The Jira way to marketing success

In the world of marketing, planning and executing successful events is crucial. Whether it's a product launch, a trade show, a webinar, or a conference, meticulous planning is a must for any marketing team.

Challenges in event planning

Events involve complex processes that need close collaboration between content creators, designers, sales, and IT support. As a marketer, these tasks should look familiar:

1. Planning content: Creating marketing materials, presentations, and promotional assets.
2. Logistics: Booking venues, arranging transportation, and ensuring equipment availability.
3. Invitations and registration: Managing guest lists, sending out invitations, and tracking sign-ups.
4. Incident management: Handling unexpected technical issues, scheduling software updates, etc.
5. Change management: Adapting to last-minute adjustments.

Managing these tasks in a  way that’s efficient and creates a seamless event experience can be challenging without the right tools and processes in place, as you’ll see in the scenario I’ve created below.

Scenario: You're an experienced event manager tasked with organizing a large-scale conference that will bring together industry leaders, speakers, and professionals from around the world. As the event date approaches, the traditional methods you’re used to relying on, e.g., emails, spreadsheets, and phone calls, are leading to misunderstandings and delays in decision-making.

On top of keeping up with real-time changes, such as updates to the agenda, speaker availability, and last-minute venue adjustments, you’ve also got to securely manage sensitive data and financial transactions. Before you know it, you’ve got registration overloads, double bookings, and data entry issues.

The solution to challenges in event planning

Software exists to make our lives easier. When it comes to event management, some tools handle all of the factors outlined above, and others focus on specifics such as sign-ups.

Tools like Jira Work Management and Jira Service Management are examples of platforms that can help overall, as I explain below.

1. Event planning with Jira Work Management

Jira Work Management provides a versatile and customizable platform for project management. You can create a dedicated marketing event project using the marketing template, which is specifically designed to streamline tasks.

Key benefits:

1. Task tracking: Easily create tasks for various activities, assign them to team members, and track their progress.
2. Deadline management: Set clear deadlines and prioritize tasks so that everything stays on schedule.
3. Collaboration: Encourage collaboration among team members by providing a centralized platform for communication and file sharing.
4. Customization: Tailor the project to your specific needs by adding custom fields, workflows, and automation.

2. Incident and change management with Jira Service Management

Jira Service Management seamlessly integrates with Jira Work Management, allowing you to handle incident and change management needs.

Change management in event marketing might involve adapting strategies based on feedback, analyzing metrics, and continuously refining approaches to enhance future events and marketing efforts.

Incident management can refer to the structured process of handling unexpected disruptions or issues during the planning, execution, or aftermath of an event. These incidents could include technical glitches, logistical challenges, communication breakdowns, or any unforeseen problems that may impact the success of the event.

Key benefits:

1. Incident handling: Quickly respond to technical issues or incidents that may arise during the event. IT support can use Jira Service Management to log and prioritize incidents for immediate resolution.
2. Change requests: Easily manage last-minute changes to the event agenda. Submit change requests through Jira Service Management, and the relevant teams can assess and implement them. Another key feature is the “change calendar” and its capability to see what deployments are planned so that you can avoid the risk of downtime in an application you are using during your event. Keep reading for more on this.

“Having worked in events for over a decade, I’ve experienced what it’s like to have software at my fingertips and what it's like to be without it. I can say that having it makes all the difference, especially at a time when my teammates are all in different locations. I can see who is doing what, if there are any outstanding tasks, what’s been completed, and any upcoming deadlines.” - Hannah Waller, Events Marketing Manager, Eficode

3. Change management perspective: IT coordination for event success

In addition to incident management, change management is crucial when planning events. It's essential that the IT department knows about scheduled events to avoid any conflicts that could impact your brand and reputation. For instance, deploying system updates or maintenance during a live event could lead to downtime and tarnish your brand's image (in extreme cases).

By incorporating change management practices, you can:

1. Coordinate IT activities: IT teams are aware of upcoming events and avoid scheduling system maintenance or updates that could disrupt the event.
2. Mitigate risks: Identify potential conflicts early and implement strategies to mitigate risks so that your event runs smoothly.
3. Protect your brand: Avoid scenarios where critical systems are taken down for maintenance during important events.

Elevate your event planning

In marketing, seamless event planning and execution are paramount to success. By leveraging the capabilities of software such as those mentioned above, your marketing team can improve collaboration efforts, streamline processes, and ensure IT coordination for success.