Small talk turned to listings at the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower Thursday night, where the Chicago Association of Realtors hosted a networking event and award ceremony. The gathering, which comprised a cocktail reception and a short award presentation, honored the association's top producers of 2008 and drew more than 400 attendees, exceeding planners' 300-guest goal.
"We Twittered the heck out of this event," said Barbara Matthopoulos, the association's senior director of communications and media relations. "We also created a Web site just for the event that was exciting but not flashy—an important distinction in these times—and advertised on Facebook and in eblasts that had attached widgets. We were going for a very integrated approach [to publicity]."
The goal of the event was twofold, Matthopoulos said. "We wanted to put the good news out there that yes, the real estate market has its challenges right now, but there are people in it who are still thriving. We also wanted to provide inspiration and motivation for our guests."
Toward that end, signage that topped tables in the hotel's ballroom showcased photographs of individual realtors, along with quotes that imparted professional wisdom. The realtors' headshots and advice also appeared on screens that surrounded the ballroom, and those who were honored during the award ceremony stood up to offer wisdom to their peers.
To ensure that guests soaked up the advice that was on offer—instead of soaking up an abundance of alcohol—Matthopoulos gave each attendee two drink tickets and arranged for continuously circulating heavy hors d'oeuvres. "We gave out drink tickets to set a professional tone," she said. "By all means, guests were welcome to purchase their own drinks beyond the first two, but this event was about connecting constituents. That doesn't happen if people are going back and forth to the bar all night."
Moreover, forgoing an open bar allowed the association to keep the event's ticket price relatively low. To attend, guests paid $49 to $59 each, a price that "is fair to the people who come and only drink Diet Coke," Matthopoulos said. "And that's a trend we're seeing. If people go to an event that's sponsored by an organization they're not associated with—say XYZ Realty says, 'We're having an event, come join us'—people may drink there." But when guests attend events for an association that they've aligned with for a particular reason, she said, "they don't really care about the cocktails. They want to use the event as a professional networking opportunity."
