Marketing Policies

The WBAI Marketing Director and Marketing Committee are available to help you market your event.

To initiate a marketing request for an event, fill out the corresponding marketing request form found under the event marketing request tab above (only events submitted through this form will be marketed; marketing requests sent through email alone will not be processed).  Based on the information you provide, the WBAI Marketing Director will do the following within two business days:

1. Add your event to the WBAI website’s events calendar
2. Add your event to the next all events email (typically sent on Monday each week)
3. Create an electronic flyer (PDF format) for you to send to your friends and colleagues with WBAI branding and graphics
4. Schedule social media posts

You will receive confirmation that your event has been posted on the website and added to the social media calendar within two business days from submission.  If your event has been canceled or you need to update any of the information you submitted, please email Elizabeth Merchut at team[at]view-marketing.com

Below you will find the WBAI’s marketing policies.  Keep in mind that the earlier you market, the more exposure our audience will have to information about your event because it will be included in each of the weekly emails we send.  Assistance and services are provided on an as-can basis, and are contingent upon funding planning and time available – so advance planning and lead time are important. We recommend at least one to two months of lead time in advance of your event.

Events that are submitted on or before the end of day Thursday will be included in the all-events email the following Monday.  For example, if you submit your event on Monday, your event will be included in the following week’s email because the immediately following all events email has already been drafted, approved, and scheduled.

Individual event emails sent to the entire subscriber list are limited to the WBAI major events (TWLIL, Annual Dinner, Judicial Reception, and Golf Outing).  Per WBAI policy, most events will be included in an all-events email and will not be sent to the membership in a stand-alone email. This policy was enacted in response to WBAI member complaints about an excessive number of emails.  Exceptions to this policy must be approved by a WBAI board vote.

However, upon request and depending upon the availability and discretion of the WBAI Marketing Director, an individual event email may be sent to a targeted group of individuals who are likely to be interested.  This does not require a WBAI board vote. As an example, an event geared towards civil litigation may be sent to individuals who have identified their area of practice in civil litigation, or an event geared towards young lawyers may be sent to our law students and new lawyers.  A request such as this will require advance notice (at least 7 days). Requests for standalone emails must be sent to Greg Smith at gsmith[at]visualredesign.com after the marketing request form has been completed.  You must be prepared to identify the target group of the WBAI membership.

The WBAI website calendar will only include WBAI hosted or WBAI sponsored events.  Other organizations’ events may be posted on the WBAI blog and social media pages upon request.

Please allow two business days for posting on the WBAI website.  RSVPs to events will be collected through the website. We will not permit RSVPs to be sent to individual event co-chairs’ email addresses.  To receive an update on the number of registrants for your event, contact WBAI at wbai@wbaillinois.org.

All WBAI events will be promoted via the official WBAI LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram pages with custom graphics to accommodate and maximize user engagement with the post.

We encourage you to follow the WBAI Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram pages so that you see your event marketing and share it. Sharing and liking posts ensure that your event is seen by a large audience.

It is good practice to promote your event afterward by taking pictures and sending them immediately following the event to WBAI Communications and Marketing Officer for purposes of posting on our social media pages.

The WBAI Communications and Marketing Officer can also send a thank you email to attendees. She can customize the thank you email by including:

• Information about the sponsors of events;
• Follow-up information about the event (for example, reminding attendees of the CLE certificate procedures)
• Photos of the event

Please email the WBAI Communications and Marketing Officer immediately after the event to coordinate a thank you email.