Welcome to WRITING MATTERS, celebrating the value of good
writing in the business world.
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VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2 – OCTOBER 2009
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This Month's Case Study – Henderson Events, Inc.
Henderson Events was an events production company serving a
well-populated tri-county area. The
firm organized community events such as art fairs, summer concerts, carnivals,
holiday parades, and the like.
Due to the recent economic downturn, Henderson faced new
challenges in securing event sponsors and drumming up interest for its
events. In the past, word of mouth and
preexisting relationships with local businesses ensured sponsorship sellouts on
a regular basis, but those days were gone.
Henderson needed to re-tool its approach to promoting its events.
Bill Henderson, the company’s founder, was an astute
businessman and knew he needed to implement a new marketing plan to promote his
events. Unfortunately, because the need
had never arisen in the past, his small staff didn’t have the background
necessary to carry out his plans.
Bill’s first order of business was to hire a writer to
compose an article promoting his next big event, the local health and wellness
fair, which was taking place in two months.
Although a few exhibit booths had sold, numbers were way down compared
to the same event a year earlier.
Corporate sponsorships were lagging as well. Bill had to make a concerted effort to sell the event –
otherwise, the health fair’s future could be at stake.
Bill sought advice from some of his friends in the business
community, and one gentleman suggested a copywriter who had done work for him
in the past. Bill contacted Lauren and
explained his predicament. Lauren had
experience in writing promotional articles, and even had a client who was in
the events management industry.
Bill explained the immediacy of the situation and outlined
his plans. He wanted an all-purpose
article written that he could place in two local newspapers, plus the chamber
of commerce monthly newsletter. Lauren
asked a few questions and said she would get back to Bill shortly with a quote.
Lauren contacted Bill as promised, and Bill felt her rate
was more than fair. Lauren conducted
herself in a professional manner and seemed easy to work with . . . two key
factors that really sealed the deal in Bill’s eyes. Lauren began working on the article, and within two weeks
completed the assignment.
Bill was pleased with Lauren’s work and quickly submitted it
to the local papers and forwarded a copy to the chamber for insertion in its
upcoming newsletter. As the articles
circulated throughout the community, the response was excellent and Bill
received many inquiries about exhibit booths and corporate sponsorships. Despite the poor economy, many businesses
felt the health fair was a cost-effective way to promote their products and services
and reach potential customers. Within a
few weeks, Bill sold over 90% of the vendor booths and secured more
sponsorships than expected.
During the week prior to the health fair, Bill sold his last
exhibit space – something that appeared impossible several weeks before. Every time he spoke with someone requesting
a spot, the person invariably mentioned the article Lauren had written. “I had totally forgotten about the heath
fair,” they would say, “Your article really pointed out the many benefits of
participating.”
The health fair went off without a hitch and was deemed a
great success, thus ensuring its return next year. Bill retained Lauren’s writing services on an ongoing basis to
promote his other events and help ensure their continued success as well!
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If you have a "writer-to-the-rescue" story to
share, please let me know at: JPT@spectrumcopywriting.com.
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The next issue of WRITING MATTERS will be out November 2nd.
Have a great month!
John Paul Tancredi, Copywriter/Consultant
Spectrum Copywriting Services
Subscribe to WRITING MATTERS at: www.spectrumcopywriting.com/ezine.html
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2009 Spectrum Copywriting Services. All Rights Reserved.