Events Marketing Programme: Testimonials

30+ testimonials: Why these events owners choose CapeTownmagazine.com

 

Monday, 02 December 2024

It's nice to get kudos. It’s especially fulfilling when the recognition comes for work that you believe in. The Events Marketing Programme is not advertising. It’s been built to bolster the provinces’ most special events so they can happen again (and again). By giving them access to our expertise, reach, and the trust we’ve built with locals and internationals. It’s a partnership that works when partners understand the value of what we put in, where you invest some and we put in a lot. Read on to see what the Events Marketing Programme has done for events businesses like yours.

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MADE 5 TIMES THE TURNOVER

“Tulbagh B&Bs say they made 5 times their turnover. Informal traders on the road said they were so busy they almost sold out their stock. All accommodation was sold out (you had to find a friend to stay with). All hospitality was full and restaurants had record sales. So much that there was spillover in neighbouring Riebeek Kasteel and Ceres.” – Gavin Meiring (GM Events), Tulbagh Christmas in Winter event organiser.

 

YOU HAVE GREAT CREDIBILITY

“You also have great credibility with the late 20s to 40s crowd. They do not trust ads. When they are not sure what to do, they come to you. The way you have built your brand and voice has created authenticity and loyalty. It gives your brand credibility.”. – Gia Hensburg, Lucky Fish marketing and brand manager

 

YOU GAVE US DECENT TRAFFIC

“The last time we did this, you were the only ones who gave us decent traffic. The other ones were a waste of time.” – Sagy Shein, 2 Fellas Media founder (for Fairtrade)

 

BEST MONEY SPENT ON MARKETING
“It’s the best money I've ever spent on marketing. We have done advertising in-flight magazines. There has certainly been no twitching and rumbling there, but we have seen activity from what we did with CapeTownMagazine.com.” – Sarah Haines, project director for Long March to Freedom, the exhibition of life-size bronze statues

 

YOU REACH MARKETS WE CAN NOT REACH

“We see the value. You reach markets we can not reach. When we first worked together, I put a number in and people would phone me (quite a few from overseas) and say they heard about us through CapeTownMagazine.com.” – Ronen Klugman, owner Lucky Fish events company (Alcazar, Rage, MCQP)

 

IT’S A PARTNERSHIP

“The experience of working with you was painless and pleasant. I felt that you were focusing on the project, and not just taking the money and splashing an ad. There was a feeling that there was a partnership… and I still do.” – Sarah Haines, project director for Long March to Freedom, the exhibition of life-size bronze statues

 

MADE ME FEEL VALUED

“The follow-ups you did were good. Inviting us to be part of the Secret Season campaign for free was really nice; it got more people to engage closer to the time of the event. That made me feel like I was valued over and above what was anticipated.” – Mary Corrigall, director of Heat Festival, an arts festival that started in 2024

 

 

SEEN INCREASE IN VISIBILITY

“Since the posts have gone out, we've seen more people caring about us, and the word spreading. Our biggest pain point is visibility. We want to become a must-see destination. We are a non-profit, and we charge visitors little. We have certainly seen an increase in visibility. And there has been an upswing in social media, with getting new followers. We need the numbers, the international numbers too. Certainly, we saw how your platform has such an enormous reach.” – Sarah Haines, project director for Long March to Freedom, the exhibition of life-size bronze statues

 

LIKED THE ENTHUSIASM IN THE ARTICLES

“What I liked was the enthusiasm that came across in the articles and the posts on social media. It had a tone of “you’ve gotta visit the place.” – Sarah Haines, project director for Long March to Freedom, the exhibition of life-size bronze statues

 

MARKETED US JUST RIGHT

“We needed completely new marketing for 2024, and having a digital arm really aggregated the way the messages were communicated. The way that CapeTownMagazine.com marketed (the festival) by also marketing Tulbagh, was just right.” – Gavin Meiring (GM Events), Tulbagh Christmas in Winter event organiser.

