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Reference:

Event marketing as an effective tool for the advertising campaign of the social network "VKontakte"

Nacharova Liudmila Igorevna

Assistant, Department of Foreign Languages and Communication Technologies, National University of Science and Technology (MISIS); Postgraduate, Moscow University named after A.S. Griboyedov.

129323, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Rusanova ave., 25 K.1, office of Moscow

luda_konstant@mail.ru

DOI:

10.25136/2409-8698.2024.2.69732

EDN:

WVQEXG

Received:

01-02-2024


Published:

06-03-2024


Abstract: The subject of this article is event marketing as a tool for the advertising campaign of the social network "VKontakte." It provides an analytical perspective on current trends in advertising and offers specific recommendations for the effective use of marketing tools in the evolving advertising environment. The main focus is on the importance of the social network's interaction with its audience through the organization and sponsorship of various events, as well as the optimization of feedback analysis and the effectiveness of advertising campaigns in the context of digital technologies and social media. The article proposes a theoretical and practical justification for the feasibility of conducting not only online events and activities (forums, discussions, educational courses) but also offline events (concerts in clubs and open venues), as well as organizing events in collaboration with cultural and educational centers in the country. An example of the advertising campaign of the social network "VKontakte" serves as illustrative material to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approaches. The scientific relevance and novelty of this article are manifested in several key aspects. Firstly, the work considers event marketing as an innovative tool aimed at creating "viral messages" and improving the interaction of the promoted social network with its audience, opening new perspectives in brand promotion and consumer interaction. The second aspect is related to the reverse effect in this case - the influence of social networks on the effectiveness of event marketing. Given the complexity of the nature of social networks, as they simultaneously act as service providers to their users and media channels, the combination of these two functions in the activities of such market participants allows them to leverage many advantages associated with the complexity of their nature, which increases the importance of analyzing the theoretical foundations and possibilities of advertising campaigns.


Keywords:

Event marketing, social network, advertising, marketing, promotion, media communications, audience interaction, effectiveness of advertising campaigns, innovative approaches, network theory

This article is automatically translated.

In today's dynamic world, where technology is constantly evolving, advertising strategies are undergoing revision. Traditional methods such as television, radio and print are still important, but need to be updated in the context of changing preferences and consumer behavior. Event marketing stands out among the new promotion tools. This method involves the creation of engaging events to promote a brand, product or service both in real life and in the virtual spaces of the Internet. In comparison with traditional approaches, event marketing provides consumers with the opportunity to interact with the brand in a more direct and emotional form, which contributes to the formation of a deep connection with the audience.

As O.A. Ksenzenko notes: "Advertising is an extremely multifaceted and multidimensional phenomenon" [1, p. 610]. Throughout the centuries and millennia of its existence, its essence has remained the main and unchanged as the process of creating, planning and executing campaigns or messages in order to promote a product, service, brand or idea in order to reach and influence the target audience. The main purpose of advertising is to attract attention, create and maintain interest and stimulate action among consumers. It is a form of communication that uses various media channels to convey persuasive messages and create awareness around a specific proposal. Thus, while maintaining its essence and goals, the methods of advertising messages are constantly changing, which allows its creators to subtly capture trends in their customers' user markets. In our case, we consider a social network as the subject of an advertising message, its creator. This factor is decisive both in the choice of media channels and the means and tools of an advertising campaign aimed at achieving the unchangeable goal of promoting this social platform, retaining and expanding its market share.

The peculiarity of the social network as a subject of promotion is multifaceted and complex. This complexity is directly related to the definition and essence of a social network as a market entity. It is itself a channel of promotion, which, in turn, requires promotion. Social networks play a key role in modern event marketing strategies. With their help, brands can dynamically interact with the audience, create discussions and spread information. This form of promotion is becoming increasingly popular due to its ability to immediately reach a wide audience and create attention-grabbing virtual events. In our case, the platform is interested in promoting itself.

