How to Map Out the Perfect Pop-up Tour

How to Map Out the Perfect Pop-up Tour

Digital communication rules the world, so how do companies make that personal connection with their target audience? They "pop-up" in some very special places, so their marketing plan is not just about promotion, but about appealing to the different emotions that drive consumers. Pop-up shops are all the rage right now because they grab their attention with hands-on interactions to dazzle them up close and personal. How can you map out your next pop-up tour to get the best ROI?

Establish Measurable Goals that Cater to the Audience

The moniker "know your audience" fits almost any marketing scenario including creating a successful pop-up tour. When Disney wanted to promote their Doc McStuffin show in the UK, they didn't set up Doc clinics in office buildings or on the street; they picked venues like Toys R Us and Smyths because they appeal not just to kids, but to parents, grandparents and aunts, too.

They took a multifaceted approach when planning their pop-up strategy. Their goals didn't focus just on increasing ratings for their show, but on retailing merchandise and creating a buzz for the characters, as well. The acted on goals they could track on social media, too, instead of just tallying up the revenue from event to event.

Find Spaces That Mesh With the Brand

Be a visual thinker when picking out venues. Visual space says something about a brand. Consider Supreme clothing stores. Each one has visual clues that related directly to the brand image such as the parquet floors and steel rails. They wouldn't think of opening a pop-up at a country fair or in a dirty warehouse because that is not the look they want.

Promotion, Promotion, Promotion

Marketing your pop-up before, during and after each event is the key to success. Adidas combined both a celebrity appearance and a fan challenge to get people buzzing about their D Rose Jump Store before it opened. Use every form of content marketing at your disposal from your website to the company Facebook page to get the word out. If sponsoring multiple pop-up locations, consider an app or map that fans can use to track each event.

Use some social media tactics to promote live as it happens, too. Trolli and 7-Eleven went with free giveaways at the beach to market both a new candy brand and the Slurpee inspired by it.

#slothsome

What's your hashtag going to be? Add some real-time graphics to make people wish they were there, too. Snapchat, Facebook Live, Vine, Instagram – set up one or more and appoint a brand ambassador to manage the show.

Before moving on to the next place on the tour, make sure people understand what they missed at the last one. Provide statistics if possible, lots of pictures and some videos of all the fun along with information for the next few stops.

Take Notes and Learn

When the final guest leaves and you pack up to go to the next venue, reflect on what you learned at this one. What worked and what didn't? Ask for feedback during the event and online afterward, too. Grow with each stop on your tour to make the next one that much more meaningful. 

When is the Best Time to Plan an Experiential Marketing Event?

Experiential marketing gives your brand a chance to engage with people like nothing else. Unlike traditional advertising, or even standard "pull" ads, it puts the audience directly into the action to create total-immersion experiences. For example, a company may set up a location that sends attendees through a themed area in an almost amusement-park fashion – but this time, the themes are all connected to the brand's overall image. These events truly join the company's name and brand with great feelings of happiness, excitement, or other emotions that the company wishes to impart. A well-done event also motivates the guests to share their experiences both directly and via social media.

One thing you may be wondering about is when it's best to hold an experiential marketing event. There is no single answer, but instead, several guidelines to look at to determine the optimum time for such a presentation.

Tips for When to Hold Your Event

1. If your brand or product has a powerful seasonal association, plan your event for the beginning of that season or the end of the one prior to it. This will give your audience time to go buy your products before the active season starts. A good example of a seasonal association of this nature is the connection between snow skis and winter.
2. If there is a mild seasonal association, you likely sell some products during the "off" season but many more during the high time of the year. In this case, the middle of the high season is a good time for an event. An example of this type of product is cola. People drink it all year long, but there are even better sales during the heat of summer.
3. Brands with no seasonal association don't have to worry about hitting a specific month or season, but should try to avoid times that compete with too many other events, conventions, or general attractions. It's easier to get people to attend when there aren't as many other things trying to draw their attention.

When to Start Planning

It's a good idea to plan an experiential marketing event as part of a larger ad campaign. This will allow it and the traditional advertising to strengthen each other. Therefore, both should be planned at the same time.

