Increasing engagement for your commercial scheme in Manchester: Events

If you have a commercial scheme in Manchester, you should constantly have your eyes peeled for reasons to join in on the city-noise and host an event – it’s a great way to shine a spotlight on you to the city you love.

By event, we mean anything from hosting a networking night to running an abseil event down your building for charity – and everything in between.

In this blog, we’ll look at the types of events your commercial scheme could be a part of, the positives of joining in and what you should be wary of.

Let’s jump in!

What type of event could I run?

Something fun centred around a popular city-wide event 

Think about the number of events that happen across a city on a yearly basis. Manchester celebrates everything from Manchester Pride to the annual Manchester International Festival (MIF). To join in on the festivities and get your scheme name out there, you could jump on the huge host of regional events and run a social media campaign to support your inclusion.

Does your commercial scheme have a large conference room? You could open it up during Manchester Pride and screen popular LGBT movies, or during MIF and screen the best in International film.

Something as simple as that will get your scheme included in the celebrations whilst also highlighting you to a previously untapped audience.

A topical event

Your commercial scheme could be vital during popular and ongoing business events throughout Manchester.

This runs in a similar vein to the ‘fun’ event, but instead of opening your build for movie screenings, you could lend it out as a venue for discussions and conferences for business-related events.

Is the city getting a new mayor? Is MIPIM back with business-leaders desperate for a platform to vocalise their thoughts? Your scheme could be just the place to welcome and host discussions.

Events like this tend to trend online. You could have every person live-tweeting the event to their own followers from your building – you could even invite journalists for maximum exposure! Free promotion made easy.

An event for charity

This is where you show the human side of your scheme. You’re not just a building in the city – you’re a part of the community and you’re here to support when support is needed.

If you want to raise money for a particular charity, there are countless fun ways to do this to ensure people are engaged and want to take part.

As an example, you could host an outdoor cinema night and screen a popular movie on the side of your building and charge people to come, or host a charity abseil down your building with proceeds going towards your chosen charity.

The main thing here is that you’re showing your support for the city and local charitable organisations, and the added benefit is the extra recognition your scheme will receive.

What are the positives of running an event?

We discussed the positives throughout the last few paragraphs, however as a recap, here are some of the key advantages of running an event for your commercial scheme:

• Promotional
  • One of the main benefits to you as a corporation or business is the promotional side of running an event. Your scheme could be seen throughout the entire city using both on and offline advertising. If you’d like a clearer understanding of how this works, contact Roland Dransfield for advice and support

 Raise money for a good cause

• • From a moral standpoint, a positive of hosting a charity event in your commercial scheme is the money you could raise for your chosen charity. It shows your organisation holds great ethics, which is great for your brand reputation
• Open new opportunities
  • By opening your scheme up on such a wide scale, you’ll be seen by industry leaders and businesses across Manchester. This not only helps your brand awareness, but it will encourage new business contacts, leads and deals

Be aware of

Before you plan your event, there are several things you should keep an eye out for to ensure it goes off without a hitch:

• Other events
  • Don’t double book! Make sure there aren’t any other events on the same day as yours, because chances are you’ll end up halving your attendee numbers. Whether it’s another business event or a football match, make sure the city’s calendars are clear of any other obligations before setting your event up
• The season (yes, the season)
  • Basically, if it’s summer, people will want to be outside your building, and if it’s winter, they won’t want to abseil down a building
• The potential backlash
  • By opening your scheme up to conferences or topical discussions, you’re opening yourself up to the opposition. Even if you’re taking a totally unbiased view of the event, you still might be seen as an enabler, so be ready for the backlash with a crisis control strategy

And that’s it!

Feeling a bit more inspired to host an event now? If you need advice, support or further information, get in touch with us at Roland Dransfield and we’ll help you out.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date on all things, Manchester, property and PR!