How The Corporate Metaverse is Changing the Events Industry

The term ‘metaverse’ became popular when Facebook developer Mark Zuckerberg rebranded his app to Meta to mixed reviews. Some are excited about this technological advancement, while others are skeptical about entering a virtual space. 

Many companies have begun using the metaverse to organize a corporate metaverse for B2B marketing and lead generation. Instead of organizing physical conferences, guests and speakers are being given the option to attend digitally from their homes. But how does this virtual space affect corporate events? 

Before we can answer that question, you need to understand what the metaverse is all about. Keep reading this article to learn more! 

The Metaverse and Its Purpose 

The metaverse is a 3D version of the internet that’s parallel to the physical world. You enter as a digital version of yourself (called an avatar) and interact with other users. Entering the metaverse requires virtual equipment such as AR Glasses and VR Headsets. 

Is the Metaverse a Video Game? 

The answer to this question is both yes and no. 

First, let’s walk through the affirmative: the metaverse is present in popular video games like The Sandbox, Fortnite, and Roblox. These games encourage users to create avatars, interact with other players, and make in-game purchases. 

However, that’s only one side of the metaverse! This augmented digital space is also being used for sales and marketing, appearing as virtual fashion weeks, real estate showrooms, and even corporate events—yes, you read that right.

The Corporate Metaverse is Here to Stay

When the world was in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies across various industries found ways to adapt. They created virtual events for their employees and other invitees so they could participate in webinars, workshops, and online conferences. Further developments in the ever-changing world of technology have now given rise to what has become known as the corporate metaverse. 

In the corporate metaverse, people enter a digital event space as an avatar to attend digital corporate events. They can walk around, interact with others, and actively participate in the affairs of a corporate metaverse. 

The Benefits of the Corporate Metaverse 

The existence of the corporate metaverse is an alternative to networking events, concept stores, and in-office gatherings. The following benefits are some of the reasons why many businesses are considering metaverse gatherings:

1. Interactive Corporate Events

Unlike virtual events, the corporate metaverse encourages attendees to actively participate in the digital space. Instead of just watching through a screen, attendees can walk around, inspect the area, interact with others, and network. The immersive nature of the metaverse allows it to almost replicate physical events in the real world! 

Avatar creation allows people to customize how they look, meaning users can express themselves accurately and be themselves in the metaverse.

2. Motivated and Focused Attendees

Employees find it hard to focus on extended periods of virtual meetings due to burnout. Instead of listening, their minds wander as they would rather be on their phones. The immersion of the corporate metaverse is a solution to this problem, as 3D glasses and headphones better keep user attention focused on the speaker.

3. Immersive Product Presentations

The metaverse is impressive because it allows companies to conduct product launches without a physical prototype. Developers can present and test their new products digitally in front of a live audience. Attendees with VR equipment can look at these products in depth, making them one of the popular experiential marketing trends. 

Consequently, only needing to produce a digital prototype saves resources.

4. Events With No Travel Necessary

The corporate metaverse is accessible to everyone with VR equipment. Attendees can easily hop into the digital space and enjoy an immersive event without leaving their homes, negating the need to travel long distances for physical trade shows. 

5. Networking Without Time Limits

The corporate metaverse facilitates endless networking. Networking events typically occur seasonally in the real world, limiting guests and worsening their experience since they likely don’t have the time to talk to all event participants.

In the metaverse, networking and other corporate events can last longer, meaning more time for marketing and networking. All you need to do is get in to participate! 

Can the Metaverse Replace Physical Corporate Events? 

While it has great potential, the metaverse is still in its infancy. Even if it develops into something big, a digital space can never replace the essence of physical corporate events. Humans will always need to have face-to-face interactions to thrive! 

The metaverse feels different since it can’t replicate human social cues, on-time reactions, and body language. Human interaction generates genuine connections, lending more authenticity to physical corporate events. The feeling of being present is a targeted experience for consumers that makes on-site events more attractive than digital spaces.

Instead of a total replacement, the corporate metaverse and physical world should complement each other through hybrid events where people from around the world can attend off-site and on-site at the same time!

Do You Want to Plan a Hybrid Event? 

The corporate metaverse can increase the value of your hybrid events. The accessibility benefits it grants should attract more people and allow businesses to reach new audiences. But, of course, organizing a hybrid event takes a lot of hard work. 

The experienced team at the Concierge Club is here to effectively manage your hybrid events. We’ll handle the challenges and make your function an experiential campaign. 

Give us a call to learn more about how we can help you. 

Galas are the cream of the crop of events due to their glamorous, sophisticated, and exclusive nature. Most importantly, they’re fundraising events held by profit and non-profit entities. Organizing a successful gala often requires several months of planning and preparation. 

There’s so much to consider when producing an engaging and memorable function. As the leading experiential marketing agency, The Concierge Club is here to teach you a thing or two about orchestrating a successful gala. This is an extensive yet concise gala event planning checklist we’ve created for you: 

Pre-gala Event Planning Checklist 

1. Form a Gala Planning Committee

A gala wouldn’t be possible without a planning committee! Gather your most trusted employees and assign them tasks. Don’t forget to separate your members into different teams so their job descriptions are clear:

• Logistics Team
• Sponsorship Team
• Entertainment and Program Team
• Media and Public Relations Team
• Decorations Team

2. Determine Your Gala Goals and Budget

With your planning committee, create goals for the gala to streamline your process. A clear purpose will help you form a realistic strategy to tackle the event and settle on a realistic budget for the project. The goal of your gala can be any of the following:

• A charity fundraising gala
• An awards ceremony
• A celebratory corporate event

3. Create a Gala Planning Timeline

A specific timeline will keep your gala planning on track. This schedule will serve as a guide, preventing you from leaving out any essential preparation details. 

You can find a gala event timeline template online to ease your load! This document outlines your schedule, meaning all you need to do is fill it out.

4. Select a Theme and Venue

A successful gala needs a grandiose theme! Having one adds the spice you need to make your event one for the books. When deciding on a gala theme, your event should be the bridge between reality and fantasy. Decorating your space with ethereal elements creates a ‘wow’ factor, engaging your guests to support the event’s goal. 

Be sure to find a venue that contributes to your gala theme! Host a private event by choosing an exclusive location with pre-determined designs that fit your event’s decorations.

5. Acquire Sponsorships

Given the sophistication of galas, it’s no surprise they require higher funding. One of the ways to make that possible is by acquiring sponsorships. In exchange for monetary support, businesses benefit from your event through advertising and perks. Securing sponsors also paves the way for long-term business partnerships. 

6. Arrange Attractive Event Features

Prepare a gala event schedule to engage your guests by having them look forward to what’s to come. Make their experience enticing by adding key program events like the following:

• Gala dinner activities
• VIP event speakers 
• Auctions 
• Live music and performances
• Awarding
• Raffle draws

7. Curate a Well-Rounded Food and Drinks Menu

Stun your guests by preparing a full-course dinner. A great caterer and a dinner proposal are the keys to a mouth-watering menu. Expert chefs and baristas have the talent to produce high-quality dishes and drinks, respectively. 

8. Assemble Your Guest List

Your visitors are the stars of the show. This is the time to list significant people such as donors, sponsors, employees, consumers, and supporters. 

9. Distribute Invitations

Create unique invitations for the gala. Match its decoration to the chosen theme and include details of the event. Reading the invitation should give the guests an idea of where and when the event will take place, what to wear, and the gala’s purpose. 

Event Day Checklist 

1. Complete Last-Minute Preparations

Arriving early on the day of the event will give you time to spot problems and find solutions. Additionally, this is when you double-check that things have gone as planned. If not, prepare plans B to Z and have them on standby. 

2. Round up a Team of Professional Photographers

You need proof your amazing gala actually happened, so be sure to hire professional photographers and videographers. Task them with taking shots of the program, guests, decor, and other elements of the gala.

An experiential marketing trend you should try is live streaming your gala across various social media platforms so everyone can see what’s happening at your event. Don’t forget to add options to donate online so your viewers can support your gala’s purpose.

3. Welcome Your Guests and Show Them to Their Tables

Assemble your committee members and brief them on how to welcome the guests. Divide your team into two groups: one responsible for registration, and another assigned to ushering guests to their tables. 

Post-event Evaluation 

1. Review Goals and Budgets

Gather your committee a week after the event to conduct a post-event evaluation of the following:

• The budget and total expenses
• Whether event goals were met
• The final amount raised to be donated to a charity or cause

2. Evaluate Guest Participation

Identify the total number of guests that attended the gala and see if everyone participated in the program to determine who donated or supported your event goals.

3. Determine the Problems

Lastly, address what went wrong during your gala to pave the way for improvement. Ask your committee members to enumerate their challenges during the event. Compile the answers, then come up with solutions together to ensure they don’t happen again. 

Ready to Host the Gala of the Year? 

Planning a jam-packed gala alone is no easy task. Ticking all the boxes on your jam-packed event checklist can feel overwhelming, but what if it doesn’t have to be?

The Concierge Club is seasoned in planning experiential galas. Our team of experts will deliver what you need to make your gala event successful. 

Contact us now to see how we help with planning your gala!

No matter where we look, ads are simply everywhere—whether you’re scrolling on social media, watching a YouTube video, or flipping through the pages of a magazine. These types of B2C marketing, short for business-to-consumer, are what brands do to promote their products and services to us, their potential buyers.

Similarly, many companies use different B2B marketing strategies to promote their offers to other companies. If you’re a business owner looking for effective B2B marketing ideas, here are a few that never go out of style.

What is B2B Marketing?

B2B marketing, simply put, means business-to-business marketing. Unlike marketing directed toward consumers, B2B marketing targets other businesses.

Organizations buy products and services to support their operations, and they buy these from other organizations. Companies that sell institutional products and services use B2B marketing to promote their offers to other businesses. For example, packaging manufacturers will sell and promote their packaging materials to product manufacturers who need those materials to pack and distribute their own products.

Software companies that offer inventory monitoring software will sell their program to retailers who need a system to track and monitor the movement of their stock. With B2B marketing, companies are able to discover each other, and this can be done in many different ways.

Types of B2B Marketing That Any Business Can Do

1. Direct Selling

Even today, many companies still benefit from direct selling, especially those catering to very small niche markets. Direct selling can be done via email, over the phone, or in person.

When direct selling, it’s good to communicate your intention beforehand so you don’t annoy and drive away potential customers or violate protocols. Before you approach a potential client, it’s necessary to do your own research about their company and their pain points. This is your chance to address them directly and highlight benefits that will be most useful to them.

A good way to do this is to review their own products, services, customers, and operations first. Then, determine how to present your brand as the solution to their problem, a necessary convenience, or as an income generator.

2. B2B Experiential Marketing

Experiential marketing for B2B companies creates positive immersive experiences for your customers while being exposed to your brand. This can be through festivals, pop-up shops, in-store activities, hybrid events, and many more. Experiential marketing helps elevate awareness in ways that build your brand’s reputation and make it unforgettable.

Sampling and Trials

Sampling is considered both an awareness and experiential marketing tactic as it allows the customer to become familiar with and experience the product or service first-hand. With sampling, you can give your target client a chance to see how your product or service can directly benefit their organization. If their experience is positive, it can amplify the effect of your other marketing efforts and help convince them to buy into what you’re offering.

Trade Shows

Trade shows provide a venue for your target clients to gather and explore their options. Joining trade shows means you will be exposed to organizations in the same industry that will probably be interested in what you are offering, so you’ll have a good chance of acquiring new leads at the event. This is also a great way to observe your competitors and your target customers, get feedback or ideas, and find your own suppliers.

Business Galas

Business galas are great for strengthening existing relationships. With this type of B2B marketing, you can reward long-term clients or suppliers with good food, entertainment, and prizes. This makes them feel valued, which can help develop loyalty and maintain your partnerships.

3. Awareness Marketing

There are many types of awareness tactics that can be used in B2B marketing, but these are great for both small and large companies. They can even be done by startups with small budgets and little marketing experience.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is probably the easiest way any business can promote itself. It’s practically free, and you get to control what you show or say.

With content marketing, you can use your own website and social media accounts to share content (e.g., videos, articles, blogs, pictures, guides) that will help spread the word about your business. You can also use this type of content to attract followers and subscribers that you can reach out to for email and newsletter promotions.

Just remember that your content is not the same as your catalogue. Even if your content subtly features your products and services, you should be producing, uploading and sending content that is always useful and interesting for your target audience.

Targeted Advertising

Targeted advertising means showing ads to a specific audience. For example, if you’re a business that sells vaccines for farm animals, you can post a print ad in an industry magazine with a high subscription rate or buy ad space on an agriculture or farming website.

You can also take advantage of pay-per-click (PPC) search advertising that only shows your ad when a specific group of people search for similar products or keywords. With this type of B2B marketing, you’d only be required to pay when customers click your ad.

4. Press Releases

Publishing your achievements and projects helps increase awareness about your business and establishes credibility. When people see your brand on reputable websites and news channels or other public media, it helps them create an association between your brand and a specific need. PR materials serve as “news” and are a great way to start a conversation about your business, which can also help attract potential investors.

Another option is PR events. This B2B marketing strategy allows you to directly interact with your target clients and the press, entertain questions on the spot, and demonstrate the benefits of your products and services live.

PR events provide excellent opportunities to foster good relationships, encourage trials, and close deals. The trick here is to find the right balance between interesting and salesy, and create pleasant experiences that will help cement your purpose into your target customers’ minds.

5. Social Proof

Customers generally trust their peers more than they trust you. That’s why when they try to make decisions, they turn to their peers or other customers for feedback. As a way of manifesting safety in numbers, many base their decisions on word-of-mouth or majority experience. You can leverage this tendency by creating a platform for reviews and testimonials, such as a product review section on your product page. Of course, you’ll have to back it up with excellent products and services!

Top-Tier Experiential B2B Events Designed by The Concierge Club

Attempting to resonate with other businesses can be more taxing than selling to individual consumers. The demands, expectations, and risks are usually greater. When you run your campaign, you wouldn’t want your B2B marketing initiatives to miss your targets. You want to work with people who truly understand your customers.

Ensuring successful brand activations, experiential marketing setups, product launches, guerilla marketing stunts, and press releases begins at The Concierge Club. Our expert team is here to help design stunning solutions that are executed to perfection.

Making great and lasting impressions is our strong suit. If you work with us, we’ll help make your brand unforgettable.

Complacency isn’t in Sephora’s vocabulary. As a giant in the beauty industry, it’s integral that they stay ahead of the competition, and one of the ways the brand does that is through educational events.

This initiative brought SephoraCon to life, an experiential marketing event that gave Sephora staff the hands-on opportunity to gain deeper product knowledge about a variety of brands that are sold in their stores, test product samples, and network with product experts.

In collaboration with The Concierge Club, the participating businesses at the Sephora Brand Fair built and designed individual booths to house their product presentations. Each booth was thoughtfully planned to achieve uniqueness and tell a story that leaves you wanting more.

Keep scrolling to learn how they did it.

About Sephora

Sephora is on a mission to promote an intuitive in-store and online shopping experience that inspires fearlessness among customers. With over 2,700 stores worldwide, the personal care and beauty brand heralds itself as an industry-leading champion of inclusivity, diversity, and empowerment.

Since 1970, Sephora has been an open-sell environment that houses various products from curated brands, trusted classics, and even a titular collection. Because of its unparalleled logistics, Sephora is known all over the world. Its undeniable presence stands strong as it continues to provide unbiased services, innovation, and expansion.

As Sephora continues to wear its crown and sashay its way to the top of the beauty industry, a brand fair was held to further relationships with beauty and skincare lines under its umbrella. With the help of The Concierge Club, Sephora pulled a stunning event that will be remembered as one of the fairest of them all.

About The Concierge Club

The Concierge Club is a premium event and experiential marketing agency in Canada. Known for delivering luxury campaigns, the company continues to work with a long list of notable clients in North America.

When it comes to crafting experiences, The Concierge Club has perfected the art of making it unforgettable. As a 100% women, minority-owned organization, they know exactly how to break the mould and exceed a client’s needs. Through meticulous design inspiration, The Concierge Club are limit breakers that let the creativity flow freely through their work.

In the past, Sephora collaborated with The Concierge Club to host a Yves Saint Laurent pop-up in Canada. The event was draped in thematic decor and truly shined the spotlight on the beautiful products showcased by YSL.

The Strategy

With the help of The Concierge Club, Sephora hosted an immersive brand fair experience earlier this year showcasing some of the world’s biggest beauty brands. The event was held in the picturesque Niagara Falls, making the experience that much more memorable for attendees.

