Brighten Up Your Summer Events With These Theme Ideas and Tips

Brighten Up Your Summer Events With These Theme Ideas and Tips

Renting a venue is just the first step to making your summer corporate event a success. You need to bring in the bright, exciting feel of summer so that your guests are glad to have chosen your presentation over other possible activities. Here are some ideas that should give you inspiration for planning your expo:

First, a Caveat: Make Sure the Theme Resonates with Your Brand

If your theme is summery, but doesn't tie into your brand's image, you'll miss a powerful marketing opportunity. Be sure to keep your event on-point as well as fun. This way, your guests will firmly connect your brand with the experience rather than thinking of it as a generic sponsor.

Roses and Wine

The aforementioned roses and wine theme was done to great success by Kim Crawford Wines, which wanted announce its new rose wine in grand style. It filled its area with roses and even had a bar made of live rose bushes. The roses were very summery, and they tied in perfectly with the launch of the new rose wine. On top of that, there were enough roses that just looking at the event area made an indelible impression – and connection with the advertised product.

A Rocking Summer Night

This type of theme is great for many companies that cater to younger audiences, but it's perfect for companies associated with making rock music. What better way to show off instruments, amps, stage lighting rigs, and other musical equipment than to have people come and experience the sounds and sights of professionals using the products? Hold the party outdoors under strung-up lights for that summer feel.

Have a Barbecue Party

Everyone loves to eat, and barbecuing is a quintessentially summer activity. This makes a barbecue a perfect event for any company that wants to be seen as fun and exciting while avoiding faddish trendiness. For maximum impact, make the event large enough for a huge number of guests and cook the food over one or more showy firepits.

Always Make Sure Everyone is Comfortable

The level of comfort expected will depend on your audience and the type of event you're holding, but it's always important to avoid the chance of outright misery. For outdoor events, one great way to do this is to offer branded umbrellas. If the event is on the upper-class end, provide them as part of the package. Otherwise, set up kiosks and sell them at reasonable prices. Be sure to keep the cost within the "impulse buy" range – the more people buy them, the more your brand and event name will be seen later on!

Other ways to ensure comfort include providing cushioned seating, decent plates and utensils, and easy-to-navigate pathways between tables or exhibits. If your event uses disposable serveware, be sure to have plenty of trash cans and recycle bins set up so people can conveniently offload them once they're done with their food and drinks.

For a spacious event space in sunny Miami, consider Soho Studios. We have both indoor and outdoor areas that can be customized to match any theme you choose.

Emerging Trends in Experiential Marketing Events

Emerging Trends in Experiential Marketing Events

Trends are everything in advertising and marketing. Campaigns across several industries often share certain themes at any specific time. This is true not just for things like logos and packaging, but also for big meeting events and experiential marketing extravaganzas.

Despite this, it's important to do more than just copy what the other marketers are doing. In order to make your brand stand out from theirs, you need to put your own twist on any trend. With that in mind, here are some of the emerging trends and some tips on how to personalize your versions:

Allowing the Audience to Partake in Making the Event Happen

This is becoming more popular thanks to improvements in technological capabilities. If you hop on this trend, your event should be done in a way that ties into your guests' interests and skills. One good example is an event that used the Slido audience participation app. It let the audience write a third of the code needed for the event's computerized features – in real time. Participants got to see exactly how the code developed and how Slido works, all in a way that drew their full attention.

Most companies don't have audiences that can jump into something as complex as coding right on the spot, but all can find something that their expected guests can do. Choose an activity that fits both your company and your audience for great results.

Make Your Event Emotionally Driven

Studies show that human decision-making is influenced far more by emotion than hard reasoning. Keep this in mind when designing the experience and atmosphere of your event. Avoid dry, facts-only presentations and go for the gusto. Otherwise, people will find them boring and tune out.

The Elimination of Psychological Barriers in Learning Environments

Typical conference tables – or even worse, school-style desks – put psychological barriers between attendees, presenters, and the audience. The new trend is to get rid of all of those things and replace them with interactive displays or pods. This puts your audience right into the midst of the learning and makes your messages much more memorable. It's an especially good replacement for traditional seminars, which are normally boring precisely because of their school-like formats.

