Most of us would have attended numerous corporate events, product launches and press conferences. Most of the time, it is with the feeling of “same old, same old” when we go for such events.
It is always the challenge for marketers to find new and interesting way to keep the jaded crowd happy. We all need interesting hooks to make the event more memorable. Rather than “Oh, yeah, I think I attended Product X launch” or “Press conference? I think I was there.”
We want them to say “Yes! Wasn’t that a great event!?”
We want our events to be the talk of the town. We want the extra “mileage” of the viral-ness of it! Like, hey, be there or be square! Yep. Easier said than done, huh?
Before I continue, for those smiling cynically at our nonsensical ranting, let me just say that if we had YOUR million dollar budget, we sure as heck would do a much better job! So there!
OK, back to our idea. I would like to share a very simple idea with all of you and I hope this is valuable and adds value to you and your clients. It is a simple idea and it has to do with PRESS BADGES. Know those things? Big ugly thing that says “PRESS”?
What if you don’t use them? We cannot leave our VIP guest unidentified. At the same time, we do not want them to feel like meat on the supermarket shelves, tagged and branded. But badges are so, well, boring. My idea is simply this, make use of your theme to create the identification.
I need to elaborate. Everyone knows that it is important to tag the people present. But the simple name tag is ugly and most people shove it into their pockets or bag at the first opportunity. Sort of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? But what if, it were part of the entire event?
Example time! If you are say, doing an opening for a Western Grill restaurant or a Cowboy Emporium, use the theme to create the identity. There are many ways to do this. The most obvious is the “cowboy hat”. With names of the person on the band and each hat or band color coded to identify if the wearer is a VIP Guest, Member of the Press, Staff, or gate crasher!
But we can get more creative, can’t we? How about a simple jacket with a WANTED poster on the back, with the NAME and PROFESSION of the wearer? Done well, this little giveaway can even become a cherished item that the Guest will gladly bring back instead of throwing away at the nearest bin outside.
This by no means exhaust the possibilities. But I hope that it has given you an idea of what I mean by “using the theme to create the identity” rather than falling back to boring old name tags!
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