The purpose of the event was to “edutain” Sephora employees and brand teams from each head office, giving them the opportunity to build relationships with representatives of participating companies, test products, mingle, ask questions, and provide feedback.

The Concierge Club made the event possible by designing and creating custom-branded spaces for the following brands:

• MoroccanOil
• Tatcha
• Laneige
• Kayali Fragrances
• Huda Beauty
• Supergoop
• Summer Fridays
• Skinfix
• Olaplex
• Innisfree
• Laura Mercier
• Bare Minerals
• Milk Makeup

The Execution

The Concierge Club worked closely with each participating company to bring their vision to life—from conceptualizing the story element, to integrating an experience component. When it comes to brand fairs, you only have a few moments to spark initial interest and draw in the consumer. That’s why it’s just as important that your booth not only visually stands out, but also includes an immersive element that attendees can remember and talk about.

Every brand has a story worth telling, and The Concierge Club possesses the innate ability to tap into this element in order to build custom spaces that engage attendees. By creating on-brand cohesiveness, the message gets delivered and stays remembered. And that’s where the story of elevated brand awareness begins.

The Results

SephoraCon was a thriving success! Approximately 450 attendees were able to view live demonstrations, meet experts at some of the biggest beauty brands in the world, and learn more about the products they sell every day. This type of experiential marketing not only increases awareness for the brands that participate in the fair, but it also provides Sephora employees with the inside knowledge they need in order to build better relationships with Sephora customers.

From the perspective of the participating beauty brands, the Sephora Brand Fair was incredibly beneficial for them too. It was a perfect opportunity to introduce new products and services before they roll out on the shelves. Stories of beauty and innovation were immersed in—and now, it’s one for the books.

Events by The Concierge Club: The Fairest of Them All

Hosting a brand fair, conference, trade show, or corporate event lets you enjoy phenomenal benefits such as raising brand awareness, networking, and building a database. However, these are only yours to reap if the function is a success.

Make it a memorable experience with The Concierge Club, a premium experiential marketing agency that knows what it takes to inspire audiences to engage with your brand. Let’s make your events the fairest of them all.

Contact us today to learn more about our services.

Trade shows are a great way to engage new and existing clients, but how can you make the most of these in-person events? That’s where trade show marketing comes in. It ensures that your target attendees know about your upcoming show and are motivated to visit your booth.

However, your marketing campaign shouldn’t be limited to pre-show efforts. To get the best results, you’ll need to stay active before, during, and long after the trade show has ended.

Here are effective trade show marketing tips you can share with your team to help you earn more qualified leads, and ultimately, sales.

Pre-Show Marketing: Inviting Customers to Your Booth

Leverage Social Media

Social media is a great way to announce your future events and promos. Even without paid social media advertising, you can generate enough buzz to attract a good number of attendees.

When posting updates on social media, remember to support your campaign with a landing page. This is where you can focus on talking more about the event. It should feature the perks your customers can get when they set up an appointment or show up at your booth.

Send Email Campaigns

Not everyone will be able to see your social media posts, so take advantage of your customer database to reach out and email your most involved customers about the trade show. Give them a summary of what to expect and offer a token that can be claimed at the event. Make this giveaway exclusive to those who subscribed to your newsletter to encourage participation.

Post on Event Boards

There are many event boards online where you can announce upcoming events for everyone to see. These boards use tags for events, so people who are interested in particular categories can quickly see or get notifications about related posts. Many of these event boards are also free. Plus, you can link them to your social media account, website, or directly to your ticketing agent.

Use Paid Advertising

If you have a bigger budget, publish ads or press releases. Those who will see your ads are likely already interested in your product or service, so this is a good way to get potential customers. Paying for “patron” or “sponsor” status can also help promote your booth, as the organizer will surely include you in their promotional campaign.

Track Your Leads

When you send out promotional materials, create a way for your team to determine where you earned your leads. This can help you decide on your next event’s marketing plan. One way to do this is by using UTM (urchin tracking module) links when posting announcements online.

UTM URLs will allow you to see where your leads are coming from—specifically, you’ll know what they clicked to get to your event’s landing page. For example, customers can click on UTM links on your Facebook post or newsletter. Analyzing this kind of data can help you streamline your efforts and your budget so you don’t spend too much resources on methods that don’t help promote your event.

Prepare Your Booth and Materials

Aside from pre-show marketing, having an appealing booth can help attract people to your corner. You’ll need to prepare this before the event, but the effect will only be visible on the day itself.

Prepare comfortable seats, enticing visual aids, and product samples to encourage stops and inquiries. Handouts will also be helpful for potential customers looking for options but can’t make decisions on the spot. Make sure you provide them with something tangible to help with brand recall and recognition.

Trade Show Proper: Boosting Your Sales Potential

Observe Customer Behaviour

Take note of customer behaviour and feedback during the event. Don’t forget to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing. Most trade shows are at least three days long. If you didn’t do well on your first day, you can use customer feedback and behaviour to improve your performance in succeeding days.

Post Event Updates Online

Stir FOMO (fear of missing out) among your customers by showing them what they’re missing. Share actual pictures of customers getting free merchandise or discounts, snippets of learning materials exclusive to attendees, and what to look forward to the next day.

Post-Event: Following Up on Your Leads

Update Your Customer List

Make sure you add new contacts to your mailing list or customer database. Always have a sign-up form at your booth so that you can gather contact information like email addresses and mobile numbers. If they haven’t made a commitment yet, offer a limited-time or exclusive deal to encourage a purchase.

Contact Qualified Leads

After the event, make sure to reach out to potential customers who wished to be contacted. When you send an email, include as much information as possible to help them decide in your favour, without being too aggressive with your sales pitch.

Brag About Your Event

Give customers something to look forward to next year by posting about the event on your social media accounts, blogs, and newsletter. Even if they weren’t able to attend, they can still hear about new products and services and possibly reach out to you about them.

Get Help From the Experts in Trade Show Marketing

Do you have plenty of ideas but need help with executing them? It’s time to contact trade show marketing masters like The Concierge Club.

Our experiential marketing experts are some of the best in the industry. From promoting and organizing your trade show to setting up a booth, we’ve got you covered.

If you’re looking to get the highest possible return out of your trade show budget, call our event crew now. We’ll help map out the best trade show marketing and event plan for you.

Hybrid events are similar to TV broadcasts where you have both live and remote audiences. Unlike live streams, hybrid events are made of similar but not identical experiences. In a hybrid event, your live and virtual audiences will perceive slightly different content.

Your virtual audience will not have firsthand experience of the on-site performances, freebies, activities and even scents. To compensate, you can give them benefits and adventures that can only be accessed remotely during hybrid events.

The key is to make it worthwhile, not only for the people who are physically present, but also for remote viewers.

Let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of how to plan a hybrid event for maximum impact.

7 Tips for Planning Your Next Hybrid Event

   1. Identify Your Why

Why are you planning this hybrid event? Is it a promotional campaign? Do you intend to make money during the event? These are just some of the important considerations you should keep in mind.

Your why, or purpose, will determine the kind of audience you need to attract as well as the event program itself. Other details like the event schedule, location, type of media, and duration will also be dictated by your purpose.

The “why” serves as the foundation for your event plan. After you’ve identified the reasons for the event, the next step is to decide on what to showcase.

   2. Engage the Senses

When creating your event program, remember this formula: see + hear + feel = total experience.

• See: What do you intend to show your audience? Is there going to be a performance? Is it a demonstration? Will they learn something? Is it a surprise?
• Hear: What do you want them to hear? How do you want them to hear it? Are they supposed to hear the same thing at the same time?
• Feel: What are they supposed to encounter? How can they interact with you and the rest of the audience? What are they supposed to feel during and after the event? Is the event supposed to change their perception about something?

It’s important to stimulate as many senses as possible when conducting hybrid events. The more immersed the audience is, the more likely they are to have a positive experience of your brand.

Your virtual audience will be experiencing the event differently, so you need to make every second count. Create special activities for the virtual attendees and keep them engaged while your live event participants enjoy on-site perks.

Let’s say your event includes product testing for a new makeup brand. In this case, you can create a virtual product testing room for your remote audience.

   3. Let the Games Begin!

People love games, so why not apply this principle to your next hybrid event? Create ice-breakers for your virtual audience during transitions to keep them involved. While your live audience explores the venue for activations, you can run interactive mini games and hand out virtual gifts to winners. This will make them feel that they are truly a part of the occasion.

Not sure what to do? Here are some interactive games that you can do during hybrid events. The best part? they also help enhance brand recall:

• Unscramble letters with the product name.
• Guess who/what is on the screen.
• Scavenger hunt for discount codes that randomly appear throughout the event.

Many people have short attention spans, which become even shorter during hybrid events. To keep them hooked, limit each segment of your event to 10 or 15 minutes long. This helps prevent bored viewers from disconnecting or leaving. It also gives everyone a chance to take breaks without missing too much.

   4. Select the Right Platform

Hybrid events require both physical and virtual venues, so be prepared to scout for both.

With physical venues, you need to consider accessibility, capacity, built-in equipment, and cost. With hybrid events, you’ll rarely need a big space for your live audience. On average, one-third to half of your target audience is expected to attend virtually.

When it comes to virtual event platforms, it’s a bit more complicated. To maximize attendance and engagement, you’ll want to use a universal platform, one that does not require additional steps such as downloading software.

You’ll also want to work with knowledgeable staff for your hybrid event, especially people who know how to use different digital platforms. They should also know how to transition from one scene to another, broadcast different scenes, add subtitles or pop-ups, and more.

   5. Choose the Best Tools

One of the most difficult parts of running hybrid events is equipment selection and preparation. Here, you’ll need someone who has expertise in operating high-tech equipment. How they handle your equipment will affect how good your hybrid event will turn out.

Here are some of the equipment you’ll need for a hybrid event:

• HD cameras
• Wireless and wired microphones
• Lighting
• High-quality sound system
• Recording system (for airing an edited version of your event)
• Ticketing system
• Security system
• Several monitors (e.g., for teleprompting, for production staff, for showing marketing materials)
• Projectors
• Internet connection
• Computers
• Switches, splitters, and cords

If your budget is limited, your best option is to find a production company that can offer technical support to your team. Many production companies offer different options, from renting their equipment to providing full production support.

   6. Review, Rehearse and Prepare!

Just like you do with traditional events, you’ll need to review your event plan, rehearse beforehand, and prepare a contingency plan.

Before hosting your hybrid event, it is important to keep your team informed and updated at all times. Not only will this help make your event preparation easier, but it will also prevent accidents and mistakes that can cost a lot of money.

Make sure to do a run-through with the event hosts, production crew, and a sample audience. This will help you spot flaws and correct them before broadcast. It will also give you a good idea about what to change in case you found the event lacking.

   7. Set an Emergency Plan

Most importantly, create a plan to counter accidents and other unforeseen incidents.

For hybrid events, you can produce pre-recorded segments and backup presentations to show to your virtual audience when you encounter a technical problem. You can also assign remote staff to back up footage in case the system at your physical location fails.

Seamless Execution by The Concierge Club

Overwhelmed by the amount of work that goes into hybrid events? Set those fears aside and let The Concierge Club manage your hybrid events.

Our crew has thousands of hours of experience in setting up and conducting different kinds of experiences, both in-person and virtual. We have already figured out the pain points involved so you don’t have to.

If you want to keep your audiences engaged wherever they are, give us a call. We’ll help plan and execute the perfect hybrid event for you.

Surprise!

That’s the idea behind pop-up events and shops.

Pop-ups fall under “pull marketing” tactics. The idea is to draw people towards your brand instead of directly “pushing” or promoting your products or services.

The goal of pop-up marketing is to pique interest. They help you start conversations about your brand and develop relationships with new customers. These surprise events and temporary shops encourage them to check out your product and make a purchase.

When done right, pop-up events and shops drive brand equity and increase revenue without exceeding your marketing budget.

What Are Pop-Up Events?

Pop-up events are temporary and unexpected events showing up in unique spaces. They are meant to surprise people and create awareness.

Pop-up events are disruptive, that’s why they are effective at promoting advocacies. These events draw people’s attention better than billboard ads and outdoor advertising. However, pop-ups are not only for special causes. Brands can definitely use pop-up events to generate buzz and divert attention away from their competitors.

Although pop-up events are traditionally carried out in person, they can also be broadcasted live over the internet. This allows more people to join and witness the commotion. The more interactive the event, the longer people will remember your brand. 

What Are Pop-Up Shops?

Pop-up shops, also called flash retailing, refers to a small and temporary sales outlet at a random location. For example, you can set up a stall in a shopping mall, school, weekend market, event space, or community centre. You may also have a pop-up store that only sells products during the holiday season.

These pop-up shops are a good way to invite attention. You can offer free samples and flash sales so that customers can try out your products in person. Make sure you have a representative who can fully explain your products and answer questions. 

What Are the Benefits of Pop-Up Marketing? 

Make a Positive Impression 

Pop-up events and shops are a good way to generate qualified leads. More than the additional revenue, pop-up events are best for creating memorable associations with the brand. Positive experiences will help them develop a deeper appreciation of your products and services.

You want your customers to remember you as the authority on a specific topic or the best source for a certain product. Brand associations can intensify trust and loyalty, which has a long-term positive effect on your reputation and sales.

Create a Sense of Urgency 

When people hear of news about a promo or a limited-edition item being offered, they tend to jump at the chance. Pop-ups allow you to leverage “FOMO,” or the fear of missing out. Not only that, but they also end up talking about it to their peers. The short duration creates a sense of urgency. This prompts the customer to make quick purchases so they can get a “steal.”  When done well, this will allow you to hit your sales target in slow months.

Test the Market Response

Pop-up events and shops are also great for testing market response to new products and getting direct feedback from customers, which you can use as a reference for product development. They also help promote your product to people who might not be aware of your brand. Most importantly, they help create additional revenue for and awareness about nearby branches when your physical stores aren’t attracting enough traffic.

Sell Older Inventory

In some cases, you can offload older stock during a pop-up event or in a seasonal store. You can give them away as freebies in exchange for contact information, which you can use in email marketing campaigns.

Giving away tiered freebies will also help boost sales as customers will see them as a reward. Take note that keeping aging inventory can be expensive since you need to pay for storage space. You also lose capital when older products expire or get damaged over time.  

Should You Organize a Pop-Up? 

Pop-up events and stores are a great way to stay relevant when the market is saturated by similar products. It lets smaller businesses go against the bigger brands, especially if you don’t have the budget for bigger activations. 

If you want to know if pop-up events and shops would be good for your brand and how best to execute them, get in touch with our team at The Concierge Club.

Our event and customer insight experts are the best in the industry when it comes to experiential marketing. We’ve successfully organized product launches for B2B and corporate audiences, PR events, and trade shows. 

If your brand needs a little boost, let us know. Pop-up events and shops could be the glow-up your brand needs.

Have you ever been inside a concept store?

A concept store is a shop that sells a curated selection of products or services that correspond to a certain theme. These themes are often centred around specific lifestyles, but they can also be about certain topics or interests. There are concept stores that focus on niche interests in fashion, electronics, entertainment, sports, and so on. 

The contents of a concept store are usually a mix of several brands from different product categories. However, you’ll notice that a concept store’s design and layout converge with the main theme. This is intended to create a cohesive and immersive experience for shoppers.

Because concept stores attract specific audiences, offer unique items, and encourage interaction, they often serve as social hubs. It is this aspect that traditional stores may find difficult to replicate, even with in-store promos and campaigns. 

Concept Stores vs. Themed Stores

Concept stores and themed stores are similar, but they are not interchangeable terms. To start off, not all themed stores are concept stores.

The main difference between a concept store and a themed store is that themed stores usually feature just one brand. In contrast, concept stores always offer multibrand or unbranded options.

Themed brand stores aim to create an exclusive relationship with a shopper and reduce competition. They often focus on themes that are relevant to the brand or their target market. It is a form of branded experience.

On the other hand, a concept store focuses on a specific interest, with no preference for any particular brand. It aims to offer as many products, services, and activities related to the theme as possible. 

As a result, communities tend to form around concept stores. These communities include both shoppers and retailers who share a common interest. 

How Do Retailers Benefit From Concept Stores? 

We already know that people enjoy going to concept stores, but what do store owners and brands get from these establishments?

Concept stores help strengthen brand recall by creating a memorable experience. They also help increase positive word-of-mouth, which can help increase awareness and engagement. All these things result in a boost in sales.