Planning for experiential marketing requires more than deciding to include it in your overall strategy. You'll need to secure a venue, sets, performers, and other essentials far enough in advance to avoid any foreseeable problems. Many venues and performers are booked months in advance, so be sure to leave enough lead time before the expected date. How much time is "enough" depends on seasonal booking fluctuations, geographic location, and the popularity of the venue, band(s), and other personnel you intend to hire. Call them all far in advance to find out how soon before your event you will need to commit to a booking.

To book your event in Miami, call Soho Studios. We have up to 70,000 square feet available. We can configure the space to meet your needs and arrange for all of the peripherals you require, such as lighting, sound, sets, videography, and more.

How to Create the Ultimate Trade Show Booth

Everyone knows: Trade shows are about the booths. If you’re managing an event, you’ll need to stick out to garner attention. Fortunately, 2017 is a year of creativity. A lot of today’s conferences have drawn attention to crowded show floors, inspiring event-goers with astounding exhibitions. Buckle up, and check out these ultimate trade show booth ideas.

Idea One: Virtual Reality

Today’s exhibitors, like Intel, are utilizing VR to engage event-goers without spending money on expensive equipment. Sure, an Oculus Rift or Vive might cost some money, but it’s little compared to the cost of a live-action car display, a hotel tour or a roller coaster ride. If you can get your guests to don headsets for at least five minutes, you can educate them with interactive games.

Idea Two: Custom T-Shirt Design Creation

You can help your event-goers craft custom T-shirts with a digital design booth. If you can pack the colors, the threads and a few iPads, you’re in business. Use the display to promote your company’s products, and help your brand’s biggest buffs implement your logo across a variety of clothing options.

Idea Three: A Home Theater Option

By presenting educational presentations via a digital display, you can outfit your trade booth for the 21^st century. Your company can live-stream a variety of sessions, launching different product options across high-quality video. Companies like Philips are taking advantage of real-time streaming, showing event-goers high-quality sessions via Periscope. If you’re really dedicated, hook your digital theater up to social media sharing resources.

Idea Four: Large-Scale Chalkboard Engagement

While your event-goers won’t necessarily be up for study sessions, they’ll still engage your brand if you let them leave notes, make company connections and interact with one another via chalkboard. Invite your booth visitors to post sticky notes, comment on industry trends and leave their own art. You’d be surprised by the amount of care some attendees will give. Every chalkboard engagement, of course, should prioritize your brand’s adaptability. Let your event-goers have fun, but offer your business’s offers through every note and connection.

Making the ultimate trade show booth takes time. Fortunately, you have a lot of elements to play with. Customers want far more than generic samples, business cards and information pamphlets. Give them an experience, and connect them to the digital world when possible. By connecting your users with Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, you can promote a sense of community from within every booth. Today’s trade show operators are working hard to promote their overarching brand. If you want to compete, you’ll need to offer something unique and exciting.

Coast Show 2014

Continuing 2013 success, Coast Shows comes back to Miami for 2014. Coast Show has become a global tradeshow bringing designers from all over the world under one roof. Bridging the gap between international designers and retailers, Coast Show has become recognized worldwide for its ability to promote new fashion business and networking. If you are interested in becoming a vendor please click here.

Watch Karen Bennett discuss the importance of her trade show with Melissa Shea of FashionMingle.net.

Coast Show will be at Soho Studios on March 10 between 10:00 am–5:30 pm, and March 11th between 10:00 am–5:00 pm.

Check out the below photos from this event.

How to find the Perfect Event Space

What makes a good event space for one event is potentially disastrous for another event. Various venues are suitable for different purposes. Can you imagine a religious convention in a place that serves alcohol? What about a business conference in a venue that hosts a football match? There are a number of factors to consider before making a decision on where to host an event. From location and amenities to capacity and budget, an event planner should have all these factors evaluated before deciding that a venue is perfect for the event.

Soho Studios is the premier event space in Miami that features 70,000 sq ft of trans-formative space for events. Be sure to connect with the team of experts at Soho Studios to help you plan your next event.

Amenities List Request

An event planner should ask for the amenities list from several facilities’ managers before settling on one venue to host his event. Most event organizers will require amenities such as disabled access, parking, proper accommodation, availability of catering services, rooms available among others. What is important here is to ensure that the amenities available at the venue suit the needs of the guests expected to attend the event. Finding the perfect event space may be a herculean task, but an event planner should not compromise more than 10% of his expectations of a venue where they intend to host a successful event.

