Guerilla Event Marketing – Flash Mob Marketing

T-Mobile isn’t the only company to employ viral marketing using a colossal street cast and the Internet to build brand awareness. Check out this article from www.brandchannel.com for more information.

Source: Guerilla Event Marketing: Flash Mob Marketing, www.brandchannel.com

On August 15, 1969 a group of like minded individuals descended on the sleepy community of Woodstock located in upstate New York for a weekend of Peace, Love and Music….what they created changed the world forever!

Forty years later on August 23 & 24 we are hosting Caltopia VII, recognized as the largest experiential college lifestyle festival in the nation! You’re invited to join 35,000 of your closest friends to touch, taste and experience a weekend of Fun, Food and Free Stuff provided by over 138 exhibitors and sponsors!

Peace, Love & Caltopia!

Check out this webpage for some eyecatching, innovative billboards that are sure to grab your attention.

Source: www.toxel.com, Clever and Creative Billboard Advertising

Creating an exceptional onsite experience at Caltopia will play a key role in building lifetime relationships with the Cal community. Please read this post for a step-by-step guide to help you maximize your return on investment at the event!

1. Understanding Cal Students and Generation Y

• Professional looking booth displays will engage the audience longer
• Red is the color of our rival and arch nemesis Stanford; Helpful Hint – don’t wear red
• Humor and laughter is embraced by all
• Premium give-a-ways and sweepstake prizes leave a lasting impression of your brand beyond the event
• A highly interactive booth presence will draw and keep a larger audience share

2. Define your goals for the event in quantifiable terms

• Number of new leads generated
• Emails collected
• Promotional pieces distributed
• Business cards from staff, faculty and other businesses collected

3. Preparing your booth display

• Due to revised Fire Marshal guidelines, pop-up display tents are prohibited inside of the RSF - Recommendation – Display a colorful banner across the back of your booth or use a free-standing model
• Are the colors and graphics of your booth display engaging for Cal students and Generation Y?
• Does your visual presentation make a good first impression and differentiate your product, service and organization from your competitors?
• Does your display include the name of your company and website?

Great Idea: Schedule brainstorming sessions with the Cal Rec Sports Marketing Group-Joe and Amy

4. High energy booth teams

• Positive energy attracts other positive energy
• Successful booth teams are trained, high energy and engaging
• Assign specific tasks to each member of your team i.e. email collection, information sharing, runner etc …
• Consider offering an incentive to each member of your team for meeting specific objectives i.e. number of emails collected, programs distributed etc…
• Your team should look the part with clean and matching attire that represents your brand
• Ensure everyone stays on the same positive message

Great Idea: Schedule a free consultation with our premiere promotional products expert,Dan Ahern of Fog City Marketing

5. Go Digital

• Cal Students and members of Generation Y embrace technology thus so should you
• Collect emails via a dedicated laptop not a sign-up sheet
• Reduce waste and practice sustainable guidelines whenever possible by not using paper entry forms etc …
• Slide shows of Cal students or other people using your product or service creates a human connection with your brand

6. Pre-show and end-of-day meetings with your team

• Build a sense of teamwork and share valuable experiences, issues, and opportunities
• Don’t forget to laugh and recognize everyone for their efforts

In this challenging economic time, it is more important than ever to be responsive and to stay connected to customers. What better way to do that, than with social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and You Tube. Sharpie is a full believer in using Social Media to stay connected and in this feature from Promo Magazine – they share a few ways that it has helped them respond to their customers and create new Marketing and PR opportunities.

Excerpt: “Our intent was not to interrupt the conversation but to complement it and add to it where that made sense,” she says. “We’ve been welcomed by that existing Sharpie community, which is actually thrilled to hear from us. We’re sharing all sorts of good resources, and they love us for it.”  - Sharpie’s Social Media Manager, Susan Wassel

To hear more about Sharpie’s social media efforts and other case studies, view the full article on PromoMagazine.com

Source: Promo Magazine, Sharpie and Others Offer Lessons in Getting Customers Talking

UC Berkeley’s Caltopia VII
The largest experiential college lifestyle festival in the nation

Pre-event Marketing for Caltopia – Connect with them before they reach your booth!

Tell me and I will forget, Show me and I may remember, Involve me and I will understand
-Chinese Proverb

Target Audience: Approximately 35,000+ new and returning Cal students, campus and community supporters and other participating businesses

• Cal Students contribute $395 million annually into the Bay Area economy of which $282 million are spent in the city of Berkeley
• UC Berkeley’s annual payroll is more than $800 million, and 96% of it goes to employees who live (and spend) in the Bay Area
• UC Berkeley employs 24,000 people, more than any other employer in the East Bay – and more than the next nine largest employers in Berkeley combined
• Over 100 campus, Bay Area and nationally recognized businesses will be represented at Caltopia VII

*Sources: UC Berkeley Economic Impact Study. UCB Student Research Center’s Student Housing and Transportation Survey, Marketwire

Impact: Entering its seventh year, the two-day interactive event provides a face-to-face marketing platform for large and small brands that want to actively engage and create a lifetime relationship with the Cal community

Why Pre-Caltopia Marketing is effective

• Creates a buzz about your company, products and services
• Pre-sells your brand to the Cal community
• Sends a message that you’re serious and committed to developing a relationship with the Cal community

Steps for Developing a Pre-Caltopia Marketing Strategy

1. Know your Audience: Learn about Gen-Y and what you can do to Engage them

• Take the time to learn about the lifestyle and consumer trends of Generation Y and the Cal community
• Identify your key objectives for attending the event;
• Are you trying to build word-of-mouth buzz about a product or service?
• Is your company trying to build a larger presence on campus?

