Spotlight: The Circle Marketing of an Emphasis on Events

Events can be a great way to market a business. But it takes a special type of entrepreneur to make the most of event marketing Suzan McDowell accidentally discovered her love of marketing and event planning while she was working for a radio station . Read about his trip and how that led to his company, Circle of One Marketing, in this week's Small Business Spotlight.

What does the company do

Provides integrated marketing, public relations and event services.

McDowell told Small Business Trends that "Circle of One is best known for its engaging events and brand activations on behalf of our customers. Bringing their brand, services and products to the public in an experiential and effective way offers better engagement opportunities for our customers. "

Business niche

Creativity and multicultural messaging.

McDowell explains, "Our creativity and execution make these events and activations memorable, giving our customers the benefit of making their brand, services and products memorable. Our expertise in event management is also enhanced by our mastery of multicultural messaging and engagement. "

How did the company begin

Due to a successful event.

McDowell was previously a successful account manager selling radio advertising for a premier station. While at work, one of her clients asked her to help her organize a promotional event for her company. This event helped McDowell realize that she had the skills and ability to do this kind of work full time.

McDowell says: "It was over 15 years ago, and Circle of One Marketing used this foundation to help many businesses of different sizes and types to grow their business."

Largest Victory

Provide excellent results to a large client.

McDowell declares: "The biggest victory for Circle of One Marketing was winning the contract to commercialize Jazz in the Gardens at Miami Gardens, and as the Circle enters its 13th year of marketing the festival, It was amazing to remember the first year of our participation – it was a hopeless situation for the young event, and ticket sales were not moving in. Circle of One Marketing took up the challenge and helped 1800 festival attendees More than ten years later, Jazz in the Gardens attracted up to 70,000 attendees.Work with Jazz in the Garden has consolidated the Circle as a "go to" body for the Event Management and Marketing With the continued growth of Jazz in the Gardens, Circle of One has been able to offer quantifiable evidence of undeniable expertise in the development and marketing. St execution marketing and public relations strategies that deliver results. "

The greatest risk

Take a big project at the last minute.

McDowell explains, "The biggest risk that was taken by Circle of One was in 2016 with the acceptance of the Many Rivers to Cross concert in Georgia." Sponsored by the Social Justice Organization of the legend Harry Belafonte, Sankofa, Circle of One was contacted 30 days before this mega gig after the coordinators realized that they were terribly low tickets.The event was on the verge of disaster So Circle of One switched to the immediate red code, everyone in bridge mode.By a major blitz on social media and public relations, we were able to step up the engagement in little With strategic alliances and creative connections, the concert has grown significantly in recent weeks and has proven to be an incredible and well-covered event. "

Lesson learned

Be more disciplined financially.

McDowell explains, "While fiscal responsibility has improved throughout the evolution and maturity of the Circle, achieving this discipline earlier in the process would have positioned the company on a Stronger foundation earlier Time management was also a work in progress Servicing customers effectively requires time management skills, and in retrospect, this would have been an operational priority in the early stages of Circle of One development. . "