Actual Visitation of the Venue

Before you confirm the venue as suitable for your event, you should to make an actual physical visitation. Most people will say their facilities are fit for human habitation but it is important to confirm in person that there are no issues with the venue, such as unkempt grounds, poor plumbing, limited available restrooms, and other small issues that are cannot be determined without a visit to the venue. Make sure that all your venue requirements are in order before you commit your money and success of your event to the venue.

Catering

If the facility has in-house catering services, how efficient are they? What is the menu on offer? Is the menu appropriate for your guests? If the facility does offer catering services, can they recommend a solution? Are there restaurants near by that would work? Is the food in the restaurant within the realm of your budget?  These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself as far as your event attendant’s daily food rations are concerned. Find the perfect event space for your event in terms of catering.

Budget

One of the cardinal rules in business is to stay within your budget no matter what. However, this rule may not be very friendly to event organizers. Your budget maybe too small that affording decent event space may be out of your reach. You are better off not hosting an event, than hosting an event in a shabby facility. True, your targeted market may not be well off or might not mind, but this directly reflects on your ability to sponsor decent events. Finding the perfect event space should be a priority for any event organizer. Anything short of this looks, at best, unprofessional.

Dewars Hub at TED

For those not familiar, TED is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of ideas worth spreading. The Dewars Hub at TED combined the experience of the real world with those being presented at the TED conference. The Dewars Hub was created by interactive directors Hellicar & Lewis, with help from Nexus Interactive Arts. You can see a short video of the results of the collaboration. The Dewars Hub is an excellent example of the use of experiential marketing.

The Power of Experiential Marketing

Experiential marketing draws consumer and product closer together through some sort of experience. In the case of the Dewars Hub, The Dewars brand benefits in its association with this smart, thought provoking display. These are the type of associations marketers are seeking to better brand products in the minds of consumers. The Dewars Hub also is a good example of how experiential marketing can work in a like-minded arena such as at a conference, convention, or meeting.

Events in Miami

Event season in Miami is November through March each year. This is when the city is transformed by a variety of events and festivals like Art Basel Wynwood. It is also the season of meetings and conventions. If you would like to take advantage of the experiential marketing opportunities that venues in Miami can present, you should consider Soho Studios. Soho is over 65,000 square feet of versatile event space Miami counts on for a variety of activities. It is premier space in the trendy Wynwood district, not far from Miami’s world famous South Beach. It can be the perfect space for your experiential marketing project.

Contact us as Soho Studios. We can offer assistance with your project or event or can simply lease you space. Our creative, professional team has worked with brands like Evian, Ford, Absolut, Puma and more. We recognize the importance of confidentiality and privacy. Let’s discuss what we can do for you.

Google Loon takes off

Thinking of an event exclusively in local terms will become obsolete once Project Loon gets off the ground. Project Loon is a concept developed by Google to expand the reach of the Internet around the world. It is a network of balloons that will float in the stratosphere and offer Internet access to remote and rural areas throughout the world.

Each balloon will travel 20 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The balloons will follow wind currents in the stratosphere to form a global network. People will be able to connect to this network using a special antenna. The signal bounces from balloon to balloon and then returns to the Earth to provide Internet access.

A single balloon can provide connectivity speeds comparable to 3G Internet over a 40 kilometer region. Each balloon has a specialized radio antenna that uses 2.4 and 5.8 GHz bands.

http://youtu.be/m96tYpEk1Ao

Project Loon promises to change the face of event planning around the world. No longer will an event in the best party venues Miami has to offer be limited by any geographic restraints. Project Loon will make it possible for live web streaming to reach even rural African villages and create a truly global event.

Event production will take this into an account. A concert in Miami, for example, can book acts that have appeal on a global scale so that more people pick up the live stream from one of the popular event venues in Miami. World famous art exhibitions like Art Basel Wynwood can include artists and art lovers from nations that have limited or no access to such events in the past.

The first test phase of Project Loon began with the launch of 30 balloons in New Zealand in June 2013. If the test meets with success, Internet service by balloon will become a reality. And it will change how event planning and event production is done in Miami and other places around the world forever.

Attracting the right Trade Show attendees

From November through March, there are trade shows in Miami every week. Industry events and conventions are common in this city that has so much to offer. There are many details to putting together a successful trade show. You'll need the right venue, logistics, vendors, ticketing and so much more. Trade shows however, cannot succeed unless you are attracting the right trade show attendees.