SUCCESS HAS HAD LONG-TERM IMPACT

“The success of the marketing of the festival has had a long-term impact because Tulbagh was busy right through winter (Christmas in Winter was 28-30 June 2024). We saw an influx of day visitors post the event. People are now more aware of the town.” – Gavin Meiring (GM Events), Tulbagh Christmas in Winter 

 

BUZZ WE HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE

“There was a buzz in Cape Town around the event that we had never seen before. People were talking about it, from everyone that I knew.” – Gavin Meiring (GM Events), Tulbagh Christmas in Winter event organiser

 

YOU UPPED OUR GAME

“Previously online sales were 500 tickets, this year it was 2 500. From an online perspective, you upped our game.” – Gavin Meiring (GM Events), Tulbagh Christmas in Winter event organiser

 

YOU TAKE OUT MAIN HEADACHE AWAY

“It would have been a headache for us to try and sell the West Coast; it feels out of the way for most people. The air show itself has its followers, and they will go to the ends of the earth for it. But you also have the people you need to convince to get there and turn them into aviation enthusiasts. You take our main headache of selling to those people and getting them there for us. That’s how we keep growing the audiences.” – Suné Stassen, West Coast Airshow event organiser

 

YOUR NEWSLETTER’S THE HEARTBEAT OF CAPE TOWN

“I have always subscribed to your (weekly) newsletter. I get it every week on Wednesday. I love that it’s a lot more than just restaurants; it gives you insights. It’s almost the heartbeat of Cape Town. So when I had a marketing budget to invest I put it in capeTownMagzaine.com. I will likely be approaching you again in December.” – Lindy-Lou Bailey Marketing Manager for Zip Zap Circus

 

SEEING INCREASE IN NEW MARKET

“We are seeing an increase in numbers coming through from a slightly new (for us) upmarket local market: An increase in people coming from the southern suburbs and more family groups. We are getting more older visitors as well.” – Sarah Haines, project director for Long March to Freedom, the exhibition of life-size bronze statues

PROUD TO SEE OUR EVENT ON YOUR CHANNELS

The articles were good. We were just very chuffed to be highlighted so prominently. We were quite proud of the activations when they went out, and to see our brand and our event on CapeTownMagzine.com. We certainly got a lot of virality by sharing it on our networks and WhatsApp groups. – Gavin Meiring (GM Events), Tulbagh Christmas in Winter event organiser

 

“YOU ARE A ONE-STOP SHOP”
For us, it’s a combination of things that (the partnership) works. What is nice is that you are a one-stop shop. You have the breath and the depth. You’ve got the reach. The quality of the content is really important to us. I find that you are very credible. You get to various people through various channels. – Lindy-Lou Bailey Marketing Manager for Zip Zap Circus

 

“WE GET A LOT MORE THAN WE PAY FOR”
“WE GET A GREAT RETURN ON INVESTMENT”

“We get a lot more than we pay for. We get a great return on investment. I pulled all my figures, and for what I invested, the best return is you. For me, when I have to justify what I have to spend, it’s an easy decision.”  – Lindy-Lou Bailey Marketing Manager for Zip Zap Circus

“Dealing with your head of ops is incredible. Lovely, quick to respond to everything.” – Lindy-Lou Bailey Marketing Manager for Zip Zap Circus

BUILT ON MUTUAL RESPECT & LOYALTY

(Founder) Marcus and I have a long-standing relationship since Open Designs. We have mutual respect and loyalty, and he always believes so much in what we do. It was a no-brainer to team up with CapeTownMagazine.com; you play an important role in our marketing. – Suné Stassen, West Coast Airshow event organiser

 

“OUR MARKETING HAS CHANGED”

Our approach to marketing has changed. CapeTownMagazie.com has opened my eyes to how you can influence people’s behaviour. By having them see your event regularly, and writing it in such a way that you give them a reason to be a part of it; to want to be part of the crowd, to say ‘this looks really interesting’ (as you say, curiosity trumps interest). And curiosity is there because there is substance in the content. – Gavin Meiring (GM Events), Tulbagh Christmas in Winter event organiser

“SUPER EASY TO WORK WITH”

I found the working relationship an absolute pleasure. Super responsive and with great administrative skills. It's super easy to work with you guys. We are never left in the dark. The weekly or bi-weekly updates work for us because we get kept in the loop. – Gia Hensburg, Lucky Fish marketing and brand manager (for SexyGroovyLove event series, RetreatYourself Festival)

“SOLD OUT FAST – WAS BLOWN AWAY”

