Promo FAIL
In preparation for this year’s conference we’ve been brainstorming on ways to spread the word and continue building the brand of CREATIVEMIX. Some of the questions we’re asking are: Should we do the 100% recycled coffee sleeves again (they were cool, useful, but were a lot of work to distribute)? What about posters? Facebook ads are so 2007, should we just tweet our blog posts instead? How can we generate love and web traffic for those who help spread the word? Do you think people would join an affiliate program if we give them $10 for every ticket they helped us sell? How much is a colour ad? You’re kidding, right? And so on, and so on.
Now, for whatever reason, my brain got sidetracked the other day with all of the things that I HATE about events (and event-related marketing) and I went OFF on a mental tangent that produced some totally useless but funny images (at least to me, I giggled as I photoshoped). So, I’m going to call this a little window into everything that I think is sick and wrong with respect to events. Here’s some event promotion FAIL items that I’ve received in the past when attending an event, conference, or tradeshow; a couple at the end are just for fun – I got carried away.
 Stress Squeeze Toy |
 Silly Putty |
|---|---|
 Logo Launcher |
 Game Cube |
 Frisbee |
 Credit Card |
 Snuggie Blanket |
 Pack of Smokes |
Now I have to get back to work. The moral of the story is: cut out the crap. We’re going to continue with what we did last year: keep things simple like not giving people a name badge or a printed program and making everyone use ceramic coffee cups filled with Ethical Bean Coffee – that kind of stuff. How we’re going to get people there is still being worked out. Chime in if you like.
So if you’re planning an event do the world a favour and don’t destroy the earth one tchotchke at a time. If you need gifts or giveaways for your event be smart and order it from Saul Good Gift Co.
Posted by: Corwin Hiebert [This post can also be seen on CREATIVEMIX.ca/blog]
You won’t remember me but I took a an Event Planning course of yours a long time ago, I work for VCC. Actually, I wasn’t able to even finish this class due to reasons I could go on about, but I’ll save you the reading 
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I’ll take two of the snuggies and a pack of smokes please. JK. Great post. The last thing people need is more crap. Ironic that the one thing that is “useful without cluttering up our lives” is the smokes.