Creating & Promoting Public Events on Campus
A successful event meaningfully impacts our community and enhances the college’s reputation.
These resources will help event organizers create and promote public events on behalf of their offices and departments.
1) Define Your Audience
Before beginning the event planning process, keep in mind what type of event you’re hosting and the intended audience.
This guide provides resources for public events. Public Events are defined as events that are open to everyone on and off campus.
For student-facing events, explore WildcatSync.
If an event features a prominent speaker and/or is of wide interest to both internal and external audiences, please reach out to the College Communications Office.
2) Request a Room & Create Your Event
Every event starts with a room reservation through the college’s Event Management System (EMS). You will need to create a room request and provide details about the reservation, including the event name, event type and if the event should appear on the campus calendar.
For public events, it is important that you select the Public Events calendar from the dropdown menu. At this point you will also have an opportunity to list your event on the college website.
- Adding your public event to the college website is an opportunity to further promote your event to the public.
- When planning your event, the campus calendar will help you avoid conflicts and competing events.
- For scheduling assistance email unionreservations@davidson.edu.
- Visit the EMS Website for training and resources.
- For virtual or hybrid events, Davidson College’s Digital Events Team can provide guidance, equipment, and active management for your virtual event needs. This includes livestreaming to a virtual audience, Zooming in a remote speaker, or even simply recording your in-person event. Contact Adam Barton, adbarton@davidson.edu, for more information.
3) Describe Your Event
Once a room reservation has been approved in EMS, you will receive an email within 48 hours requesting a description for your event. A description must be provided in order for a public event to be approved for the calendar.
A compelling event description is key to driving interest and attendance. It’s also a good idea to upload an image to accompany the event, such as a photo of your speaker or image that complements the topic. For accessibility reasons, do not upload posters or imagery that includes words.
4) Promote Your Event
Promote early, promote often. It’s a good idea to begin official promotion about two weeks in advance. Don’t stop at just one promotional method—try a few. Just make sure the information and visual presentation are complementary and consistent. The idea is to cover both print and digital, casting a wide net to make sure no one could miss news of the event.
Posters
Posters can be displayed in college buildings, residence halls, Alvarez College Union, and, with prior approval, in the windows of Main Street businesses. Try distributing flyers or postcards to people leaving other events on campus or putting them in campus mailboxes. Strategically place table tents in the union and other college buildings—with permission of course.
Creating Posters
Create a digital or print poster using Canva, a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Follow this Canva tutorial to help your creative design journey.
When creating a poster, remember to include:
- the Davidson College primary logo.
- time, date and location of the event.
- a registration link or QR code if registration is required. We recommend short.io for creating QR codes and short links.
Local and Regional Publications
For greater reach, submit your event to any or all of the local and regional publications that have event calendars.
Classes
Have your event announced in subject-related classes.
College E-Newsletters
Public events automatically feed to the Events Digest email, which deploys weekly. The Faculty & Staff Enews is emailed on a bi-weekly schedule to all Davidson employees. Both are managed by College Communications and deploy during the academic year.
Email Outreach
If you have an existing audience, send them an email and/or Outlook invite to promote your event. If you use registration systems such as etix, eventbrite or Zoom, you will automatically get attendee information that may be valuable for future event promotions.
Digital Displays
Promote your event on the digital screens in Alvarez College Union. There are two screens on the Davis Café level and one on the Post Office level. Contact a college union staff member. Learn more about digital signage.
Social Media
Use both department/program and personal social media platforms to tweet, create a Facebook event or post to Instagram. Engage with your speaker/guest to share on their social media channels. Tag @davidsoncollege, which will also alert the college’s social media manager of your event. Read about the college’s social media resources and guidelines.
5) Event Evaluation
Organizers should gather feedback either at the end of their event or directly afterward, in order to evaluate what worked and what didn’t. It’s also a great way to thank attendees and continue to build your audience. Document your findings and apply what you’ve learned to ensure an even better event next time!
When to Collaborate with College Communications:
Named Lectures & Major College Events
College Communications supports events organized by the Public Lectures Committee, which works cross-divisionally to bring influencial speakers on campus. These include named lectures such as: Wearn, Smith, and Reynolds Lectures. Additionally, College Communications plays a significant role in major college events such as Convocation, Commencement, and Orientation.
To request marketing support for named lectures and major college events please email Zee Holmes at zeholmes@davidson.edu.
Office & Departmental Events
If further assistance is needed for your public event, please contact the appropriate members of the College Communications team:
Media & News Coverage
If an event features a prominent speaker and/or the event is of wide interest to both internal and external audiences, submit a story idea.
If you receive an inquiry from the media about your event, contact Jay Pfeifer at japfeifer@davidson.edu for assistance in properly responding.