Marketing Guide

Your Guide for Promoting an Event

The following planning questions, timeline, and checklist include a wide variety of promotional tools. Your needs will vary depending on the scope of your event. CAS Communications may be able to assist with promotion if your event is a large, general audience event. You will need to receive director/chair approval, as CAS Communications currently supports one event per unit per academic year.

Planning

Who is your primary target audience?

Who do you want to attend and why?

Select your venue based on the size of your target audience and/or budget. Venue may be dictated by availability.

If seating will be limited, include this information in your promotional materials.

What is your available promotional budget?

Estimate promotion costs and tailor your promotional plan accordingly. Keep in mind that your promotional efforts may be dictated by your audience size. A presentation seeking 20–30 attendees may not require the same efforts as a 100+ attendee event.

6–8 weeks in advance

• Identify promotional materials to be used.
  (posters, email, digital signs, print ads, web, etc.)
• Begin design and production of promotional materials.
• Decide if a WSU photographer is needed to provide high quality still photos.
  Contact Photo Services to schedule (cost-based).
• Decide if live streaming and/or recording is appropriate.
  Options include partnering with Global Campus; making arrangements with Academic Media Services (AMS) (cost-based); or self-producing with YouTube or Facebook live streaming.

4–6 weeks in advance

• Post event details on the WSU Calendar.
• Post event details on your unit/department webpages.
• Post the details on community calendars.
• Send a “Save the Date” email to key guests.
• Compile additional email address lists for external/affiliated groups and internal audiences. If appropriate event subject matter, you may be able to use of your department/school’s internal lists and associated listservs and any affiliated groups’ lists and listservs.

If you plan to send a university-wide email or a college-wide email, address lists will be provided by WSU Communications or the College of Arts and Sciences, respectively.

3–4 weeks in advance

• Complete design of printed and digital promotional materials and arrange for printing and display. Posters in the residence halls must be approved by Residence Life before printing and must be delivered to the Residence Life office at least one week before you can expect them to be posted.
• Place printed posters in high-traffic areas of your department/school and in key locations across campus, such as the CUB, Chinook Student Center, Student Recreation Center, and Dining Centers. Learn about posting printed signage and posters.
• Submit electronic files for ads to appear on digital screens in the CUB, Lighty Student Services, and other locations. They are either cost-based or free with student organization sponsorship.
• Submit electronic files for ads to appear on digital screens in the Spark building (cost-based).
• Place posters on WSU Library bulletin boards.
• Begin announcing your event through social media, via
  • Your department or school
  • Affiliates and student groups
  • Individual faculty, staff, students
• Provide information or URLs for WSU and CAS to share via social media channels.
• Send information and/or poster to WSU Insider for their event listings.
• If appropriate, send a press release to WSU Insider for distribution to area media (reserved for large-scale, public events).

2–3 weeks in advance

• Complete HTML email and send to appropriate distribution lists.
• Email information and/or posters to colleagues at WSU and elsewhere, as appropriate, e.g.,
  • University of Idaho
  • Eastern Washington University
  • Gonzaga University
  • Lewis & Clark Community College
  • Spokane Community College
• Submit event details to appear in WSU Announcements two weeks (a minimum of one week) before the event.
• Confirm arrangements to live-stream and/or record via Global Campus or Academic Media Services (AMS).

1–2 weeks in advance

• Run ad in The Daily Evergreen (*cost-based; see Daily Evergreen Advertise with Us page or email advertise@dailyevergreen.com).
• Check with affiliates to ensure they have everything needed to reach their supporters.
• Post about event on social media occasionally.
• Send a final reminder email to target audience if needed.

Day of event

• Post reminders on social media (make sure to include date and time).
• Consider Reels or Stories on social handles before and during event.
• Greet any reporters who attend and answer their questions; recommend creating a one sheet with key details, such as speakers, main purpose of the event, contact information, etc. that can be provided to reporters. Recommend tracking reporter information (name, outlet, email address).

After your event

• Thank attendees and post a recap with photos/videos from your event on social media.
• Thank any reporters who covered your event.
• Thank affiliates who helped with your event via email and by tagging them in social media posts.
• Email a short narrative about your event and any photos or videos to CAS Communications cas.news@wsu.edu for possible inclusion in the college’s Photo Galleries and/or social media coverage.