“EG Tips” – Planning a Fashion Show – Crawl Before You Catwalk

“EG Tips” – Planning a Fashion Show – Crawl Before You Catwalk

by | May 7, 2019 | EG Tips

A Fashion show is different from any other event in several ways; they are fast-paced live productions that usually last no more than 18 minutes and there are many creative people involved in the production which requires a delicate touch.

Fashion shows can take months of planning (depending on the venue, the designer and other factors), because of many disparate elements and personalities involved, there is a high probability of error, drama, meltdown or worse. Finally, on a good note, catering is not usually a line item. With all this in mind, I can offer five essential components that will ensure a low level of drama and a high level of success.

Respect the Designer’s Vision

Remember from the start, a fashion show is an event to highlight the designer’s vision and genius. There is only one ego in the room and that is the designer’s. Everyone else can check it at the door! Creating sometimes 3 collections, or more, every season is a monumental task that is exhausting, exhilarating and expensive.

It is understandable that a designer wants the best scenario in which to present his or her work and it’s your job to create that. So do some research and know the designer’s work prior to meeting, look at past fashion shows to see if there is a theme, a preferred style in lighting, music, décor. Pay attention to what model types the designer favors. All of this, even though it may change from show to show, will help you make an informed and effective presentation to the designer and his or her team.

Know Fashion History

You have to love fashion to produce fashion shows. I don’t have to love cars to do an event for Mercedes, or Cornflakes to do an event for Kelloggs, but fashion is another story. It’s important to know the names of major players, editors, photographers, hair stylists, makeup artists, models, other designers (although you only whisper those names backstage!). It’s essential to understand trends, color, fabrics and fit and cut.
There is an entire language around fashion and some of it changes by the second – especially with the prevalence of social media, so it’s best to bone up on fashion history and know the difference between an A-line and an appliqué.

The Importance of PR and Marketing

It is most likely, early in the game, that you will be contacted by a public relations or marketing person before you even meet the designer. It is the job of the marketing firm to hire event professionals.
They will be looking for someone who has experience, has passion and thinks creatively, who understands and loves fashion, knows the designer’s work and why he or she is important, someone who is an expert at organization, timing and staying on budget. An event professional with impeccable references, a first-rate team and who understands the complexities of live show production.

Models’ Agents are your Best Friends

If you’re just starting out in the fashion show business, it’s unlikely that you will get the opportunity to produce a show for a major designer or fashion house – say Prada, Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Givenchy or St.

Laurent. Those designers have people they’ve worked with for years and who know exactly what they do and do not like. Plus, the stakes are too high for an amateur producer. The cost of producing a couture show can run into the millions.

If you’re fortunate enough to produce a show for a small design house or new designer, the production, although smaller, has all of the same elements and needs just as much attention and expertise. You will need models, and that is why agents are your best friends.
They need to market their girls, many of whom are just starting out in the business and need experience and photos for their portfolios, so it’s a win-win situation. The relationship between fashion show producer and model agent is a beautiful thing.

Organize Like Never Before

Get organized! If you think you’ve got it together, you’re wrong. Fashion shows are events on steroids. Hire excellent people to work with you – people who are ready to work hard, keep their opinions to themselves, stay quiet, calm and collected. As the producer, it is your job to delegate, to orchestrate, to assign specific items and tasks to staff members best suited to complete them efficiently, with deadlines and progress reports.

You have to juggle apples, oranges and eggs all at once – corralling staff and keeping everyone motivated and focused, meeting with your client who is in most cases the marketing or public relations firm who hired you, staying in contact with the designer’s team for updates, changes and additional requests from the designer, and keeping everyone informed all along the way so that there is a seamless, cohesive creative vision with the goal at all times being … back to number one… respecting the designer’s vision.

In Conclusion

These are some of the first steps in fashion show production – things that will help you by knowing what to expect in those important first meetings. My golden rule is: Listen More, Say Less. But, know your stuff and be ready to answer questions enthusiastically with fresh and insightful ideas. The fashion industry is a creative industry and as such, respects the artistic vision.

(Social Coup LLC)

“EG Tips” – Ignite Organic Excitement for your Event

“EG Tips” – Ignite Organic Excitement for your Event

by | May 5, 2019 | EG Tips

Want to increase ticket sales without begging and pleading? It’s not as hard as you think. Try these five steps.