Certainly there are the traditional sources of marketing like trade magazines, but there are some additional ways to attract the right attendees. Let’s take a look.

LinkedIn

By its very nature LinkedIn is almost custom made to attract the right trade show attendees. Look for like-minded groups or start your own. LinkedIn is all about networking and trade shows are certainly a great vehicle for that.

Facebook

Make sure you have an event page and you invite people to it. Every day talk about the variety of events and vendors that will be at your event. Be sure to mention some of the other lures of the city, including South Beach.

Create a Trade Show App.

There are companies that can customize an app specifically for your trade show. These apps can offer discounts, keep attendees updated, encourage referrals, and build anticipation. They also have a variety of uses during your event, like sending reminders and promoting vendors.

Don’t Forget Regional Marketing

While your trade show may attract attendees from throughout the country, you can market to those within driving distance. These people will find attending the event more cost effective. This can be done through press releases to regional media, and of course by targeting like-minded companies within the region directly.

If you are looking for the premier multi-purpose event space Miami has to offer, we invite you to tour Soho Studios. Our 65,000 square foot facility has been used for events for such globally recognized companies as Puma, Evian, Ford Motor Company, Telemundo and America Apparel.

Our staff of experienced professionals will help you create an event that will be positively reviewed for months to come. Contact Soho Studios for a Miami, Florida trade show that will impress!

Event Planning with Pinterest

If you are in the event planning industry and are not yet using Pinterest, you are missing out on a powerful tool. Pinterest is a valuable resource in helping get your word out on conferences, film festivals, music festivals and other events you may be planning. It is also great resource to exchange ideas.

Pinterest works as a digital pinboard, or bulletin board, that allows you to post photos and ideas and ask for suggestions. It not only can help in marketing your event online, it also adds more fun and creativity into your event planning.

In addition it is a great way to share photos of all your events and build excitement for future events!

With Pinterest, you can direct visitors to your blog, drive users to your website or other social media channels and engage them further. It is a visual social media tool that is based in creativity, but by its very nature allows for some subtle, and perhaps not so subtle, online marketing.

Pinterest allows you the ability to showcase hotels, the venue, vendors, speakers and entertainment that may be a part of your event. Like all social media it is about sharing, and sharing is good when it comes to getting the word out about your event. Don’t forget the networking aspects of Pinterest. You can widen your contacts of like-minded individuals and share contacts and concepts. It is sort of a LinkedIn for creative people.

If you are searching for a superb location for your next event and are considering venues in Miami, contact us at Soho Studios. With a word-class client list that includes Evian, Ford Motor, Absolut, and Puma, we have the experience to assist you in all aspects of your South Florida event. Soho Studios is over 65,000 square feet of event space Miami utilizes for photography, video, conventions, meetings, conferences, art shows and even some of Miami’s famous parties.

Contact us today and let us help you take your ideas from concept to completion. We are Soho Studios, Miami’s premier venue located in the trendy Wynwood District, home of Art Basel Wynwood.

Marketing your event online

When marketing your event online it is important to consider a number of factors like demographics, data, location and the theme of the event itself. Luckily in today's technology laden world promotions are easier than ever using an ever expanding group of tools that are web and mobile based.

There is no shortage of choices to make so you should look to capitalize on the most efficient methods for your promotions at the party venues Miami is home to currently. Do not let other companies or promoters get the edge by taking advantage before yours can put them into action for you first.

The Web is full of opportunities for you to spread your message. There are websites, blogging platforms, social media, email campaigns, advertising networks, sponsorships and the list goes on. By combining a mixture of these elements you can fine tune your directives and capture the spectrum of the Internet audience you need to make you events a success.

Generating content that matters to people and drives traffic back to your primary web presence is critical for your entity as it exists online. Great editorial and pictorial content of your event will be shared by your audience and assist in promoting your events. Cultivate this audience by publishing regularly on your website and through your network. Perhaps contribute guest content to other websites or ask if they will assist in cross promoting your functions. You never know what opportunities will emerge when you ask about the needs others have.

Look for cost effective avenues first, if you are already producing flyers or press releases for your events see what new channels will broadcast the information for you. Make trades with other important players in your community to further your goals and those on the scene in general. It is important to market your event online. Follow these event marketing tips and generate hype for events in Miami.