“We can see that events we’ve done with you have had a great impact. Our best was New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Sexy Groovy Love New Year’s Eve at the Lichtenstein Castle (an exclusive event), sold out just over a month before NYE. We were expecting that selling out the event would take a lot of work. I was actually blown away.”  – Gia Hensburg, Lucky Fish marketing and brand manager for SexyGroovyLove event series, RetreatYourself Festival)

 

GAVE ME CREDIBILITY WITH MY PARTNERS

Working with CapeTownMagazine.com also gave me credibility with my partners (15 galleries). I have to justify how I spend their money. For them being on CapeTownMagazine.com means making a good decision, because of the reach and numbers because it looked visually so nice when it did go out. – Mary Corrigall, director of Heat Festival, an arts festival that started in 2024

 

HAD THE BEST SALES

“Retreat Yourself last year had the best sales. We saw a 30% increase in ticket sales. 

 

WHEN YOU ACTIVATE - WE SEE MOVEMENT IN SALES
When you activate in your newsletters we see a movement in the ticket sales. When we run competitions, we see a spike in our following. And being on top of people's minds. – Gia Hensburg, Lucky Fish marketing and brand manager

THERE WAS NO PLATFORM APART FROM YOU

What I needed was to reach that larger audience beyond our database of artists and people following us. To reach the volume and create awareness. There was no platform that I felt had that access and I could do that with, apart from CapeTownMagazine.com. You created awareness and supported it along with the repetitiveness of it. – Mary Corrigall, director of Heat Festival, an arts festival that started in 2024

WE SAW THE NUMBERS SKYROCKET

“The year we did the Light Art expo we saw the numbers skyrocket; it was the most successful one. We saw something similar this year (2024) with the Winter Tastings; our numbers doubled compared to last year. It is hard for me to believe that it is a coincidence. I can see the direct results of partnering with you.” – Xenia van der Meulen, destination brand manager for Spier

 

YOU WERE ON IT

“The working relationship was good. You were on it; whatever you communicated was what happened. We loved the way that you wrote the articles, and used AI for images when we did not have the right images.” – Gavin Meiring (GM Events), Tulbagh Christmas in Winter event organiser

 

YOUR CAMPAIGN APPROACH IS DIFFERENT

“Often through others, you pay for a listing or a post. Your campaign approach is different. You guys do a lot more comprehensive things; which means that it is a rollout as opposed to a stab. It is the key to success. And generally, the way you update us with regular check-ins on performance is fantastic.” – Xenia van der Meulen, destination brand manager for Spier

 

THERE IS REAL STRATEGY

We’ve seen great traction on our side. I appreciate the regular updates. Your approach as always is fantastic, there is real strategy and thought behind it. I did not need to spoon-feed you; the levels that you take to create content take the headache from us. – Xenia van der Meulen, destination brand manager for Spier

It was clear that we tapped into another market. The demographic was diverse and typically younger, 25 to 35 bracket. – Xenia van der Meulen, destination brand manager for Spier

 

WAS A BIG UPTICK IN WINTER PICNICS

“There was such a big uptick in the Winter Picnics (of 2024) when compared to last year. If we use the Tastings as a yardstick: we had 4.5 times more servings than the years before” –  Xenia van der Meulen, destination brand manager for Spier

WE ONLY WORK WITH YOU

We only work with you. We decided from the beginning that we only wanted to do online marketing, and you were our first choice. The first year of the West Coast we worked with CapeTownMagazine.com. We had no idea what to expect. We planned for 2000 cars, and by 10am that parking was fully booked. Through ticket sales, we got 6 000 people, at the event we were bursting out at the seams. There were lots of feet at the last event, too. Vendors and exhibitors also went up. Next year we are aiming for 10 000 people. – Suné Stassen, West Coast Airshow event organiser

 

RESOUNDING SUCCESS

Tulbagh Christmas in Winter 2024 was a resounding success this year, drawing in over 5 000 visitors. In the previous year, we averaged 2 500 in ticket sales. This year we are way over break even, and we did 4 800 in ticket sales. – Gavin Meiring, Tulbagh Christmas in Winter event organiser

 

CONNECT WITH US

Stephanie Philander heads up our Event Marketing Programme: partners@capetownmagazine.com, 071 713 8448

 

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