Funkshion Returns to Miami

One of Miami's favorite organizations, the Funkshion Fashion Show, returned to host their Fall/Winter fashion this March, and for the first time they chose right here in the Wynwood Arts District as their home base. Funkshion is Miami's Fashion Week, held three times throughout the year. Taking great pride in their Miami home, Funkshion believes in serving as a connecting force between the Latin American and US fashion markets. One thing many love about Funkshion, is how well they showcase both established and emerging names in fashion. And as their name suggests, in representing the fashion world in Miami, they set themselves apart from other fashion weeks around the world by always being sure to bring the funk. Music and art are integrated into the events, including live DJs at many of the shows to get the audience dancing in their seats.

The Winter/Fall show ran from March 16-19, 2016 with a packed schedule. Highlights included opening night's discussion, "DESIGNED IN MIAMI," with internationally celebrated designers based in Miami discussing what it takes to find success in the fashion world in Miami and beyond.  Friday's fashion event, "EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!" inspired by the Richard Linklater film in theaters now was also a great highlight. Stars of the film made an appearance, including Blake Jenner, Ryan Guzman and Tyler Hochelin. As with every fashion week that Funkshion hosts, one of the most beloved events is the Emerging Designer Series in which incredibly talented new designers who are just coming on to the scene are able to present their work in a high-profile show at no cost. March's show was no exception, with plenty of designers you'll surely be hearing from in the future.

Funkshion Events always welcomes the public to attend.  All of the events are free, one would just need to RSVP beforehand. As the Funkshion Fashion gears up for its next event this July, this is something to keep in mind. In true Miami style, they'll be celebrating swimwear in the event which runs from July 13-17, 2016. If you're a swimwear designer over the age of 21 then consider entering the Emerging Designer Series. One designer will be winning a trip to New York Fashion Week.

Funkshion Fashion Week is a great way to celebrate so much of what makes Miami great.  It brings established artists together with the newest talent and connects diverse cultures. The area is still buzzing from this event, and cannot wait to see what the next show has in store.

"America's Best Breakfasts" Tour Hits the Miami Scene

Breakfast is hitting a level of popularity in recent years that rivals all other meals. There are endless options to have if you love breakfast or brunch. If you are in the Miami area than you can enjoy the tour of “America’s Best Breakfasts.” This event is put on by SoBe Food Fest Creator, Lee Schrager. It’s in celebration of his new cookbook by the same name featuring local recipes from coast to coast. What’s Included With Your Ticket

With your admission ticket you also will receive a copy of this third cookbook,”America’s Best Breakfasts: Favorite Local Recipes From Coast To Coast.” This cookbook is a compilation of 75 of the best breakfast recipes that Lee discovered on a cross country road trip he took a few years ago. His philosophy on breakfast is that it’s obviously, “the best meal of the day.” The fact that no other meal allows you to wear a bathrobe while eating is another one of his takes on this very important meal. Of course, it’s preferred that you get dressed for the “America’s Best Breakfast” Tour.

Where Is The Event?

The event itself takes place at the Magic City Casino with over 40 of the best South Florida restaurants participating. There will be walk up brunch stations all over the casino to sample all kinds of unique breakfast foods. Some favorites, and some that are going to be new to your palate. So if you enjoy Egg Benedict, waffles, and savory bacon galore you aren’t going to want to miss this chance to nosh on breakfast fare that will tantalize your tummy. Some of the key restaurants involved are 27 Restaurant and Bar, DIRT, Palomilla Grill, and Novecento. Although that’s just a taste of which restaurants are going to be there. Check the entire list to find out if your favorite breakfast dining spot is going to be a featured participant.

Not Only Brunch

It’s a 21 and over event only on account of the fact that the Bloody Mary bar, featuring Tito’s Homemade Vodka and the Mimosas, will be free flowing with your pre-purchased ticket. What brunch is complete without these tasty drink options? Some people even say it’s the best part of brunch! Don’t worry though, non alcoholic options will be available as well as coffee and juice.

Buy Your Tickets Early

Get your tickets early to this “Can’t miss food event”, where the lineup of sweet and savory treats will be overflowing in this walk up brunch spectacular! Check out the “America’s Best Breakfasts” event page that will give you all the details you need to purchase your own tickets. It’s Sunday, April 24th at 11:30 am, so mark your calendars now to make sure you don’t miss this popular Miami experience.

