Chocolate Collaboration

"Welcome to the Lindt Bear Holiday Experience." I worked a 6 day - 2 weekend - promotion for Lindt Chocolate to encourage holiday spirit. The promo, executed by Elite Marketing, consisted of an outdoor station equipped with several interactive components:

- Two ipads on stands outside of the tent displayed the new Lindt Bear app - It has an animated talking Lindt Bear (with a voice that sounds like someone who sucked helium) that records your voice and gives you the option to send the recorded message to family/friends. The free app is only available for iphones/ipads and can be downloaded from Itunes (from a link on the Lindt website).

- A lifesize inflatable Lindt Bear stood in the middle of the tent for people to pose with for free photo ops. We took the pics on an ipad (standing atop a tripod) and people entered their email addresses on the device to receive their photo. If they clicked the agree box before sending the email the photo would appear on the Lindt Facebook page. The ipad did not store any of the photos.

- An ipad on a stand outside of the tent allowed people to share their Lindt Bear photos via social media (Facebook/Twitter) or through email. We prompted people to enter the same email address they used for the photo and their photo would come up on the screen alongside the sharing options (which required users to log in). The ipad did not store any information. 

*The table loaded with clear-plastic cylinders filled with chocolate, bags of truffles, and big Lindt Bears was not for interacting. Hands off please. Display only! *

 *A giant inflatable Lindt Bear attracted curious crowds from a distance.*

And there was us ! - a group of people in santa hats, big red jackets, and black scarfs bearing golden Lindt logos (that we didn't get to keep). Our job, as the promo staff, was to engage as many people as possible with the brand.

We shouted in the street and gave out complimentary (milk chocolate) Lindor Truffles and mini Lindt Bears to passerby, along with 20% off coupons for the Lindt store. The location for the first half of the promo (Novemeber 29th, 30th, & December 1st) was the corner of 39th and Broadway. The tourists walking by were especially pleased by the display. It was nice to hear all the accented "Thank you"s as we distributed one piece of chocolate per person and offered other perks. The location for the other half of the promo (December 6th, 7th, & 8th) was the corner by the Diesel store in Union Square. As the hours winded down there were different chocolate rules - only people who took a photo would receive chocolate, a gigantic handful of it. Seriously, we happily shoveled chocolates into joined palms, pockets, purses, shopping bags, and backpacks. The other incentive program was rewarding people who shared their photo with three truffles packaged in a small bag. It pays to be a participant! A common question was why were we doing the promotion and my answer was for fun! People, no matter who they are, are always shocked by free goods that don't have a catch, especially in the city - just take them and be happy! 

Working the promo was entertaining and strenuous. The Lindt promo team was comprised of a bunch of good-humored individuals and we braved the coldness - which was the number one struggle - long hours, technical difficulties, hunger, and rude/crazy/conniving people with grace. I enjoyed compelling the masses with chocolate.

And I loveeee the inflatable Lindt Bear - we are a perfect match of adorable.

 

(all photo cred to me except the group photo, sharing ipad photo, and my pic on the ipad photo which are from Elite's Facebook. all the pics of me with the Lindt Bear were emailed to me.)

Tequila Talk

I was a brand ambassador for Maestro Dobel Tequila at Catch for Gotham Magazine’s party on November 15^th. I was hired by Select Promotions LLC for the event after being approved by the liquor client. They provided me with an outfit for the event consisting of a see-through black lace tanktop, a black skirt with pleather peplum, and long black gloves sporting DOBEL on the sleeves. (Super cute! I wish I could have kept it.) The look was completed with my hair styled in a bun, red lipstick, and heels.

          (photo cred to Cindy Ord, Getty Images)

                                (photo cred to Cindy Ord, Getty Images)

 

 I worked the promotion with another girl, Shoshanna.

                                               (photo cred to Cindy Ord, Getty Images)

We were responsible for giving cocktails made with Dobel to the guests and talking about the tequila. Maestro Dobel is the world’s first crystal-clear aged tequila – it’s made with reposado, anejo, and extra-anejo. 