Is Silence Golden?

For some presenters, it most certainly is. More and more often, events are being broken up with quiet or even silent activities like yoga, meditation, and similar things. These breaks give participants a chance to unwind, and more importantly, regain their ability to concentrate on your messages.

Despite the benefits, silence breaks aren't fitting for all events. If your company's image is that of excitement and endless vigor, you'll be better off finding another way to recharge your audience. On the other hand, if you focus on subjects like how to become a more effective businessperson, this type of diversion should go over great.

Choose the Right Venue for Your Event

One thing that will never become obsolete is the need to choose the right venue. This will be the scene of your show and can make or break the event.

For a versatile venue in Miami that can be customized to meet the needs of nearly any event, come to Soho Studios. We have up to 70,000 square feet of indoor space available as well as two outdoor pavilions.

How to Use Haptic Technology to Engage your Event Goers

How to Use Haptic Technology to Engage your Event Goers

First of all, if you're not into gaming, you might not be too familiar with haptic technology. This technology uses touch as a means of interacting with computer or video game applications. With this technology, a person can feel and change items within a virtual world. It's like something from the future, and we have access to it today. How does this technology relate to you? You can use it to create an amazing experience for your event goers. 

Trending Ideas for Using Haptic Technology

Here are some ideas of how you could use haptic technology for an event:

Create Excitement Before an Event: Even before event goers reach your event, you can use haptic technology to create excitement about the event. Take some inspiration from how brands are using this technology for ads. For instance, Arby's created an ad that allowed the audience to feel a golfer's footsteps through an Android phone, and Showtime gave watchers the experience of sensing a bomb explosion during the Homeland Season 4 teaser. You could do something similar by creating an ad with haptic technology that simulates some experience of your event, such as the beat of music or the feel of catching a baseball. 

Help an Audience Feel the Music: If you're having an event with music, your audience could feel the rhythm of the music as they listen to it with the help of haptic technology. A wearable device gives the user's body the sensation of the music's timing and beat. 

Bring Interaction to Tradeshows and Event Stations: If your company is going to a tradeshow or creating an interactive station at an event, you could use this technology to interest your audience. It allows you to give your audience a sensory experience through touch screens. You could use it as a way to draw attention to your brand or to share an experience that provides a feel for your brand, such as the feel of your tires moving over gravel. 

Create a Calming Experience: If your event is focused on health or relaxation, such as a yoga event, or if you simply want to get everyone to take a deep breath before starting a talk, you could use haptic technology. The Apple Watch has an app called "Breathe" that helps the user take a break and focus on breathing as a form of meditation or mindfulness. The watch taps the wrist to guide the breathing. 

Provide a Virtual Experience: At your event, you can give your audience an amazing virtual 3D experience that involves the sense of touch in addition to auditory and visual stimulation. Haptic technology makes this possible so people can explore a virtual environment, play a game, make something or learn with a three-dimensional sense of touch as part of the equation. 

This list gives you some ideas of how you could use haptic technology to create an experience for your audience. Yet the sky's becoming the limit with this technology, so don't put your company in a box -- think of innovative ways you could adapt haptic technology to your brand. 

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. 

How to Make Your Corporate Event or Party Eco-Friendly

How to Make Your Corporate Event or Party Eco-Friendly

Every company can get extra goodwill by making their event or corporate party more eco-friendly. However, it can seem hard to do this when you have to serve or entertain large groups of people. How can you minimize the environmental footprint of 100 or even 1,000 event attendees? Fortunately, there are ways to set up your events so that even large ones have elements that are easier on the environment than their alternatives. Here are some ideas you can implement without much trouble:

Choose Reusable Tableware

Washing dishes requires soap and water, but the alternative – paper and plastic – is even worse for the environment. Paper production uses much more water than washing, and it typically results in large amounts of pollution thanks to the use of bleaches and dyes in the production process. Plastic, of course, is a petroleum product. Even worse, plastic doesn't degrade within a reasonable timeframe (some say it takes 500 years to disappear). Eliminating both paper and plastic is clearly the eco-friendly move.

