Summer is almost here and that means kicking off event season. MainStreet districts will be filled with festivals, street fairs, parades, sidewalk sales, farmer’s markets and concerts. While events can be a lot of fun, is easy to get caught up in the activity and not really think beyond “getting them done.” Because Promotions and events are just one of the four areas that a MainStreet project focuses on, it is important to take a close look and really evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the events that we do. Here are five elements for evaluating your events:
- Meet the Mission. Does the event fit within the mission of MainStreet? Really examine how each event ties back into the mission of your project.
- Support the Program. Every event should be self-sustaining and – in a perfect world – also bring in funding for the MainStreet project. Consider setting aside 10% of all sponsorship money raised for events to go toward the operations budget. If you raise $25,000 in sponsorships over the year, that would mean an additional $2,500 for your project.
- Build Awareness. Does your event build awareness of the local MainStreet and revitalization efforts? This can even be as simple as creating good will in the community for the MainStreet program, just be sure that your name and logo are branded with the event.
- Balance. How much of the executive director’s time is taken up with events? Don’t forget that Promotions also include image development and media relations; and in the bigger picture, there needs to be work happening in Organization, Design and Economic Positioning. Are your events part of a balanced approach to all the work, or are they taking up too much time?
- Impact. How does the event help the businesses in the MainStreet district? Does it build traffic or ring cash registers? How does the event impact the community? Does it provide historic, cultural, recreational, social or tourism benefits? How can you quantify the impact of each of your events to the MainStreet district?
Events are a lot of fun. Make sure that they are also effective tools for your MainStreet district!