Brands that get featured in concept stores share the same benefits. For newer brands, it is a good way to get discovered by potential customers in their target market. Since concept stores aren’t limited to a single brand or product category, there’s always something to explore there for the customer. This helps retailers sell more products.

What Are the Characteristics of a Successful Concept Store?

Given the competitive nature of retail, what are the hallmarks of a successful concept store? How can a concept store set them apart from the competition?

Bring Novelty

While traditional stores focus on the latest trends, concept stores are known for offering unique, quirky, and hard-to-find items. Use original concept store ideas that will spark curiosity and encourage customers to enter your store. 

Encourage Interaction

Adding experiential or interactive elements can help enhance its appeal and boost recall. For example, you can offer online, face-to-face, or hybrid events. You can also give freebies to encourage reciprocity and repeat business.

Create a Sense of Urgency

There’s a reason why “FOMO” (fear of missing out) is a catchphrase. Most people hate missing out on products or experiences. Use this to your advantage by offering short-term or exclusive on-site deals that will encourage consumers to make an impulse purchase. Another way to stir excitement is by releasing teasers before new items are up for sale. 

Leverage Social Media

Just because yours is a brick-and-mortar store does not mean you can’t connect to your customers online. Use your website and social media accounts to keep your customers updated. Offer deals and post content of the brands that are being featured in your concept store to encourage them to shop in person. These virtual communities can help you reach a wider audience.

Use Flexible Designs 

A concept store needs constant updating to stay fresh and interesting. As such, you’ll need modular store components that can easily be restructured, moved, and redesigned. Your setup should accommodate promos, seasonal displays, events, product updates and more. Don’t forget to pay attention to lighting, as it can drastically change and improve your store’s interior design.

Understand Customer Psychology

The key to successfully running a concept store is knowing how your target customers think. Stay relevant by understanding what they need, what makes them happy, why and when they buy, and how best to serve them. Get customer feedback so you know which strategies work and which ones need to be changed.

Break the Mould With The Concierge Club

A concept store is all about providing a fascinating customer experience from day one. Your grand opening paves the way for future business, so make it spectacular. From the idea, to the decor, to your main event, our event specialists can make your store unforgettable and engage your customers in ways ordinary launch parties can’t. 

If you want to create a memorable experience for your customers and keep them coming back, talk to us at The Concierge Club and we’ll help make your concept store the talk of your town (and beyond).

Experiential marketing is all about engaging customers and other relevant stakeholders. This can be done through event marketing executions such as conferences, product showcases, guerilla marketing, brand activations, and so on.  

Here at The Concierge Club, we believe that the best experiential marketing campaigns are targeted, memorable, and engagement-worthy. In this article, we cover experiential marketing examples in 2022 that have ticked all the boxes. 

Let’s get started!

1. Albourne’s Stunning Corporate Conference

Albourne’s annual corporate conference took on another level of storytelling, luxury, and artistry this 2022. 

The objective was to create an experience that was nostalgic, iconic, and premium at the same time—and that is exactly what was achieved. We chose various themes to highlight for the corporate event, including Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Bloodsuckers Ball, and Come From Away. When woven into a brand’s story, nods to a horror musical, a classic gothic horror film, and a suspenseful Canadian musical worked together to create an experience that attendees will talk about for a long time.

Each theme had carefully arranged experiential elements, exquisite decor, and matching performances to wow Albourne’s 450 guests throughout each stage of the conference. It’s truly one of the best event marketing examples of 2022.  

2. The Launch of Valentino Beauty

Next on our list of experiential marketing examples is the launch of Valentino Beauty, a new beauty line by Valentino Garavani. This particular execution showed the combined power of experiential marketing and influencer marketing. 

Early this year, we at The Concierge Club had the pleasure of creating an immersive product launch event that celebrates beauty, colour, and creativity. World-renowned beauty experts and notable beauty influencers like Liz Kapran, Samantha Guerrero, and Izzi partook in the event. Attendees witnessed a tutorial and masterclass that showcased the inclusivity and range of the beauty line. 

The event was a massive success and generated plenty of share-worthy content on social media.

3. Sephora x YSL Beauty

Sephora, a French multinational retailer in the personal care and beauty industry, carries 300+ brands along with its own private label. This year, The Concierge Club helped launch YSL Beauty popups for Sephora Canada.  

The YSL pop-up experience was made memorable with thematic decor and beautifully showcased fragrances, red lipsticks, mascaras, and much more. To make the experience even more festive, a DJ was present on the scene to drop the beats and elevate the vibe.

4. Kind’s Secret Farmer’s Market

Surprise and delight have always been key components in successful marketing campaigns. And KIND Snacks, a healthy snack food company, took it to a whole new level. 

To emphasize the brand’s focus on healthy eating, KIND set up faux vending machines in New York. These vending machines led to a secret farmer’s market where fresh produce was given away. 

The element of surprise and novelty resulted in the campaign getting major traction on social media. All in all, more than 8,000 people participated. This is truly one of the best experiential marketing examples of 2022. 

5. CSAA Insurance Group’s Rickroll

Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” is a memorable hit song and meme. It is the song involved in the fun internet prank known as “Rickrolling.” 

Rickrolling started in 2007. Although it has had its ups and downs in popularity, it is still done to this day. This proves that some memes really stand the test of time—and CSAA Insurance cleverly leveraged this timeless meme.

This 2022, CSAA Insurance Group “Rickrolled” people with QR codes on billboards. But instead of the standard Rickroll, the QR code led to a 30-second video collaboration with Rick Astley himself and CSAA’s reps singing their promise to “never let you down.”

Because it cleverly used both digital and physical marketing elements to create a funny and surprising experience, it will always be remembered as one of the best experiential marketing events that happened this year.     

Create Captivating Events with The Concierge Club

This wraps up our list of the best experiential marketing campaigns and event marketing examples of 2022. 

Are you looking to drive engagement for your brand with your own unique experiential marketing idea? As a premium event and experiential marketing agency, The Concierge Club is here to make it happen. 

Launch your next memorable corporate event and experiential marketing execution with us. We are a premier agency known for revolutionizing the experiential marketing scene one event at a time.

Get in touch with us today to learn more.

Marketing trends never stay the same. They come and go as brands learn to leverage new technology.

A few trends may have dominated 2022, but this could all change next year. What do marketing experts see on the horizon for 2023?

1. Experience Marketing

In 2023, millennials will continue to prioritize brands that give them memorable experiences or make them feel happy. And for this generation, happiness isn’t focused on material things and career status; it’s about creating memories through meaningful encounters.

This supports the growth of an economy driven by the consumption of experiences. In fact, research has shown that over 55% of young consumers are spending more on events and live experiences than ever before.

That means we will see more experiential marketing—or campaigns that engage consumers in activities that have emotional appeal—in 2023.

2. Influencer Marketing

Word-of-mouth advertising has always been one of the best marketing strategies. Now, it has taken a new form through influencer marketing. 

People are more likely to try a brand if it has been recommended by someone they know and trust. So, brands are seizing the chance to build more authentic connections with their target audience by appointing long-term brand ambassadors.

This form of social media marketing isn’t exactly new—it picked up steam in 2022. However, marketing experts predict it will keep its pace in 2023.

About 89% of marketers who are currently engaged in influencer marketing will increase, or at least maintain, their investment in the coming year. 17% of marketers are projected to invest in it for the first time in 2023, making it a popular marketing tactic on the rise.

3. Short-Form Videos

Another one of the marketing trends that took 2022 by storm and is predicted to carry over in 2023 is the unique experience that short-form videos offer.

While long-form videos offer large amounts of information about a brand, marketers have learned that getting to the point with short-form videos is much more effective. Not only does it take less bandwidth, but it also aligns with the short attention span of online audiences across a variety of demographics.

This is the reason why TikTok and Instagram Reels have quickly gained traction in 2022. About 90% of marketers using short-form videos will increase or maintain their investment in 2023. In addition, one in five marketers will leverage it for the first time next year.

4. Acceleration of AI Adoption

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is slowly gaining traction among B2B companies, mostly through virtual customer service options such as chatbots. In 2023, experts predict AI will expand from customer service to marketing.

It can help provide insights into which strategies work best for specific segments and audiences. Some PR tech tools can even link sales outcomes to earned media coverage. 

This kind of technology is one of the marketing trends that is still in its infancy stage. But it is predicted to grow massively in terms of iterating paid ads, testing the effectiveness of ads on a massive scale, and projecting and calculating accurate ROIs. All of this could happen in 2023.

5. Enhancing User Experience Using AR and VR

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have many applications in sales and marketing. 

For example, IKEA has started using AR technology to immerse consumers during the buying process. The tech helps them visualize how products would look once placed in their homes. 

Warby Parker trended because of their app’s try-on feature, where users can virtually try on a pair of WP glasses. And the technology isn’t an avatar but a nearly life-like preview of how the glasses would look on you. This helps consumers make a more informed decision and reduces the likelihood of returns.

6. Cohesive Customer Experiences

In 2023, we’ll see more marketers create campaigns, not through a “campaign-only” lens, but  with more focus on giving consumers a cohesive experience.

Brand recognition across various platforms—websites, apps, customer portals, social media pages, etc.—is still important. But what’s even more crucial is how seamless the experience is when a customer traverses these platforms. 

Each platform should be familiar without looking identical and this cohesive experience could be achieved by consistent branding, familiar visual elements, a standardized structure and labelling system, and cross-device compatibility.

Keep Up with 2023 Marketing Trends

In marketing, it’s crucial to stay on top of trends to remain relevant. That’s what we do at The Concierge Club, a premium event and experiential marketing agency. 

We continue to educate ourselves, embrace the latest marketing trends, and incorporate them into our clients’ branding strategy during events, so they stay ahead of their competitors.

Get in touch with us if you want your brand to be ready for 2023 with extraordinary events. 

What started as an idea to enlighten and entertain clients, employees, and stakeholders, Albourne was committed to hosting this year’s annual corporate conference in a way they never had before. This October, they partnered with The Concierge Club to bring their vision to life with a series of momentous occasions.

In true Concierge Club fashion, the event was transformed into more than just a conference. It combined art and culture with top-tier entertainment—which was a clear representation of just how much Albourne values and takes care of its people.

About Albourne

Albourne Partners Limited is one of the largest providers of research and advice on alternative and complicated assets such as hedge funds, private equity, and real estate.

Albourne’s mission is to empower people to become successful investors. They have helped over 300 clients including foundations, financial intermediaries, public and corporate pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and family offices.

Just like in past years, Albourne held its annual conference to show the company’s commitment to its clientele—this time, with the help of a top experiential events company, The Concierge Club.

About The Concierge Club

The Concierge Club is a luxury event and experiential marketing agency in Canada. With a long list of clients including Sephora, Hewlett Packard, Hyundai, Guerlain, and Cadillac Fairview, the company has carved out a name for itself in the industry.

The Concierge Club’s renowned ability to create unique events and experiences is a testament to the agency’s attention to detail, imagination, and creativity. It is also proudly a 100% all-women, minority-owned organization.

The Strategy

This year, Albourne wanted to give guests an elevated experience. They came to The Concierge Club with venue options and what themes they would like to play on with one simple caveat: nothing was to be “Halloween.”

While the events were planned for October, The Concierge Club drew inspiration from the heart of the ideas behind the vision: luxury arts and culture.

The four themes were as follows: Time Warp, The Bloodsucker’s Ball, The Laboratory, and Come From Away. Each theme speaks to what Albourne wanted guests to experience—arts, culture, and luxurious entertainment, all hosted in a variety of Toronto’s most stunning venues across the city.

The Execution

Time Warp

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a musical-comedy-horror film —a film that is still considered by many as one of the greatest of all time. Ahead of its time, the film has become a cult classic by celebrating a world of conformity through iconic music, dressing in drag, and hilarious tongue-in-cheek dialogue.

The Time Warp is an homage to the song and dance that’s performed at the beginning of the film, when unassuming Brad and Janet enter a mysterious castle. Hosted in Toronto’s historic castle-style mansion in the city, Casa Loma, it was the perfect venue to bring Time Warp to life in a larger-than-scale setup.

From the draping of the red curtains, to the velvet couches, all the way to the striking paintings of Mona Lisa—The Concierge Club didn’t miss a single detail in planning the Time Warp event.
Guests were welcome to walk around, talk, eat, and be entertained in a setting that completely immersed them as if they were part of the film.

The Laboratory

Along the same vein, The Laboratory event is another nod to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The owner of the castle is discovered to be Dr. Frank N. Furter, an apparently mad scientist who created a muscle man named Rocky in his laboratory.

The same careful attention to detail was given to The Laboratory theme:

Pink walls, pink tiles, long draping curtains, and statues of sculpted men are seen in the man scientists’ laboratory in the film.

The Bloodsucker’s Ball

The Bloodsucker’s Ball was an adaptation of the movie, “Interview With The Vampire.” For this event, the venue, located in the Palais Royal Ballroom in Toronto, was set up to include striking visuals that exuded mystery, darkness, and romance.

The performances included a stunning “Vampire Waltz,” which was choreographed by top Canadian dancer and choreographer, Hollywood Jade. This was followed by a dance contest to get the attendees involved.

Come From Away

The Come From Away theme was based on the popular Canadian musical and book of the same name. The venue was set up to have a Newfoundland feel. Even the activities such as cornhole and life-size Jenga were carefully chosen to achieve the same effect. But more than that, it also aims to project human kindness during a dark time.

This event was executed at Hotel X in Toronto, and had a very different feel from the other Albourne events. Light and airy, mixed with nautical elements, the event showcased the rich culture behind Canada’s art scene and history.

The Results

It takes a team of visionaries and dedicated event planners, facilitators, and marketing experts to make the event a premium, luxurious, and creative experience. Another crucial strategy to make corporate events like this work is open and clear communication, not just within the theme, but with vendors and suppliers as well.

No detail was considered too small. From exquisite chandeliers and seating to curated performances, the team at The Concierge Club worked through all the nitty-gritty details to create an elevated, immersive experience for Albourne and their conference guests.

There were over 450 guests that attended each event—that’s a lot more than the expected turnout and certainly more than the number of attendees who participated last year. Post-event surveys also showed guests were happy with the experience and because of that, they were eager to join next year’s conference.

Additionally, the client provided feedback post-event to share their experience: “The Concierge Club has state of the art customer care, they make you feel like part of the team, but at the same time, calms your nerve and worry around the event because you know it will be taken care of. They are creative and they get you excited about their plan of action. It’s exciting to see it all come together in the way you envisioned and more.- Jennifer Oldham, Albourne”

Corporate Events with Beauty and Brains

There are many ways to ensure the success of an event, but getting to know your client on a holistic level while identifying new trends and demands so you can develop effective marketing strategies in the future is key.

If you want your conference or corporate event to be a unique experience for your guests, we can help. The Concierge Club is a premium experiential marketing agency that transforms events into immersive experiences.

Get in touch with us today to learn more.

Of course you want to wow your guests—from curated Instagram moments to memorable experiences your attendees rave about the next day. The success of your event all comes down to a few crucial elements that could make or break the attendee experience. 

In this article, we dive deeper into the seven unique event elements you need to keep in mind so you can make your next corporate or private event, tradeshow, or expo a trending moment. 

1. Event Design

Humans are highly visual creatures; we are instinctively attracted to anything beautiful.

We are also drawn to good design—so don’t underestimate the little details when planning your event. If you want your attendees to have the experience of their lives, everything matters: the lighting, colour palette, centrepieces, and the vibe of the venue all collectively combine to create an experience. No element should be overlooked—it has to be a haven of Instagrammable moments. 

But event design doesn’t end with the physical details. It involves orchestrating the entire experience with the attendees at its centre: ease of registration, seamless service, getting the ambiance right, and even the envisionment of group dynamics.

When event design is done right, your guests will remember your brand in the narrative you created. 

2. Format

Should you opt for a virtual, hybrid, or in-person format?

Different event formats have their own pros and cons. Choosing one that best fits the kind of event you’re planning is key to a spectacular turnout. 

While the pandemic was in full swing, many events took place online. Although relatively inexpensive, the major disadvantage of purely online events is that they are less immersive. Physical events also present a more conducive environment for networking. 

Another event format that has gained traction since the pandemic is the hybrid event setup, which provides the best of both worlds as they attract both in-person and virtual attendees. 

3. Venue

The venue plays a key role in the attendee experience.

You need to have eye-catching decor that creates the ambiance you’re aiming for. But aside from the visuals, thought must also be given to other factors such as accessibility, providing nearby parking, sufficient space for the attendees to walk around, WiFi, etc. 

