You’ve probably heard of the ubiquitous TV show Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy. On the show, children are forced to swap mothers and husbands must adjust to the Faustian contentions of a new “spouse”, often resulting in a resounding crescendo of disagreement and acrimony. What does this have to do with events you might ask? More than you can possibly imagine.

Often you have to rob Peter to pay Paul; in other words, you must ask one sponsor for one type of service and be adequately prepared to trade this service to another sponsor for what you actually want. An example of this would be asking a radio station for airtime and then turning around and selling that time to a retail store in exchange for sponsorship money. This is crucial to the success of any event: being flexible will help you get things done and in turn help you please your new mommy (the Goddess that is the event).

However, there is the alternative of not being cooperative and flexible with your new mommy. There will be a number of arguments as well as brothers and sisters (associate producers, publicists, hotel staff, exhibitors) getting in your face about what should be done. Without the proper sponsorship monies going to the correct places the end result can be summed up in one word: terrible. Letting the professionals deal with Mommy for you will save you time and aggravation, but expect to pay a steady commission in lieu of feeling the pain.

Good news is, professional event managers can often obtain additional sponsorship opportunities at far higher financial levels than you could negotiate on your own. It’s much like retaining a lawyer for a personal injury case—and just like lawyers, we can tango with Mommy and wind up still living and breathing on the other side. It’s like meeting the prototypical daddy, the only one that can keep Mommy and her charges, from exhibitors to registrants, in line.

Who’s your daddy? Well, we hope it’s CrowdConnect.

When you’re looking for advertising services, you don’t want a firm that offers only limited experience, bloats your costs like Santa’s belly or focuses on pretty pictures more than positioning and performance. To ensure the best fit for your business, follow these tips when you’re trying to find an agency:

1) Does the agency have experience in my field? (It never hurts to contact them and ask.)

2) Where are they located? (Sometimes cost of living at an agency can determine the rate of your deliverables.)

3) What is their per hour cost? (An agency might advertise one rate and charge another; make sure you’re getting what you actually need.)

4) Do they focus on just design? (Some mail houses and design firms pass themselves off as full-service agencies – just because they say they’re full-service doesn’t make it so. There is a difference between full-service and a design house; a full-service agency has experience in advertising, whereas design houses focus more on the artistic attributes of the work.)

5) What kind of contact can you expect from the agency? (Will you be provided with a dedicated account executive?)

6) Will you ever see the elusive founder of the agency again? (At most agencies you’ll get to see the founder once (when you hand him the check) and maybe not even that much; make sure you know that you can actually contact him if an issue arises.)

We had a client migrate to our firm that had a negative experience with a design house. When he wanted a series of mailers sent out, it was imperative they stand out from the cacophony of mail pieces sent to his prospects each day. The design house made something that looked nice failed to grab from the mailbox. We helped him achieve his goals and now his business is a success. Don’t let prospects throw away your hard-earned dollars with every handy toss of your marketing collateral into a trashcan, every click of the close button on a website or station change on the radio dial.

I’d be the last to say we’re the right agency for every business (especially if you manufacture tobacco or firearms), but with these tips in hand you should be more than able to steer away from an agency that’s dead wrong.

Direct mail can be challenging especially when you’re not sure where to start. So where do you start? A Direct Mail campaign can be one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to promote an event to the masses. Before one can proceed with sending out a flyer or brochure the most important element is where do the addresses come from? If you haven’t been collecting addresses that isn’t a problem, our contacts at the American List Counsel will enable us to get your message out to just the right audience. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to reach a small business or a larger one CrowdConnect will enable you to make the best decision for the best return on your marketing dollars.

Once the addresses are secured you can begin the design phase of the direct mailing process. This is by far the most crucial aspect of the direct mail campaign, after all if your advertisement isn’t well designed then it will be thrown in with the junk mail without a second look. However, with proper design your advertisement will be read and you will get a new client for your event. Through an effective direct mail campaign your business can gain new clients and your profits can soar to new heights.