Great Idea: Schedule brainstorming sessions with the Cal Rec Sports Marketing Group – Joe and Amy

2. Formulate your strategy: Step back and ask yourself these questions

• What marketing tactics will help me achieve my objectives for attending the event?
• How will we engage the 36,000 Cal students, campus and community supporters at the event?
• What promotional products and/or interactive activity will distinguish me from the rest of the competition?
• Will those promotional products create a lasting impression after the event?
• How can I maximize my budget for promotional items?

Great Idea: Schedule a free consultation with our premiere promotional products expert, Dan Ahern of Fog City Marketing

3. Start the Buzz Early

• Buzz marketing starts building momentum through word-of-mouth
• How can you get the Cal community talking about your product or service before the event?
• Hosting contests that drive participants to your booth to register have proven to be very effective. Check out the channels available to you below to start spreading the word
• Exposure and excitement increases with the size of the prize you’re giving away. (i.e. Airline tickets, books for one semester, one month’s rent etc.)

Great idea: Use your own website or your other marketing pieces to announce your presence at Caltopia and invite current customers to stop by and say hello

How Cal Rec Sports Marketing can create Pre-Caltopia Marketing Exposure for you!

1. Twitter

• Promote your giveaway or interactive activity that you will be featuring on our new Caltopia Twitter site.

2. Facebook

• Start the conversation with a Facebook page or contest
• Create your own business page and send us the link so we can link it to our Caltopia Event Page and Cal Rec Sports Business Page
• Promote your activity and/or giveaways directly via the Caltopia Event Page and can even host your contest

3. Event Guide

• Maximize your ad in the Caltopia Event Guide – drive attendees to your booth and your website
• Sponsors receive a complimentary ad in the official event guide
• Exhibitors – For a limited time we are offering all exhibitors the opportunity to purchase a full page color ad in our online and hard copy event guides at a reduced price of $500

4. Mobile Web

• Caltopia will also be promoted via our new mobile web service. Contact us for information on posting discounts and drive backs on the mobile web

5. Caltopia Website

• All participating companies will have their name and website link placed on the Caltopia website
• Premium contests listed on the website and promoted to the Cal community pre event

6. Consultation – Take advantage of these channels by scheduling a brainstorming and planning session with Cal Rec Sports Marketing. We’re here to help!

• Ongoing consultation about Generation Y, the Cal community and the event available
  Creative brainstorming sessions hosted onsite or over the phone
• Contact Us to set up a time!

Great Idea: Consider Caltopia specials for faculty, staff, and other vendors! B2B marketing can be a great source of allies and yes, new clients!

Next Month’s Feature: Maximizing your ROI at the event!

The KGB, also known as the Knowledge Generation Bureau, goes Experiential

We found this interesting article that talks about the KGB, not the Russian Spy Agency, the Knowledge Generation Bureau. The Knowledge Generation Bureau provides a service for users who want information quickly and on the go, it is similar to an ask.com but for your mobile phone. The KGB recently launched a mobile tour where they hit the streets with brand ambassadors to connect with young people. Click here to read more.

Source: Event Marketer Magazine, Tours: KGB Goes Experiential

Denny’s scores a Grand slam with their post Super Bowl free breakfast giveaway!

Despite the current economic challenges our nation is facing, Denny’s decided to launch the most aggressive and influential experiential marketing campaign in the company’s history when they provided America free breakfast for one day!

Over 2 million people at over 1,500 locations across our nation were able to touch, taste and experience the Denny’s brand over an 8 hour period. Check out the article from Advertising Age for more details.

Source: Denny’s Grand Slam Giveaway a Hit With 2 Million Diners, Advertising Age, February 3, 2009

Email Campaigns – The Good and The Bad

Actively participating in the PLAYgreen and Caltopia experiential events will provide all of our partners the tremendous opportunity to collect email addresses and further engage the Cal community.

Take a look at these email campaign case studies from Seth Godin’s Blog. He evaluates two different methods and reminds us of what email campaigns should be and what they should not. The power of a well-executed email campaign is priceless. So be sure to make the most out of this opportunity to inspire and activate your current and potential customers!

Excerpt from Seth Godin’s Blog, Email campaign case studies (one good, one bad):

In one week, I heard from two companies in the same industry. The comparison is instructive, I think. Every month, I get a great email from Paul McGowan, founder of PS Audio. His newsletter is anticipated, personal and relevant. I signed up for it and I look forward to it. Paul mentions his products, their reviews and their new technology. He also tells stories and acts like a real person. Because I signed up for the newsletter, I open it. Because he never abuses my trust, I trust him. If I hit reply, he writes back.

When it’s time to buy the sort of thing he sells, I won’t look around much, because I’m already sold…

To view the entire article, please visit the following link: “Email campaign case studies (one good, one bad)”

Source: Seth Godin’s Blog, “Email campaign case studies (one good, one bad)” by Seth Godin February 1, 2009

INSPERIENCE: When a brand experience inspires consumers to become participants  

We thrive on generating and executing ideas that transcend the limitations of traditional marketing. From Festivus to Caltopia, our experiences help brands engage and inspire Generation Y.

Currently we are working with partners to develop their customized experience for the PLAYgreen Festival, the Bay Area’s premier eco-experiential event for people who want to play, live and work a greener lifestyle.

The Experience Is the Marketing

The top four most important aspects of an event are interaction, free samples, learning about the product/company and trying the product.

80% of consumers who have participated in a marketing experience told others about it

70% of consumers say participating in experiential marketing would increase purchase consideration

66% say experiential marketing is extremely/very influential on brand/product opinion

57% say participating in experiential marketing would result in a quicker purchase

Sources – Event Marketer magazine and Jack Morton surveys