by Dayna Gilchrist
As I finish up my first week back at work from the holiday break, I feel so inspired and ready to take on the New Year! Starting fresh in January allows us to look back at what worked and what didn’t work (so much) in the previous year.
In our industry “new and better” ways of doing things is the nature of our work, after all it is “experiential” marketing. Each year, our clients are coming up with new ways to draw buzz and excitement to their product or service. It is our job to make sure the brand ambassadors we have representing those brands evolve as well!
So, as we enter 2016, I am going to look into my magical crystal ball and let you know our predictions for event staffing trends this year!
TOP 5 Event Staffing Trends for 2016
1. BRAND AMBASSADORS AS BRAND ADVOCATES
We already know the value of a good brand ambassador and a great influencer. But as Calum McGuigan writes in his recent post about the Top 10 Experiential Marketing Trends to Expect in 2016- “Brand advocates is what we all marketers want, people to represent the brand onsite during activations (as a paid brand ambassador) and online at other times (as a paid influencer).” They keep the conversation going!
2. COLLEGE AMBASSADORS MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU
This is one desirable demographic! This concentrated group of young influencers is a perfect melting pot for brands to get into the hands of their potential consumers. Our clients come to us to host Greek influencer parties, send brand ambassadors out to high foot-traffic locations around campus to hand out samples, or create amazing events on campus to draw in crowds.
3. BEING IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA DRIVER’S SEAT
Social media is all around us and has become an integral part of our client’s marketing campaign. In the past, the PR agencies held the “driver’s wheel” for posting and showcasing the work we are doing while our brand ambassadors created the experiences on the ground. We are seeing our client’s become more comfortable with letting the brand ambassadors post instantly to social pages, interact directly with consumers, and create twitter handles that our managed by savvy social media gurus! This takes the consumer experience to the next level!
4. FOMO FEVER
I predict lots of FOMO – FEAR OF MISSING OUT- at the events this year! More than ever, we are privy to events happening the moment they happened, videos are posted and go viral in minutes, and social wild fires can start in the blink of an eye. I see our brand ambassadors contributing more to this mass hysteria for the events and brands they represent. Working with digital partners, we can transcend the physical moments we create instantly captivating a larger audience.
5. EMOJIS ARE TAKING OVER THE TALENT DATABASE
And finally, yes I believe that by the end of 2016 we will be walking up to event activations and greeted by the “HAPPY FACE BRAND AMBASSADOR EMOJI” which will completely replace all humans.
Okay, the last one is a little far-fetched because we can’t replace real human-to-human contact but I am sure Kim Kardashian West, Fetty Wap and Domino’s will not be the last of the customized emojis for 2016 and we will be seeing them in the photo opportunities and other event activations this year!