Retailer South Moon Under partnered with Rock the Vote for its inaugural Summer Spin Pool Party August 3 at the Embassy Row Hotel rooftop. To expand the reach of the intentionally intimate pool soiree beyond its 100 invite-only guests, event planner Jessica Hoy of NeuProfile put a social media spin on a familiar item: the gift bag.
Converse, Lacoste, Stila, and Kate Somerville cosmetics were among the companies who contributed beach-related products like towels, sunglasses, and sunscreen to the gift bags. Taking advantage of the expansive rooftop deck, Hoy set up stations for each of the 11 sponsors with tent cards of the hosting brands’ Twitter handles and event hashtags. Bloggers and other partygoers took photos of the tables and wrote about the products individually rather than just collectively in a single story. Guests then showed a staffer their tweets on the way out to receive a bag.
“My theory about events is that the more high-profile brands you have, the better a look it is for your event,” said Hoy, who had initially executed the concept for Rock the Vote’s party during White House Correspondents’ dinner weekend in April. “Then anytime I use anything from the gift bag, I remember the event, which creates longevity for it.”
The promotion resulted in four pages of Twitter results alone, as well as Facebook, Instagram, and Vine impressions. Chrissy Faessen, Rock the Vote’s vice president of communications, noticed an uptick in the organization's direct social media traffic over the weekend, though exact metrics were not available at press time.
“It's not just about engaging young people during presidential and mid-term elections, but rather about continued engagement,” Faessen said. “These types of parties are a great way to get them to be part of Rock the Vote and to continue that engagement when there is an election in their particular city.”