Imagine extreme word of mouth support for your event, the kind that drives instantaneous ticket sell outs. Imagine not having to ask and remind people of discounts and deadlines. How do you make that fantasy a reality? How do you increase organic excitement about your event and reach that critical mass where your tribe “sells” the event for you?

In order to achieve organic excitement, you must ensure several things. You must have:

  • an event that is exciting, at least to your ideal audience
  • created materials associated with your event that your audience will share
  • made those materials easy to share
  • an impressive bullhorn with which to magnify their excitement

Put even more simply: you must give them something to talk about.
There are a few ways to achieve this. While some event planners luck out with a viral event due to someone with a large tribe talking about it, as the old saying goes, for most people it takes a very long time to be an overnight success.

Follow these 5 steps to ignite excitement and increase event ticket sales:

Step 1: Create an Amazing Event

This isn’t easy but it’s infinitely easier if you know your ideal audience. After all, you’re not looking to create an amazing event for the entire world – just the people who would be most interested in buying tickets.Know your audience. Give them what they want, preferably in a way that is new and exciting. Create an experience for them surrounding something they need or desire. Personalize your approach to them and the right people will take notice. Don’t worry about the other guys. Make your ideal audience feel like you’re talking just to them. When you do, they’ll tell their tribe about you because you’ll be the one who “gets them.”

This also means creating resources that they benefit from them and helping them, answering the questions they have, and covering topics of interest to them in a way that is personalized and speaks to their needs.

Step 2: Make It Easy to Talk About

You’ve created an amazing event and attracted the right kind of people. Now you have to ensure that you make it easy for them to talk about you. A few ideas include:
Social share buttons when they register. Let them tell the world where they are going. Their friends will likely check out your event and you may even get registrants out of it. Plus, people tend to look when they see a crowd accumulating. If people see a virtual “crowd” of people sharing that they are going to the event, they won’t want to be left out. But attendees may not share if you don’t make it easy.

  • Content reminders. Remind people on the registration page that the event is even more fun with a friend.
  • Friend invitations. Offer something cool for attendees who share their friends’ emails or create an auto-populating template for easy invitations for friends.
  • Provide a hashtag from the beginning. Share your event hashtag on your event registration page and beyond. Make sure prospects, attendees, and everyone else knows your event hashtag and uses it.
  • Design a Facebook frame for registrants. What better way to tell people you’re going than by creating a profile frame?
  • Create a badge. Create a fun badge people can place on their website after registering.
Step 3: Recognize Super Loyal Fans

You can create a brand ambassadors group for your event or you can recognize those who have claimed the title unofficially. If you see someone talking about you online, engage them in conversation. Thank them for their efforts and surprise them with something special. They will continue to talk about you and likely share what you’ve done.

Ask them if you can use their social commentary on your website or marketing collaterals. It’s not necessary but is a courtesy. Also, consider gifting them with a special badge on check-in. Make them feel like a VIP.

Step 4: Referral Discounts

Next, people are more likely to enjoy events with friends. While networking, and meeting new people, is of great interest to attendees some people will feel more at home if you encourage them to bring a friend. One of the best ways to do this is through referral discounts.

You can also use a form of referral discounts in affiliate agreements or offer a discount/refund to ticket holders who refers a certain number of people to your event by assigning personalized registration codes. This incentivizes people to talk about your event. If you give them a discount code they can offer to friends and connections, they’ll likely feel like a very important person and their tribe will see them that way as well.

Step 5: Host a Contest

Social media contests get lots of shares. Everyone wants to win. They can generate a ton of engagement and help you get noticed. However, before you launch any social media contests, ensure you understand the laws of the platform you are using. On Facebook, for instance, there are certain phrases and calls to action you cannot use without angering the powers that be.

If you anger these forces, you may be told to cease and desist or your page could be frozen, something we assure you will do nothing for your organic excitement.

In Conclusion

Encouraging people to talk about your event is not as difficult as you might imagine. The formula is simple:
A great event + easy ways to share and drive traffic = organic magic.
But remember, “overnight success” takes commitment and an executable plan when it comes to events. Creating marketing collaterals and expecting them to go viral is like funding your retirement by buying lottery tickets. Organic excitement must be carefully constructed by understanding audience interests and needs.