Careful venue selection, with the help of a top-notch event agency can save you a tremendous amount of time and effort while maximizing results. Dreaming up a space that shines the spotlight on your brand will become easier than ever. 

4. Seating Arrangements

Although seating arrangements are not typically seen as one of the unique elements of events that can make them stand out, this aspect of planning deserves careful consideration. 

When choosing from theatre-style, herringbone seating, banquet-style, or crescent half rounds, pay attention to what guests might need. Do they have to comfortably see the stage for a presentation? Do they need to talk to each other, or maybe both? 

Would the attendees need space for breakout sessions and to move around so they can network easily? These are key questions to ask when choosing the best seating plan for your event.

5. Content & Flow

The content and program flow also need to be strategically planned to become unique event elements. It’s essential to keep the audience entertained while providing them with valuable content at the same time. 

This is especially important for the events below:

• Commercial events;
• Corporate events;
• Conferences;
• Summits;
• Product launches;
• Tradeshows; and 
• Shareholder or board meetings. 

6. Speakers and Presenters

Well-chosen keynote speakers and presenters will help create a memorable experience for attendees. For this reason, speakers and presenters are one of the focal points of pre-event promotions. 

The speakers themselves can also play a role in promoting your event. They can share it on their social media and therefore widen the reach of the event.

7. Immersive Experiences

Incorporating unique event elements that provide immersive and interactive experiences will make your event unforgettable. 

Having an app for the event or featuring a photo booth and immersive art are unique event elements that you can use to engage attendees. 

One-of-a-Kind Events with The Concierge Club

To create a memorable and seamless event, you need to put your guests’ needs at the forefront of your decisions.

The Concierge Club is a premier agency that never fails to combine all these unique event elements to make it an immersive experience for your attendees, no matter if it’s virtual or in person. Founded on the belief that each campaign should be “one for the books,” The Concierge Club strives for nothing less than excellence.

Start envisioning events that impress. Get in touch today to learn more!

Use it or lose it. 

That’s how it usually works when it comes to accounting for the end-of-year marketing budget. If you don’t utilize your budget this year, it will be hard to justify the same budget for the upcoming year.

But spending money simply for the sake of spending it isn’t optimal. It wastes financial resources and forces you to make random decisions that have little or no benefit to the company at all.

So, if you’re sitting on some extra funds by the end of the year and are looking for ways on how to spend them wisely, here are seven ideas that might inspire you:

7 Savvy Ways To Spend Your Marketing Budget:

• Lay the Foundation for Q1 Next Year
• Invest in New Marketing Tools
• Invest in Your Team
• Upgrade Your Events
• Secure a Prominent Keynote Speaker
• Pay for Next Year’s Travel Expenses
• Thank Your Team With a Little End-Of-Year Party

Use Your Excess Marketing Budget to… 

1. Lay the Foundation for Q1 Next Year

Using your remaining 2022 budget to lay the foundation for the first quarter of 2023 is a great way to spend it. This is especially helpful if January, February, and March are your slow months and you have new and increased key performance indicators to hit.

To prepare for this lull, you can start your lead generation efforts in December. Hopefully, these leads will be converted into paying customers by Q1 of the following year.

Also, if you’ll be requiring additional marketing collateral such as flyers, banners, and brochures in January, why not set yourself up for success and prepare them at the end of the year? 

2. Invest in New Marketing Tools

Have you been thinking of upgrading your software, purchasing marketing automation, social listening tools, and other marketing tools that will help boost your department’s performance? Now’s the time to do just that. 

Most of these tools are subscription-based, so they are convenient places to stash your marketing budget surplus. They will definitely streamline your work processes!
Here are some of the tools you might consider investing in:

• Canva for easy graphic animation, video, and image designs;
• InfusionSoft for automated email marketing campaigns;
• Grammarly Premium for effective content marketing;
• Buffer to automate your social media posting; and/or
• Ahrefs to track keyword performance, analyze content, and perform backlink analysis. 

Subscribing to software that could automate some of your existing manual processes could save you time and money in the long run. 

3. Invest in Your Team

You can set your team up for success in the following year by investing in training and online courses that would help improve or expand their skills. 

You could also allow them to choose the training they want as an incentive or reward for their performance in the current year. Encouraging your team to learn something new will result in multiple wins for the company: more productive brainstorming sessions, more polished projects, smarter work strategies, etc.

 Check out these courses from these well-known online e-training sites:

• LinkedIn Learning to help you discover and develop business, technology, and creative skills through expert-led course videos;
• Hubspot Academy for practical courses on marketing, sales, and business skills;
• Coursera to gain access to massive open online courses and specializations; and
• Udemy for courses on design, development, marketing, social media, music, business, and personal development.

4. Upgrade Your Event Venues

Are you planning a large conference in 2023? Big events require wider spaces which, more often than not, require a higher budget and advanced bookings.

You can use your spare marketing budget by securing a better venue for your event next year. But not just any venue—an upgraded one in a better location. Great events begin with an impressive venue; they leave a lasting impression on attendees and delegates and encourage them to return to your succeeding events.

5. Secure a Prominent Keynote Speaker

While we’re securing an exciting venue, why not pair your event with a prominent keynote speaker? It will surely help push ticket sales early—and ensure your event’s success next year.         

6. Pay for Next Year’s Travel Expenses

Have you and/or your team always wanted to travel to a different city/country for a symposium, conference, or any company-related event? If it wasn’t in the budget before, now’s your chance to go to that event you’ve been wanting to attend—using your leftover marketing budget.

These days, the best way to travel isn’t to make last-minute plans because the early bird definitely catches the cheapest airfares.

7. Thank Your Team With a Little End-Of-Year Party

This year, you and your team are bound to have worked hard to propel the company forward.

Take this chance to thank your team for their efforts, for sticking with the company through thick and thin, and for going above and beyond. Celebrate your success with a little branded swag to show your gratitude for their contributions and to gear them up for the coming year. 

Celebrate in Style with The Concierge Club

With all the effort your team has put in this year, they deserve nothing less than the best. Use your leftover marketing budget to reward them with a one-of-a-kind celebration to show just how much you appreciate them.

And we’re here to help make that happen.

The Concierge Club makes every corporate and private celebration it plans and executes—no matter how lavish or inconceivable—truly one-of-a-kind. If you want the same for your team, get in touch with us so we can plan a celebration that’s one for the books!

If you want your brand to gain attention from the right crowds, join a trade show. But if you want to leave a lasting impression on your guests and clients, throw an epic trade show after party!

Afterparties are a whole lot of fun, but they’re not easy to put together. It requires major organizational skills, creativity, and a strong will to push on when there are bumps along the way—and believe us when we say, there usually are.

Let The Concierge Club, a leading experiential marketing agency, share some of the best trade show theme ideas and planning ideas that will surely inspire you for your next after party.

4 Trade Show Theme Ideas For Your Next After Party

1. Oktoberfest Theme

You don’t have to be a the owner of a craft beer bar to opt for an Oktoberfest theme. That’s because many people all over the world love beer! Transport your guests to Munich—home of the largest beer festival in the world—right to your trade show after party with your very own version of Oktoberfest.

It’s a theme that gives you plenty of venue options to choose from because you can hold it indoors, outdoors, or at a marquee event. Use rustic benches, tables, and picnic seats to seat attendees. To complete the ambiance, use lots of blue, brown, white, and green colour palettes for your decor. And of course, serve your guests beer in steins and an endless supply of Bavarian pretzels!

2. Body and Mind Theme

Nowadays, meditation isn’t just for people seeking spiritual enlightenment—a staggering amount of people have been practicing it for both mental and physical health purposes, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Bring the outdoors indoors with lots of greenery in your decor: big plants, a wide expanse of grass, foliage, etc. You can set up reading nooks, put up smoothie bars and grazing stations, and organize short yoga sessions and healthy cooking classes for attendees. 

3. Outside-Inside Theme

Turn your indoor venue into an enchanted rainforest, a secret garden with a swing, or a large terrarium with an “outside-inside” after party theme. 

Not only does this theme give the opportunity to showcase brands, but it also highlights sustainable policies and green practices—not to mention that it’s also very Instagrammable. So set up aesthetic backdrops so guests can capture their perfect shot at your trade show after party. 

4. Disco Theme

Let your attendees loosen up and take it easy from the stresses of everyday life with a disco after party theme. And like Oktoberfest, this is also one of those trade show theme ideas you can apply indoors or outdoors.

Whether you take the party inside or outside, spruce up your venue with flower power props, peace signs, and rainbow-coloured decorations. Turn up the volume so attendees can groove to Marvin Gaye, Four Tops, and other 60s party music. For the final touch, encourage attendees to come in tie-dye outfits!

Five-Step After Party Planning Guide

To avoid major issues, follow this simple five-step after party planning guide:

1. Prepare Early

Start preparing at least six months before the date of the party. This should give you enough time to research and negotiate your venue, catering, and other supplies.

Write and send out your Request for Proposals (RFPs) to vendors so you can finalize contracts. If you don’t do this early, you might not be able to get your preferred date. 

Tip: To avoid no-shows, choose a place either within the trade show venue or right next door.

To make the planning process even easier, hiring an experiential marketing agency—like The Concierge Club—is a great option. Not only will we take care of all the heavy lifting, but you can also rest assured that your event is being carried out using next-level strategies. 

2. Organize a Team Dedicated to the After Party

Create a separate team that can focus on planning, organizing, and making sure the party is a success. Brainstorm with them, set your goals, pool your ideas and then delegate tasks.

3. Create After Party Exclusives

What makes your trade show after party different from other afterparties? This will give attendees a good reason to show up for your event. Here are some ideas to create that “wow” factor that will increase attendance:

• Create an offering related to the trade show, which attendees can only get if they go to the party. It could be anything from a signed book from one of the main event’s guests, exclusive discount codes, or other useful gifts related to your brand. 
• Offer unique entertainment such as arcade games, karaoke, or a food truck to inspire people to attend.

4. Create Buzz Online

Once all the party details have been set, start promoting it. Let people know what, where, and when it’s going to happen through teaser videos, email campaigns, social media posts, and hashtags. 

Be sure to include the exclusives you’ve put together and other special details such as venue, food, drink, and parking information. 

5. Measure Your Results

Was the attendance higher or lower than you expected? Were you able to develop prospects, create brand awareness, and generate new sales leads?

Be it a Return on Investment (ROI), Return on Objective (ROO), or Return on Relationship (ROR) you’re after, it’s important to measure the party’s performance to determine if it was a success or not.

Extraordinary Trade Show Afterparties with The Concierge Club

Planning trade show afterparties is no easy feat. After all, they aren’t just ‘fun’ events you design based on whims—there’s an art and a science behind them.

The Concierge Club is a full-service experiential marketing agency that uses well-researched data and innovative creativity to plan events specific to your target market. We use sophisticated strategies to deliver our clients’ business objectives.

If you want to put together an extraordinary trade show after party that will meet your business goals, reach out to us today.  

The act of buying isn’t always a purely rational, fact-driven process. Our feelings, beliefs, and perceptions also influence our decisions when it comes to choosing which products or services to avail of. 

The same consumer psychology applies to a business-to-business or B2B setup.

Let’s take a closer look at the B2B buying behaviour and how to engage B2B customers through immersive experiences. 

The B2B Buying Behaviour 

Various studies confirm that even the most critical B2B decision-making processes rely on personal values. After all, organizational decisions are still made by people.

The set of personal values of decision-makers is what ultimately drives sales. It’s part of the criteria that helps people define which product or service is the better choice over others. But what comprises personal values?

When we are confronted with a situation where we have to decide—for example, between generic or branded products—emotions from previous experiences affix values to the choices we are considering. These emotions create preferences that help us come to a decision. The richer the emotional link to a person’s mental representation of the brand, the higher the chances of creating consumer loyalty. 

The influence of emotions on the buying process of consumers is well documented:

• fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) shows that when considering which product to buy, people use personal feelings and experiences rather than information (features and attributes of the product).
• Advertising research reveals that a person’s emotional response to an advertisement has more impact and influence than the actual content of the ad.
• According to studies, positive emotions have a greater influence on consumer loyalty than brand attributes.

How to Engage B2B Customers: 6 Useful Tips 

Up to 70% of B2B decision-making processes are influenced by emotions. B2B parties also tend to be more emotionally attached to the brand they’re buying than B2C consumers.

The high level of emotionality is not at all surprising because B2B purchases entail more personal risks than B2C purchases. They will lose time, credibility, or even their jobs if the purchase decision goes poorly.

With this information in mind, you can tweak your marketing strategy to create more immersive experiences to engage B2B consumers. Here are some tips for doing just that during your next B2B events or meetings:

1. Know What Motivates Your Customer

Creating immersive experiences that build emotional connections begins with knowing what motivates your ideal customer. To get this information, you have to dig deep and look for behavioural patterns that can help predict future wants and needs. The information you collect will serve as the framework for immersive experiences that will impact the bottom line.

2. Create an Affinity

Business buyers favour brands they have an affinity for. Affinity could be many things. For instance, some business buyers may want to purchase from companies in the same region or country (regional bias) rather than those in other locations.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t have an affinity for a company that’s located elsewhere. Affinity can also be created if you: 

• Demonstrate that you understand the buyer;
• Have similar behaviours and values; and
• Mirror the tone and language of the buyer.

3. Focus on FOMO, Tribal Bonding, and Escapism

When planning immersive experiences for B2B events, tap into these three key elements of the current experience economy:

FOMO or Fear of Missing Out

In today’s experience economy, the fear of missing out or FOMO is a catalyst for action. So when creating immersive experiences, make sure to incorporate this element into your marketing strategy.

Tribal Bonding

Create immersive experiences where customers can have the opportunity to gather and commune with others who share their interests.

Escapism

Consumers, whether B2C or B2B, want to experience something out of the ordinary. They want to be transported to a place away from societal norms and immerse themselves in new experiences and different environments. So remember to take this into account when designing immersive experiences for B2B clients.

4. Commit to Immersion Research

B2B customers are also captivated by accurate data, predictions, and analytics as much as they are with emotions. Thus, you must commit to immersion-based research efforts such as immersive ethnography and digital immersion research approaches.

5. Leverage B2B Corporate Storytelling

B2B buyers always want to know more and dig deeper. But “more” doesn’t always mean more information about product specifications. More often than not, it means they want a stronger connection to the story of a person, product, or company.

When creating immersive experiences for B2B customers, make sure to embrace the human side of the products or services to help them see it in a different light. Designing environments that create memories and strong human connections during B2B events will also make a huge difference. 

6. Utilize Immersive Technology

Immersive technology has redefined the way products and services are presented to customers—it can provide realistic experiences to B2B customers, more than simple images and videos ever could. 

Use these advancements to make B2B clients experience your brand instead of merely seeing it. Some of the immersive technology you can use include augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality.

Design Immersive Experiences That Make An Impact 

Creating immersive experiences to reel in B2B customers begins right here.

The Concierge Club is an expert in designing events that never fail to make a stellar impact. We are a full-service event and experiential marketing agency known for our meticulous and innovative way of creating immersive experiences for countless companies across North America.   

Get in touch with us today to know more about how we can help your brand make its mark. 

From computers to inventory control and accounting systems, there’s no doubt technology is changing the way businesses operate. 

So if you’re a business owner trying to find new tools you can use for your company, or a tech wizard looking for inspiration and new ideas, check out our list of the best tech conferences in Austin this 2022. These events will have you racing to save a seat!

Best Tech Conferences in Austin 2022: 

• DeveloperWeek Cloud Conference
• TechLearn Conference
• Data Center Austin Conference
• SpiceWorld 2022
• Technology & Innovation North America 2022
• IEEE Conference on Communications and Network Security
• CEO Summit 2022
• OWASP LASCON 2022
• Tech Summit 2022

DeveloperWeek Cloud Conference 

When: September 7 to 8, 2022 (in-person) and September 13 to 14, 2022 (virtual)
Where: Palmer Events Center / Hopin
Setting: In-person and virtual

What’s the latest innovation in cloud computing? DeveloperWeek Cloud Conference will talk about new technologies, best practices, architecture, and success stories from keynote speakers and experts in the industry.

This premiere international cloud computing conference is expected to attract up to 4,000+ cloud engineers and developers, IT managers, entrepreneurs, and innovators. If you are interested in joining, the in-person conference will be held from September 7 to 8 at Palmer Events Center, while the virtual conference will be held September 13 to 14 through Hopin.

