As the use of Twitter and Instagram has become ubiquitous at events, marketers have started using hashtags—words or phrases preceded by the # symbol—to drive public attention to the brand and its gathering, while simultaneously boosting guest interaction. To publicize official tags, an increasing number are incorporating the keyword into the physical elements of their promotions, from printing them on cocktail napkins to marking entrance bracelets with the phrase. Here are 15 smart ideas for promoting hashtags at events.
11. Make It the Focal Point
Not every event has a stage, but any eye-catching area can be a smart spot to place a hashtag. That was the case with the June 5 release party for the Project X Xtended Cut DVD in Los Angeles. Produced by the Visionary Group, the backyard-bash-style affair for Warner Brothers and Break Media included an 18- by 10-foot pool, which had a banner marked with the event name and hashtag sitting at the bottom.
Photo: Mark Davis
1. Write It on the Wall
A simple way to draw attention to an official hashtag is to place a call to action on a wall. Promotions like Wired magazine's pop-up, which took place in New York last November, used wall decals to encourage consumers to promote the store while on-site.
Photo: Jika González/BizBash
2. Put It on Signage
Signage is a more prominent way to direct guests to the designated hashtag, a strategy employed by last year's Sweetgreen festival in Maryland. The resulting tweets were broadcast on the large screens placed around the stage.
Photo: WanderingHat
3. Make It Larger Than Life
Increasingly common at events is the use of large video screens to display Twitter chatter. For the "Shops at Target" launch in New York on May 1, the producers took advantage of the IAC Building's 120-foot-long video wall to magnify posts marked with #TheShopsatTgt.
Photo: Nilaya Sabnis
4. Provide a Memento
Services like Instaprint are popping up at many affairs, proving popular with guests as a tangible record of their active social media use. At a fashion show held by USA Network in New York, even the wall the machines were mounted on sported the hashtag, motivating curious attendees to snap a photo and post it via Instagram.
Photo: David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
5. Make Staffers Wear It
Staffers are a common sight at events, and some event producers have put hashtags on the outfits worn by greeters, caterwaiters, or even hosts. In February, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival advertised its official Twitter phrase on the T-shirts worn by participating chefs like Rocco DiSpirito.
Photo: Elizabeth Renfrow for BizBash
6. Add It to the Red Carpet
The arrival areas of events involving celebrity guests tend to draw large crowds. To turn that to their advantage, the planners behind USA Network's upfront in New York placed a large canvas emblazoned with the official hashtag high above the carpet where passersby could see it.
Photo: Brian Brooks/MB Productions
7. Place It at Entry Points
Just as common as a red carpet are the rope-and-stanchion barricades that denote an entrance or V.I.P. area. Among the ways the Art Gallery of Ontario displayed the hashtag for its annual Massive Party fund-raiser on April 19, was the use of small signs placed atop stanchions.
Photo: Emma McIntyre for BizBash
8. Mark It on Tickets
The colorful plastic and paper wristbands used at concerts, festivals, and other big events can be customized to show a designated hashtag. To encourage guests at its Party in the Garden fund-raiser to upload photos via Instagram, the Museum of Modern Art in New York handed out entry bracelets printed with the hashtag #PitG2012.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
9. Include It in Printed Materials
Invitations and programs serve as physical reminders of an event's basic info—the date, time, location, and even dress code. An additional step would be to add the hashtag to such materials, which is what the Shorty Awards did in New York on March 26.
Photo: Rose Chevalier/BizBash
10. Put It Onstage
When the stage—or runway—is a central element of an event, a backdrop can call attention to something in a big way. The producers of USA Network's fashion presentation in New York on June 12 utilized the 60-foot-long LED video wall that served as the main decorative element of the catwalk to display its hashtag as well as the premiere date of show Suits.
Photo: Anna Sekula/BizBash
12. Print It on Functional Items
A more subtle approach is to use the hashtag on the cocktail napkins. The organizers of Travel & Leisure's first Social Media in Travel & Tourism Awards (the Smittys) in New York on June 7 made sure attendees saw the hashtag when grabbing a bite from a passing waiter or when taking a cocktail from the bar.
Photo: Anna Sekula/BizBash
13. Use It as Decor
Similarly simple was the approach taken for the August 2011 press preview of Betsey Johnson's fragrance Too Too. The planners incorporated the event hashtag and the designer's official Twitter handle into the overall event design by placing the call to action in frames.
Photo: Anna Sekula/BizBash
14. Turn It Into an Activity
A playful, original idea created by the planners behind Travel & Leisure's Social Media in Travel & Tourism Awards replaced entrance bracelets with sweatbands and invited guests to embellish them with quirky pins, one of which displayed the hashtag.
Photo: Anna Sekula/BizBash
15. Put It Where Guests Gather
Bars are almost always the most crowded areas of an event, and in addition to displaying the affair's signature cocktails, drink menus can be marked with a hashtag.
Photo: Anna Sekula/BizBash
