Mastering Live Event Marketing: Strategies for Entertainment Brands | Diego Diaz from Situation

Ernesto Quezada: Pathmonk is the intelligent tool for website lead generation. With increasing online competition, over 98% of website visitors don’t convert. The ability to successfully show your value proposition and support visitors in their buying journey separates you from the competition online. Pathmonk qualifies and converses with visitors on your website by figuring out where they are in the buying journey and influencing them in key decision moments. With relevant micro experiences like case studies, intro videos, and much more, stay relevant to your visitors and increase conversions by 50%. Add Pathmonk to your website in seconds. Let the AI do all the work and get access to 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us out on pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Diego Diaz, media buying supervisor at Situation. How are you doing today, Diego?

Diego Diaz: Doing well, Ernesto. How are you?

Ernesto: I’m doing great, thank you for asking. Well, I’m sure, Diego, our listeners are tuning in wondering what Situation is all about. So, let’s kick it off with that. In your own words, can you tell us a little bit more?

Diego: Sure. Situation is an award-winning agency built for entertainment brands, and we champion the power of shared experiences around the world. We’re designed to meet the challenges and opportunities facing the live events industry today, and we offer marketing and creative services for our experience-based brands. We work with live entertainment, attractions, theater, sports, art and culture institutions, and more. Many of our clients are in New York City, but we also have clients across the nation and in the UK. Some of our clients include Disney shows like The Lion King and Aladdin on Broadway, MJ on Broadway, Roundabout Theatre Company, Seattle Symphony, and various other New York attractions and entertainment groups.

Ernesto: Interesting! So, Diego, for our listeners to get a better understanding of Situation, what would you say is the key problem that you help solve?

Diego: We are ready to bring any experience into our marketing plans. It depends on the event we’re looking to market. We identify first-party data to create solid tracking strategies, which lead to attribution and metrics. For large, well-known brands, we leverage their first-party data. For smaller brands, we collaborate to identify the core consumers driving conversions. Our creative, production, planning, and account teams work closely with clients to meet their marketing and business goals.

Ernesto: Great to hear that. Is there a particular vertical segment or ideal customer profile for Situation?

Diego: Our bread and butter is live experiences. Most of our clients are in New York City, and we work with big Broadway shows. These are well-known stories, and we creatively market them to bring audiences into the marketing funnel.

Ernesto: Awesome. So, if I’m in the Broadway industry, how would I usually find out about Situation? Is there a top client acquisition channel for you?

Diego: There are several channels. Our strongest is thought leadership. We have a team of passionate people who engage with partners on industry trends. For example, we recently hosted a ticketing resource webinar with our ticketing partners to analyze consumer trends. We actively take steps to leverage data, which attracts people to our ecosystem. LinkedIn is a strong platform for us to share our thought leadership, and social media also plays a key role in sharing our work and engaging with networks.

Ernesto: Great to hear. So, for our listeners who are tuned in, they can visit you at situationinteractive.com. What role does the website play in client acquisition?

Diego: Our website is where we post a lot of our thought leadership. It’s a great place to find leads and showcase our work and services. It’s a good bragging point for showing creative successes and how we help our clients meet their business goals.

Ernesto: Perfect! So, are there any tools or tips you’d recommend to our listeners for website lead generation?

Diego: I’d say be clear and concise about what your business offers. Highlight what makes you unique and different from your competitors. This will make your leads more valuable.

Ernesto: Great advice! Now, let’s switch gears a bit and talk about you as a leader. As the media buying supervisor at Situation, what are some key tasks you focus on in your day-to-day work?

Diego: It’s all about teamwork. We handle multiple clients, and we’re constantly buying, trading, and purchasing different types of media. The most important aspect is sharing successes and failures within the team. If something works well for one client, we share it with others in similar verticals. If something doesn’t work, we evaluate and adapt for different clients.

Ernesto: Sounds like you have a lot on your plate! How do you stay up to date with marketing trends and strategies? Any preferred channels?

Diego: Email marketing is still a strong channel for me. I sign up with industry leaders, and when I have a few minutes, I can dive into emails that catch my attention. It’s an easy way to stay informed on the latest trends.

Ernesto: Great! Now, let’s jump into our rapid-fire question round. Are you ready?

Diego: Ready!

Ernesto: First off, what is the last book you read?

Diego: How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan.

Ernesto: Great read! Next, if there were no boundaries in technology, what’s one thing you’d fix for your role as a marketer?

Diego: I’d love to provide full transparency to consumers. If there were no technological barriers, consumers could know how valuable they are to us, and we could avoid wasting time on consumers who aren’t aligned with our brand.

Ernesto: Interesting! If there’s one repetitive task you could automate, what would it be?

Diego: I’d love to automate optimizing between different funnel steps—balancing awareness, consideration, and conversion tactics would be incredibly valuable.

Ernesto: Great answer. Lastly, what’s one piece of advice you’d give yourself if you were starting your marketing journey today?

Diego: I’d remind myself that no two brands are the same. Instead of using a cookie-cutter approach, I’d focus on understanding each brand’s unique goals and values and tailoring media strategies accordingly.

Ernesto: Great advice, not just for you but for our listeners too. Thanks for sharing, Diego. We’re coming to the end of the show, but before we go, what’s the one thing our listeners should remember about Situation?

Diego: Situation is a passionate group of marketers ready to collaborate and test innovative strategies in the ever-evolving digital world.

Ernesto: Perfect! Thank you so much, Diego. And to our listeners, check them out at situationinteractive.com. Diego, thanks again for joining us today, and to our listeners, thank you for tuning in. I’m looking forward to our next episode of Pathmonk Presents.

Diego: Thanks a lot, Ernesto. Cheers!