Traditional advertising methods, which have performed well in television advertisements or on the pages of newspapers, face challenges when promoting on social networks. Modern users expect more individualized and interesting content, rather than traditional advertising approaches.

Event marketing can be considered as a form of advertising, which marketing involves promoting a brand, product, or service through organizing or sponsoring various events. These events can range from product launches and promotional activities to larger sponsored events such as conferences, exhibitions, or community events. Advertising in a broad sense includes various methods and channels used to promote and convey messages to the target audience. Event marketing is included in the field of advertising because it aims to create brand awareness, engage the audience and convey key messages, similar to traditional advertising methods. Event marketing provides a unique opportunity to interact with consumers in a more experienced and immersive way compared to traditional advertising channels. By creating memorable experiences, brands can leave a lasting impact on participants and possibly generate positive feedback and information dissemination on social media. In fact, event marketing is a specific type of advertising that uses live events to promote and strengthen a brand.

According to the concepts presented in Neil Ferguson's work "The Square and the Tower. Networks and power from Freemasons to Facebook", homophilia – our tendency to be attracted to people like ourselves (it is also called assortativity) – can be considered the first law of social networks [3, p. 42]. By and large, it is on this principle that the effectiveness of using event marketing for advertising campaigns of the VKontakte social network is based.  

 

Fig. 1 – Fundamental concepts of network theory

 

Figure 1 shows a diagram of the organization of communication between participants within one network or even many networks. According to Ferguson, it is precisely "weak connections" – with acquaintances with whom we already have fewer similarities–that play a key role in the phenomenon described by the phrase "the world is small." These are vital bridges thrown between different clusters or groups that otherwise would not be connected to each other in any way [3, p.46].

Thus, influential people in society (bloggers, public figures) or commercial or government organizations can act as nodes of the network. Being present at the same event with such participants allows you to develop a sense of belonging to the community, which develops through the formation of these "weak ties". Thus, information coming from such centers through social network channels has a greater influence and trust on the part of users, especially if it is emotionally colored and targeted.

The key point in transmitting information through such channels, according to Ferguson, "as with an epidemic of diseases, is that the speed and scope of dispersion is determined not only by the essence of the idea being transmitted, but also by the structure of the network through which it is transmitted. In the process of viralization, nodes play an important role, which serve not only as connecting centers or intermediaries, but also as “gatekeepers", that is, people who decide whether or not to transmit the received information further to the part of the network that is located behind them. [3, c.51]

According to information available in the company's official report, "The average monthly coverage of VKontakte in the second quarter of 2023 amounted to 85% of the Russian Internet audience, while the daily coverage of the platform amounted to 53% of the daily Russian Internet audience." Also, according to the information on the official website, the company explains such impressive results by the fact that VKontakte "actively invested in product development and content, as well as in working with authors." The Vkontakte social network actively promotes itself both in online communities, conducting webinars and educational seminars for the community of technical and IT specialists, but also in an offline environment. As an illustration, we can cite a large number of "live" events that the company held in 2023, such as the large-scale VKFest youth music festival in the largest cities of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok), which was attended by 500 artists and celebrities, attended by 200 thousands of people, 34 million viewed online. In addition, the company even acquired a nightclub in Moscow, which has historically been very popular with the youth audience, and changed its name to VK Gypsy, focusing on the brand and promoting it among its audience. It is also worth noting that the company will continue its advertising campaign with an active component of event marketing also among the audience of visitors to museums, exhibitions and theaters, providing grants for such cultural institutions wishing to participate in organizing public events and meetings in partnership with VKontakte, which shows the versatility of the target audience that the company plans to attract. 

It is also important to emphasize the fact that advertising is usually perceived as a "one-way type of communication (the so-called one-way communication)" [1, p. 612], which reduces the number and effectiveness of mechanisms of influence on the audience. In our case, event marketing allows you to get feedback from both the participants of the events themselves and the audience, which continues to communicate on social networks and the Internet space after the events. The analysis of such messages from network users can ensure continuous improvement of VKontakte services and offers in accordance with their tasks and wishes, as well as improve the effectiveness of future advertising campaigns.