Beyonce's Tour Sells Out and Brings Controversy

Mega pop star Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has become quite the controversial figure since Super Bowl 50. She used the big game as a platform to promote the Black Panthers and criticize police brutality. Beyoncé and her dancers donned black berets along with bandoliers during the performance. Yet her social activism certainly hasn't hit her in the pocketbook. Most of the stops on her upcoming Formation world tour have already sold out. The tour is scheduled to launch this month in Miami. It is the singer's first tour since her Mrs. Carter World Tour in 2013. Though most of the tickets to Beyoncé's tour sold out quickly, it appears as though she might run into some problems due to her willingness to take a stance against police corruption. Her alliance with the Black Panthers has resulted in the National Police Union, known as the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), deciding to boycott the singer's upcoming concert in Miami. It will be interesting to see how security is handled at a show of this magnitude. The concert is scheduled to take place on April 26 in the Marlins Stadium. Beyoncé has refused to comment on the matter as of this article's publish date.

The Miami chapter of the FOP made the decision to boycott Beyoncé's Miami show through a democratic vote. The local union's president, Lieutenant Javier Ortiz, actually called on police officers across the country to boycott all of the Formation shows. The FOP believes that Beyoncé improperly used her Super Bowl 50 platform to spread what the police union describes as an “anti-police message”. Police across the country clashed with the Black Panthers during race riots that took place decades ago. Lieutenant Ortiz has not stated whether the boycott of Beyoncé's Miami concert is applicable to police officers across Miami, those who work in Dade county or only those who are members of the union.

Beyoncé's Formation World Tour will likely take place without a hitch. Beyoncé could hire private security for the event. It is also possible that enough police officers or non-union officers will make themselves available for the Miami show and any other shows that are boycotted by the police. Fans will undoubtedly have a blast at the show regardless of the political activism surrounding the tour. All in all, the tour's producer, Parkwood Entertainment, has sold just under one million total tickets. A number of shows have sold out in addition to the Miami date. The demand for tickets is so strong that seconds shows have been scheduled for May 28 at Chicago's Soldier Field and July 3 at Wembly Stadium in London. Fans who want to put a positive twist on the somewhat negative energy surrounding the show can do so by participating in the singer's #BeyGOOD initiative designed to support Miami's United Way program. Be sure to follow @beygood on Twitter to learn more.

Event Promotion

Event Promotion

All the efforts into event planning will be useless if the targeted market does not attend the event. This brings in a concept called event promotion. Promoting an event is making the people that are targeted by the event organizers not only to attend, but also to want to attend. Over the years event organizers have come up with ideas that have not only made their events successful, but also memorable.

There have been panel discussions at Winter Music Conference by leaders in the IDM music industry and concert promotion offering their experience in event promotion.

Here are some ideas to get you going…

Be Concise in the Advertisement Media

You probably have been given a flyer of an event at one point in your life. How much of the information do you read? A paragraph utmost? This is precisely why your advertisement media should be brief and clear. You must communicate what you want to pass on in your event promotion material within the first sentence.

Promotion Transfers

This is like the student exchange program, only this time it is with the media stations such as TVs and radios. What happens here is that you promise to promote them on your flyers if they slot in an ad of your event in their programs. Remember radios and TVs have a very wide reach to targeted people. Actually, they are the best form of event promotion there is today.

Social Media

This is the newest method of event promotion. A good example will be opening a page on Facebook for your event, link it with your website and other social media platforms such as twitter, Google+ and Pinterest. Social media has a very wide reach. If you are able to market your event well on social media, it will be an instant success. You can give discounted tickets to people that like your event page on Facebook.

Concentrate on your Target Audience

Do not waste a lot of the resources allocated to the event promotion budget on people who may not attend your event. The industry standard is spending 70% of your event promotion budget on the target audience. If you are promoting a religious convention, concentrate on Christian media and websites to get the message across. Promoting the event in sports websites is counterproductive…you get the drift.

Get your Facts Right

There is nothing that has a devastating effect on events’ attendance like a sudden change of venue or participants. If your promotion material says person ‘X’ will be addressing the meeting or band ‘Y’ will be performing or the event will take place at venue ‘A’, please let these facts be right. A sudden change of the facts as per your event promotion material will make your event look disorganized. People like being associated with events that are properly organized. Do your best to keep your word as shown in your event promotion material. This industry is built on reputation and if yours is good, you will find organizing and promoting events an easy task.

Prepare for any Eventuality

It is expected that things will not go as expected in major events. As an events promoter, you should be prepared for these eventualities with an alternative program. You should have a plan A, B, and C for any event that you are promoting.

Kit Kat wants to give you a break

Experiential marketing means getting your brand message before the public’s eyes. In the past companies used things like flyers, billboards, and free samples to build brand awareness. Some paid to have cars bearing their slogans driven across country.  However marketing has evolved with time, and an experiential marketing campaign such as the Free No WiFi Zones from Kit Kat gives the consumer a brand experience that is not easily forgotten.

