Hey you, eat this: the challenges of food sampling campaigns
FOOD & CATERING, MOBILE MEDIA
Couple of years back, Decibel took to the road for Doubletree by Hilton, managing their Cookie CAREavan sampling campaign. You know what we found out? Everyone loves free noms, and the stats back us up on that. According to a 2015 study by the Event Marketing Institute, consumers are 78{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} more likely to purchase a product if they re given the opportunity to try it out first. But if they have a negative experience, you might lose that customer for good.
Doubletree by Hilton Cookie CAREavan
Sampling campaigns, whether run indoors in a single location (think supermarket sampling stations) or on the road out of the back of a truck, feature their own unique challenges. Here are some of the crucial considerations when planning :
Sample Consistency
If every sample is a little different from the last, you won t be able to trust any feedback you might receive from tasters. If your sampling campaign is dispersed across multiple locations and your samples aren t served in individual packages, you ll need to write up a strict guide outlining the right way to complete preparation. That guide should detail any necessary recipes, serving sizes, ideal serving temperatures, serving containers and utensils.
Preparation Simplicity
It s much harder to maintain consistency if the preparation and service team has to jump through a dozen hoops to get those samples on the trays. If you can t afford a professional chef to accompany your team, keep sample preparation as easy as possible.
Environmental Temperature & Humidity
Taking your food on the road? Passing out sorbet in an Alabama summer? You ll need refrigeration. If you re stationary, this is less of a problem, but if you re going mobile, refrigerator-equipped trucks can increase campaign budgets significantly.
Serving Times
Sample food at an appropriate time of day. An ice-cream sampling campaign shouldn t launch in the morning, and you shouldn t be sampling waffles at 8pm.
Reporting
If you don t know what worked and what didn t, your sampling campaign loses effectiveness. Your team should ideally be able to provide post-campaign day-by-day reporting, which should include basic numbers (how many samples given, etc.), average dwell times (how long people hang around stand), and notes of any verbal feedback received.
The 5 Most Terrifying Experiential Marketing Vehicles of All Time
LOL, MOBILE MEDIA
No, man. Promotional vehicles are not whimsical client engagement tools. They re harbingers of fiery doom. They re existential crises imbued with motive force. Behold:
The Wienermobile
Look, hot dogs are delicious, OK? No one around here s saying otherwise. But there s a certain amount of willful ignorance involved. Every time you wrap your lips around an over-processed sausage, your brain is making a subconscious command decision to suppress questions like, Are there horses in this? and Why is it the color of tonsils? But one eyeful of the Wienermobile and your cerebral cortex is flooded with images of SOMETHING. It s a giant, glossy, plastic intestine stuffed with glossy, plastic flesh and driven by a crack team of wiener cultists that reportedly have ties to US congress:
The hotdogger position of driving the Wienermobile is open to U.S. citizens, and the job lasts from the first of June until the following first of June. Only college seniors who are about to graduate are eligible. Both current hotdoggers and Oscar Mayer recruiters visit college campuses across the country in search of the next round of hotdoggers. Candidates are screened from an average of 2000 applicants. Every March, a pool of thirty final-round candidates are brought to Kraft Foods and Oscar Mayer headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, for interviews. Each vehicle can hold two hotdoggers, and twelve people are chosen. Currently there are about 300 hotdogger alumni. U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan was not a hotdogger, but reportedly drove the Wienermobile one time as a guest during a summer job as a Kraft sales representative.
Woah.
Photo via Eventxchange.biz
Meow Mix Mobile
So, we want it to look a little like an acid-induced hallucination from the Disney adaptation of a popular Victorian children s novel, but we also want its eyes to fix passersby with an accusing, manic stare that bathes the darkest reaches of the soul in the floodlights of judgement, slavering gleefully in anticipation of their fall from grace. Like a real cat. Cool?
Planters NUTmobile
So, basically:
Avoid spending your summer fighting ants in the backyard by following the NUTmobile on Twitter.
City Bus Snake Wrap Copenhagen Zoo
You know what I don t have enough of in my life? Violent reminders of my mortality. What I want what I think most people want, really is a hint that civilization s dominion over nature is little more than a comforting delusion, and that we re all really one meteor strike away from returning to the boiling jungles from which we once emerged.
Butagaz Mobile Gas Tank
This shiny mound of fiery death on wheels was built in 1962 as a promotional vehicle for the butane distribution company Butagaz, and made its first appearance at the Tour de France. I can t even look at this thing without bracing for the inevitable explosion. Maybe, like, pre-Bruce Willis, when we all still believed that gas tanks on trucks could remain inert during transport, maybe in those golden days, you could get away with marketing via an oversized explosive device at a major sporting event, but this is a no-no in a post-Die Hard world.
Mobile (Road Show) Marketing Trends of 2015: Ideas & Inspiration
MOBILE MEDIA
The Kenzo Fashion Bus
Kenzo, who s marketing department are quickly proving themselves masters of experiential fashion, show off their hottest print of the season on the exterior of the Kenzo Fashion Bus.
