February 2020 saw us jetting off to Miami’s Super Bowl frenzy, tasked with executing brand activations across the city. Brew ‘N’ Motion, a marketing agency, commissioned us for Bud Light’s project.

Beyond the Gridiron: Quantifying Brand Activations’ Impact

For football fans, the Super Bowl is the pinnacle of excitement. But for event planners and marketing teams, the work begins months prior, extending long after with performance analysis. While measuring brand awareness and customer loyalty seems tricky, brand activations offer a hands-on, memorable approach

If you’re not sure what brand activations are, then check out my blog post on brand activations and why it shouldn’t be overlooked. Essentially, it’s about promoting brand awareness in a hands-on, fun and memorable way. That’s where Airbrush Events comes into play.

A Multi-Branded Miami Adventure

Four Airbrush Events artists tackled three projects for Bud Light, Visa, and Adidas. While Yariel chilled poolside creating temporary tattoos for Visa and Maris enjoyed painting at an Adidas-sponsored school field, Nick and I faced a demanding Bud Light schedule.

Hitting the Road (and Running Late!)

Our Bud Light activation differed from usual events. To promote the brand and build relationships with bars and restaurants, we visited numerous Miami locations daily. Each stop involved setting up, working for an hour, then moving on. We aimed to personalize 15 footballs and 20 helmets per location, leaving one for the bar/restaurant.

Super Bowl traffic threw a wrench in our plans, causing parking delays. Despite this, we ensured each location received its full hour, and thankfully, business owners were understanding.

Personalized Gifts, Delighted Fans

Nick and I split tasks, with him painting helmets and me airbrushing footballs. Each gift featured the Super Bowl or Bud Light logo, personalization, and a Miami-themed design. Brand ambassadors, dressed as cheerleaders, greeted guests, took orders, and hyped the brand while they waited.

The gifts proved immensely popular. Andrea, my fantastic assistant, had to stop taking orders after just 15 minutes at each location, leaving some disappointed guests. However, this highlights the activation’s success – next time, they’ll be sure to arrive early!

Helmets & Paint Pens: A Practical Choice

The non-porous helmets called for paint pens, similar to our Webroot water bottle project. While airbrushing was an option, it required extensive prep work, sanding, painting, and clear coating. Fumes and drying times made paint pens the clear winner.

Mission Accomplished, Despite the Rush

Despite the Super Bowl traffic hurdles, we delivered a successful, albeit hectic, five days. Packing up an hour before kickoff, we headed home exhausted but satisfied with a job well done.

Ready to ditch the boring promos and create brand memories that last? Let Airbrush Events show you how! Get in touch!

The post Super Bowl Rush: Delivering Personalized Gifts with Airbrush Events appeared first on Airbrush Events | Custom Airbrushed Party Favors.

Trade shows are one of the best ways to find new customers or clients for your business in a short time. 

However, having a trade show booth does not automatically guarantee that you will have visitors. It is up to you to do your best to ensure most, if not all, trade show attendees pass by your booth so that you can get maximum ROI on the time and money you invested in your booth.

The following are some clever ways to lure trade show attendees to your booth:

1. Attend other trade shows to see how they work and if they are worth the investment

Not all trade shows are the right fit for your business. Before you purchase a booth at a trade show, attend as a guest first and see how other trade show booths are performing and if the crowd matches your organization’s target audience. 

After attending as a guest, you will be able to see some of the things that make some booths successful and some mistakes other booths are making. 

2. Do proper marketing before the event

You need to start building excitement for your trade show booth long before the trade show happens. Let your existing customers know about the trade show using your in-house mailing lists or by using your organization’s social media platforms. You never know; some of your customers could bring along their friends or colleagues.

Get pictures from event coordinators and share them on your social media platforms to give people a sneak peek of what to expect at the trade show. You may also hire bloggers and online influencers to further market the trade show and your booth.

3. Have a well-designed, noticeable trade show booth

You want your booth to be so attractive that trade show attendees notice it from far away and are unable to pass it without taking a quick look at what you have to offer.

•  Have a proper design for your booth that suits your organization. Check out your competitors’ booths and make sure that your trade show looks better than all of them.
•  Create extra-tall displays that stretch high above the other booths.
•  You can also have an overhead display hanging over the booth and have some kind of graphic, such as an arrow, drawing attention to your booth.

4. Have your own light

The lighting of the trade show hall might not be sufficient to light up your booth properly. Bring your own lights to make the booth and your promotional banners easier to notice. The lighting should be cozy and intimate to encourage more people to visit.

5. Make your trade show booth welcoming

If you have a big space to work with, set up a few chairs for your booth visitors to rest for a few minutes. Trade shows can be exhausting for visitors when they walk around exploring different booths and there usually isn’t much sitting space.

Turn your booth into a place where attendees can sit and relax for a few minutes as you explain to them what your company is all about and what they can gain from being a new customer.

6. How about some free WiFi?

In the modern world of social media, people love to stay connected at all times, even when they are supposed to be looking at trade show offerings.

Free WiFi at your booth will attract people to your booth and encourage them to stay close. You could also offer a free phone charging station where your visitors can get a quick recharge of their phones as you pitch your products and services to them.

7. Have a special trade show deal

Everyone loves feeling like they got a great deal on a certain product or service. You may offer special deals to your trade show booth visitors such as coupons, discounts, and freebies.

8. Make sure your staff members are friendly, approachable, and professional

It will be hard to attract visitors to your booth if your staff members seem angry or rude. Your staff should put on their best smile and be ready to charm the attendees into visiting the booth. They should also be in a position to answer any questions that the attendees might have.

