When event organizers want to amplify their messages outside the events' walls, they create guest lists packed with people well equipped to do just that: bloggers and social media stars across various platforms. Those guests are mindful of protecting and bolstering their own personal brands—in the form of social channels and blogs that may have significant value—so they're only moved to share the details and observations that feel organic and authentic to their audiences. To inspire such invitees to share, industry professionals are now placing more emphasis on details that are personalized, surprising, interactive, and highly visual.
Kari Feinstein also produced a second blogger brunch at the Hotel on Rivington during New York Fashion Week in September for Hearts on Fire and Chapstick, where products sat upon plates next to heart-shaped personalized cookies from Tribeca Treats.
Photo: WireImage
For a Los Angeles event celebrating the launch of its Sur.face Pro makeup palette, beauty brand Beautyblender hosted an August 2014 event with a customized gift for bloggers. A Stuk Designs artist sketched portraits of invitees holding the new products, creating the drawings based on photos from guests’ social media streams.
Photo: Dawn McCoy/Beauty Frosting
Kari Feinstein produced a brunch at the Hotel on Rivington for skincare brand host Proactiv, with a guest list including an intimate crowd of bloggers. The September event in New York included cookies in the brand's signature blue color from Tribeca Treats, which bore the names of the individual guests.
Photo: WireImage
For a May 2014 event to fete its new premium skincare collection, Target invited bloggers to a Beverly Hills estate, where they collected products from four theme stations at which beauty concierges gave them personalized consultations based on their skin types. All along, guests posted to social media—the event also included highly visual vignettes and decor—and the attendees with the most online traction for a single post at the end received a gift bag filled with the whole skincare collection.
Photo: Kim Genevieve
Online retailer ModCloth launched its first in-person fit shop event in Los Angeles, known as ModCloth IRL, with an April luncheon for fashion bloggers and other social influencers in that sphere. Wildflowers in shot glasses with name plaques served as seating cards, prompting many guests to share their own arrangement on social media.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Following the Streamy awards in September, digital media company Fullscreen hosted a neon-colored after-party in Los Angeles, partnering with Caravents on the production and digital strategy. The fete was intended to create a space where the Web content-creating millennial and Gen Z attendees would feel motivated to share in authentic ways. One detail ripe for sharing was a collection of small animal objects placed throughout the space along with the hashtag #EmojisintheWild.
Photo: Paige Jones
Vanity Fair brought its Vanity Fair Social Club to Emmy weekend for the first time this year; previously, it happened only during the Oscars. The event produced by Caravents and held at the creative co-working space WeWork Hollywood hosted panels, events, and activations aimed at bloggers as well as digital journalists. A bar offered goods from various sponsors like Brooks Brothers and Viktor & Rolf; guests could step up, select their offerings, and post to social media channels in exchange for the goodies.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Johnnie Walker hosted its House of Walker tasting and education events last fall in Austin, Texas. As they arrived, all social media influencer guests received cards embedded with R.F.I.D. tags that allowed them tastes at each of the six stations. Guests could link their cards to their social accounts to enable easy sharing, and a highly visual and personal welcome message appeared when guests put their cards into designated slots at the tasting mats.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
In February 2014, W Chicago City Center hosted a Valentine's Day event for bloggers and other media. Given the event celebrated the romantic holiday, the property’s in-house mixologist, Lauren Parton, created personalized love potions at the bar, after inquiring about their cocktail preferences. She also wrote down the recipe, and sent guests home with jars of their potions printed with cheeky labels.
Photo: Jenny Berg/BizBash
In January 2014, Dermalogica Canada invited beauty bloggers as well as editors for a breakfast on the set of Degrassi High. The event launched the new teen and young-adult-targeted skincare line Clear Start, so the breakfast took on a look reminiscent of high school, with prom-style decor and even corsages.
Photo: Stefania Yarhi
Kenneth Cole drew a group of 30 bloggers to its New York showroom in March 2011 to showcase the new collection alongside a screening of Rebel Without a Cause. The line was partly inspired by the iconic James Dean movie, so the host nodded to rebellious youth culture with motorcycle gear and the brand’s well-known style of cheeky eyebrow-raising quotes printed throughout decor. The original concept was to transport guests to the event on motorcycles with pro drivers, an idea cancelled due to rain. However, bloggers did nevertheless receive custom helmets—a social-media-ready visual.
Photo: Courtesy of Kenneth Cole
