Event Marketing as part of Integrated Marketing Communication - A study focused on the improvement of events management efficiency and on the adaptation of event organization to emerging market conditions

Traditionally seen as support medium, event marketing has evolved into a highly valued marketing tool for companies in search of product differentiation and value creation for customers. This marketing communication vehicle enables the communication of brand messages through direct interaction and live experiences, focusing on relationship-building with relevant stakeholders. While event marketing offers a great number of advantages to companies, its organization can be highly challenging, especially in emerging markets, where hard and soft infrastructure is often underdeveloped. This project focused on the development of strategies for companies operating in emerging markets that aim at successfully organizing activities related to event marketing. For this purpose, and based on an extensive literature review on Integrated Marketing Communication, events management and soft infrastructure conditions in emerging markets, several event managers from multinational automotive companies with operations in Mexico and from local Mexican event agencies were interviewed. Qualitative expert interviews confirmed the increasing importance of event marketing as communication tool, but also revealed some challenging aspects in event organization, such as unexpected situations, the constant need for innovation and creativity, or the collaboration with suppliers. A lack of efficient soft infrastructure affects event managers mainly in the handling of government issues in the form of corruption and bribes. The comparison of expert interview results and literature findings indicated starting points for companies that want to improve efficiency of events management and adapt it to emerging market conditions. The final recommendations provided in this study address the challenges identified through interviews and literature review and focus on the establishment of long-term relationships with supplying event agencies, on risk management and control, on the improvement of communication flows, on the formation of strategic alliances with business partners, and on better targeted marketing efforts. For companies operating in emerging markets, hiring local personnel and local agencies as well as allying with business partners can facilitate the identification and handling of institutional voids. Moreover, companies seem to be more successful if they follow a local strategy, which implies an adaptation of the event program and surroundings to local tastes