Posts Tagged ‘event marketing’

And Then There Were Two Tweeters

Friday, August 13th, 2010

The conference is coming together fast and furious! It’s less than three months away! We’re just a few days away from finally being able to announce our speaking team – yahoo!!! You’re going to LOVE the line-up! We’re still accepting creativeEXHIBITION proposal submissions (until Sept.17). We’ve got other groovy news about sponsors and partners coming up too. One thing that happened awhile back has gone unannounced has been the addition of Destin Fall Haynes to our social marketing team! My bad.

Last year we tried Facebook advertising and we quickly abandoned it as it just seemed to pushy and desperate. In stark contrast, we really enjoyed the organic, and supportive nature, of our Twitter feed @CREATIVEMIXca. What I mean by supportive is that through the cunning use of RTs and ‘follows’ we were able to help other creative people, projects, and events spread the word about what THEY were doing. Besides – it’s just plain ‘ol fun! That felt like a much better way to meet the needs of Vancouver creatives while at the same time giving people a chance to check-out what we’re doing. In preparation for this year’s conference I wanted to continue that trend of helping other local creatives but I knew I needed help; enter Destin:

Destin is a lover of the written word and a social media aficionado.  By day she contributes her communications skills and pr savvy to the non-profit world – helping to make the world a better place one tweet, post and like at a time.  While comfortable using 140 characters or less she can also be found conversing and sharing her thoughts in formats permitting higher character values – like on her blog, I do, Vancouver .  Although she revels in conversation in the online realm she would rather meet you face to face over a cup of coffee or a pint of dark beer – preferably locally made!

Together, Destin and I Follow, RT, DM, @Reply on @creativemixCA. We’re likeminded creatives and I’m thrilled to have her on our team.

Want to follow our lists?
@CREATIVEMIXca/vancouvercreativespaces
@CREATIVEMIXca/vancouvercreativepeople
@CREATIVEMIXca/vancouvercreativeevents

Posted by Corwin Hiebert

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Posted in Conference Update | No Comments »

Promo FAIL

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

In preparation for this year’s conference we’ve been brainstorming on ways to spread the word and continue building the brand of CREATIVEMIX. Some of the questions we’re asking are: Should we do the 100% recycled coffee sleeves again (they were cool, useful, but were a lot of work to distribute)? What about posters? Facebook ads are so 2007, should we just tweet our blog posts instead? How can we generate love and web traffic for those who help spread the word? Do you think people would join an affiliate program if we give them $10 for every ticket they helped us sell? How much is a colour ad? You’re kidding, right? And so on, and so on.

Now, for whatever reason, my brain got sidetracked the other day with all of the things that I HATE about events (and event-related marketing) and I went OFF on a mental tangent that produced some totally useless but funny images (at least to me, I giggled as I photoshoped). So, I’m going to call this a little window into everything that I think is sick and wrong with respect to events. Here’s some event promotion FAIL items that I’ve received in the past when attending an event, conference, or tradeshow – I thought it would be fun to stick our graphic on them; a couple at the end are just for fun – I got carried away.

Stress Squeeze Toy

Silly Putty

Logo Launcher

Logo Launcher

Game Cube

Frisbee

Credit Card

Snuggie Blanket

Pack of Smokes

Now I have to get back to work. The moral of the story is: cut out the crap.

We’re going to continue with what we did last year: keep things simple like not giving people a name badge or a printed program and making everyone use ceramic coffee cups filled with Ethical Bean Coffee – that kind of stuff. How we’re going to get people there is still being worked out. Chime in if you like.

So if you’re planning an event do the world a favour and don’t destroy the earth one tchotchke at a time. If you need gifts or giveaways for your event be smart and order it from Saul Good Gift Co.

Posted by: Corwin Hiebert [This post can also be seen on The Red Wagon Blog]

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Posted in Soap Box | 1 Comment »