Event Marketing at RightSite

Last week we had RightSite’s first official event, the Private Beta Private launch party, and we are happy to announce that it was a success.  Out of the thirty-three people we invited, about 14 showed up, but many of them brought guests, so we ended up with a full-house in our private room at the Big Bamboo.

This event was intended as a contributor appreciation party to say thanks to the many friends who helped us get our site launched.  However, the party was also a great way to let people know that the first stage of our project has been completed and to show people that we have made some progress.

While we intended this event as a one-off, the enthusiasm that it generated among our friends and staff have got me thinking about making this a regular monthly or quarterly event.  At my last company, we had monthly events that we called the GlamCham parties, and they were very helpful in bringing together our staff with our clients and helping everyone to understand each other better by drinking lots of free wine.  Easy marketing and all done through barter deals, so there were no cash expenditures.

For RightSite, we are planning some events that will bring together foreign manufacturers and local industrial zone owners to have a few drinks and trade name cards.  While this may sound simple, and most people will acknowledge that these two groups need each other, actually getting them to socialise can be tricky. Besides the language barrier, there are also some real party-style barriers.  Local events tend to centre on traditional banquets, whereas foreigners are more accustomed to the Chamber of Commerce cocktail party.  The venues also tend to be quite different.

So our challenge is to find a format and venue style that will make both groups comfortable (and at price that we can afford).  Once we have accomplished this, we should have a very effective marketing tool.