Experiential campaigns I've been working on!

I've been a busy bee working on some really awesome... and some not so awesome campaigns lately. With my job, I really do have to take the good with the bad sometimes- some campaigns are amazingly well thought through and executed and some are disorganised, boring and frankly feel a bit pointless!

So I thought I'd let you know what I've been working on and what I thought worked and what didn't from a frontline point-of-view!

#BLUFREEDOM

This is one of the best campaigns I've ever worked on, yet when the brief came in I was a little sceptical as working with a tobacco brand can sometimes be seen as a little bit unethical and I wasn't sure what the reaction would be.

For those who don't know- blu is a US-based e-cigarette company which has just been acquired by Imperial Tobacco, based here in Bristol. The brand was launched in the UK back in 2014 through these launch parties, showcasing their brand values and providing a sampling experience for their target market 'party people'.

The blu brand is focused around music, appealing to a more 'alternative' customer and have a strong emphasis on technology. Their brand values seem very integrated in everything that they do and they remain constantly focused on what they are trying to achieve. I worked on a launch party for all Imperial Tobacco staff in Bristol- held at the uber trendy creative space in Bristol- Paintworks. The whole event was totally in line with the blu brand with blu cocktails and champagne on offer, top class DJs, technology everywhere and of course plenty of blu e-cig samples to try.

Great PR event with @ImperialTobacco & @blucigs celebrating their partnership tonight!! #event #publicrelations pic.twitter.com/f3kbWFmQRF
— Steph Clark (@stefclarkx) February 5, 2015

The reason why I really loved the campaign is that the party attendees were really, really able to experience the brand and gain a sense of what it stood for.

 Harveys/ Bensons for Beds

You might think this is going to be one of my more boring campaigns- but actually, it's one of the most organised and I think rewarding campaigns I've ever worked on!

I used to associate both brands with cheap, low-quality furniture and Harvey's recognised this view amongst their consumers and aimed to change these perceptions. They worked on a complete re-fit in stores and held a launch event across their stores.

I was lucky enough to work on the whole launch weekend within the Torquay store, where myself and my event colleague Molly were greeting guests, handing them sweets and communicating the new store launch to customers.

The store were really grateful to have us in for the weekend and we gained really awesome feedback! Despite the action being really simple, customers did not expect to be faced with a tub of sweets when they came in to the store and therefore their reactions were great!

Dove Men- +Care

I got the chance to work with Dove Men at the 6 nations rugby match- Wales vs Ireland at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff- yes there are a few perks of this job! We were sampling Dove shower gels and driving brand awareness amongst rugby goers! Dove is one of my favourite brands and their ethos surrounding portraying 'real' men and women within their advertising is admirable. They aim to showcase an ideal man as a man who is comfortable in his own skin. 

As Dove Men is a key sponsor and supplier to the rugby teams- it was fundamental that their brand name was highlighted throughout the match and that consumers made that link between Dove and the rugby game. We had Dove ambassadors positioned at all exits handing samples to those leaving the game! It was a bit of a rush with 1000's of rugby fans to sample to- some of them had had a few too many beers and so was a bit of a challenge. 

Lovely team at the Millenium stadium working for @DoveMen today! #6nations #Cardiff #experiential #event pic.twitter.com/97mPclZ3Ll
— Steph Clark (@stefclarkx) March 14, 2015

Overall, the brand message was engraved in consumers minds and trial encouraged amongst hundreds of men and therefore I believe the event was a success! The place and target audience was entirely appropriate and well thought out as well as a perfectly organised event in terms of care taken and attention-to-detail, making this event a great success!

I have some really awesome events coming up in the next few months which I can't wait for! Keep your eyes peeled for updates and follow me on Twitter at @stefclarkx for more!

Steph