The lower deck features a Kenzo fashion showroom where new SS15 runway collection and accessories are out on display, and available for exclusive pre-order for fashion bus passengers only. Whilst the upper deck plays host to the Kenzo lounge where refreshments are served up. (Buro 24/7)
Holiday Inn Pancake Selfies Bus
Narcissism and breakfast: two of our favorite things. Decibel was honored to work on the Doubletree by Hilton Cookie Careavan tour a couple of years ago, and we re twice pleased to tip the hat at the new Holiday Inn s innovative pancake selfie bus. Take a photo, and get your face printed on a pancake. And then eat the pancake, because Freud.
Volkswagon Truck Tracker
Volkswagon took a clever approach to promoting its new truck tracker: glow-in-the-dark truck wraps. From Trendhunter:
Volkswagen s Volksnet truck tracker system is extremely valuable for truckers, since they are often susceptible of having their cargo stolen, especially as they sleep. In order to get the word out about this truck tracking system, the S o Paulo-based agency AlmapBBDO sent out a unique truck to deliver an advertisement rather than cargo.
A standard cargo truck was set up with a phosphorescent wrap that became illuminated and ever-visible, even in the black of night. Simple bold text was used to reiterate that cargo will never disappear. With the Volksnet Glowing Cargo, the truck was driven up major roads in S o Paulo, serving as a way to show that your very precious cargo will never be out of sight. The ad is simple and extremely clear, since the trucks themselves serve as the messenger.
Samsung Safety Truck
Speaking of using trucks in ways other than intended, take a gander at the Samsung Safety Truck, which uses a mounted Samsung TV screen to help drivers conquer the frustrating visibility issues created by driving behind a massive carriage.
Air France Food Truck
Giving out samples of airline food to folks on the ground is risky. Unless, that is, you re Air France, you have a Michelin star chef creating the meals, and you re dead sure you ve got a solid product. According to Airline Trends:
Items on the menu included Pain au Chocolat for breakfast, cucumber and smoked salmon brochette (lunch), French Shepherd s Pie with duck confit (dinner) and assorted French macarons and petits fours as a dessert.Parked in one location per day, the Air France food truck could be found at respectively Rockefeller Center, Union Square, SoHo/Broadway and Wall Street.
Top 5 New Gadgets and Technologies We re Excited For As Event Managers
BACKSTAGE, EVENT COLLATERAL, EVENT INDUSTRY, EVENT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY, EXPERIENTIAL, MOBILE MEDIA
Earlier this year, Las Vegas played host to the largest tech conference of its kind, the Consumer Electronics Show 2018, or CES 2018 for short. The event showcases technology and cool gadgets, both real and conceptual, entering into the consumer realm. Here at Decibel Management, we re also excited to embrace (and play with) new technology and see how we can implement it into the world of event management. We paid close attention to the news coming out of CES this year as well as other tech markets and here are some items we are looking forward to seeing change the events game.
1. Samsung s The Wall Television
Come on. This is an easy one. A 146-inch micro-LED screen that is adaptive to its surroundings and has nearly endless customization features? Yes please. The Wall allows you to change the size and shape of the display, making customization of visuals and presentation limited only to your imagination. It can also mimic the area it is mounted to, allowing it to disappear from view or allow for more focused areas within the screen. Visuals are a fantastic way to gain engagement and attention at events and The Wall has the size for both main stage focus and the discreetness for professional and intimate settings. Price tag: don t-care-we-want-one USD.
2. Laptop/Tablet Combo Computers
Going to be honest. We don t think combo computers is the official name for these devices, but we liked the way it sounded. Essentially these are laptops that can convert and fold over to function as a touchscreen tablet. While this technology has been around for a few years, it is only now actually being perfected and made to be less clunky. Take Dell s XPS 13 2-in-1 for example. It has a sleek design, is responsive and has great battery life. As event managers we are running around, like constantly. Being able to work on the go, while standing, lying down or trapped in a shipping container is essential and the 2-in-1 technology is making that easier. Now if only Apple would get on board.
3. Projection Phones
The headline says it all. These are phones that can project videos, pictures and media onto any surface. Again, small projection devices have existed for a few years but they are just now starting to live up to expectations. Look at the Movi Phone unveiled at CES 2018. It s an Android smartphone that can project in beautiful 720p. Granted that s no 1080p, but come on it s literally shooting out of the back of your phone. As event managers, being on the road and having to respond quickly comes with the territory. Projection phones allow giving on the fly presentations or adding quick visuals to a space easy and relatively affordable.