Watch Video - Kit Kat's Free No WiFi Zone

In this technology age, the world has gone social. Everyone connects digitally through technology. They interact socially. They learn socially. Therefore, marketing needs to be social and interactive. Sub Rosa’s Michael Ventura captured the spirit of experiential marketing. He wrote, “Brands that create experiences allowing consumers to interact digitally and socially with both themselves and others will succeed in the long term”

Big Companies Build Their Brand through Experiential Marketing

Many big companies have allowed customers to interact and experience their product message with this evolved marketing strategy. Hyundai and GE used high-end interactive games and holographic scenarios. Using a reverse approach, Kit Kat actually blocked the use of technology in their No Free WiFi Zones. They wanted to give us a break. They encouraged customers to interact and socialize with one another in person. They could also enjoy a book while treating themselves to a Kit Kat bar.

The benefits of Kit Kat’s campaign were increased exposure, tons of attention, and strong brand recognition. Its success is visible because:

- Everyone is talking about their unique idea

- They clearly stand apart from the Free Wi-Fi crowd

- Their campaign has inspired a larger conversation on the need for more No Free Wi-Fi Zones.

Host Your Own Experiential Event in One of the Top Venues in Miami

Your company can benefit by hosting its own event. Your customers will be able to socialize as they interact with your product. They will develop a meaningful connection with your brand. Many companies have had success hosting similar events in Florida. They maximize exposure to their product by hosting their events during Miami’s big event season. Soho Studios, one of the top venues in Miami, can accommodate all types of experiential events. You can host a live concert, a flashy fashion show, or a high-tech interactive presentation. The 65,000 square feet, multi-purpose convention center, located in Miami’s Wynwood District, is ideal. Join Puma, Absolut, and other big brand companies who hosted their own events at Soho Studios.

Out of the Box: Lynx Effects Brand Marketing Throws the Box Away

Brand marketing jumps out of the box in the Lynx Effects Invisible Ad, featured here on YouTube's Lynx Studios Australia channel. Called brand marketing or event marketing, experiential marketing lets you feel the product advertised.You know immediately how the product will fit your lifestyle.

Appealing to the target market

Understanding how to spark consumer interest in your brand is the key. What Lynx Effects accomplished is amazing to the eyes and appeals to young adults for many reasons:

- Musical intensity

- Curiousity

- Anticipation

- Sensuality

- Humor

- Voyeurism

Lynx created the perfect look and feel for their product and its target demographic. As reported in Britain's the Week, launching these types of advertisements also cause Lynx Effects controversy for skirting the edge a bit closer than some viewers like. Of course, when marketing to teenagers and young adults, what better way to sell product than giving parents a reason to disapprove.

Authentic location setting

The environmental factors of location shooting for advertisements like these are crucial. The outside has to look and feel like the outside. The illusion of spontaneity holds your attention as pedestrians pass and are handed the sunglasses. A studio feel would ruin the presentation and the appeal would greatly diminish if the action felt staged.

Venue in Miami

The event space Miami's Soho Studios provides is ideal for any scale production events in Florida. With over 65,000 sqf. of versatile space, the possibilities are not limited to these:

- Television and film industry studio to transform as you like

- Musical events space for recording or party venues

- Art gallery for local, national and international artists

- Photography studio Miami opens to all who are interested

The Soho staff caters to the needs of production companies looking for indoor space to transform into any world they choose.

Party Venues Miami Hosts

The 65,000 sqf. is diverse and flexible. During Florida's event  season, from November thru March, Soho hosts a bevy of international venues, including:

- The Winter Music Conference

- Art Basel Wynwood

- Miami Fashion Week

Anyone with event or brand marketing needs will find the Soho perfect for creating the environment needed to engage the masses.

This ride runs on screams

In the old days of marketing, brands would shout their message and people would passively sit and watch. That was the TV generation. It was the print generation. It was the radio generation. Today we have the Internet generation, the viral generation.

Before we go on, take a look at this YouTube video from a marketing campaign titled Volkswagen Up: A Scream Powered Olympic Car.

Why This Ride Runs On Screams

Volkswagen created this video leading up to the 2012 Olympic games. They modified the Volkswagen and invited Dutch Olympic fans an opportunity to win tickets to the London Games by making the Volkswagen go as fast as they could make it go, but the cars were powered by the participants' screams. It's an incredible example of a powerful experiential marketing campaign that worked.

According to Fearless Competitor, experiential marketing works because it relies on the emotional drive of the participants.

Getting people involved in marketing to themselves takes some savvy. But that's what marketers in the 21st century do. It's time to use the tools of the future to make a big impact today because the next ride might run on more than screams.

Put Some Emotion In Your Events In Florida

On your next photo shoot, video presentation, fashion show, trade show, or experiential media campaign, seek out a venue in Miami that has all the resources and technology you need to make your campaign stand up and scream. Soho Studios has a reputation for attracting events in Florida that hit the spotlight and make it brighter.