TechLearn Conference 

When: September 20 to 22, 2022
Where: AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center
Setting: In-person

Are you a learning and development professional who wants to leverage the latest e-learning technologies to improve your team’s performance? 

If you are, then join the annual TechLearn Conference to know more about games and simulations, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, adaptive learning virtual classrooms, and mobile learning from industry experts. As one of the most exciting conferences in Austin, it will feature plenty of training challenges. 

Data Center Austin Conference

When: September 27 to 28, 2022
Where: ACL Live Moody Theater
Setting: In-person

The Data Center Austin Conference aims to bring together tech and data center professionals to collaborate, discover, and solve the industry’s future challenges. 

Learn what emerging technologies, autonomous vehicles, and smart city technologies are driving and transforming the way we live, work, and play and how data centers play a part in all of it.

There will be over 20 speakers during the conference with 350+ companies represented and over 48+ networking opportunity hours at this live event.

SpiceWorld 2022 

When: September 28 to 30, 2022
Where: Austin Convention Center
Setting: Hybrid

If you’re in the IT industry, then SpiceWorld 2022 is one of the conferences in Austin you shouldn’t pass up. This conference will connect you to thousands of IT professionals from hundreds of tech brands across the country.

The three-day conference won’t just show you the latest IT products and solutions—it will feature discussions by industry experts on tech know-how such as virtualization, cloud, security, software, and automation. You’ll also have an opportunity to network with your peers to help drive your business forward.

Technology & Innovation North America 2022

When: September 29 to 30, 2022
Where: JW Marriott
Setting: Hybrid

“Lead: Break Boundaries, Build The Future” is this year’s theme for the Technology & Innovation North America 2022 conference. It will explore the ways in which tech executives can empower their teams and break the silos that hold them back.

The conference will also touch on ethical technology strategies, the current state and future of the metaverse, Web3, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and cloud-native services and platforms. 

Experience consulting workshops, facilitated discussions, and special sessions such as the Women’s Leadership Forum, Executive Leadership Exchange, and other programs targeted to C-level leaders.

IEEE Conference on Communications and Network Security (CNS) 

When: October 3 to 5, 2022
Where: Hilton, Austin
Setting: In-person and virtual

The IEEE Conference on Communications and Network Secruity (IEEE CNS) will be having its 10th annual forum to exchange ideas, raise awareness, share experiences, and talk about the latest tools and techniques in the theoretical and practical field of communication and cybersecurity.

The event will be attended by security researchers and practitioners, policymakers, and users from all over the country.

CEO Summit 2022 

When: October 17, 2022
Where: Hilton, Austin
Setting: In-person

CEO Summit 2022 is a C-Suite exclusive conference organized by Austin Technology Council that aims to help executives use technological innovations in their business to fuel growth amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

As one of the top conferences in Austin, you can join tech C-Suite executives for a day filled with breakouts, panels, networking, and happy hours. 

OWASP LASCON 2022 

When: October 25 to 28, 2022
Where: Norris Conference Centers (2525 W. Anderson Lane, Suite 365)
Setting: In-person

Lonestar Application Security Conference (LASCON) is an Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) annual conference that gathers the best web and mobile developers, security engineers, and information security professionals in the country.

Keynote speakers Jim Manico of Manicode Security and Adrian Sanabria of Tenchi Security will be sharing cutting-edge ideas, technology advancements, and initiatives from October 27 to 28, with the pre-conference training happening between October 25 and 26.

Tech Summit 2022

When: November 21 to 22, 2022
Where: Hilton, Austin
Setting: In-person

Tech Summit 2022 is one of the conferences in Austin you shouldn’t miss if you’re into tech startups and emerging technologies, business transformation, and professional development. 

Expect two days of incredible masterclasses and workshops, 100+ influential speakers and industry experts from leading tech brands. You will also meet over 1,200 attendees from across industries to give you inspiration and insights.

Let’s Plan Your Next Conference Together 

Did you find anything that piqued your interest from our list of the best tech conferences in Austin? We hope you did!

If you’re planning to host a conference for your company, you’re going to need an experienced team to maximize the potential of your event. The Concierge Club is a full-service event and experiential marketing agency with a reputation for meticulous planning and flawless event execution.

Get in touch with us so we can talk about how we can make your next conference a success.

 

Interested in meeting other professionals from your industry? Are you looking to expand your network, learn about the latest industry trends, and discover other development opportunities?

You’ll certainly find something that’s worth your time and money in our list of top Toronto conferences this 2022. It covers a variety of industries—from science and technology to food and beverage— in different formats (in-person, hybrid, and virtual).

Without further ado, here they are:

Conferences in Toronto 2022:

• Canadia Meeting + Events Expo (CMEExpo)
• Blockchain Futurist Conference Summer 2022
• ETHTORONTO
• Design Thinkers Toronto
• Canadian Health Food Association East 2022
• Grocery Innovations Canada
• CAIP Private Equity Summit
• Orion Think Conference 2022 – Forging The Future
• IASP 2022 World Congress on Pain

Event Management 

Canadian Meeting + Events Expo (CMEExpo)

When: August 16 – 17, 2022
Where: Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Setting: In-person 

The Canadian Meeting + Events Expo (CMEExpo) is the largest and longest-running conference and tradeshow for event professionals in Canada. It’s where you can network with suppliers (decor, venues, services, etc.) not just from Canada and the USA, but from all around the world. 

This conference—which has been designed specifically for the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibits (MICE) business industry—will show you the essential tools you can use to plan and flawlessly execute meetings, conferences, and events.

You’ll be meeting with top planners and other industry experts who will share key insights and valuable lessons so you can continue honing your skills in delivering better events.

IT & Technology 

Blockchain Futurist Conference Summer 2022

When: August 9 – 10, 2022
Where: Rebel Entertainment Complex and Cabana
Setting: In-person

Blockchain Futurist Conference—Canada’s largest blockchain and cryptocurrency event—is back. Now in its fourth year, it’s bigger and better than ever! 

As one of the top Toronto conferences, it will bring together some of the greatest minds of the metaverse, Web3, GameFi, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), cryptocurrency, DAO or Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, and more. Get a glimpse of the future when you attend this conference which will be held at the Rebel Entertainment Complex and Cabana in Toronto.

ETHTORONTO

When: August 8 – 10, 2022
Where: Rebel Entertainment Complex and Cabana
Setting: In-person 

Join hundreds of developers at ETHTORONTO, a three-day workshop series intended to build the Web3 world where developers can hack all night long! 

The conference will be held at a 40,000-square foot indoor dome with strong WiFi and direct ethernet connections. It’s the perfect hub for this completely free community event—you can even sleep over! The conference will also be attended by dozens of speakers who will be giving workshops, sessions, and more.

Design Thinkers Toronto

When: October 27 – 28, 2022
Where: Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
Setting: In-person

If you’re interested in graphic design, DesignThinkers Conference 2022 is for you. It’s Canada’s largest graphic design conference and it’s now on its 23rd year.

It’s one of the top Toronto conferences that aims to bring together visionaries from different disciplines to discuss the future of design. It will also touch on the design-thinking process that will help you explore your creativity.

Food & Beverage 

Canadian Health Food Association East 2022

When: September 15 – 18, 2022
Where: Enercare Centre Exhibition Place
Setting: In-person

Want to meet the industry’s top distributors, manufacturers, and brokers face to face? Come to the CHFA East conference and trade show at Enercare Centre Exhibition Place and immerse yourself in all things organic and natural.

CHFA East is Canada’s biggest conference and tradeshow in the field of natural health, organic, and specialty food industries. 

Grocery Innovations Canada

When: October 25 – 26, 2022
Where: The Toronto Congress Centre
Setting: In-person 

Interested in all facets of the grocery trade? Want to showcase your product, brand, service, or company? Don’t pass up on the Grocery Innovations Canada event—it’s Canada’s one and only B2B grocery conference and exhibit.

This event brings everything about the grocery trade under one roof—from technology and equipment to finance and insurance. It’s your chance to network and build relationships with retailers, suppliers, manufacturers, and service providers which can help grow your knowledge and business immensely. 

Business and Finance

CAIP Private Equity Summit

When: November 15, 2022
Where: The OMNI King Edward Hotel
Setting: In-person

Canadian Alternative Investments in Pensions (CAIP) Private Equity Summit 2022 will provide the opportunity for the private equity investor community to network, hear, and interact with leading legal and financial experts across North America. They will be talking about emerging markets and business sectors, analyzing the current mid-market, and exploring growth equity and asset allocation trends.

To top it all off, this conference will be concluded with a cocktail reception and a fireside chat at a private equity gala awards dinner.

Orion Think Conference 2022 – Forging The Future

When: October 19 – 20, 2022
Where: Design Exchange
Setting: Hybrid

This year, technology leaders and 250 decision-makers in Ontario’s education, research, and innovation sectors will attend the Orion Think Conference 2022 – Forging the Future to talk about the future of Ontario’s innovation economy and:

• The tools, trends, and technologies that drive the future of collaboration;
• Building healthy and resilient work cultures;
• The importance of cybersecurity and why it matters now more than ever; and
• The importance of equity, inclusion, accessibility, and diversity in the workplace. 

As one of the biggest Toronto conferences, it is expected to attract CEOs from the research and education sectors, policymakers, innovation community leaders, data experts, academic faculty in engineering, medicine, and humanities, senior government officials, and other policy decision-makers.

Health and Science

IASP 2022 World Congress on Pain

When: September 19 – 23, 2022
Where: Metro Toronto Convention Centre South Building
Setting: Hybrid

Do you have a special interest in pain research? Are you a physiotherapist, rheumatologist, anesthesiologist, clinical practitioner, or nurse? Perhaps you’re a trainee or student who has a keen interest in pain research. 

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) 2022 World Congress on pain will bring together over 7,000 clinicians, scientists, and healthcare professionals from all around the world to discuss the latest research on pain. There will be a virtual program, plenary lectures, refresher courses, and more. 

Organize Your Conferences with The Concierge Club

And that’s our list of the top Toronto conferences you shouldn’t miss out on in 2022!

If you’re planning to dream up your own event, we can help. The Concierge Club is one of the leading experts when it comes to organizing conferences that leave a lasting impact. We’re a premium, full-service events and experiential marketing agency known for designing events that pique audience interest.

Let’s talk about how we can make your next conference a huge hit. Get in touch with us today!

The year 2020 marked the time when the world shifted from face-to-face gatherings to virtual events. Initially, it was challenging adjusting to the new normal, but people quickly became comfortable with digital setups.

Now that the world has opened up again, the event landscape has shifted. There is no denying the benefits virtual events provided (wider audience reach, higher attendance rates, etc.), and those in the industry want to keep capitalizing on these positive effects. This means another change is looming ahead—the shift from virtual to hybrid events. A hybrid event isn’t by any means a new idea. However, many are still unaware that it’s the best solution to accommodate both in-person and virtual attendees.

But how do you keep your audience happy and engaged in a hybrid setting? In this post, we’ll share our top insider tips!  

1. Give Your Attendees Control

By giving attendees a choice on how they can attend events or consume your content, you will give back what the pandemic has taken away from them: control.

A hybrid event where the audience has the freedom to decide whether to join live or view the event on-demand, choose their seats, or how they want to engage is a lot more appealing than an event that doesn’t give them choices. 

Provide options on how attendees can interact with one another—things such as chat functions and discussion forums. 

Whatever experience you want to incorporate in your hybrid event, it’s important to try to accommodate as wide a variety of comfort levels and preferred options as possible for your attendees.

2. Align The Experience for Both Virtual and In-Person Attendees

Replicating an in-person experience is perhaps a virtual event’s number one challenge. For hybrid events, the challenge is almost similar: it’s about ensuring that virtual attendees don’t feel like they’re getting “less value” out of the event compared to their in-person counterparts. 

How can you align the experience for both virtual and in-person attendees to avoid this?

Opt For Two Hosts

If you hired someone to host your event in person, why not have a second host who would actively address the virtual attendees at the same time?

Create A Virtual Attendee Interaction Space

Another tip is to leverage technology that will allow virtual attendees to participate and interact with other event-goers. This can be as simple as a chat box where virtual attendees can post their questions to conference speakers so they can be answered during Q&A portions.

Include Virtual Tours

You can also include remote event hall tours similar to already popular virtual museum tours for online attendees so they can look around and immerse themselves in the space just like in-person attendees. 

Create A Virtual Swag Shop

Roll up your creative sleeves and incorporate experiences that all attendees—whether onsite or virtual—can enjoy. For instance, you can set up a physical and virtual swag shop where attendees can buy souvenirs and other merchandise. 

When putting together hybrid events, always consider crafting the same experience in two formats. This may not always be possible—there are aspects of live events that cannot be completely replicated after all—but as much as possible, try to design as many shared experiences and interactions for both types of audiences. 

3. Use Various Engagement Strategies

Engagement success in hybrid events depends on how you creatively bridge the gap between virtual and in-person experiences. After all, you want to give your audiences more than just a PowerPoint presentation or simply live stream what’s happening on-site from a camera at the back of the room.

Set Up Connection Booths

Allow both hybrid worlds to merge by setting up on-site booths where in-person attendees can call or connect with someone who’s virtually attending the event.

Include Live Entertainment and Dynamic Screen Production

Another tip is to include live entertainment, music, and dynamic screen production that both in-person and virtual attendees can clearly tune in to.

4. Master Your Venue and Tech

Two other basic things hybrid events need to be successful are excellent technology and a proper venue.

You need to do your homework to find the best technology to use for your hybrid event, such as audiovisual equipment, streaming tools, and reliable Wi-Fi. On-site tech experts who can operate the equipment and fix issues in case of technical hiccups are also necessary. 

But aside from having the right technology and experts, you’ll also need a venue that has the capability to facilitate and support hybrid events. Make sure to bring your IT team onsite in advance so they can carry out the necessary tests to foolproof the event. Don’t forget to create a backup plan in case of network issues!

5. Make In-Person Attendees Feel Safe

After being cooped up indoors for almost two years because of the pandemic, people are eager to experience live events again. However, they still need to be reassured that it’s safe. Otherwise, they will hesitate to go. 

Let attendees know that masks, temperature checks, social distancing, touchless event registration, and other safety measures will be enforced during the event. Make sure all these protocols are clearly stated in your marketing campaigns to help event-goers feel more at ease.

6. Allocate Sufficient Time for Planning

Hybrid events require a lot of planning. You need sufficient time to negotiate with vendors and suppliers, search for sponsors and stakeholders, invite exhibitors, etc.

A great hybrid event can’t be designed in just a few days. So never underestimate the time needed to bring the right partners who will support your event. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Concierge Club (@theconciergeclub)

We Craft Hybrid Events That Drive Business Goals

Designing a hybrid event isn’t an easy feat. That’s why you need a team of experts who can plan and execute it without a hitch.

The Concierge Club is one of the leading experts when it comes to creating captivating hybrid events. We’re a premium, full-service events and experiential marketing agency that takes pride in bringing immersive experiences all across North America.

If you’d like to know more about our processes in designing hybrid events, contact us today.

Have you ever seen a painting so captivating that you find yourself staring at it for hours, consumed by thoughts of another world?

Now, imagine yourself being surrounded by an art piece so creative that you feel you’re a part of that artwork. That’s what an immersive art experience is.

It’s art integrated with sound and light technology, video mapping, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and other new media technologies that aim to immerse all the senses of the viewer to create a total body experience.

Immersive Art Experience: A Real Life Example 

To give you a better understanding of what an immersive art experience is, the Van Gogh Immersive Exhibit is a prime example.

This immersive “exhibit” is certainly a new way to encounter art, which has remained unchanged for centuries. 

When you enter the exhibition space, you’ll see blown-up reproductions of his paintings—Starry Night, Sunflowers, The Bedroom, and his many self-portraits—projected on the walls, floor, and ceiling. It features animated renderings of some of his works played on an uninterrupted loop. 

The vivid visuals are accompanied by ethereal sounds and snippets of classical music by Mozart and Handel. Van Gogh’s quotes were also used throughout the exhibit. 

There were no static paintings. Everything was moving—delicate flowers unfurl, candles burn, colours float and dissipate on the walls. The timid, sideway glances of his many self-portraits reveal his sadness and loneliness.

By stepping inside his paintings—which are a mix of Post Impressionist colours and technology—you’ll be taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and into the vortex of Van Gogh’s despair.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Imagine Van Gogh (@imagine.van.gogh)

Why Immersive Art Is Important in Experiential Marketing 

Both immersive art and experiential marketing work on the same principle: to leverage all the senses in order to experience art, or in the case of marketing, your brand. By mixing art and technology, you can shift from a product-focused approach to a purely experiential experience that will give your audience a different perspective of what your brand is.

