Behind the scenes at NZIBES: MultiMarketing founder Pauline Gao discusses marketing major events

The 2019 New Zealand International Building Expo & Summit (NZIBES), an annual highlight for the property and construction industry, recently drew to a successful close.

 

This year's event attracted considerable attention within the Chinese business community and across wider New Zealand society, prompting many participants to praise its marketing results.

 

However, successfully marketing a major event is no easy task.

 

We invited Pauline Gao, founder of the event's marketing agency MultiMarketing and of YIJU magazine, to share stories and lessons from behind the scenes.

 

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A: Many factors contributed to the event's success, but the most important was close cooperation between the organiser and all its partners throughout the process.

 

First, I would like to thank the New Zealand Chinese Building Industry Association (NZCBIA) for giving the MultiMarketing team the opportunity to help plan the event, recruit exhibitors and manage publicity, and its board for their unwavering trust and support as the project progressed.

 

MultiMarketing has been established for more than a decade. Together with our YIJU magazine, we have helped countless businesses of all sizes, particularly property and construction brands, connect with local markets and resources, achieving considerable marketing success. However, this was our first time co-organising a summit and exhibition of this scale.

 

Our responsibilities also extended beyond publicity to exhibitor sales, coordination and organisation. Initially, we did feel somewhat overwhelmed, which slowed progress in the early stages. Rather than criticise us, the association's board gave us its full support and plenty of guidance.

 

Every association director and member is a leading professional in property and construction. We greatly admired their willingness to devote valuable personal time to the event. It was precisely this shared commitment to ‘Collaboration UP’ that kept the project moving forward.

 

I would also like to thank our fellow co-organiser, 3A Events. Without question, the event's success depended on their strong support in securing commercial participation and delivering the event on the ground.

 

As the marketing team, we communicated the event's highlights through a wide range of channels, attracting sponsors, exhibitors and the public to attend.

 

They were responsible for bringing the event to life for those attending.

 

Overall, the parties involved were like fish and water. By continually adapting, finding our rhythm and working harmoniously together, we ultimately presented the event at its best.

 

 

 

A: An excellent marketing campaign requires a professional, efficient team. But assembling such a team and uniting it behind a common goal is a test for any manager.

 

We encountered some obstacles in building the team at the outset. The event plan was written quickly, but even people with years of industry experience hesitated over managing and delivering a comprehensive marketing campaign for such a large event. They worried that they lacked sufficient experience or might not be able to see it through.

 

To keep the marketing plan moving smoothly, I was determined to find the right people for the right tasks.

 

After many years in the industry, I understand the importance of specialist expertise. I did not need an all-rounder who excelled at everything. I needed someone with a can-do attitude to lead and coordinate the team and partners, delivering efficiently and on schedule. Even diamond-quality ideas need hearts of gold to see them through.

 

Ultimately, we appointed a professional with years of client and project management experience at 4A advertising and PR agencies in China, who had also managed client communications at a local digital marketing company, as marketing manager and overall lead for the event's marketing.

 

This person could oversee Chinese-language content writing and manage multiple digital marketing platforms.

 

They also coordinated smoothly with the experienced professional graphic designers, video production company, PR agency, Google Ads specialists and digital media partners we engaged. This ensured a steady stream of promotional content and frequent communications across multiple channels, maximising the event's reach.

 

 

A: In previous years, marketing mainly targeted the Chinese community, typically through WeChat, posters, Chinese-language print media, television and online advertising.

 

This year, NZCBIA brought us in as marketing specialists partly to strengthen the event's brand awareness and influence within the Chinese community.

 

It also wanted wider New Zealand society to understand, take notice of and recognise the Chinese property and construction industry's contribution to the country, and to participate more actively in the event.

 

Alongside the existing promotional channels, this year's marketing plan therefore added PR and media outreach, Google Display and YouTube advertising, and social media communications through LinkedIn and Facebook. These channels and platforms are more accessible to the wider New Zealand public, helping achieve the client's communication goals.

 

Following the principle of choosing the right people for the right tasks, we formed a strategic partnership with The Clarity Business.

 

As a PR agency specialising in construction, it has extensive experience writing PR content and strong media connections. We coordinated its interviews with NZCBIA board members and summit speakers, ensuring the resulting content was substantive and newsworthy enough to attract coverage from the New Zealand Herald, independent journalists and others.

 

We also adapted its content and distributed it through newsletters, LinkedIn and Facebook to attract further attention.

 

We also used precise targeting through Google Display and YouTube pre-roll advertising to put online display banners and promotional videos in front of the event's ideal audiences. We created these for different campaign stages and audience groups, so our target audiences could see event promotions while browsing websites or before and during YouTube videos.

 

We also produced a series of promotional videos for the event's diamond sponsors and ran them as paid advertisements on platforms including LinkedIn and Facebook. This gave sponsors greater brand exposure while drawing on their brands' influence to raise the event's standing and attract more sponsors and exhibitors.

 

Finally, I would like to say that MultiMarketing was honoured to take part in the 2019 New Zealand International Building Expo & Summit.

 

As part of the behind-the-scenes team, I know that behind the spotlight lie sincere cooperation, understanding and adjustment among the co-organisers; wholehearted commitment and teamwork from the marketing team; and everyone's determination to carry strong event and marketing strategies through to completion. These are all essential ingredients for successfully marketing a major event. I look forward to seeing everyone again next year.