(Social Coup LLC)

“EG Tips” – 6 Easy Ways to Increase Attendees Interaction

“EG Tips” – 6 Easy Ways to Increase Attendees Interaction

by | May 2, 2019 | EG Tips

As an event planner you thrive on seeing your guests connect with other attendees and engage in the content or experience being presented. You would love for every attendee to leave your event saying “That was an amazing experience! I am so happy I attended and I met so many wonderful new people.”… but as we all know, that isn’t always the case.

So what can you do as a planner to ensure your guests leave feeling connected? How can you improve their level of engagement and provide a more enjoyable experience?

  1. Build Anticipation

    Increasing engagement with your guests begins long before the first person arrives. Finding new and innovative ways to interact early on with your attendees (and potential attendees) can be the key to getting them hooked and encouraging registration sales.

    If you are planning a large national event, jump start your registration sales by hosting state meet-ups or select city events. These smaller, more informal, gatherings provide an opportunity for guests to become excited about attending your event, increase attendance and build a significant level of anticipation for what attendees can expect at the national level.

    Kickoff events also provide an opportunity for attendees to mix and mingle, so when they arrive at the larger event they will already have connections! This will exponentially increase the engagement level and provide additional value, even before your guests arrive.

  2. Interact on Social Media

    As we all know social media is a great way to connect during events. You can use hashtags, handles, and even event specific apps to build an online community around your event.
    This also provides a chance to participate from anywhere in the world, which is particularly nice for guests who can’t physically attend.

    During your event you can provide your speaker’s Twitter handles, create event specific hashtags, and promote the sponsors, vendors or charities through social media. The opportunities to engage online are endless!

    Social Media can also be a fabulous way to interact prior to everyone arriving. If you are trying to build anticipation (see #1) you could host a hangout online or create a Twitter chat using a unique hashtag.

    These online “events” could be hosted, before, during or after the event to increase and prolong the engagement of your attendees. Gathering feedback in this fashion is another fabulous way to connect.

  3. Create Small Groups

    Large groups can be overwhelming and intimidating for your attendees. Everyone dreads the feeling that comes over you when you are new to a group and you don’t know anyone. Creating small group interactions will assist your guests in overcoming the initial awkwardness that can happen at large scale events.

    Perhaps encourage involvement based on the table your guests are assigned to or maybe groups can be broken down by region, age, etc. Large gatherings can be segmented in many different ways and finding these small groups can help break the ice between any group of strangers.

  1. Host a Happy Hour

    Who doesn’t enjoy happy hour after a long day at an event? If you are hosting a daytime gathering, consider guiding the crowd out afterwards to a smaller happy-hour-style event.

    Many large conferences provide these opportunities and it allows for a more intimate group setting where you can discuss ideas and build relationships. Having the chance to interact in a more relaxed environment puts everyone at ease and often times generate the best conversations and connections.

    Keep in mind; it doesn’t necessarily have to involve alcohol. Any type of afterhour’s activity will do the trick. You could host your group at a local sporting event, city tour or attraction. Providing these unique opportunities will make your event a true experience for your guests.

  2. Provide Networking Friendly Areas

    Often times at crowded events, guests struggle to find the proper space to have a quality conversation. Nothing is worse than trying to carry a conversation while trying to balance a drink, plate and briefcase.
    Try to keep this in mind when looking at your venue and do your best to create a networking area with tables, chairs, and ample space. Ask your presenters to be present in these locations when they have downtime between sessions. This will make those high-profile speakers more approachable, and it will encourage your guests to reach out to connect with them or ask questions that they perhaps didn’t want to ask in a larger setting.

  3. Create Question and Answer Opportunities

    Providing sessions or panels that are solely dedicated to participation are fantastic ways to encourage your attendees to get involved in the conversation. Allowing for Q&A opportunities can provide guests with real-life scenarios and many times, these sessions provide more value than having presenters speak for hours on end. Because these types of breakout sessions involve the audience, they are more engaging and encourage your audience to be more attentive.

In Conclusion

(Social Coup LLC)