Here are some of the things an immersive art experience can teach us about experiential marketing and why they’re important for your business:

Relationship with Objects and Places

Have you ever wondered what the skeletons inside Washington D.C’s Smithsonian Museum would have looked like if they were alive and moving? With immersive art experiences and experiential marketing, nothing is impossible!

Although they have been on display since the 1800s, it’s only since the launch of the app, Skin and Bones, that people can actually see them move as if they were alive. Thanks to augmented reality, audiences can understand the specimens better, but in a more fun way. That’s art, tech, and experiential marketing for you all in one!

Improvement of Well-Being

An immersive art experience should take you out of the humdrum of everyday life and transport you to somewhere you’ve never been before. Experiential marketing does (or should do) the same.

With the same touch as immersive art experiences, experiential marketing should have a profound and transformative approach so audiences can learn about your brand while allowing them to escape from the monotony of the everyday. 

Data as an Exchange for Value

Immersive art uses digital technology to somehow pass on information, emotion, and ideas to audiences. And so should experiential marketing. 

Your marketing must go beyond being a gimmick and become a meaningful, long-lasting experience to help people see how your brand is interconnected with their world.

5 Things to Consider When Integrating Immersive Art in Your Marketing Campaign 

Should you use immersive art in your experiential marketing? Here are five things to consider:

It Offers a Multitude of Formats

Art comes in a variety of forms, and when used in experiential marketing, it gives you a wide range of media. Think large format, multi-screen performances and shows. 

You get to have a list of choices of what immersive or physical interactive experiences will be most appreciated by your audience and create a unique connection that will make you stand out from your competition. 

It Makes Your Brand Easier to Relate To

Part of what made Van Gogh, The Immersive Experience successful is how the emotions within his works were magnified because of how they were presented. Audiences saw those emotions clearly and were able to empathize with them directly.

Applying this principle to experiential marketing, you must not simply offer your product or service to your market; you must make them feel connected to what your brand stands for. People will remember you more that way.

It Creates Memories

Immersive art impacts the memory of audiences which is parallel to every marketer’s goal—to be remembered. Make sure to touch most, if not all of the visual, auditory, reading, and kinesthetic learning styles in your experiential marketing campaign. This way, it’s highly likely people will recall certain moments and what they felt at the time during their experience with your brand.  

It Fosters Activity

Just like static paintings curated in a museum, traditional marketing falls into the passive realm, but that’s not how it is with immersive art and experiential marketing. Both require audience participation through immersion or physical activity. The audience is placed on a journey where they should be mentally or physically present.

It Makes Marketing Fun

Rev up your experiential marketing campaign by using art as a vehicle to deliver something fun that establishes brand sentiment and draws buyers in!

For example, this hotel in New York has a robotic concierge which certainly attracts attention and drives more check-ins. 

Make Your Brand Stand Out with An Immersive Art Experience 

If you want an experiential marketing campaign that uses the principles of immersive art, we can help. 

The Concierge Club is an expert in creating marketing strategies for brands that impress their target market, create a lasting bond, and help them reach their business goals. If you’re looking to curate one-of-a-kind events and experiences for your next campaign, get in touch with us today.

This spring, The Concierge Club had the pleasure of launching Valentino Garavani’s new beauty line, Valentino Beauty, in Canada. This integrated event invited beauty influencers—ring lights and all—to fully immerse themselves in a hands-on experience that truly exemplifies the brand through colour, creativity, and couture.

About Valentino Garavani 

Valentino Garavani is an Italian luxury fashion house that designs and makes haute couture, prêt-à-porter, and accessories that include bags, shoes, ties, eyewear, small leather goods, scarves, and fragrances for both men and women.

The brand—which was founded by Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti in 1960—has designed wedding dresses for the likes of Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophie Hunter, Anne Hathaway, Courteney Cox, and Jennifer Lopez.

Valentino operates in over 100 countries, through 175 directly-operated stores (including 20 locations in North America), and more than 1,500 points of sale. It opened its first standalone boutique in North York, Toronto in 2019.

To introduce its latest beauty line, Valentino worked with The Concierge Club to bring its vision to life. 

About The Concierge Club 

The Concierge Club is one of Canada’s top event and experiential marketing agencies. It has carved out a name for itself in the industry, delivering luxury experiential marketing campaigns for some of North America’s most notable brands including Sephora, Hewlett Packard, Hyundai, Guerlain, and Cadillac Fairview.

The Concierge Club has a reputation for creating unique events and experiences that showcase the agency’s keen attention to detail, imagination, and creativity. It’s also a 100% all-women, minority-owned organization.

The Strategy

Merely providing a product is no longer enough, customers want more than just quality, benefits, features, or even brand image—they demand marketing campaigns that engage and enrich their senses, stimulate their minds and touch their hearts.

With this in mind, The Concierge Club developed a campaign to answer the following questions: How can a luxury brand like Valentino effectively introduce its new beauty line using an experience economy approach? If it’s not feasible for every potential customer to experience the brand themselves, what is the best method to connect/engage with them? 

The Execution 

To drive brand engagement, notable beauty influencers such as Samantha Guerrero, Izzi, and Liz Kapran were invited for a luxurious sensory beauty experience. Mid-tier and macro-influencers may not have millions of followers, but their posts get more engagement because their content is considered more authentic. They are trusted by their followers and viewed as experts in their niche.

In true Valentino style, each influencer was hand-delivered a curated selection of Valentino Beauty products to get familiar with prior to the event.

The live event began with a hands-on beauty tutorial and masterclass in a custom-designed environment, conducted by world-class beauty experts that were flown in from France. Models of varying skin types and textures were chosen to showcase exactly how each product is used, with an opportunity for each attendee to ask questions about the beauty line.

The influencers were then treated to an interactive street art event in the heart of downtown Toronto where they were invited to add their own flair to the mural—a nod to the beauty line’s extravagant, elegant, but also punk, daring, and cool persona.

Finishing the evening off was a VIP and media after party and hotel accommodations. This type of experience provides a plethora of upscale, thumb-stopping content for influencers to showcase on their social media accounts.  

The Content

From candid behind-the-scenes-type footage, “get ready with me” short videos, as well as stunning “outfit of the day” posts are just a few of the ways that these influencers shared their lived experience at this event.

See more below for exactly how these influencers promoted Valentino Beauty:

Samantha Guerrero

Samantha Guerrero, a mid-tier influencer with close to 500,000 followers on Instagram and 125K+ subscribers on YouTube, created vlogs showing how she uses Valentino beauty products in her daily skincare/makeup routine.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Samantha Guerrero | Content Creator (@samanthaguerrero_)

Liz Kapran

Liz Kapran is a macro influencer with a whopping 820,000+ followers on TikTok. She has the strongest influence on this platform so she created TikTok videos to engage with her audience and promote the brand.

@lizzi.mov thank you for a beautiful night last week @Valentino #valentinobeauty ♬ The 60s – Sharon Tate

Izzi

Izzi is a macro influencer with over 750,000 TikTok followers. She also created a short video to show her followers how happy she was to attend the event and discover Valentino’s new beauty products.

@izzipoopiI cant deal♬ original sound – IZZI

The Results 

The event used two major marketing strategies to bring it to life: experiential marketing and influencer marketing.

The luxurious experiential event was strategically targeted to influencers to deliver results for the brand. The venue, along with each activity—from product testing to the masterclass to the street art and the afterparty—were all designed to create strong brand affinity and evoke a sense of opulence from start to finish, which is what the brand is all about.

Influencer marketing is a contemporary strategy based on popularity, expertise, or reputation. Think of it as “word-of-mouth” marketing wherein one person tries out a certain product because a friend, family member, or colleague vouched for the quality of that product.

Influence marketing works because influencers have built and gained a tremendous amount of trust from their followers and to them, their recommendation is proof of a product’s quality. 

These two strategies—experiential and influencer marketing strategies—are the key that propelled the event to success.

Curated Events that Drive Results 

If you’re looking to create lasting connections with consumers through experiential events, we can help. The Concierge Club is an expert in this field—just look through our Gallery to see for yourself! 

Get in touch with us to learn more.

No company can survive without customers—they’re the pillar of any business. You have to understand and satisfy their needs in order to retain them.

But if you want your business to grow, what you need is new customers. For this, you must have an understanding of which types of experiential marketing attract which type of consumer.

Let’s begin.

The Basic Types of Consumers and How to Get Them to Buy

Yes, consumers have “types.” And they are based on their behaviour when buying products and services.

Impulse Shoppers

Impulse shoppers don’t buy goods and services according to their needs. They’re buying behaviour is mostly driven by their current mood. 

If they find a product useful while shopping, they’ll buy it even if they didn’t plan on purchasing it in the first place. Purchases from impulse shoppers happen in the heat of the moment, inspired mainly by items that are too tempting to pass up.

They are usually receptive to upselling and recommendations. If the product meets (or exceeds) their expectations, impulse shoppers have the potential to become loyal customers.

Types of Experiential Marketing Effective for Impulse Shoppers:

Any kind of marketing would work for impulse shoppers: pop-up shops, kiosks, brand activation, trade shows, product showcases, events marketing, etc. that uses various tactics such as discounts and free products. 

However, keep in mind what will ultimately drive them to buy is convenience (quick and brief help), the product’s price, the attractiveness of the design, and the overall buying experience.

Wandering Consumers

Wandering consumers don’t have specific needs and they’re not sure what to buy, but they’re not impulse shoppers either. They occasionally stumble into online stores, but they are more often seen in physical stores because they’re really there for the ambiance and social interaction.

Companies get the least business from wandering consumers because they’re less likely to make a purchase. However, they are the largest segment in terms of foot traffic.

How to Make Wandering Consumers Buy:

They may be hard to target, but it doesn’t mean they definitely won’t make a purchase. If you stimulate their interest enough, they will.

An in-house retail experience, event, trade show, brand activation, and exhibit would provide the perfect experience for wandering shoppers. 

In the beginning, they will be attracted to the crowd and how the event has been set up. But once they find something interesting, make sure they get immediate help from friendly support agents. 

Give them a highly-personalized experience. Even if they don’t end up buying, wandering shoppers are likely to tell others about the experience they had and would serve as your voice in the community. Providing them with insightful information can also turn them into actual customers later on.

Needs-Based Buyers

As the name suggests, needs-based customers buy products when they need them. They often know what they want and are quick to decide. 

Once they enter a store, they will look around to see if their need can be quickly fulfilled. Otherwise, they can easily be lost to competing businesses.

If they are well-taken care of, needs-based buyers can become loyal customers.

Marketing Tips Targeting Needs-Based Buyers:

Needs-based buyers buy things they think will be a good investment on top of them being a need. They take time to think if what they’re buying is worth the indicated price.

When planning a marketing strategy that targets needs-based buyers, make sure to include deals that would fulfill their needs, encourage them to buy without fear, and appeal to their practical sense (e.g. free shipping, money-back guarantee, warranty, etc.).

Your marketing approach should also be a balance between quantitative analytics and appeal to emotions. 

Bargain-Hunters

Also called discount customers, bargain hunters are out to look for the best deals. They rarely buy anything at full price. Of all the customer types, they are the least loyal because their buying behaviour is driven only by one thing: the lowest possible price.

Types of Experiential Marketing Effective for Bargain-Hunters:

The best way to appeal to this customer type is through sales promotions to make it visible: in-store signage, social media, website, events, and email marketing campaigns. 

Bargain-hunters are typically interested in extra information (when the next sale is happening, how much is the discount, other offers, etc.) so when dealing with this customer type, make sure to give them value-added services.

Loyal Customers

Loyal customers are the bedrock of any business. They comprise only 20% of a business’s total number of customers, but they generate a big part of a company’s total revenue.

These are the customers who have made a commitment to your brand. But they wouldn’t just stay loyal, they will also recommend you to their family and friends—that’s advertising for you, without the cost. 

Some companies make the mistake of ignoring loyal customers thinking they wouldn’t go anywhere else. But if you’re not meeting their needs, they’re as likely to move to your competitor as anyone else.

Marketing Strategy for Loyal Costumers:

Keep loyal customers engaged and make them feel valued through loyalty rewards, exclusive deals, and discounts. It’s also important to take their opinion into account and keep them in mind when making important business decisions.

Personalized Experiences Build Brand Loyalty

Every single customer is worthwhile for a business. And whatever type of customer it is, they’re all looking for one basic thing: a great customer experience.

That’s what we do at The Concierge Club. We take the time to understand your brand and use our skills to determine the types of experiential marketing that would be most effective.

If you want to create unique experiences that can speak to your consumers and turn them into loyal customers, get in touch with us today.

Trade shows went through several transitions because of COVID-19. From cancellations to going digital to making tentative plans for face-to-face events in 2021.

This year, they are set to make a comeback. But because of venue restrictions, social distancing, and personal safety concerns, trade shows will certainly look and run differently.

Top 5 Challenges for Trade Shows in 2022

These restrictions and concerns pose several challenges in event planning. Here are the top five challenges returning trade shows will face in 2022.  

1. Staffing Issues Due to Company Layoffs

Roughly 21% of people in the events industry were laid off or furloughed at the height of COVID-19. Some left of their own accord while 52% reported a loss of income.

Now that trade shows are returning, there is a significant gap in the workforce. Most companies are experiencing staff shortages because of the laid-offs that happened in 2020 and 2021.

On top of this, existing staff is experiencing problems as well. Some are immuno-compromised, while others have caregiving responsibilities that restrict them from attending in-person events.

2. Travel Restrictions

Corporate travel is steadily returning, but it is a very slow one. It isn’t expected to snap back to pre-pandemic levels this year or even next year—COVID-19 is still with us after all. 

There is fear of emerging variants—like the Omicron variant which impeded travel plans early this year—along with eradicating it entirely is yet unlikely so some travel restrictions are still in place.

And that’s just for domestic travel. International trips are facing bigger barriers: unpredictable entry and exit regulations, last-minute cancellations, confusing travel requirements, etc. 

All these make travelling a turn-off for most people and companies which could affect trade show attendance and your bottom line.

3. Inflation

Prices of goods and services spiked and will likely remain high in 2022. Various supply shortages due to mobility restrictions, the war in Ukraine, and other factors contributed to the high inflation rate.

In fact, surveys show manufacturers are increasing prices at record rates. This could drive up the cost of trade shows, ticket and product prices, marketing efforts, and more. 

There was also a shift in demand towards durable goods and away from services. Because of how the pandemic reshaped consumers and society as a whole, this shift is likely to persist. 

4. Supply Chain Bottlenecks

In the early stages of the pandemic, there were supply chain bottlenecks caused by lockdowns which prevented or delayed goods from reaching their destination.

Recently, the bottlenecks were caused by strong demand for supplies as the economy begins to recover. The most severe bottlenecks can be seen in intermediate manufactured goods, raw materials, and freight transportation.

This year, large trade shows and exhibitors might find it harder to transport supplies without meticulous planning and a reliable trade show logistics partner.

5. Concerns on ROI

Considering social distancing is still in effect in some places, a factor that forces organizers to limit attendance, there’s a growing concern if companies can get a return on their investment with trade shows. 

Are Trade Shows Still Worth It?

With changing safety protocols and challenges the events industry is facing, one thing remains unchanged: the desire of people to connect. The value of trade shows lay in this desire and it was manifested in the performance of trade exhibits early this 2022.

CES, a consumer electronics company, welcomed a whopping 45,000 in-person attendees for their trade show early this year. Surprisingly, almost a third of attendees were from outside the U.S.

AHR Expo was attended by over 30,000 people and participated by over 1,500 exhibitors. Although those numbers are down compared to the previous years, it was still considered a success when weighing in the pandemic and a major snowstorm that hit the show’s location.

There are many more trade shows lined up this year and surveys are saying 81% of attendees have major buying power. This reinforces the importance of trade shows and how they continue to remain relevant. 

What Changes to Expect in Trade Shows in 2022

Many exhibitors and attendees have returned to live trade shows since last year, but with significant changes. Some of these changes include:

Implementation of Safety Procedures

Expect wearing of masks, availability of hand sanitizers in trade show venues, social distancing, and confirmation of vaccination among others. Doing this will not just prevent the spread of the virus, but will also assuage the safety concerns of participants.

