In a previous posting, I wrote about an increasing trend to host parties to generate interest for your green product. I was hosting a book release party for my book, Build a Green Small Business: Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur, and was curious to see whether the event would be a worthwhile marketing event, as opposed to just a good time.
I decided to go big with the event. Host it at a nightclub. Provide hors d’ouvres. Co-host with a non-profit group and raise money for them during the evening as well. Solicit over $2,000 worth of gift certificates to raffle away. Send out invitations to over 2,000 people.
In other words, we were ready for success. The non-profit is a group I’ve worked with, called Green & Tonic. They raise money for bars to go green. It was a terrific cross-promotion for both of us, as we were having the party at Temple, a green night club. They helped plan and coordinate the event, sent the invites to their list, and tabled the front door.
The expenses added up quickly. Besides all the labor I invested in pursuing gift certificates, sending out invites, crafting a huge following on Facebook for the event, designing flyers, posting flyers around town, and planning logistics, the physical costs were not insubstantial. Printing flyers in color. Buying hors d’ouvres. Paying the bar for the right to use the space. Purchasing a huge bulk order of books to sell at the event. In addition, most bars will charge you a certain minimum amount. In other words, if your invitees don’t drink enough, you still cover the tab.
I signed and sold books for one hour during the three hour event, and sold a decent number. Green & Tonic raised a decent amount of money. The sponsors appeared happy for the publicity they were receiving, and the bar representatives were pretty happy with the turnout, around 250 people. By most every standard, the event was a huge success. Profitable? Not in the slightest. But fun? A great excuse for a party? Good PR? Absolutely. If anyone is planning an event to promote a product, feel free to drop me a line, I’d be happy to talk about it with you.
Scott Cooney enjoys any excuse for a party, especially if it’s full of cool green people, and can be reached at ScottCooney75@gmail.com.
About Scott Cooney
