Ahead of a tentpole industry event, invitations abound. And among those inbound emails, some event attendees are lucky enough to have their presence requested at a VIP dinner. The personalized attention is no doubt wooing—plus it never hurts to have your itinerary padded with an all-expenses-paid-for, elevated experience complete with exclusive networking opportunities. From a strategy standpoint, it often seems like a no-brainer to RSVP “yes” to one of these private dining events.
From an event marketer’s standpoint, however, the real benefit comes from hosting one of these VIP dinners adjacent to an anchor event (hello, IMEX America, CES, Comic-Con, SXSW and TED Conferences, just to name a few). For starters, putting on a dining event will be cheaper than being a sponsor of one of these tentpole events, according to Gina Holly, the head of strategic partnerships at Modern Sales Pro (MSP).
In fact, you can even have other firms sponsor your dinner, happy hour or lounge, which is what MSP does. “So, it’s $10,000 to sponsor a lounge. When there’s five sponsors there, all of the money pulled together can get an awesome space with an open bar, a cigar tasting [and] a meeting space or two, versus $100,000 to sponsor Dreamforce, for example,” Holly said.
Eduardo Duarte Ruas, MSP’s marketing manager, added that hosting a VIP dinner during a tentpole event is a surefire way to get a competitive advantage “by enabling me to craft highly targeted campaigns that appeal directly to the type of audience my partners want to reach.” It’s one of the three main reasons to even consider hosting one of these events, he told Vendelux: because
“tentpole events attract a specific, well-defined persona, making it easier for marketers to tailor the content and experience of their gatherings.”
The nature of a targeted audience already being in town for a big industry event “allows me to skip a significant portion of the attendee identification process, cutting about 30% of the workload,” Duarte Ruas said. “Instead of spending time finding and convincing the right people to attend, I can focus on refining the experience itself—whether it’s customizing content or curating networking opportunities. […] In turn, this results in a higher-quality attendee experience, which strengthens partnerships and increases the likelihood of repeat collaborations.”
And because your dinner guests are likely spending all day attending panels and meetings, the structure of a VIP dinner “becomes more intuitive” rather than having to be too buttoned up. Ideally, a curated dinner of this kind is “offering a break from the formalities,” Duarte Ruas said.
Still, curating a guest list and fostering connections is important. When it comes to sending out invitations, “exclusivity is important because people want to connect with professionals on their level or above,” according to Duarte Ruas, who places everyone that RSVPs to one of MSP’s events on a waitlist. “I manually review each RSVP to ensure they are a good fit for the event, and if not, their access is respectfully denied. This process helps maintain the quality and value of the event for all attendees.”
“You also want to have one or two customers in the room so they are saying good things about your organization,”
Holly added, noting that there’s an added benefit of building a deeper relationship with your customers when you invite them to this kind of exclusive event.
Still, a post-conference VIP dinner is not a new concept. And most of the time, a dinner simply becomes another networking opportunity—which is “not enough to move prospects further down the funnel,” Duarte Ruas said.
“People want to feel like they belong to a community, so a more personalized, white-glove approach is necessary,” he added.
So how do you stand out? Holly suggested: “something fancy, like a Michelin-starred experience. Or bring in a sommelier who’s going to pair wine with food,” which is an opportunity as a host to create sponsorship opportunities “to find a partner you can share the cost with.” And though these things sound expensive, keep in mind that having an open bar for the evening will still “ultimately be cheaper than sponsoring a larger event,” Holly said.
In addition, if you want to host a VIP experience in a city you’re not familiar with, lean on what locals love. Never been to Boston, for instance? Consider purchasing seats—or a suite—at a Red Sox baseball game, Holly said. But when sticking to a dining affair, “you want to be as close to the main conference venue as possible,” she advised. Most likely, all of your guests will be traveling from out of town too, so you want to take convenience into consideration, Holly added.
For assistance in venue selection, Duarte Ruas said he uses SixPlus, which bills itself as an “OpenTable for groups.”
“They offer an Event Concierge service that helps me find the perfect venue in cities across the US, based on criteria I provide. Within two hours, they send me a curated list of venues, which has saved me so much time and stress,” Duarte Ruas added of the platform.
SixPlus’s CEO Evelyne White told Vendelux that when she’s thinking about putting on a highly curated VIP dinner, “ideal group size and setting, seated versus standing as well as table configurations” are things that can really elevate—or hurt—the experience. To event marketers gearing up to host a VIP dinner, White advised to ask yourself: “What is one thing you want to get out of this event? Will the guests be strangers to one another? How old are the attendees?”
Finally, to ensure all of your thoughtful planning doesn’t go to waste, be sure to relay the level of exclusivity in your marketing messages, Duarte Ruas said. In fact, it’s “crucial,” he noted. “Since your ancillary event attracts a specific, well-defined audience, you need to communicate directly to their interests and needs. Ask yourself: What are they looking for? What language resonates with them? How can your event meet those needs in a way that feels both clear and compelling? Be concise and intentional in highlighting the unique value your event offers, and make it easy for them to see why they should choose yours over the others.”