Modern market demands require innovations in advertising strategies. Event marketing and social media provide unique opportunities to create strong connections with the audience and effectively promote the brand in the modern digital era. For effective advertising, standard methods need to be reviewed. Personalized content, engaging contests and the use of influential personalities are becoming key elements of successful strategies. Event marketing combined with social media allows brands to create unique experiences and interactions, attracting the attention of the target audience. The example of the VKontakte advertising campaign is indicative, and clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of using modern methods of interaction with the audience to meet modern consumer expectations.

References
1. Bernays, E. L. (2018). Propaganda. Martino Fine Books. (Original work published 1928).
2. Cialdini, R. B. (2021). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (New and Expanded). Harper Business.
3. Ferguson, N. (2018). The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook. Penguin Books.
4. Kotler, P. (2014). Kotler on Marketing: How to Create, Win, and Dominate Markets (Reprint edition). Free Press.
5. Ogilvy, D. (2011). Ogilvy on Advertising. Prion Books, London.
6. Schmitt, B. H., Rogers, D. L., & Vrotsos, K. (2003). There's No Business That's Not Show Business: Marketing in an Experience Culture. Financial Times. Prentice Hall.
7. Sharp, B. (2010). How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don't Know. Oxford University Press.
8. Thomas, O. (2008). Reference model-based event management. International Journal of Event Management Research, 4(1), 38-57.

Peer Review

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The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The article "Event marketing as an effective tool of the advertising campaign of the VKontakte social network, proposed for publication in the Litera magazine, is undoubtedly relevant, since the development of communication, the acceleration of the information exchange process and the increasing competition every year have led to the fact that advertising communication in the XXI century is experiencing a rapid flourishing. Taking into account the changes in our world, traditional advertising strategies are being revised, which also increases the importance of the materials presented by the author, which refers to event marketing, which is considered as a form of advertising. The relevance of the study, therefore, lies in considering new strategies of advertising companies in social networks, for example, a large media "VK". Undoubtedly, the topic stated by the author is of some interest, since the modern phenomenon of advertising, namely its transformation in our days, is being comprehended. The present study is carried out in line with the tradition of studying advertising texts that has been formed in Russian linguistics. The author conducted an analysis of VK advertising publications, as well as his own observations on empirical material. It should be noted that in the study the author considers both the theoretical basis of the problem field concerned and the practical problems. The research was carried out in line with modern scientific approaches, the work consists of an introduction containing a statement of the problem, the main part, traditionally beginning with a review of theoretical sources and scientific directions, a research and a final one, which presents the conclusions obtained by the author. Structurally, the article consists of several semantic parts, namely: introduction, literature review, methodology, research progress, conclusions. The article presents a research methodology, the choice of which is quite adequate to the goals and objectives of the work. The methodology of the research was both general scientific methods and private linguistic ones, namely: the method of interpretation, the method of discourse analysis, the statistical method of random sampling, etc. This work was done professionally, in compliance with the basic canons of scientific research. The bibliography of the article contains 8 sources, among which exclusively domestic works. We believe that referring to the publications of foreign scientists in a foreign language would undoubtedly enrich the work. Like any large-scale work, the work in question is not without drawbacks. Thus, we believe that turning to fundamental works on this or related topics, such as PhD and doctoral dissertations and monographs, would undoubtedly strengthen the theoretical basis of the research. There are partial discrepancies in the article, for example, "Event marketing can be considered as a form of advertising, which is marketing!!! It includes promoting a brand, product, or service through organizing or sponsoring various events." However, this remark does not detract from the tremendous work done by the author. The article will undoubtedly be useful to a wide range of people, philologists, journalists, undergraduates and graduate students of specialized universities. The overall impression after reading the peer-reviewed article "Event marketing as an effective tool for the advertising campaign of the VKontakte social network" is positive, it can be recommended for publication in a scientific journal from the list of the Higher Attestation Commission.