5 Great Ideas for Attracting a Crowd to Your Grand Opening

If you’re planning a grand opening or throwing a special event, you want to attract as many potential attendees as possible. But in order to accomplish this you need to spread the word. Whilst this may sound simple enough, many business owners fail to attract the required number of attendees to make the grand opening or special event a success. Here are a few ideas that will attract a crowd to your next event.

Advertising

Advertising is the most effective method for reaching a target audience. There are plenty of advertising resources to choose from such as newspaper, radio, TV, email and direct mail, to name a few,. Choose the mediums that will best help you reach as much of your target audience as possible within your available budget. To get the most out of every advertising dollar, carefully craft your message that will be receptive in such a way that it encourages a crowd of attendees to show up at your grand opening or special event.

Special Event Signs

Whether you are hosting a grand opening or special event having the right signage inside and outside the venue is essential in communicating with attendees and bow banners are a great way to increase brand awareness at a grand opening or special event. These special event signs can be printed with your custom design, are inexpensive and easy to install. They can also be used to advertise charities and sponsorships for maximum exposure throughout the event.

Social Media

Announcing your grand opening on social media and asking your friends and followers to share the message with their friends is a fast and inexpensive way to get lots of people excited about your grand opening or special event. You can also use Facebook’s event feature to broadcast your event to fans who live near your where your event will take place.

Working with charities and sponsors

If you’re passionate about a cause chances are your potential attendees are too. Aligning with a charitable organisation can be a win-win. They can help publicise the event in exchange for you raising awareness of the issue. You may also consider donating a portion of the proceeds that your event collects or allowing the charity to seek donations at the event. Another option is to work with one or more sponsors who will help underwrite a portion of the grand opening or special event in exchange for advertising or other mutually agreed upon consideration. In either case, this is not something you can jump into at the last minute. Working with sponsors and charities takes careful planning often at least six months or more in advance of the event.

Hire a local celebrity or motivational speaker

If it is within your budget consider hiring a local celebrity or motivational speaker. Many celebrities and motivational speakers have thousands of loyal fans and garner attention wherever they go. For example, hiring a local or popular fashion model to attend the grand opening of a clothing store, or a well-respected motivational speaker to speak at a special event is a great way to attract a crowd. Just be sure that whomever you hire will resonate with your target audience and will enhance your brand image.