                                                        (pages from Maestro Dobel booklet)

We served three different cocktails:

 - Twisted Tale: grapefruit juice, grenadine, agave nectar

 - Juan’s Addiction: orange juice, agave nectar

 - Great Escape: cucumber, basil leaves, simple syrup, lime juice, agave nectar 

We loaded our black, DOBEL marked, trays with four drinks at a time from the bar and made rounds throughout the lounge for two hours. The venue was packed and we had to lift our trays over the crowds while weaving through, but most of the time we only took a few steps before our trays were emptied. I expected the quick grabs – Who (at a party) doesn’t love unlimited free drinks?  

    (photo cred to Gotham Magazine, Twitter) 

Working the event was such a tease for me – I love tequila but I had to be a sober server. At least I walked away with a free bottle of Maestro Dobel – I couldn’t think of a better gift bag stuffer or goodbye. 

                                              (photo cred to Cindy Ord, Getty Images)

                                                        (photo cred to me)

Boosting Business

I worked both days of the NY Business Expo, November 14^th & 16^th, as a representative for the full-service advertising agency Eventige. 

                                              (cover of booklet distributed at expo)

                                                      (my badge)

 

I sat alongside another girl at the company’s table, backed by impressive signage that caught the attention of fellow expo attendees, and we gave info on the business to everyone that stopped by. Eventige does anything a company needs to effectively promote itself. It specializes in social media marketing, brand design, hosting events, and utilizing new digital technologies (to name a few things). Its focus is innovation and the company works to make its clients significantly stand out. Its client list is extensive and has a large range. Eventige is a new company, existing for two years, that is highly successful. It is based in New York, in midtown Manhattan, and has offices in several countries. Eventige enjoys operating in an untraditional way and there were small evidences of this at the expo: having two tables that were back-to-back and business cards with the texture of credit cards. Many expo-goers commented (positively) on the double representation and durable cards. They were also lured by the pop-out display of material squares supported by black metal bars that stood behind the table. 

                     (photo cred to me)

                                             (front&back of business card, photo cred to me)

Rows of tables lined the 69^th Regiment Armory, located at 25^th street & Lexington Ave., for the expo. Over a hundred businesses were in attendance and the setup looked like any regular informational fair, nothing fancy.

 

                    

                                       (from booklet)

Everyone networked with one another, giving and getting a bunch of business cards. All the people that I spoke with were polite and attentive, which was pleasant considering I’ve worked a lot of public events where I’ve had to interact with ridiculous people. The expo didn’t have many attendees separate from the exhibitors. The traffic was super slow and I think everyone was anticipating a bigger turnout. I also believe there should have been free snacks, no offense to ‘wichcraft who sold food at the event. (I heard its stuff is tasty.) Overall, the event was successful. I know Eventige definitely gained some clients and that’s the important thing.      

      (photo cred to me)

  

One of the most common answers to questions I was asked at the expo was “Yes.” Eventige’s services are highly individualized and the company is interested in all prospects. Alexei, founder & CEO of Eventige, and Roman, Events Director, are an engaging team, and that is the reason I agreed to work the expo (aside from monetary compensation of course). They offered me the position because of my good performance on another gig they booked me for.

SIDENOTE:

 – This summer I was a brand ambassador for three days at Boom Fitness. I stood/sat in the lobby of the gym and gave out (individually addressed) cards that listed specials to the members and I explained the main promotion. (They would get a free month at the gym for every person they referred –who signed up– and that person would pay a low enrollment-fee. The amount of people referred/free months was unlimited.) I found the posting for this job on Craigslist (where I find the bulk of my gigs). –

                                                        (all photo cred to me)              

                                         (photo cred to Eventige's Facebook page)

END OF SIDENOTE

Anyway, Alexei and Roman are super cool because they are chill while remaining professional and it is my pleasure to represent their business. I believe in the quality of their work and I appreciate visionaries.      

 (inside of Eventige brochure)

 (outside of Eventige Brochure) 

 (me & Amy, Day 1, photo cred to Benz Lenz Photography)

     (Day 2, photo cred to me)