In the entertainment industry, effective marketing entertainment campaigns require the right balance of all three types of marketing media. Understanding which media and channels to prioritize can maximize your reach and marketing budget. As paid media becomes more expensive, more importance is shifting to owned and earned media when marketing entertainment events. The world of live event marketing is no different. This blog explores trends in consumer behavior across earned, owned, and paid media channels. Understanding these trends is important when marketing or promoting entertainment events.
What Are the Three Media Types?
Earned Media
Earned media refers to exposure you gain organically, through word-of-mouth, online reviews, press coverage, or social media shares. It’s the result of your fans, attendees, and even journalists talking about your venue or event. This form of media is particularly valuable because it’s seen as authentic by consumers. Consumers trust earned media more than traditional advertising because it’s usually unbiased. Positive reviews or recommendations from friends and influencers hold more weight than an ad when marketing entertainment events, artists, venues, etc. Earned media is essentially “free” exposure. A great review or viral social media post can keep generating attention long after your event has ended.
Owned media
Owned media refers to the digital assets that you fully control, such as your website, email newsletter, and social media profiles. This is where you can tell your brand’s story, provide updates, and engage with your audience directly. Owned media allows for long-term audience engagement, and you can tailor content specifically to your target demographics. You have complete control over the messaging, content, and frequency of updates when marketing or promoting various facets of the entertainment industry. Whether it’s answering questions on social media or sending personalized emails, owned media grants you the ability to directly communicate with your audience. This allows you to align content with your brand’s voice. Unlike paid media, which disappears once you stop paying, your owned media is home to long-lasting content for marketing purposes.
Paid media
Paid media refers to any form of digital or traditional advertising that you pay for, such as traditional offline ads, digital ads, or paid collaborations with influencers. When marketing entertainment events, paid media allows you to quickly scale your reach and target specific audience segments, but it comes with an upfront cost. Paid media allows you to rapidly increase your entertainment event’s visibility.
Once your ads go live, you can immediately start reaching your target audience and lookalike audiences. Platforms like Facebook and Google Ads allow for precise targeting based on demographics, location, and interests. This ensures that people who are most likely to attend your event see your ads. Additionally, paid media campaigns can be scaled up or down based on your budget. You can start small and expand as you see success or if your event sells out quickly.
Understanding Consumer Behavior When Marketing Entertainment
Top 3 Trends in Digital Consumer Behavior
- The Dominance of Short-Form Video Content: Social media platforms have shifted to prioritize short-form video content in response to TikTok’s overwhelming success. The “For You” page delivers personalized content based on user behavior and preferences. This algorithmic model keeps users hooked, boasting an impressive 1 billion active monthly users. Companies like Instagram and YouTube implemented their own versions of algorithm-based video interfaces. Instagram introduced Reels in 2020, and since then, it has reported that Reels receive 22% more engagement than regular video posts on the platform.
This shift toward short-form video content presents a massive opportunity in entertainment event marketing. Sharing teaser videos, behind-the-scenes clips, or user-generated content can build excitement and engagement. Creating content specifically designed for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts allows for greater organic reach and positions content to go viral.
- Cross-Platform Engagement: Cross-platform engagement ensures that your brand stays in front of potential attendees, no matter where they spend their time online. This multi-channel approach also helps brands maintain consistency in their messaging across multiple touchpoints. Cross-platform strategies increase brand visibility, improve engagement rates, and help create a cohesive narrative.
As consumers become increasingly versatile in the way they consume media, event marketers must do the same to reach them. A 2018 study by Google found that 90% of people move between devices (smartphones, laptops, tablets) to accomplish a goal, and entertainment events are no different.
- Personalization and On-Demand Content: There’s a growing preference for personalized content driven by advancements in AI and social media algorithms. Consumers now expect media that caters to their tastes. This shift is moving consumers away from traditional, scheduled product offerings.
Platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and BandsinTown have exemplified this approach with personalized playlists, recommendations, and content feeds tailored to each user. Event marketers can leverage this new standard to optimize the purchase and post-purchase stages of the buying process. According to Experian, personalization in marketing emails can result in a 6x higher transaction rate compared to non-personalized content.
What Is the Ideal Media Balance When Marketing Entertainment Events?
