What to do if you need to cancel or postpone your event
By Chloe Baulch
In the wake of COVID-19, there have been a lot of event cancellations and postponements – sporting events, conferences, festivals, community events and more. At the current moment, the Australian Government has banned indoor events over 100 people and outdoor events over 400 people. Event organisers are having to make tough decisions on how to proceed, leaving one question – how do you let everyone know your event has been postponed or cancelled?
We’ve put together a list of activities that will hopefully help you market your event changes during this difficult time.
Clear and considerate comms
Communicating and staying transparent during this time is essential. The first thing you need to do, once you have made the formal decision to postpone or cancel your event, is to let your key stakeholders know. Key stakeholders include ticket holders, sponsors and partners. It is essential that these people and businesses are contacted directly. They have invested time and money into your event, don’t let them find out about your event changes via a blanket message on social media.
When contacting your stakeholders, it’s also a good idea to ask them to share the event news on their networks. This could include social media, newsletters and noticeboards. Sponsors and event partners have probably been sharing event updates, so it’s important that they also update their networks on the situation.
Tick off those marketing checkpoints
Now it’s time to let the community know about your cancellation or postponement.
Update your social media. If you’re postponing your event and don’t have a new date confirmed, don’t wait until you have one. The sooner you can let people know, the better. If you have batched some social media posts about your event (eg. scheduled countdown posts or ticket reminders) - unschedule them. If your event is postponed, just keep the posts in your drafts. It will make it much easier to go back and reschedule them when you have decided on a new date.
Update your website. A message on your home page that explains the situation is best. You want it to be prominent – so people don’t need to search around for it.
Send an email blast out. Put your database to good use and utilise all the marketing channels that you have to get your event changes out there. Make sure the subject line is clear so they don’t think it’s a follow up message.
Update/Take down your online event listings. There are multiple online calendars where you can list upcoming events. If your event has been cancelled or postponed, don’t forget to take down your listing or change the date.
Notify the local press. In Mackay, our daily paper (the Daily Mercury) is also publishing all events in the region that have been postponed or cancelled. Yours could be doing this too, so take a look. For the Mercury, the email address is news@dailymercury.com.au.
Hold off on ads. If you have paid for any TV, radio or print advertising, don’t forget to chat with your media outlet or buyer about cancelling or rescheduling your ads. If the ad placement is non-refundable or reschedulable, then change up your ad to be about your business, not about the event. Use this as a chance to market your business – don’t let the money you invested go to waste.
Don’t forget about your online ads too. If you have a Facebook or Google ad running, make sure to just jump into your account and switch the ad off.
Consider a virtual alternative
It won’t work for all events – but you can consider moving your event online. For event managers, the sudden growth of online events creates new ways of connecting with larger audiences. If you take the time to make your virtual event as professional and engaging as it can be, you have the opportunity to set your event apart from others while bringing some sort of normalcy to your audience during this challenging and uncertain time.
Remember what your event is all about
It’s a really difficult time for people in the event industry, but it’s important to not lose focus on what your event is all about. When marketing the cancelation or postponement of your event, include a call to action about the spirit of your event.
Here are some examples:
If you are cancelling a Fun Run, encourage participants to still get out and go for a run or walk themselves. Walking can also be a great way to get away from the chaos caused by coronavirus and de-stress.
If your event was focused on raising money for a charity, you can still encourage people to donate instead of buying a ticket to your event.
Anzac Day ceremonies across the country are being cancelled. That doesn’t mean you can’t honour our past and present service people. Australians are being called to stand at the end of their driveways this Anzac Day at 6am for a minute’s silence.
During this time, it’s still really important to support the music and arts industry as their jobs rely on events and gatherings. If an event or show you were attending has been cancelled – buy some merch. A simple t-shirt purchase could help save someone’s career right now.
Your event getting cancelled is devastating, but it is best to listen to the advice from the World Health Organisation and keep our community safe. If you are faced with event cancellations or postponements, start implementing the above activities and think about the option of going virtual. Most importantly, stay empathetic to your attendees and sponsors and work together for the best outcome.