When you rent the right venue in Miami for your experiential marketing campaign, you can bet that the audience you're trying to interact with is going to enjoy themselves - and you will too.

Heineken Roulette at JFK

Imagine you are at the airport. You may be heading home or going on vacation. Perhaps it's a business trip or your heading out to visit Mom and Dad. There in front of you is a giant electronic billboard that offers you a free trip almost anywhere. The problem? You have to drop everything, take the trip right then and there, and because the trips are electronically chosen at random, it could literally be to anywhere. What would you do?

This was part of an experiential marketing effort by Heineken Beer as part of their “Dropped” campaign. Experiential marketing seeks to involve the consumer with the brand to better connect the two. In the case of Heineken, they are trying to appeal to the adventurous side of us and their “Departure Roulette” did that for many at JFK airport. It didn’t even matter how many actually took the trip because the impact has been made. The YouTube video of the stunt has over 2 million views. That's pretty impressive for what amounts to a two minute commercial for Heineken Beer.

Experiential Marketing in Florida

If you are exploring experiential marketing, or looking for space in South Florida, we invite you to connect with Soho Studios. Of all the venues in Miami, Soho Studios can provide you with THE premier event space the city has to offer. Let us help you take advantage of Miami’s event season November through March. More and more experiential marketing events in Florida are taking place and our creative team can help make yours come to life.

If you are in search of a photography studio Miami uses for a variety of shoots, or an event space Miami turns to for some of its hottest parties, contact Soho Studios. With over 65,000 square feet of versatile space, we are perfect for videos, conventions, meetings and experiential marketing efforts. Learn why companies like Ford, Evian, Puma and Absolut have come to trust Soho as their go-to location in South Florida. Let’s get together and discuss what we can do for you!

Facebook Checkin - A buzz worthy boost for venues in Miami

With over 1.1 billion active users, representing an increase in excess of 23 percent in the last year alone, and over 150 billion (yes, you read that right) friend connections, Facebook is THE social network. What do these numbers say, aside from suggesting how great it would have been for your bank account had you personally invented the social networking giant? In short, these staggering statistics suggest that if we're not harnessing the massive power of Facebook to increase attendance at our events, we are missing a major opportunity to promote and grow our businesses and brands.

Savvy event marketers consistently use Facebook to generate event awareness, drive registration and increase ticket sales through the creation of well-marketed Events pages. However, recent changes to Facebook now allow attendees to "Check In" live to events in Florida and all over the world, in the same way that they would to a physical place or venue on other social networking platforms. The result is exponential visibility: not only does an attendee's entire social network see the initial RSVP, but they also are reminded through the real-time check in that key events are happening right now at venues in Miami, and there's still time for them to get in on the action.

By encouraging your attendees to check in on Facebook during the registration process, you maximize the visibility of event spaces in Miami with minimal input and expense at your end. Users can also check in to the event location through Facebook's "Places" feature, which throws some high-profile attention in the direction of the venue hosting your event, as well.

If you're not using Facebook to promote your event--both through event RSVPs and check ins--you're missing out a major source of buzz. And as we all know in the world of event planning and venues, without buzz, you're bunk.

Green Events

Making an event green is easy to do with a little careful planning. Staging green events is becoming a preferred choice as people grow more concerned about reducing damage done to the environment. Going green at non-profit events in Miami helps conserve natural resources and reduces the event's carbon footprint. This will put your event in a positive light.

Wondering how to put on a green event? Here are a few ideas on where you can get started on creating green events in Miami:

1. Conserve energy use

Choose a venue where you can schedule your event during the daytime and use natural light to reduce the need for artificial lighting. Ask event participants to shut off lights and other electric or electronic equipment when rooms are not in use. For booths or displays that need lights, use energy saving bulbs.

2. Reduce Paper

Use electronic registration for your event. You can do it through a designated website or a mobile app. Go paperless with handouts and brochures whenever possible. Make these available on the website or app. If you need to print some paper documents, going with double-sided copies will reduce the amount of paper used. Distribute them by request only.

3. Recycle Everything

Paper products can sprout up faster than trees in a dense forest around your event if you let them. Put out recycle bins in conspicuous locations. Make an effort to collect paper, plastics, cardboard and beverage containers in all meeting, eating and exhibit areas. You can replace paper plates and plastic cups with reusable ones.

4. Serve Organic Food

Food sends a big message about your event and its commitment to the environment. You can go green by serving organic locally grown foods. Many restaurants and caterers already specialize in organic menus.

5. Offer Transportation

If you have guests flying in to attend your event from around the nation, offer shuttle service from the airport to their hotels and from their hotels to the event. It will reduce emissions from having a bunch of rental cars going back and forth.