The ideal allocation of a marketing budget across these three channels varies depending on the type of live event and the organizer’s goals. The marketing strategy for a large-scale festival will look vastly different from that of an independent music venue or a charity fundraiser. Each event type has its own definition of success, which shapes how these media channels are prioritized.
Festival Marketing
Festival Marketing should prioritize earned media first, then owned media, and lastly paid media. Festivals heavily rely on earned media through press coverage, word-of-mouth, and user-generated content on social media. The larger and more prestigious the festival, the more likely it will be covered by major news outlets, blogs, and influencers. Organic social media generated by festival goers themselves is a huge, earned media opportunity when marketing festivals. Festival marketers still leverage paid media to target geographical areas, but the industry is shifting to include more influencer marketing in campaigns.
Independent Venue Marketing
Independent Venue Marketing should prioritize owned media, then earned and paid media equally. Independent venues tend to focus heavily on owned media when marketing entertainment events. Their websites, social media profiles, and email lists are pivotal in promoting upcoming events and building loyalty among regular attendees. Their budgets are Mamedia mix emphasizes more cost-effective strategies. Paid media is expensive but still highly effective at improving visibility and targeting specific geographic areas. For this reason, it deserves the same level of attention as earned media when promoting events.
Non-Profit Event Marketing
Non-Profit Event Marketing sees the most success when they prioritize earned media, then owned media, and lastly paid media. Fundraisers, galas, and benefit concerts often have unique objectives, where the focus is not just on selling tickets but also on raising awareness or driving donations. The balance of media channels used for promoting non-profit events should reflect these goals.
Nonprofits rely heavily on earned media, leveraging press coverage, endorsements, and social media engagement to raise awareness for their cause. The credibility that earned media brings is also crucial in building trust with potential donors and attendees.
Compelling storytelling is often a key part of a non-profit’s branding strategy. With that in mind, owned media provides the most control over a company’s story and message. Nonprofits often have limited marketing budgets, so digital marketing is often placed on the back burner. Luckily, Google Ads and Meta ads provide grants for qualifying firms.
Examples of an Effective Media Mix Use In Entertainment Marketing
Lollapalooza: A focus on earned media with owned and paid support
Lollapalooza expertly balances earned, owned, and paid media to create massive buzz. The festival thrives on earned media, as attendees flood social media with user-generated content, and influencers amplify the event’s reach. Lollapalooza’s website and social profiles are key hubs for information and ticket sales. Paid media campaigns drive targeted traffic to their platforms ahead of the event. This mix has solidified Lollapalooza’s dominance, generating both organic exposure and precise paid targeting when needed.
Live Nation: Prioritizing owned media for independent venues
Live Nation focuses on owned media for its independent venues, leveraging its website and email lists to promote events to local and niche audiences. Personalized emails ensure concert updates match user preferences. Earned media comes from local press and fan-generated social media buzz, while paid media is used selectively for targeted ads on platforms like Google and Meta. This approach allows Live Nation to maximize reach while keeping costs manageable.
Comic Relief: Earned media driving awareness for charity events
Comic Relief is a non-profit organization that conducts a yearly gala and telethon to raise awareness for extreme poverty. The charity telethon emphasizes earned media through celebrity partnerships and press coverage, which drives organic buzz and donations. Its owned media—the website and email campaigns—serve as platforms for donations and event updates. While paid media plays a smaller role, targeted ads are used to boost participation leading up to the event. This media mix effectively raises awareness and funds, aligning with the nonprofit’s goals.
Conclusion
No matter the event type, it’s important to recognize that these media channels do not operate in silos. Instead, they should be integrated to complement each other. Owned media serves as the foundation, earned media amplifies your credibility, and paid media drives specific, targeted actions. By continually monitoring your performance and adjusting your strategy, you can achieve a balanced media mix that maximizes your entertainment marketing impact and helps you achieve your event marketing goals.
References:
https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/earned-vs-paid-media
https://traxinsights.com/2023/11/27/entertainment-marketing-trends/
https://www.miquido.com/blog/trends-in-media-and-entertainment/
https://www.comicrelief.com/rednoseday/palladium/
Related Posts:
How to Promote Your Live Event: The Importance of a Dedicated Website
Promoting Live Music Events Using Influencer Marketing