Authentic and Meaningful Content

The pandemic taught us that staying connected truly matters. Expect trade shows and events to have more focus on hyper-personalization, smarter storytelling, integrated formats, sustainability, and conscious spending.

More Experimentation

There is no “ideal fit” in this new and ever-changing landscape. Continuous experimentation across a range of dimensions is necessary to find what will work and what won’t. For this, creativity and empathy are a must-have in the trade show playing field.

Smaller but Highly-Focused Trade Shows

A lot of trade shows will re-emerge smaller but more focused on delivering relevant experiences and more exclusive offerings. This helps brands establish a community of deeply loyal customers.

Why You Need The Concierge Club

Not enough manpower, supply chain bottlenecks, and other challenges—you don’t have to worry about all these if you have an expert team working behind the scenes.

And that’s who we are.

The Concierge Club is an events marketing team with over 10 years of experience in the field. We have the creativity and skills to manage all these challenges and still come up with a winning trade show. 

Contact us or visit our website to learn more.

Consume experiences, not things. This seems to be the mantra of the new generation as recent studies on behavioural economics indicate.

How did this millennial paradigm come about?

It was perhaps the rising popularity of social media platforms that gave birth to business models which allow people (or influencers) to generate income while they share their experiences to the world.

This “experience economy” is what businesses want to capture in their marketing efforts and that’s what an experiential marketing agency does.

10 Qualities of an Exceptional Experiential Marketing Agency 

Although intergenerational consumers are loyal, they’re also very picky. Over 60% of them say they will most likely be loyal customers if a brand engages with them, especially on social networks.

So if you want to capture this market (remember—young people remain a key consumer base), you need more than just a regular marketing agency to do the job. You need someone with skills, experience, and creativity for a successful experiential campaign.

What are the qualities you should look for when picking an experiential marketing agency? Let these 10 things guide you:

1. Proven Track Record

One of the best ways to measure an agency’s calibre is through its reputation. Who are the past clients of your prospective experiential marketing agency? What kinds of industries have they handled in the past?

If past clients are saying good things about them and they’re willing to put their name on it, then it means they were happy with the results.

2. Relationship with Clients

This is closely tied with the agency’s track record. Do past clients keep coming back to them for projects? If they often leave, they might be unsatisfied with the service and don’t see it as worth coming back for future events.

3. Experience

How long has the agency been in business? What were some of the campaigns they did? Checking their portfolio is a great way to evaluate the quality of their work.

Their portfolio will also give you a glimpse of how they handle challenges, if they have a specific process, and if they can customize their approach to fit your vision.

4. Attention to Detail

Unlike traditional campaigns, experiential marketing events have a lot of moving parts that can be extremely challenging for an inexperienced agency. You want to pick an experiential marketing agency that has the ability not just to create plans, but to execute them from start to finish.

During your consultation, also ask them for case studies that will demonstrate how the agency coordinates the finer details of an event such as:

• Installation
• Production and promotion plan
• Post-event follow-ups
• Safety disaster management

This is what The Concierge Club is known for—immaculate attention to detail and ingenuity are at the forefront of how we approach each and every project.

5. Existing Relationships with Vendors

An agency’s ability to execute an event largely depends on the existing relationships they’ve built over the years with venues, producers, local precincts, government agencies (for permits and zoning requirements), and other vendors.   

You might be able to do them yourself, sure. But having an agency facilitate on your behalf will allow you to focus on other, more pressing areas of your business.

6. Problem-Solving Skills

A seasoned experiential marketing agency understands that not everything always goes according to plan. 

Although it’s good to have a plan B and C in case things don’t go as expected, it’s not just the ability to avoid problems that a good agency must possess but the ability to recognize and deal with them quickly as they develop.

7. Measurable Metrics

What makes a campaign successful? How does the agency evaluate its work? Is it the size of attendees, the number of sponsors, the number of sign-ups or products you’ve sold, or a combination of them?

Whatever the case may be, choose an agency that can supply you with metrics that will allow you to track the campaign’s performance. Otherwise, you won’t be able to gauge your ROI or if the campaign was a success or not.

8. Innovation and Creativity

Ultimately, this is what makes an experiential marketing agency stand out: its innovation and creativity. Does the agency consistently come up with fresh, original ideas? Can they spin something ordinary into something unique and interesting?

Pick an agency that can think outside the box, pushes boundaries, and keeps an eye on the latest trends. If they have the ability to set trends themselves, even better!

9. Good Communication Skills

When reaching out to experiential marketing agencies, pay close attention to how they communicate with you. Have they defined their preferred method of communication and did they ask for yours?

Promptly replying to your inquiries and their consistency in communicating with you is a sign that they’re in tune with you and that they have good work ethics. Also note if there’s good communication not just with you and/or other clients, but within the agency’s team as well.   

10. An Agency That Understands Your Ideal Market

Ideally, it’s best to pick an agency that has worked with companies similar to yours; someone with a prior understanding of your ideal market and the nuances of your type of business. This way, you can be sure they know what you need and you’ll be able to save on training.

Creating Experiences That Reflect Your Brand

Hiring the wrong experiential marketing agency can spell financial disaster for your company, so choose carefully.

At The Concierge Club, we listen, ask questions, and understand your brand and vision before we pitch. We don’t just put on a show, we customize campaigns that put your brand forward, attract new customers, and deepen the brand-customer relationship. 

So if you’re ready to take the first step to make a lasting impression on your market, trust The Concierge Club to plan a successful campaign with great results. To know more about experiential marketing and other services we offer, get in touch with us today.

It’s not that virtual events weren’t in existence before 2020. The first virtual event happened way before that—back in 1993, as a matter of fact.

It’s been almost 20 years since, but virtual events continue to serve a purpose for more specific types of events—albeit, in the background of in-person alternatives—until COVID-19. The pandemic very quickly propelled the growth of virtual events to where we are today.

In fact, in a study where over 8,000 marketers were asked what type of events they predicted would be most prevalent worldwide in 2022, 40% said virtual. Hybrid and in-person events saw a decline from 2020 with 30%. What this shows is that businesses have become more comfortable with hosting virtual events and that the options for this medium are not becoming irrelevant.

A Brief History of Virtual Events

What many people may not be aware of with virtual events is that they were gaining traction even before the pandemic began. 

Analysts and marketers considered it an exciting trend because of how technology could be integrated into it. It became increasingly popular, especially during the 2000 economic recession.

A virtual event was an economical way to bring guests and attendees from all around the globe. It also offered more ways for participants to communicate.

Before the pandemic, it was estimated that around 40% of marketing spend was focused on live events. But as COVID-19 raged on in 2020, businesses scrambled to find ways to cancel or modify live events in lieu of social distancing protocols. 

Today, 80% of marketers have stated that businesses are in favour of transitioning to virtual platforms.

3 Reasons Why Virtual Events Won’t Take a Backseat in 2022

With venues cautiously reopening, will the popularity of virtual events remain relevant or wane? Although they were a temporary solution at first, their significance has definitely grown, prompting experts to think virtual events are here to stay. Here are three reasons why:

1. They’re Still the Safest Route to Take

Even after the vaccination roll-out, many people still wrestle with the fear of the virus. Let’s face it; COVID-19 isn’t going to disappear tomorrow. It’s become extremely difficult for event planners and experiential marketers to put together a live event a year (or even a couple of months) ahead of time because anything can change within that period. Especially those that require an element of being indoors.

Virtual events, however, are agile enough to ride such changes, whatever those changes might be. They can also be successfully executed in a short period of time with practically zero risks.

2. They Can Reach a Wider Audience

Audience reach for in-person events is limited because of geographical constraints. Travelling long distances costs time and money too.

But all these can be eliminated if you opt for virtual events. Because attendees aren’t limited by physical distance, more people all around the world can attend your event. This is especially beneficial for corporate events where you may have offices in countries with travel restrictions.

Virtual events are also more inclusive because of the ability to allow more people to join: a chronically ill person, a single mother who can’t arrange childcare, or a financially stricken individual who can’t afford to commute to the venue. These are all elements to keep in mind when planning a larger-scale private event.

3. They Have the Power To Gain Valuable Insights Through Data Analytics

It’s tricky to gain data-driven insights into the behaviour and interests of attendees at an in-person event. 

But with the existence of analytics and other advancements in technology, organizers of virtual events can easily track the attendance, location, activity logs, downloads, and other valuable insights from all event touchpoints.

Engagement can also be measured in real-time. All this information can be used to deliver a better customer experience when planning future events and ultimately yield better ROI.

What Type of Events Can You Do Virtually?

Virtual events can complement any kind of marketing strategy. With enough creativity, it can even replace face-to-face events.

Here are some of the most common in-person events you can transition into a virtual environment:

• Trade Shows, Exhibits, and Expos

Companies can now showcase their products and services to a global audience. What could be limiting for some participants to attend due to travel or budget constraints is now easily within reach.  

• Summits and Conferences

Virtual summits and conferences have taken off in a big way as the world restricts travel.  Inviting keynote speakers, providing rich content via a rich interface, as well as powerful tools for engagement, is a sure hit for success. 

• Concerts and Theatrical Performances

With the world stuck at home, live entertainment has found a way to reach their fans by going online. Artists have showcased their concerts live, allowing fans from around the globe to enjoy the event at the same time.

• Webinars

Webinars have been popularly used to educate and inform an audience about a brand, product, or service. Aside from presentation, it can engage the audience in a discussion or Q&A session.  

Webinars have also been widely used in recruitment. Insurance agencies have gained a foothold in this arena by enticing people to attend their webinars and learn to earn by becoming an agent.

Capitalize on Virtual Events for Brand Exposure and Engagement

The online world has never been more pronounced than it is today. Even in a post-pandemic world, virtual events are here to stay.

If you want to find out how you can utilize virtual events in your digital efforts to market your brand, contact us today.

With our stellar reputation and years of marketing experience, The Concierge Club can help your brand reach a whole new market with virtual events. Visit our website to learn more about  the innovative ideas and opportunities we could use to elevate your digital marketing efforts.

“The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” – Kakuzo Okakura

Effective communication is crucial in marketing. It’s a core component in building relationships between people and brands. 

The pandemic changed how marketers— well, everyone—communicates. So, how do you stay connected in a world where people have become so distant from each other?

If we don’t learn to adapt to such changes, we won’t survive. 

5 Event Marketing Challenges During COVID-19 (And How To Solve Them)

Marketers were forced to navigate their strategies and tactics through a landmine of challenges—and to do so quickly—otherwise, there wouldn’t be business continuity.

But the challenges must first be identified in order to find an effective solution. What are they and what must be done to stay relevant? How do you adjust your marketing strategy during a pandemic?

1. How a Customer’s Wants, Needs, and Purchasing Decisions Will Evolve

The uncertainty and fear of getting sick, potentially losing a job, and how one can simply survive COVID-19 will all affect a person’s buying decisions. 

In a pandemic, finding the right message to address these fears can be difficult. Businesses must tread carefully, or else consumers might think you’re exploiting a tragedy.

Solution:

Engage in scenario planning. Work with experts to develop different potential outcomes and how each one can affect your business. 

Use social listening to monitor for changes in customer sentiment and behaviour. It’s crucial now more than ever to know how consumers feel—and why. Knowing these things can help you create a more customer-centric message and action plan. 

2. Budget Concerns

Your event marketing strategy during a pandemic is made more difficult because of budget constraints. As businesses struggle to stay afloat, sharp falls in ad spending can be seen. 

Without a clear budget, determining the direction of your event marketing strategy becomes even more difficult.

Solution:

Use Google Analytics, Hubspot Analytics, and other web services and tools to track metrics. This can help you identify what’s working for your business and therefore help you allocate resources wisely.

You can also add a virtual component to in-person events. Not only are hybrid events safe, but they also allow you to reach a whole new market at a cost-effective price.

Some companies are tempted to stop marketing altogether. But challenging times are exactly when you must advertise to show stability and care. Those who continue to invest in marketing will come out to the other side in a better position than those who held back.

 

3. Finding the Right Channel To Communicate and Provide Service

The pandemic tipped communications even further toward digital channels. The number of people using their mobile devices to look for information, entertainment, and to purchase products and services soared. 

For companies that don’t have a proper website or any digital channel for purchase and delivery, this is a huge problem.

Solution:

To maintain (and expand) your presence online you must ramp up your capacity for online transactions and delivery. Creating apps and tools for digital interactions are also crucial.

People will always want to hear an empathetic human voice even with all the digital options available. So be prepared to show support and build a relationship with your audience through innovative formats.

In this case, experiential marketing tactics can be transitioned into a virtual format. With sufficient creativity and the help of technological advancements, the magic of in-person experiential events can still be delivered virtually with the same intensity.

4. Standing Out From the Competition Amid the Digital Noise

The significance of a digital presence can be seen now more than ever. So, how do you differentiate your brand from your competitors? Now that consumers are seeing a lot more digital advertisements, what can you do to stand out?

Solution:

A successful event marketing campaign is based on intimately knowing your market. The more you understand what your customers’ wishes, needs, habits, and fears are, the better you can convince them that you have the right solution.

It also pays to know how and when your market uses social media and what they search for. Having this information will allow you to know the right time to schedule your event, publish a blog, make an announcement, and post photos and other content. Sometimes, timing is everything to get your message across.

A brand refresh may also be needed to increase recognition and help expand your market reach.  

5. Keeping up With the Ever-Changing COVID-19 Regulations

There’s no denying how massive the impact of COVID-19 has been on everybody. And this impact will continue to ripple for both businesses and consumers in the next couple of years. As the world continues to shift, making long-term decisions will be difficult.

Solution:

Consumers have to adapt to the new normal while being concerned for their emotional and financial well-being at the same time. This is your chance to be a useful resource to them. 

Create events that are significant with the times. Anticipate what they need to know or how your product or service can be useful to them at this time.

The key is to let them experience your brand while keeping them updated, informed, or entertained in a way that doesn’t risk their safety.

Building a Relationship That Can Endure Any Crisis

Your event marketing strategy during a pandemic should remain flexible. It must be based on empathy and putting consumers first in order to build a relationship that can endure any crisis. 

It’s not a simple task, but with the right marketing insights and technological tools, you can turn the pandemic in your favour. 

If you need guidance in facing any of these challenges, you can count on The Concierge Club to help. With years of experience in marketing, we know how to listen and address consumer needs while driving sales and long-term growth for your company.

Contact us today to learn more about how you can navigate your event marketing strategy during a pandemic!

Marketing has taken on various forms over the years. It’s now evolved into a combination of utilizing both traditional and digital channels to promote products and services.

Advancement in technology has transformed the way we communicate, share, and disseminate information. And with the onset of this new media, the dynamic process of reaching your market has given birth to experiential marketing (XM).

Experiential Marketing Explained

What is experiential marketing? Can it help promote your brand and increase conversion? Is it more effective in reaching your market and engaging them than traditional marketing can?

While traditional marketing sees consumers as rational and their buying decisions a result of purely logical steps, experiential marketing sees them as both rational and emotional. 

This type of marketing acknowledges that a buyer doesn’t just use reason to purchase a product or service. There are a lot of other factors at play that affects consumer behaviour like imagination, spontaneity, fantasies, deep feelings, etc.

Because of this, experiential marketing uses all five senses to make consumers truly understand a product or service and differentiate it from the competition. 

Using unique and creative settings, experiential marketing enables consumers to experience your brand in ways that leave a lasting and meaningful impact.

Consumer Engagement in the Digital World

In today’s digital world, how does your brand stand out? How do you capture the attention of consumers and connect with them? 

The strategy of digital experiential marketing combines real-world experiential marketing with online methods to deeply engage consumers. With all the noise and competition, marketers have to come up with more creative and innovative ways to engage consumers using digital technology. 

Like Seiko, for example. The popular watch brand wanted to ignite engagement for the 2019 Australian Open. 

They built a virtual reality tennis court where people could get a chance to return-serve the VR avatar of Novak Djokovic, the world’s number one singles champion and an ambassador for Seiko. If successful, they would go home with a $1,000 cash prize and a limited edition Seiko watch. 

The campaign was a huge success because it gave people a chance to have fun using technology while getting to know the brand at the same time. And because they felt included or involved in the upcoming event, they also started looking forward to the Australian Open.

The result? There were 400 more participants in the event, major media coverage, and heightened event and brand awareness!

Benefit Cosmetics, a popular California-based cosmetic manufacturer, also did something state-of-the-art last year. They used “rooms” operating via VR technology and chat functionality for visitors to make the launch of their new mascara safe but immersive.

There were even live meet and greets and streamable music performances so audiences could quickly share the event to their own network. The event’s microsite drew 77,000 visitors from over 160 countries.