4. Augmented & Virtual Reality Technology
Augmented and virtual reality is on the rise in 2018 (or at least Steven Spielberg hopes it is) and has the potential to have a significant effect on the events industry. For the first time ever you don t actually need to attend an event in order to be there. Hell, there doesn t even need to be an actual event space anymore. Just strap on your virtual reality gear and suddenly you re at the Bellagio for your company s sales conference. The best part is that the equipment for this technology is pretty affordable too, with many AR and VR devices only costing a couple hundred dollars. Don t get us wrong, we believe there is no substitute for true in-person engagement, but we are excited to see how this new technology will change the industry. At the very least it could make the conference calls between our D.C. and NC offices a little more entertaining
5. Wireless Charging
We know. Charging your device does not sound as sexy as a 146-inch high-def modular TV from the gods (please someone buy us The Wall ) but it s a great example of a subtle technology that will change our lives as event managers. Companies like Powercast and Energous have developed technology that allows your devices to be charged wirelessly .THROUGH THE AIR. Imagine never having to be tethered to a wall again while
you re late for a presentation but you need to send out that one last email so you don t get fired and oh God your kid s school is calling now, damnit what did Billy do this time. Well, this scenario could soon be a thing of the past, well at least the being tethered part, Billy is still a monster. At Decibel, we are seriously excited at the prospect of an entire event space being charged. All the attendees no longer having to fight over the two outlets in the venue, everyone happily snapping pictures, sending emails etc. while throwing caution to the wind over their power bar levels. Ahh.
Honorable Mention: Self Delivering Pizza Trucks
It s a thing now and we don t think this requires an explanation. Just hurry up and get to Washington, D.C. already.
Audience Engagement: A Trend To Watch Literally.
BACKSTAGE, EVENT COLLATERAL, EVENT INDUSTRY, EVENT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY, EXPERIENTIAL, MOBILE MEDIA
While 2018 may only be in its infancy, we have already seen some amazing productions take place. The first few months of this year have played host to some of the largest global events in the industry. One trend we here at Decibel Management are seeing consistently is how planners have up d the game for audience engagement, but not just for those in attendance, but rather those viewing at home.
The Super Bowl:
Polls show that 92{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} of Super Bowl views can t even name the two teams playing in the game (not a real stat). But let s face it, most of us just watch for the commercials and to have an excuse to gorge yourself on various batter & sauce covered foods. That s why the people behind the Super Bowl are always looking for ways to have viewers turn the sound back up on their TV once the commercials are over. This past year marked Super Bowl LII (that s 52 for those of us who forgot our Freshman year Western Civ lectures) and the producers brought in a big hitter for the halftime show. None other than JT himself, Justin Timberlake. While many viewers may have watched the half-time show in hopes of another wardrobe malfunction , unfortunately, Janet Jackson s invite was lost in the mail. However, the production teams came up other tactics to make viewers feel like they were right there in the mix. Much of the halftime show was shot at ground level in single shot format, the camera moving around the field with Timberlake, resulting in a viewing experience designed to make you feel like you were in the stadium walking alongside. The icing on the cake came towards the end of the performance when Timberlake entered the stadium s seating area to dance and sing with those in attendance, thus helping to further remove the wall between performer and audience. We even got a new meme out of it! #selfiekid
The 2018 Winter Olympics In Pyeongchang:
The Olympics are notoriously difficult for producers. Whether it s the time differences (this year saw a nearly 12-hour gap for the US East Coast and Pyeongchang) or viewers lack of interest in hurling a rock down an ice rink and sweeping it along. There are many hurdles to overcome when coming up with strategies for this event. NBC had an interesting tactic for this year s games Quantity. NBC live-streamed a record-breaking 1,800+ hours of coverage, including every single event, over 100 medal events and 24/7 news and highlights, almost doubling their coverage from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Viewers had more access and viewing options to this global event than ever before, making the Olympics feel more accessible and approachable. So sorry to all the chumps who bought round-trip flights to South Korea, chances are the fans at home got way more Olympic intake than those in attendance. Which is great news if you love shooting guns while cross-country skiing.
The Academy Awards:
The Oscars have seen declining viewership in recent years. The 2018 Academy Awards saw the lowest ratings ever. Yep. EVER. It was the least watched Oscars broadcast since their inception, down a whopping 19{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} from just last year. I mean, who doesn t love a four hour ceremony of celebrities thanking themselves. However, while viewership may be down amongst this event that many people see as being out of touch or unrelatable, it s not for lack of trying. This year s awards included a segment where host Jimmy Kimmel surprised a theatre full of unsuspecting movie-goers with a who s who of celebrities handing out snacks and talking with the audience. You see, THEY RE JUST LIKE US! The Oscars team also attempted to poke fun at themselves a bit, by having a jet-ski giveaway for the recipient with the shortest acceptance speech. While elements like these work to remove the barrier between Hollywood and the audience, it s clear the Academy Award producers face an uphill battle if they want to get back to where the ratings used to be. Our vote: host the next ceremony at the Super Bowl halftime. It ll be a win-win.
With all this emphasis on audience engagement for those not in attendance, we are interested to see how this could have an effect on live event production moving forward. New tech and production techniques are making it easier and more cost effective to have offsite attendees. As an event management team, we believe there is no substitute for in-person impressions, but this is definitely a trend we ll be tracking and embracing.