Serve Vegetarian Meals

A good caterer can make vegetarian food taste great, and if your event calls for snacks and sandwiches instead of dinners, your guests may not even notice that meat isn't on the menu. The environmental benefit results from the efficiency of growing vegetables and grains compared to that of raising meat.

Why avoid meat? Raising meat animals produces pollution in the form of animal waste, contributes to greenhouse gas levels due to methane excretion, and requires more food since the feed has to go through another layer before it gets to you. Plants are much cleaner to grow, and they're more efficient because when you eat them directly, you essentially "cut out the middleman" of the food chain.

Hold Your Event in a Big City

When you have your event in a big city like Miami, your guests will be able to reach the venue via public transportation. This, of course, cuts down on the amount of gas used and air pollution produced. As a bonus, the area will have plenty of other things to do after your event ends, and your guests will love the extra entertainment possibilities.

Use Digital Signage

Many events are festooned with a wide variety of posters, pennants, and other printed materials. When the event ends, all of this paper is simply thrown away. Avoid all of that waste by using digital signs. Thanks to today's lightweight flat screens, these signs can be mounted in stands as well as hung on walls. Since they're digital, there's no need to throw them out when the current graphics become obsolete. Simply program them with new images for your next event. Alternatively, rent digital signs and simply hand them in to the rental company after your event ends.

Use Recycled Paper for Printed Materials

Digital signs eliminate the need for much paper, but you still may want to print out programs, brochures, or business cards for your event. In these cases, use paper that is totally or partially recycled to minimize your ecological footprint.

Avoid Plastic Water Bottles

Provide reusable bottles instead and have refill stations set up so guests can get more water as it is needed. If you just can't see going without the traditional plastic kind, set up recycle bins to collect them as they're emptied. Look for water brands that use recycled plastic for their bottles, too.

Rent Durable Materials

Venues such as our Soho Studios offer the chance to rent props, carpets, and other essentials for your event. Choose this option to avoid needlessly throwing away or endlessly storing items that could actually be used for years. If you do buy your own accessories, donate them to charities if you won't be reusing them.

Use Energy-Efficient Items

Many events require special gear. Make sure to choose the most efficient versions that will do the job. One suggestion is to make sure that you have LED lighting whenever possible. These lights are some of the most efficient readily-available ones on the market today.

Mention How Eco-Friendly Your Event Will Be

Helping the environment is great on its own, but the purpose of a corporate event is marketing. Be sure to let everyone know that your event is as green as possible and mention specific steps you've taken to make it that way. This will ensure that you get the expected bump in goodwill.

These are just some of the ways you can make your event more eco-friendly. Even if you can only implement some of them, you'll have a greener event than you would if you used the old-fashioned versions of everything.

For a highly flexible venue in Miami, choose Soho Studios. We have up to 70,000 square feet of configurable space and rental options for all major event elements.

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 Budweiser Keeps it Lit in DC

How Budweiser Keeps it Lit in DC

The 2017 Stanley Cup was a fantastic opportunity for brand promotion, and Budweiser took full advantage. D.C’s Verizon Center was sold out, flashing over 10,000 Budweiser Red Light Cups. Every Capitals goal against the Maple Leafs was met with additional cup-tossing displays, giving Budweiser much-warranted attention for its pre-planned event.

Bluetooth and Booze: An Uncommon Pairing

So, how’d Budweiser coordinate it? As it turns out, Bluetooth isn’t only for gadgets, cars and high-tech home inclusions. Budweiser passed out a slew of Bluetooth-enabled cups, promoting itself for the playoffs. As hockey-lovers know, a game’s goal light is one of the much anticipated parts of any display.

By coordinating each goal, Budweiser amplified the excitement. The initiative has been a hockey program staple since 2013. That said, 2017 is the first year Budweiser incorporated its high-tech cups. Fans could bring their own cups, too, downloading the offered Budweiser Red Light app. In conjunction with its Bluetooth technology, Budweiser’s own cups were activated alongside other fan-bought containers.