Experiential Marketing Engagement in the Real World

A billboard promoting a product or service is fine. But it’s just seen by consumers, nothing more, nothing less.

Experiential marketing in the real world takes this a step further by creating unique settings that stimulate the senses to draw consumers closer to you and create a positive, lasting impression.

A great example of experiential marketing engagement in the real world was the Polar Winter Festival, Canada’s first multi-level holiday drive-through experience. Situated in an ordinary six-storey parking lot, The Concierge Club transformed this commonplace venue into a magical winter wonderland.

Each level had its own theme designed to infuse some sense of normalcy and a whole lot of holiday cheer into an otherwise dreary 2020. Visitors to the event were transported through a crystal cave, LED light tunnel, a visit with Santa, and a whole lot more. 

The best part about this event was that you could immerse yourself in the experience in person while still staying safe and cozy because you didn’t have to leave your car!    

Positive and unique experiences that engage the consumers’ senses like the above not only reinforce the relationship of your brand to consumers, but it also creates a loyal fan base and build new ones!

The Benefits of Experiential Campaigns

Experiential marketing offers businesses a multitude of benefits. We’ve laid out some of the reasons why it’s worth investing in:

It Generates Leads and Increases Sales

According to statistics, 65% of companies affirm their experiential marketing events are directly related to their sales and 70% of users became repeat customers after an experiential marketing event.

It Attracts Media Attention

A unique and engaging experiential marketing event attracts influencers and media outfits to come to you. These people can help share your brand and spread the word! 

It’s Highly Shareable

An experiential marketing event that’s compelling—and therefore, worth sharing—will capture the interest of a lot of people, take pictures and videos, and then share them on social media. This will help your brand gain attention, so position your product or service as a positive experience creator to gain recognition!

Key Points in Creating Effective Experiential Campaigns

1. Find Your Customer Touchpoints

Check offline and online media touchpoints where your customers are most likely to engage. Reach out to a new audience in a distinctive format. At times, the more unique the setting is, the higher the engagement.

2. Create an Engaging Ad

Craft an ad that is distinct from your competitors and will attract customers to want to experience your product themselves.

3. Deliver a Personalized Experience for Your Product

Create a unique campaign that can evoke and engage all the senses of your consumers. This way, an emotional connection is created. Not only will it leave a lasting impression, but it will also create a bond with them.  

4. Track Your Campaign Response

Monitor your conversions from each campaign. You can effectively see which unique experience has positive reinforcement to your brand using tracking tools.  

You can also use how consumers responded to your product to develop your previous campaign into a better version.

5. Remind People to Share the Experience

During a campaign, encourage customers to share their unique experience with your product. Your customers are also influencers within their network of friends and family and a positive experience will most likely be shared.

An easy way to do this is by creating Instagram-worthy photo opportunities. This way, the experience speaks for itself! 

Reinforce Your Brand’s Relationship with Consumers with The Concierge Club

As the world spins new technology, new media formats are also born and engaging the consumer can become tricky and challenging.

This is where The Concierge Club thrives. We can’t wait to help you create unique experiential marketing campaigns to find, connect, and engage both old and new markets.

With over 10 years of experience in delivering one-of-a-kind campaigns to some of Canada’s most notable brands, we have what it takes to help your vision reach new heights. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help with your next experiential marketing event.

The holidays are a time for wonderment, celebration, and magic. Truly no other holiday evokes the same signature feelings of joy and hope – for children and adults alike! Unfortunately, this year is looking a little different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of you may be wondering what holiday themed activities are still in store for everyone to enjoy – with social distancing measures in place. With parades, holiday markets, and other holiday-themed events either shifted online or cancelled entirely this year, there’s been a lot of speculation about how to get Toronto excited about the holiday season. Well, you can put these worries to rest – because the Polar Drive-Through is coming to town!

The Polar Drive-Through is a one-of-a-kind multi-level immersive holiday experience that feels like you’re taking a trip through a holiday snow globe magical winter wonderland. The best part is, you can keep your family and loved ones safe, comfortable, and warm through the journey, whatever the weather conditions may be. Located at Toronto Pearson International Airport, Polar Drive-Through is a unique and fun way to get in the holiday spirit, say hi to Santa Claus, and not miss out on all the holiday cheer!

This event was meticulously and lovingly created by The Concierge Club, in partnership with Impact XM and Toronto Pearson Airport. We want the entire family to get in on the fun so we’re offering early bird rates at only $45 per car for a limited time.

Let’s get into the finer details!

Event Details

If you’re interested in taking part in Canada’s first-ever multi-level Polar Drive-Through holiday experience in Toronto, here is everything you need to know:

If you’re interested in taking part in Canada’s first-ever multi-level Polar Drive-Through holiday experience in Toronto, here is everything you need to know:

• Date: November 27, 2020 to January 3, 2021
• Time: Open daily, click here to view the schedule. Tickets are sold in 30 minute intervals to avoid long wait times.
• Location: 6145 Viscount Rd. Mississauga, Ontario. Located at the Toronto Pearson International Airport.
• Average duration: Approximately 30 minutes (Note: time will vary based on traffic).
• Pricing:
• For a limited time early bird tickets will be available at $45 per car
• Purchasing information: All payments are completed online. Once a payment is made, you will automatically be sent a PDF ticket that will be scanned  as you enter the Polar Drive-Through.

A Toronto Holiday Experience for the Whole Family

Most of our favourite family holiday activities have been put on hold this year. Particularly activities that are experiential and get you out of the house. That’s why we’re so excited to bring Toronto our Polar Drive-Through multi-level event, an experience that’s meant for the entire family.

This event was made with a safety-first, community-focused mindset so that while you’re driving through our many levels of wonderment, you still feel connected to your family or group in this shared experience. Due to the fact that this is a drive-through event, you will need a vehicle to participate. To ensure proper safety measures are followed, you must stay in your vehicle at all times.

As you enter the Polar Drive-Through, make sure you don’t blink! Here are some features you won’t want to miss:

Six Levels of Holiday Sights and Sounds

On your drive-through this holiday journey you will encounter three light tunnels and three decor floors. We promise, it’s like driving through the North Pole itself.

Each level of the drive-through event features its own unique and elaborate design, filled with iconic holiday elements that are loved by all generations. First, you will dash away down an immersive LED light tunnel, then escape to a magical winter wonderland with larger than life holiday decor. After that, be ready to have your breath taken away as you descend into the crystal cave inspired tunnel. And what are the holidays without Santa Claus? That’s right, here’s your chance to snap a picture as you drive past the real Santa. The holidays are all about the sparkle, and the next light tunnel will deliver just that. Lastly, the final decor level will have you feeling all things gold while you’re immersed in a gold-filled scenery that is dazzling with lights and grandeur.

With all these exciting visual treats and splendor, the experience is meant to be enjoyed by people of all ages. It’s truly the perfect opportunity to build childhood memories and for adults to reinvigorate the inner child and get some instagrammable photos out of it at the same time.

Holiday Music

No drive-through holiday experience could be possible without the sounds of your favourite holiday music! We will be broadcasting all kinds of well-loved holiday tunes through a designated FM station upon arrival.

Our Green Initiative

This year, The Concierge Club founded an initiative that gives back to the environment by planting trees to offset our carbon footprint. So, as we plan, create, and experience the world of the Polar Drive-Through event, we will plant hundreds of trees to keep our practices as sustainable as possible.

Keep an Eye Out for Future Events

Our mission is to create memories for you and your loved ones through experiences and events just like the Polar Drive-Through. This is just the beginning – keep an eye out for other drive-in events, comedy nights, circus events, New Year’s fun and much more!

Get your Tickets Today!

Early bird tickets will be available for a limited time at $45 per car. Quantity is limited! So get your tickets now and mark your calendars.
Click here to secure your tickets today!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the limit of passengers per car and ticket?

One of the benefits you get in this drive-through event is that we only charge per car, not per person. We wanted everyone to be able to enjoy this holiday experience together and therefore, the maximum number of passengers that you can have depends on your vehicle’s legal capacity.

2. What happens if I arrive late?

We ask everyone to come at their scheduled time or even a few minutes earlier. This is because we have a holding area for cars to ensure the best, uncramped experience for everyone inside the drive-through. Latecomers may not be admitted. In special circumstances, we may be able to help reschedule your ticket to a session at a later time as long as slots are still available.  

3. Can I coordinate my booking with another car?

Of course! If you want to experience the Polar Drive-Through with another vehicle, it is possible to coordinate your bookings to be simultaneous. Please ensure you arrive together so that your cars are next to each other in the line up, otherwise we cannot guarantee that you will be right next to each other.

4. Will restrooms be available on site?

Restrooms are not available, so please ensure that everyone uses the washroom beforehand.

5. Can I purchase tickets at the door?

No you cannot. This drive-through event is scheduled to avoid long wait times for our guests. Please purchase your tickets online for your preferred visit time here. We kindly ask that only those with prepaid tickets to come to the door.

THE NEED FOR EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING IN A SOCIALLY-DISTANCED WORLD

COVID-19 has shaken things up—life, business, and the way of the world all feel so very different. Because they are different. But different isn’t something to fear; it’s an opportunity to rise.

For experiential marketing agency (like us) who create memorable brand experiences usually in large group environments, the opportunity now is to get creative and shift. 

We asked ourselves: Can meaningful experiential marketing exist for brands in a time of social distancing? 

The answer is Absolutely!

The reason being: Consumers are still buying products. And as long as there are consumers, there is a market for connecting them directly with brands and the values they stand for.

Is your organization prepared with a solid marketing and brand plan and presence 6 months from now? A year from now?

Tips and Tricks for Creating Memorable Brand Experiences in a Pandemic

• Don’t Stop Being You 

Don’t change your brand to meet the new world’s ideals. Evolve your brand to align with your core and in a way that serves your consumers in a changing world.

• Define Your Desired Outcome

What do you want to happen? Who do you need on board (your target audience) to facilitate that success? Then, brainstorm. Finally, an opportunity to let creative juices run free. Cookie-cutter marketing solutions aren’t going to work in an upside-down world. Here’s your chance to get innovative.

• Follow the Rules

We want to interact with other humans, too. So much. But our responsibility—and yours—is to be responsible and follow guidelines to keep everyone safe. If this means pushing launch dates and canceling pre-scheduled events, do that. Your support at this time will be much more fondly remembered than your defiance.

• Do Something Different 

Be the brand that sees the opportunity. So you can’t have a large festival experience, so what? You can connect your consumers with your brand in a million ways. There is always another way. And if you collaborate with us, it’ll sure be memorable.

• Prepare Now for a Socialized World Later

This is a great time to prepare a campaign and/or experience for when social restrictions are lifted. If you’re ready at the start-gate when consumers are ready to interact again, you’re ahead of the game.

• Consider an Online-to-Offline Sales Model

Get creative with sales strategies and experiments. Maybe there is a missed opportunity that COVID is spotlighting right now. Online sales have significantly increased, as have take-out and deliveries in the restaurant space. This trend presents brands with an opportunity to keep consumer engagement high and physical interaction low. There are many ways to layer experiential into this new type of transaction during the search, purchase, delivery, and pick-up.

• Smart Brands are Prepared Brands

Many of our clients are neck-deep in planning with us. We’re looking at each business individually and building a plan for two things:

• The immediate environment, which is heavily regulated
• The post-COVID market. Because it will come back—new, fresh, different—with opportunities like never before.

Active planning 3-6 months in advance now will set you and your brand up for success when the world starts humming again. 

If you’re wondering where to start or how to shift in a post-COVID world, we can help. We’re abuzz with ideas. Contact us to connect your consumers to your brand in unconventional ways. Everything is possible.

The Concierge Club, the leading event marketing agency in Toronto, are experts at marrying beauty with design, passion with purpose and that has not changed. The team at The Concierge Club can help your brand create experiences worth sharing.

SURVIVING THE CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN:
THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR MARKETING AGENCIES

The world as a whole is going through one of its worst crises – probably the biggest one in our lifetime. The fast-spreading coronavirus has disrupted life as we know it, bringing entire nations to a standstill. Most countries have closed borders and are in a state of complete lockdown. In an attempt to slow down the spread of the Novel Coronavirus, educational institutions, public places like malls, movie theaters, pubs, nightclubs, swimming pools, parks, and beaches have been closed. Many offices are also in a lockdown with most employees working from home or being laid off.

It all sounds very ominous, but in reality, it is not. The virus has a low fatality rate, and by frequently washing hands and using sanitizers, and practicing social distancing, you can prevent the spread. Mainly people with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, respiratory illness, hypertension and so on, exhibit severe symptoms, and require hospitalization; the elderly are more susceptible than young healthy people.

So why is everyone so scared? This particular virus is a rapidly spreading one. It has an incubation of 14 days, which means that infection can be spread to many within that time if the infected person does not practice social distancing.

However, governments of all nations are taking stringent measures to fight the virus head-on. It is, after all, a matter of time; this too, will pass, and things will get back to normal, albeit slowly.

It is said that disasters and calamities also open the doors of opportunity for many. After all, life has to go on. If people do not continue their routines, there is absolutely no semblance of normalcy, and it can get very disheartening. There’s a saying that no winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn. Once the pandemic peaks, it can only go down. We will overcome this and return to work with renewed vigor.

Many of our problems are blessings in disguise…

In some ways, this social distancing, lockdown, and slowdown is a boon, especially for busy professionals and workaholics. This is probably nature’s way of telling us it’s time to slow down, take a breather, and learn to be human again! In addition to relaxing at home, this is a great opportunity to upgrade our skills, do some brainstorming, and churn out innovative strategies for when we resume work.

Event management agencies can use the downtime productively, by getting their staff to do online courses, research, brainstorm, and come up with innovative ideas for future events. Regular meetings can be conducted through Skype or other online platforms.

We can also organize online events – if heads of state can have online meetings to discuss matters of international importance, why can’t we do it as well? Furthermore, we can continue to serve our customers belonging to pharma, home entertainment, teleconferencing, and similar industries by chalking out long term data-centric strategies, and through online marketing campaigns. We are also exploring the option of teleconferencing or video conferencing with attendees of events that got canceled to facilitate virtual one-on-one sessions; this can also be replicated for sales executives and potential clients. In fact, virtual events including live streaming have the potential to actually help businesses implement the right strategy to generate new leads and convert more potentials into actual customers.

Another strategy that can be implemented is to conduct small localized events that eliminate the need for travel and large gatherings – this method has already been successful for smaller businesses; this is the right time to try it for larger corporates. Additionally, as an experiential agency, we are going back to the drawing board to chalk out a strategy on dealing with such contingencies in the future.

Likely Scenario After the Lull

In short, we are not giving up; we refuse to believe that we will not be able to serve our existing and potential customers anymore, or that there won’t be live events anymore.

We are confident that this lull in events is a temporary one, and a necessary one, to ensure the safety of our community. By taking the necessary precautions, we are hopeful that the coronavirus will have minimal impact on our lives. We are also confident, that once the lockdown is over and normalcy returns, we will see an upsurge in the number of events – after all, everybody will be looking to make up for the lost time and get back to human interaction.

And when that happens, we will be ready to serve all those businesses who need to reach out to potential customers, generate new leads, and get more customers to make up for the loss in revenues they experienced during the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

We will be their marketing partner, in full swing, bursting with innovative ideas for their upcoming events. Guiding them with unique g marketing strategies, and helping them achieve targets and business goals. We remain committed to delivering immersive, engaging experiences through myriad means, connecting businesses with their target audience and ideal buyers. By continuous learning, upgrading and fine-tuning of our skills, industry knowledge and technical expertise, we will continue to deliver enthralling experiences to our customers’ audiences, that will impact them in ways they never dreamt of before.

As an event management agency, we have had the opportunity to observe people up close, and have gained some telling insights into human behavior. Inasmuch, we are pretty sure that once the lockdown is eased, people will be more than eager to connect with one another, to meet, to gather, and to simply – celebrate life. After days or weeks of being closeted at home with immediate family and only occasionally meeting friends or neighbors, getting out to purchase essentials, everybody will welcome the opportunity to socialize once again. Human beings are, after all, social animals, and it is near impossible for us to live in isolation from one another.

This is the reason we are confident that there will be a boom in live events once the Coronavirus pandemic dies down; it is going to be a win-win situation: companies will want to get back to business as quickly as possible and start earning, and people are looking to connect with one another and get together. The Concierge Club will be with you – every step of the way; during this crisis, and beyond it as well.