A promoter is a person who is responsible for marketing and publicizing events. He or she can work to advertise events such as concerts, athletic tournaments, or charity events. Promoters must come up with creative ways to make sure the public knows about events in order to draw crowds.
Depending on the marketing budget of the venue, a promoter will need to figure out unique and affordable ways to spread information about the event, while promoting it in a way that makes people want to attend. Promoters generally need to be able to predict what types of marketing will work for specific events. For instance, some promoters may be more likely to use social networking websites to market an event for tech-savvy people in their twenties, rather than rely on other advertisements.
During a specific events or projects, promoters may have to work with many other people in other industries to fully organize and market the event. For example, he or she may work with graphic designers and copy shop employees in order to oversee the design, production, and distribution of event flyers. Aspiring promoters may pass out flyers themselves, while experienced promoters have volunteers distribute them.
There are various areas of promotion a person can specialize in. Nightclub promoters may be hired by club owners to increase the amount of patrons who show up, especially if they want to increase business on certain nights of the week. A nightclub owner typically works out a deal with a promoter that he or she is paid only if a minimum number of people show up or the bar reaches a set monetary profit. Nightclub promoters will sometimes receive a portion of the admission charges.
Musicians or spectator athletes may hire their own promoters who focus solely on promoting their specific appearances. Clients generally agree to pay their promoters a percentage of their earnings for the event. A promoter’s main focus is to continually get people to show up to his or her client’s concerts or appearances and increase the client’s public recognition. As a client becomes more well-known, he or she will be able to command more appearance fees, which increases a promoter’s earnings.
Promotion work is project-based, so a promoter may work long hours leading up to an event and then be out of work until the next event. There is typically no official undergraduate education for becoming a promoter. Promoters who tend to be the most successful are the ones who can figure out what marketing strategies will be most successful for different demographics. Success in promotion is generally measured by the amount of profit the event makes. Even if a promoter can draw huge crowds, he or she may not have continued success if too much money was spent on marketing and a large net profit was not made.