9. Engage your booth attendees with a game

Set up a few easy, fun and competitive games at your booth and reward the participants with various prizes. The games could be anything like Jenga, a singing game, darts, or any other fun game. Just make sure the prize is worthwhile. Check out all the cool giant Jenga games that are available here.

10. Are you providing snacks and beverages at your trade show booth?

Trade show attendees will probably be exhausted and hungry. Having some snacks or beverages at your booth for your guests will definitely attract people. And it doesn’t have to be expensive; a cookie and small cup of coffee are enough to make everyone at the trade show want to come to your booth especially if other booths are not doing it.

11. Hand out airbrushed party favors

Party favors are a great way to reward attendees for visiting your booth, but everyone will probably be doing it as well. If you want to make your party favors really special and memorable for your booth visitors, hiring a team of airbrush artists to customize party favors can do the trick.

A company like Airbrush Events provides airbrush artists who can set up stations in your booth and make custom party favors for the guests. Each guest chooses a party favor, such as a t-shirt or a mug, then chooses their preferred design, color and text they want the artist to create as they watch. People will attend your booth for your pitch and the art.

12. Have the biggest bag

When you are handing out the party favors, promotional materials, or giveaways to your booth visitors, make sure that your bag is the biggest and that it’s clearly branded.Trade show visitors will probably be getting other items from other booths and if your bag is the biggest, they will probably put the other items in there.

The post 12 Ways To Attract Traffic To Your Trade Show Booth appeared first on Airbrush Events | Custom Airbrushed Party Favors.

By highlighting your organization’s strengths and putting your ethos and unique selling points at the forefront, you can craft a strong image for your business.

But to achieve this, your event must have the “wow” factor that blows your guests away and makes an indelible mark on their minds long after they have left your event.

If you’re wondering how to raise the standard, here are some tips that can help

Put event guests at the heart of your decisions

Today’s biggest events impress guests because they can anticipate what attendees want to see and experience. This is primarily because event planners make data-driven decisions, meaning they’re based on the latest patterns and preferences.

The Event Experience podcast explains that all organizations collect data that can be valuable for event management. You can look at feedback and experience metrics around what your guests care about, where and how they consume content, and people’s behaviors before, during, and after an event.

Even if the type of event you’re organizing is new to you and historical data isn’t available, you can still generate new data through crowdsourcing, social media polls, user-generated content, or engagement on your organization’s platforms. This way, you’re not using data from two or three years ago when events were very different.

By accessing this information, you can organize processes and features like buying tickets, dispensing information, and amenities for engaging with your event on social media.

Highlight forward-thinking features

Consumers resonate with forward-thinking companies that are in touch with the world. When hosting events, put your best foot forward and show them what your brand stands for. If you’re engaged in charitable causes like education or women’s rights or advocating for policies, highlighting these can instill trust among guests.

Taking the case of sustainability, you can see how your organization’s causes can drive event management decisions. The World Economic Forum states that nature means business, with 66% of consumers saying they consider sustainability when buying products. With brands expected to exhibit responsibility and positive change, highlighting your environmental initiatives makes a good impression on your guests.

Our post ‘How to Host an Eco-Friendly Event’ suggests you put this into action by reducing waste and energy expenditure with reusable instead of disposable utensils, LED lights instead of trade show lights, and wooden decorations instead of plastic ones. Likewise, if you’re engaged in other advocacies, you can incorporate activities that educate guests about them or invite them to get involved, for instance, through hashtags or information booths.

Have your event go above and beyond with technology

Everyday technological innovations can go a long way in making your event far more accessible and frictionless. Smartphone tickets, digitized event materials, and QR passes are just a few tools you can utilize to streamline your event and make it feel more professional. From here, you can go even further by using some of the world’s most advanced technologies.

Today, holograms are taking center stage in creating absorbing atmospheres and interactions for guests. They provide 360-degree 3D holographic displays, an immersive way to educate your guests about products and services or simply entertain them.

The metaverse is also taking a leap in the industry, with more events being hosted in the virtual space. Global stars ABBA held a metaverse concert in 2021, where fans purchased tickets to simulate the experience of a live show.

This is a technology you can also explore for your organization’s trade show if you want to attract guests from around the world. It can be a more immersive way to showcase new products or services. Novel encounters with technology will help guests associate you with awe-inspiring moments.

Planning an event is integral in engaging with your brand’s consumers. When you work hard to achieve that “wow” factor, you ensure that you stay in their minds for a long time.

Common Questions

What exactly is “The Wow Factor” in event planning?

The Wow Factor is the intersection of unexpected entertainment and high-value personalization. It is that specific moment when an attendee realizes they aren’t just at a standard meeting, but part of an immersive, curated experience that is actually worth capturing and sharing on social media.

How can live activations help raise the bar at a corporate event?

Live activations, such as on-site airbrushing, introduce a “theatrical” element to the room. Watching a personalized product being created specifically for them provides a much higher psychological impact for the guest. It transforms a generic giveaway into a meaningful interaction that raises the overall perceived value of the event.

How do you measure the success of an event’s “Wow Factor”?

Success is best measured through organic social media reach (user-generated content) and attendee dwell time. If guests are staying longer at your activation and posting photos of their custom items, you have successfully created a “Wow Factor” that provides a long-term return on your event investment.

The post The “Wow” Factor: How to Raise the Bar at Your Next Event appeared first on Airbrush Events | Custom Airbrushed Party Favors.