I’ve always been drawn to working for small organisations and non-profits, but that usually means small to no marketing budgets. I’ve worked within budget parameters as outlined in funding applications, and also worked on events where I was the marketing & PR Budget. In terms of what that means, it means using organic techniques (typically free) like social media, press releases, email marketing, media relations etc to get as much exposure as possible.

Working with low to no budgets for events and projects wasn’t a conscious decision, but it’s one I haven’t looked back on. Although it’s increasingly difficult to break through the constant distractions, especially without funding, I love a challenge. In college, I ran a music society and brought it to the Most Improved Society of Ireland, then onto the Best Society in the college (runner-up for Best in Ireland). I’ve marketed multiple festivals with little marketing budgets and sometimes none, and worked with independent artists on multiple run shows. In the past few years, I co-founded a new event night which sold out due to a strong marketing & PR campaign. No social media ads, no paid media placements.

Some think all hope is lost when you don’t have a big budget for an event. It’s not.
Sometimes you need to do some more research.
Sometimes you need to get a little more creative.
And sometimes you need to work with someone who specialises in low-no marketing budgets.