership team for their speaking sessions – the last thing on your list is choosing a standout gift for attendees.
If you’re feeling a little (ok, a lot) stressed, you’re not alone. Event marketers are always balancing at least twelve different tasks and managing a to-do list as long as a CVS receipt. Unfortunately, that means event gifting is often an afterthought. But it shouldn’t be.
Gifting done well wows prospects and customers and helps your organization drive more revenue. Gifting also increases feelings of reciprocity, improves relationships, and leads to happier and more appreciative folks! In fact, 77% of employees report that gifts from their employers make them feel appreciated.
It’s clear that gifting leaves a lasting impression, but getting started isn’t always as easy. So, we chatted with industry experts to help you incorporate gifting into your event marketing plan. These conversations left us feeling inspired and excited to use gifting as a strategic lever, so we hope you’ll feel the same!
Before we dive in, let’s get to know the awesome marketers who shared their thoughts for this guide.
Corrina Owens is a 4x B2B SaaS ABM Leader. She’s led event marketing initiatives at leading tech companies like Gong and Terminus.
Nick Bennett is the Chief Customer Officer and Co-Founder at TACK, a media network and go-to-market firm helping businesses create, capture, and convert demand into revenue. Before TACK, Nick worked on events, community, and partner marketing at companies like Airmeet and Alyce.
Sabrina Ramos is the Founder and Creative Director at Pop Spark Agency. She has over 20 years of experience in event production, sales, marketing, and visual communications strategy.
Keep reading to get the inside scoop on:
- Setting the foundation for your event gifting strategy
- Choosing unique event gifts (did someone say custom Pokemon cards?!)
- Becoming BFFs with the sales team
- Continuing the conversation after the event ends
- Measuring qualitative and quantitative success – let’s get people talking!
