Life in the post-COVID world can, at times, be a confusing endeavor. For two years, in-person events worldwide were canceled and online experiences were held in their place.
Now that in-person events are slowly trickling back into existence, there is confusion about the best ways to go about holding these post-COVID events. New variations of COVID and relaxed mask mandates are causing cases to rise again.
In larger areas like Los Angeles County, 18,158 new cases have resulted as of July 11, 2022. This is most likely due to 4th of July gathering plans and summer travel.
How can your outdoor marketing event still create a brand experience while also being safe and enjoyable for its attendees? This guide will help you with five event ideas to utilize outdoor spaces to hold your in-person events safely.
1. Hold an Outdoor Festival
With a majority of individuals being forced to stay cooped up at home for 2020 and 2021, consumers are itching to get back out there and experience live in-person events again. An outdoor festival is an advanced marketing strategy to attract consumers through an inclusive food and entertainment brand experience.
Outdoor festivals have become a popular form of brand experience due to their open-air appeal. This is not only beneficial for holding engaging post-COVID events but also for navigating health and safety concerns of virus transmission.
Using outdoor events also opens up many different possibilities for experiential marketing ideas. Outdoor spaces can hold live concert events, interactive carnivals, pop-up displays, and other types of exhibitions more easily. Outdoor events are more adaptable than indoor venues.
Outdoor events like festivals can boost your brand’s awareness with your target consumer demographic as well. 70% of potential consumers become repeat consumers of a brand after they have interacted with an experiential marketing event.
2. Limit the Number of Marketing Event Attendees
While a “bigger is better” approach may have worked in the past, for post-COVID events, it is not the case. Even at outdoor events, there is still a concern about the virus spreading, especially among large groups of people.
In the interest of public safety, smaller and more intimate events are ideal. Not only will attendees feel safer, but they will also feel more connected and engaged by your brand experience. When you limit the number of attendee tickets available for an event, it creates a level of scarcity that can increase your brand’s allure and appeal.
Limiting the number of marketing event attendees also creates a sense of exclusiveness. The attendees who do get to go to your marketing event will feel like they are part of an elite group. They get to partake in your brand experience while others will miss out.
This capitalizes on the FOMO premise, “Fear of Missing Out,” which is the driving force of many experiential marketing campaigns today.
3. Place an Emphasis on Health and Safety
The general public may have seemed eager to dump the mask mandates just as soon as they were lifted. But there are still those who value their event safety.
74% of individuals would still wear a mask again if there was another surge in COVID cases. To win over health-conscious individuals, emphasize that health and safety will still be a top priority at your marketing event.
Although mask-wearing is not a requirement for outdoor events, it can help bolster your brand’s opinion in the minds of immunocompromised consumers.
Proper event staffing is a crucial aspect of a marketing event. Hand out branded masks at the entry gate for event attendees and have event staff conduct temperature checks.
Requiring vaccination cards and negative COVID tests at entry will also ensure that your marketing event stays safe. Install branded touchless hand sanitizer stations throughout your event to promote good hygiene habits.
Or give out branded goodie bags with masks and hand sanitizers along with a coupon for a free food or drink item to mask-wearing attendees. They will know your brand cares about their well-being.
4. Stagger Your Event Entry Times
Staggering your event entry times can improve the flow of your event. Large groups of people often swamp the gates at the start of the event. This clustering can create a health concern of coming into contact with exposed people, even at outdoor events.
Event staff can check tickets and ensure that event attendees are entering the marketing event at the proper times. This gives your marketing event better control over foot traffic.
This event marketing strategy also helps to create more social distancing, which is still an essential component of health and safety associated with outdoor in-person events.
It also offers multiple times for potential attendees to choose from, so they can still attend the brand experience on their schedule. Even better, offer your marketing event over multiple days to increase attendance without the risk of overcrowding.
5. Offer Several Food and Drink Booths
Event attendees do not want to spend most of their marketing event time standing in line at concession booths. If lines are too long at a primary food and drink booth, this can create frustration in event attendees and poorly influence their opinion of your brand.
Too many people in line can also become a deterrent for those who are concerned with being too close to a large grouping of people. Space out your food and drink booths to keep lines from growing too long. Use your event staff to direct people to the less busy booths.
Food trucks are also terrific event ideas. They give attendees a wide variety of food and beverage choices. Many food trucks also have the option to scan a QR code or go onto an app to place an order digitally. Attendees can then go pick it up in a separate line when it is ready.
Streamlining the food and drink portion of your brand experience will ensure a smoother marketing event overall.
Let the Auctus Agency Create a Memorable Marketing Event for Your Brand
In the post-COVID era, health and safety are still a major concern. You want a brand experience that is engaging while still being safe for everyone involved. This can create problems for your marketing event if you don’t have the right experiential marketing team.
The Auctus Agency will take your marketing ideas and help you execute them like a pro. We can provide you with an advanced marketing strategy to engage your consumers through every element of your marketing event. The Auctus Agency even handles event staffing needs.
Contact Us to get started on your outdoor event marketing experience today.
