In the world of marketing 'promotion' generally refers to a one-off event that provides a stimulus for the public to buy a service or product. A special event can be part of a more general promotion campaign of a company wanting to draw attention to their product. The Absolut Vodka venue at the Opera House during the Sydney Festival was an example of this. A local council may create a festival as a way of promoting their region.

As used by the event industry the word promotion has come the full circle. It uses all the marketing techniques. As it is project based it has a definite life span.

The risks involved in one off or first time events mean that the event manager has to be acutely aware of the tools of promotion. The audience does not have a reference point for the event other than that created by the promotion. With repeat events and festivals the audience and suppliers have at least an idea of the type of event, venue and scale. For special one off events, the promotion is strongly linked to the reputation of the organising company, sponsors and other stakeholders as well as the actual program or event content.