I am a marketer who works with businesses and events boosting online engagement. I have a specialty in event marketing and over time it has also led to experience in the production of live events especially community events with live music such as food festivals, beer festivals, and a live concert series. The COVID-19 pandemic, which led to shutdowns across much of the United States beginning in March 2020, changed the way almost everything operates especially in the world of live events.
One of the silver linings to come out of this situation was the opportunity to pivot the events I help my clients promote and from this, I was able to pull off a summer concert series, a beer festival, and a charity fashion show virtually.
The key to each of these case studies was the focus on the PURPOSE of the event. Each event had evolved to its 2019 version over a few years as in the case of the beer festival or over many decades in the case of the concert series and the charity fashion show. I found the best way to approach the re-imagining of the event, was to start with the PURPOSE of the event. Our objective was to accomplish this purpose according to our current limitations, using our current resources, including the online audience and community reach we had built.
The key in each instance was not to have the event just to have the event, but to find ways to deliver on the event goals. It even led to an unexpected bonus — a Christmas Special.
Let’s talk about each one:
Friday Night Live! – a free summer concert series
Fairfax County Brewfest – a one-day beer festival
Herndon Woman’s Club Fashion Show – a charity fashion show
I hope that this year you will be able to look at your own silver linings both personally and in your business. How did you pivot your business this year?