Celebrating Like It’s Live

Budweiser’s ultimate goal was to create a fully integrative experience, wherein game watchers could enjoy their team’s goals from the comfort of their homes. Attendees, meanwhile, could celebrate with real-time applause. Budweiser installed 25 R.F.I.D. transmitters across the stadium, lighting up all the cups at once. Meanwhile, the brand’s Red Light controller sent a signal to each transmitter, releasing a frequency capable of setting off each cup simultaneously.

Using Social Media

Fans were urged to “Rock the Red” with the #LightUpDC hashtag. Because Red Light Cups were available at all participating concession stands, fans had ample opportunity to grab the goods. Those over age 21 were invited to post further on social media, maximizing the ceremony’s visibility. The game’s epic backdrop was, of course, a highlight.

As if that weren’t enough, the red light itself was—you guessed it—a puck-shaped RFID gadget. Fans were invited to keep the cups, saving their technology for later use—and, of course, as event memorabilia. Available as of April 15th, the cups were only available to those attending the Capitals Playoff Game 2. They were, however, available at specific concession locations for the remaining playoff games. These locations included the Etihad Lounge, the Budweiser Brewhouse and Becks Lounge at the 100, 200 and 400-level concession stands.

The Party Never Stops

As stated above, event-goers could bring home the cups, downloading their own Budweiser Red Light apps on Android and iOS. Because the gadgets could be synced up at any time, Budweiser enabled ongoing celebrations via at-home “Rock the Red” parties.

It takes effort to coordinate a highly digital event remotely. Budweiser, here, displayed the savviness of a brand which knows its customers. Sure, hockey games are notoriously watched at home. As with football, it’s important to include stay-at-home fans while giving attendees something special. The widespread fan attention worked, and Budweiser expertly pulled off an unexpectedly lit display. Parties aren’t just for party-goers. Where beer is concerned, it pays off to honor the distant celebrations—no matter how far off they may be.

How to Avoid a Music Festival Disaster

How to Avoid a Music Festival Disaster  

Putting your business name on a music festival can give you great exposure. But as we’ve seen in real life examples, this can also backfire greatly. Take the case of the Fyre Festival in the Bahamas, which was promoted as a luxury experience but turned into a disaster. Abby Ohlheiser reported for The Washington Post that headliner band Blink-182 and others canceled just before the event, many of the tents for the event were not set up by the time guests arrived and other significant problems occurred. What should have been great publicity for the organizers turned into the wrong kind of exposure.

Obviously, you don’t want your company's name associated with a disaster. So here are some tips on how to avoid a music festival disaster and create a successful experience instead.

Work With an Experienced Team

It’s essential to have an experienced team working on a large event like a music festival. You either need your own experienced team or to work with a production partner who understands the nitty-gritty of how a music festival works and what is needed, down to every detail. Foremost, you need a strong management team who can organize and execute the event plans, with a system in place for potential problems.

Focus on Practical Needs

Putting on a music festival is not just about the music and the marketing. There is a lot of background work that needs to be done – and done right. You need to ensure you have the necessary power for the specific event, as well as access to water and proper management of waste. An experienced team will think about potential problems and make sure the logistics are capable of working out in the earliest stages before moving forward with a particular venue or the rest of the event planning. Event professionals told BizBash that they probably would not have continued with the Fyre Festival's location, at least not before consulting local professionals.

Start Small and Take It Slowly

Apparently the Fyre Festival planning started a few months before the event, and organizers ran out of time. Professional organizers take much longer to plan an event of this scale, beginning the process at least a year in advance. The Fyre Festival organizers also went full speed ahead with marketing, while event professionals normally would perform a soft launch in the beginning and try to gradually build interest and a reputation. By taking more time, you also have the chance to test your site, learn and grow in the industry and work on fitting your tactics with the right audience.

Be Prepared to Cancel

Sometimes you simply cannot get an event to work out. Planning and proper management will generally prevent the need to cancel an event but you need to realize when canceling is the only answer. Event professionals told BizBash that the Fyre Festival organizers should have canceled when they knew they couldn't fulfill their marketing promises.

When you perform proper planning and work with event professionals, you can prevent a music festival disaster and create an event that successfully promotes your brand.