A large majority of events and other PR-related initiatives are aimed at tapping into real-life local social networks. Those networks allow a brand to leverage the relationships that exist among potential or existing clients. They also act as filters by providing improved focus on client categories and better oversight over budget spending.

But the limitation with this strategy is the same that the brand has when it advertises in magazines or online: time. The lack of ability for most traditional media and PR initiatives to sustain the experience in time also limits the impact that the brand has on its market and in particular with these groups. In other words, once an event has ended, the return on investment quickly fades, together with the interest and “magic” that were created with it.

A proprietary networking portal allows the brand to sustain the impact by building relevance thus driving a direct interaction around the event within the targeted local social networks. For example, a group of art fanatics who participated in the event can exchange more thoughts, recommendations and media (pictures, video, etc.) and literally continue the experience on their own.

This continued experience becomes a key lever for the brand to sustain its marketing efforts locally. Coincidentally, budgets spent in such a model supports a return that multiplies / repeats itself in time an positively impacts other areas of the company’s activity (lowered client acquisition costs, optimized CRM, research…).

Bottom line: a brand’s experience within small local networks can have more impact than within a large online venue.