PR 2.0

As noted in a previous post, MarketR worked with Toni&Guy Vancouver to deliver an incredibly successful Fashion event on Thursday February 5th 2009. This post will explain why the event was so successful and how you can achieve the same success at your next event.

Step 1: Develop A Strong Theme
The reason for the show was that Toni&Guy had been in Vancouver for 10 years. Toni&Guy wanted to celebrate with a fashion show. This did not mean the theme of the show had to be about the 10 years in Vancouver. Instead, the MarketR team and Toni&Guy felt it would be more exciting to highlight fashion from revolutionary times in history. The show would highlight periods involving industrial, sexual and art revolutions. To end the show Toni&Guy Vancouver would show off their creative skills by delivering a collection inspired by the revolution happening right now. The show was named W.A.R. - WorldArtRevolution.

The theme was controversial, it got peoples attention and more importantly it was inspiring.

Step 2: Continuity
MarketR made sure that everything about the show revolved around the theme.

-Posters, tickets, flyers,

-The Venue: The Penthouse Night Club was chosen as the venue for the show. This venue was chosen because of the historical significance to Vancouver and it fitted perfectly with the theme of the show. The MarketR team decided to add a touch of Toni&Guy to the venue: Toni&Guy videos were projected onto the building, a red carpet and planters were set up at the main entrance, all inappropriate pictures were removed or covered with Toni&Guy images and a runway was set up.
-The Media and Press Packs

To fit the theme of the show all media and press packs were hand delivered in document envelopes marked "Top Secret." Envelopes were personally addressed and labeled with a return address and a Toni&Guy stamp. Inside the envelopes was a press-release, a personal letter inviting them to the show + a guest, a letter indicating that a donation in their name had been made to Beauty Night for the enclosed tickets and a mini poster to put up in his/her office.

Step 3: Use The Most Powerful Tool Your Company Has, The Internet.
Because Toni&Guy Vancouver has been a client for some time now, MarketR was able to leverage the blog, email newsletter, twitter account, Facebook marketing, and online contacts to take the fashion show one level above the rest.

-The Blog
MarketR set up a blog for Toni&Guy almost a year ago. Toni&Guy Vancouver Hair Salon Blog. The blog has been incredibly successful and is growing at an incredible rate.

MarketR constantly updated viewers with small bits of information as the event was being planned. When the team secured the venue or found a new act for the show, readers were the first to know. MarketR also developed a mini-site widget for the blog in order to create buzz. We gave away VIP tickets on the blog and had live picture updates on the day of the event.

-E-Mail Newsletter
MarketR has developed initiatives in order to build a strong client email list for Toni&Guy.

Updates regarding the show were sent on a weekly basis through email to a large client list. Chances to win VIP tickets, buzz about what would be in the gift bags and behind the scenes pictures created a feeling of engagement for clients before the event even started.

-Twitter
MarketR recently launched a twitter page for Toni&Guy and it has blown away expectations. We get reports daily about new people following the twitter page.

The twitter account kept followers updated about new blog posts. It was kept personal with updates such as "WHAT, one of the models is sick and is bailing out of the show!" When new door prizes were secured the twitter followers were first to know. Conversations with the Beauty Night were open for Twitter followers to see.

-Facebook
A Facebook page was created by Toni&Guy staff. This allowed viewers to see the Facebook page as a behind the scenes look of the show. Candid pictures and personal messages were posted here. MarketR stepped up the Facebook advertising during the run up to the show. This resulted in an increase of 40% in viewers to the blog site.

-Online Contacts
Probably the most important strategy in this whole campaign. MarketR built relationships with local blog writers and sent them invitations to the event. This started a chain reaction of blog posts about the show. Combined with all of the strategies above, the buzz began to grow quickly.

Vancouver.com
Style.by.fire.com
Miss 604
vancouver magazine
hummingbird604
Mall Vibes
canadianblogs.com
cosmetology association
Canada.com/North Shore News
and the list goes on...

The Result: Not only did the event raise $3,000 for the charity Beauty Night, but it created an incredible amount of buzz for Toni&Guy Vancouver.

By leveraging the power of the internet we were able to create a buzz before the event even started. Individuals were able to see the behind the scenes of the show and feel engaged in the event planning process. The internet was the reason why the event was so successful.

Look out for pictures, video and reviews to pop-up about the show next week, as MarketR circulates press packs about the shows success around the internet.

Call MarketR to plan your next event and see the result immediately.