When you want to promote a product in a fun and enlightening way, you sometimes have to get people doing fun or silly things. It is easy enough to throw an event that encourages people to attend to sample a wide range of beers, but when you want them to really remember what they saw, it tends to be better to offer some way for them to engage directly with the brand.
People love to do things that make themselves look silly or out of character. Wearing fake mustaches and fun beards is one way to do it. Other times, you can get them to wear hats or props to really tell the story of what they are experiencing. Patrons will remember this type of event for years to come. And so will anyone that sees those lively pictures posted again online. It can be a lot of fun for the brand, too.
One such opportunity came from the Beers With(out) Beards celebration this year. The event was hosted by Hop Culture, a fast-growing online craft beverage publication – a hip, young brand looking to make a name for itself both online and in “real life.” This particular festival is one way they found to succeed at the process.
To make it come to life, they turned to Cardboard Cutout Standees to really have some fun with the event. They used a variety of fun character cutouts to get people laughing and dressing the part for the big event. It was easy to find people laughing at themselves but also enjoying some of the best beers they could. The cutouts made people smile while getting them talking about the celebration itself, the product, and all things beer-related.
It’s easy to see how people took advantage of the backdrop at their special event to let loose!
Why did you purchase our cardboard cutouts? Tell us the story!
If you haven’t heard, Hop Culture is the country’s fastest growing online craft beverage publication. Additionally, we travel all across America throwing premier craft beer festivals. We just hosted our 20th event in less than two years! Our marquee fest of the year is a weeklong women in craft beer festival called Beers With(out) Beards. For five days over 1,200 women and men converged on New York City to engage in 7 different events from a Beer + Cheese Pairing Class and Breaking BEERiers Beer Dinner to a Malt Workshop and Off-Flavor Sensory Panel all celebrating the achievements of women in the craft beer industry. Everything culminated in a large tasting festival in Brooklyn showcasing 25 women-owned breweries and women-brewed beer, making BW(O)B the largest celebration of its kind featuring women in the beer industry! We reached out to Cardboard Cutout Standees to help us create an engaging, dynamic, and fun activation during the large tasting festival, where fest goers could capture a lasting memory from the day.
How did the cutouts work out for your strategy/promo/event? What was the customer reaction to the cardboard cutouts like?
Amazing! People at the festival had a blast taking pictures and creating a lasting moment from the festival. We’re posting the pictures online to continue to spread the word about Beers With(out) Beards.
Do you plan on using them in any different, interesting ways in the future?
Great question! This is the second year that we’ve had a fantastic experience with Cardboard Cutouts Standees. With plans to bring Beers With(out) Beards back to New York next year and travel to the West Coast for the first time! we’re definitely looking to continue our partnership. With the success of the photo booth at both events we’ll be creating this activation at our future events.
Besides cardboard cutouts, are you using any other cool marketing strategies for events, promotions or other activities?
We’ve built a very robust Instagram. In a little under two years we’ve grown from 10K followers to just over 60K followers. With our clean, colorful, vibrant, and fun aesthetic we create posts that tap into what makes craft beer fans double-tap (check out these hops!) We use this social channel to not only promote our own events, but also beer releases, anniversaries, and big news from breweries across the country (like this announcement from Bell’s Brewery!). We’re always looking to connect with brands, so feel free to reach out to us here if you’re interested in learning more.
How has your experience been with Cardboard Cutout Standees?
On a business note, I’d just like to gush about the quality of hospitality at Cardboard Cutout Standees. For two years in a row now I’ve worked with Amelia and Jon – both have provided outstanding customer service. Each year we’ve tweaked our order a bit and asked Cardboard Cutout Standees to help us create something a little outside the box (pun intended) and both Amelia and Jon quickly and efficiently worked to fulfill our requests. I can confidently say that they’ve helped make us into repeat customers for the foreseeable future. Thank you guys so much for your due diligence and excellent business ethics.
How can you create this type of engagement with Cardboard Cutouts?
It doesn’t matter what type of event you are promoting, the goal is to get the attention of those in attendance in a unique and memorable manner, so they want to keep working with you and learning about your product. If you have not used this method before for engagement, how could cardboard cutouts like this – used as props in photos or in many other ways – help to communicate your unique message?
Are you hosting a festival or another special event? Dedicate an area of the event to a photo stop. Everyone will stop by and take photos with your cutouts and other items. Make it fun with unique dress ups and keep the theme of your event going with these items. Then, take those photos and get them out there on social media. There may not be a better way to bring a smile to your customers or supporters than using these types of fun-loving displays and events.
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