For October/November 2018, we have two New(s) Ideas winners!
Evvnt has found the solution to automating the millions of event listings in print and online, and news publishers can start using it immediately to provide local event marketers and their communities with a valuable service – and open up a new revenue stream.
This month’s winner of the Alliance’s New(s) Ideas contest, Evvnt has developed an automated event marketing calendar. The web-based tool helps publishers manage events, automating what was before a time-consuming, complex task, and funneling revenue from event marketers straight to publishers.
With a strong base of clients, including publishers such as GateHouse Media and Hearst, Evvnt takes the guess work – and the expense – out of local event marketing. And, they are forging the path in the event marketing space through technological innovation, including voice search, reverse publishing-to-print, e-newsletters and more.
Evvnt’s demo walks through how the event calendar works and the different features available for publishers.
We recently caught up with Richard Green, CEO and Kelsey Kearns, U.S. Business Development & Market Strategist at Evvnt, to tell us more about Evvnt’s automated event marketing product and how news media can leverage it to expand their local events listings and grow revenue.
What is Evvnt?
Richard Green, CEO, Evvnt
Evvnt supplies revenue-generating event calendars that drive affordable event marketing into the heart of local communities utilizing newspapers, events content syndication, featured placement, print and voice search.
How did the idea for Evvnt come about?
I discovered that marketing a local event was incredibly difficult, expensive and in the main failed to deliver any level of accountable return on investment. With local events being so regular and rich in content, a search and local newspaper service seemed an obvious place to start.
Kelsey Kearns, U.S. Business Development & Market Strategist, Evvnt
What challenges does Evvnt help news media organizations to overcome?
We replace cost-based services with a revenue-generating platform, which allows our publication partners to make money off of events like never before and gives their clients a powerful and affordable event marketing solution. We have developed technology to bring event promoters affordable solutions and leveraged newspapers’ print backgrounds.
What are some different ways news media organizations can incorporate Evvnt into their business?
Not only do we provide quality event calendars, but we can also help with the print side of their business and help them step into voice search through our strategic partnerships. We want readers to know that their local publications are now the best place to find and submit an event online. Content, customers, revenue and local news in the form of an event.
What has the response to Evvnt been like from your news media customers?
Wonderful! GateHouse and Hearst are both members, and in the main, we have found every single news organization interested and looking at timelines to launch. With the current model costing the industry $20 million per annum and a solution to create $100 million or more per annum, we see more and more news media customers excited about how Evvnt will bring in new customers, activate old customers and bring events back to life for local.
What else does Evvnt do?
We do one thing: premium local event marketing for news media companies, calendars to assist the go-to-market strategy and supply data – and we have plans to bring ticketing to our news media partners in 2019.
What is Evvnt working on for the future?
We want to power all of the U.S. publications’ event calendars and help them monetize events like never before by offering a true all-industry syndication offering to get to the heart of the local consumer. We are launching as we speak automated reverse publishing-to-print, events-to-voice search and enabling email marketing services to promote single events and news media full week and month event schedules via newsletters.
How can publishers interested in Evvnt get started? Is there any special computer equipment or software required in order for newspapers to use it?
It’s extremely easy! It takes 15 minutes from contract sign to revenue generation and you require no special equipment or software – we supply plug-and-play calendar code within minutes that they can add to their site as soon as they’d like! We also provide support through marketing and sales collateral and training for the editor and sales teams. No special equipment or software is required!
What do you see as the future of news media?
Three decades of failed event awareness is over! We see 10,000+ news media, magazine, radio and TV sites all surfacing events content at a local level, bringing local event attendance back to life and delivering affordable and effective event marketing campaigns back into the heart of the community.
Lindsey is Director, Communications at the News/Media Alliance. She has over 15 years of experience working in communications for nonprofits.
