| EVENT INTELLIGENCE 05.01.09 9:30 AM |
|
How Two Recent Events Used Social Networking Sites to Woo Attendees
|
These days event pros are using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter for a lot more than posting status updates about their weekend plans. More and more planners are utilizing social media sites to promote their events and reach new audiences. (Speaking of Twitter—and aren't we all lately?—BizBash's news tweet is here.) Here are two examples.
“We created a character called Buybarella, designed by our fashion illustrator Danielle Meder, to promote Buy Design this year,” said Kelly Carmichael, event manager for Windfall Clothing Service, which hosted a space-themed fund-raiser at the Fermenting Cellar in mid-April. “Twitter was something new to Windfall and Buy Design and it was really beneficial.” The character, inspired by the Jane Fonda movie Barbarella, tweeted about ticket giveaways and details about the event, including hints about the menu and ideas about where to shop for an outfit to wear to the benefit.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Social Networking, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Interior Design Show, Windfall Clothing Service |
 |
| EVENT REPORT 04.21.09 3:33 PM |
|
Sixth Annual Buy Design Fund-Raiser Draws Guests With Social Media Campaign, Promises of Swag
|
In a time of economic uncertainty, Windfall Clothing Service event manager Kelly Carmichael wanted to emphasize the return on investment for guests attending (or considering attending) the clothing bank’s "Buy Design 6: In Space" fund-raiser, held Saturday at the Fermenting Cellar. “We really wanted people to know it was worth it to come,” said Carmichael, who worked with Faulhaber PR to launch a social media campaign and Web site promoting the benefit’s purpose and perks.
“Facebook and Twitter are great ways to get a dialogue going with people about the event and our organization, which is especially important in times like these," Carmichael said. The face of the Twitter campaign, BuyBarella, a character inspired by the Jane Fonda movie Barbarella, tweeted about everything from outfit ideas for the space-themed event to hints about the night’s hors d’oeuvres (like herb-crusted lamb chops), and the gift bag (stuffed with full-size beauty products from sponsor Proctor & Gamble). BuyBarella's 477 Twitter followers had a chance to win one of three sets of tickets to the benefit.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Windfall Clothing Service, Procter & Gamble, Smashbox, L'Oréal, Hugo Boss, Stonegate, TD Bank Financial Group, BMO Financial Group, Alterna Savings, Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation, Davis + Henderson, Mill Street Brewery, XOXO Wine, Skyy Vodka, Evian, Fashion Magazine, Now, The Globe and Mail, blogTO, She Does the City |
|
| NEWS 12.31.08 10:00 AM |
|
Wear White for Windfall Plans January Events, T.T.C. Advertising Campaign
|
A series of new poverty awareness posters designed for the 2009 Wear White for Windfall (WW4W) campaign will appear across the city—and on Toronto Transit Commission subways, streetcars, and buses—beginning January 5. CBS Outdoors and the T.T.C. have donated advertising space to WW4W—an annual awareness campaign in support of Windfall Clothing Service, which distributes new clothing to social service agencies across the city.
Four hundred copies of the WW4W posters—featuring celebrity spokespeople such as Steven Sabados, Chris Hyndman, Anne Mroczkowski, Dina Pugliese, Shawn Hewson, Zack Werner, and Shinan Govani—will be on display until February 1. The campaign, which encourages Torontonians to donate to the Windfall Clothing Service, will also feature a number of events, including the official WW4W day on January 29, when people are asked to wear something white and donate $4 to support the cause. Amber Lounge in Yorkville will hosts its annual private WW4W White Party that same day, and the CN Tower will be lit in white in honour of the campaign.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Windfall Clothing Service, Toronto Transit Commission, CBS Outdoors |
|
| NEWS 12.08.08 11:45 AM |
|
Buy Design Announces Space Theme for 2009 Fund-Raiser
|
Buy Design, the annual fund-raiser in support of Windfall Clothing Service, is taking on a vintage space theme for the sixth annual gala to be held in the Fermenting Cellar at the Distillery District on April 18, organizers announced in a press release last week. "For 2009, Buy Design is going back to the future," said co-chair Andrew Sardone. "Jane Fonda's galactic vixen Barbarella, pop Courrèges fashion, and other retro Space Race references are inspiring a night of out-of-this-world style."
Adrian Mainella of CBC's Fashion File will return to host the benefit for the second consecutive year. In April 2008, Windfall marked the fifth anniversary of Buy Design with a disco theme that paid homage to Andy Warhol and the legendary Studio 54. —Susan O'Neill
RELATED TOPICS
Windfall Clothing Service, Adrian Mainella, Fashion File |
|
| TOP 100 EVENTS 05.16.08 12:21 PM |
|
Toronto's Top Fashion Events 2008
|
 | The tents in Nathan Phillips Square
Photo: George Pimentel |
|
1. L’Oréal Fashion Week
This semiannual event generates a weeklong buzz among designers, editors, retailers, and industry insiders who converge on the city from across the country. Last fall’s event, which featured 30 collections, saw the shows move from Exhibition Place to a tent at Nathan Phillips Square. This year’s shows, produced by the Fashion Design Council of Canada, ran March 17 to 22; the “Wear in the World” theme featured international designers. This year's spring 2009 collections will present October 14-19.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Toronto's Top 100 Events, L’Oréal, Fashion Design Council of Canada, AIDS Committee of Toronto, Toronto Fashion Incubator, Elle Canada, Windfall Clothing Service |
|
| EVENT REPORT 04.29.08 3:23 PM |
|
Studio 54 Inspires Retro Vibe at Buy Design Fund-Raiser
|
 | The Buy Design benefit
Photo: Courtesy of Faulhaber PR |
|
Attracting volunteers to help organize Buy Design 54, the fifth annual fund-raiser for Windfall Clothing Service—inspired by the legendary New York nightclub Studio 54—held Saturday at the Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery District, wasn’t all that difficult, according to event manager Alessia Pugliese. “We never struggle to get volunteers,” said Pugliese, who credited the volunteer team for the event's success. About 50 volunteers, some of whom worked throughout the entire planning process (which began in July), helped pull off the fashion-conscious event, which raises money to support the award-winning charity that distributes new clothing and basic-needs items to Torontonians in need.
“For us, the biggest challenge, being a non-for-profit, is always money,” Pugliese said. “We put on this event on a very tight budget. We are very lucky because our volunteers are so young and most of them are in the media or fashion industry, so creativity is not a problem.” Adrian Mainella, the new host of CBC’s Fashion File, is one volunteer whose profile helped bring exposure to the event. Mainella, who has been involved with Buy Design since its inception, served as the evening’s host and donated a night out with him as one of the more than 150 items up for bid at silent and live auctions.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Windfall Clothing Service, TD Bank Financial Group, BMO Financial Group, Mill Street Brewery, Now Magazine, Fashion Magazine, She Does the City, The Globe and Mail, BlogTO, Alterna Savings, Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation |
|
|
