How to organise an utterly Instagrammable influencer event
This summer we were tasked by Cadbury to create an influencer campaign to promote the delicious new Cadbury Dairy Milk Mini Bites range. Amplifying other campaign elements including micro influencers and bloggers, we ran an ‘Instagrammable’ launch event in the form of a family picnic at the London Wetland Centre.
The event was attended by 11 influencers and their families, including celebrity attendee Samantha Faiers, and resulted in a reach of 13m and an abundance of gorgeous content showcasing the new product range.
Here are some of our top tips for running a successful influencer event:
- Pick a theme
Before planning an event, decide what type of event is best suited to the brand, the type of influencers you want to attract, and most importantly that will produce content related to your campaign message. From a sleepover, luxury dinner or baking masterclass, there’s an event to suit.
The key message of the Cadbury Mini Bites campaign was around creating low-cost but enjoyable experiences with the family during the school holidays, proving that you don’t need to spend a fortune to keep the kids happy – a picnic with some Cadbury Mini Bites will spread joy!
This gave us a clear format for the event: a picnic! It also helped us decide on our location, the London Wetland Centre, which amplified further the campaign message of enjoying activities with the family.
- Make it beautiful
If you’re inviting Instagram influencers to an event and expecting them to create content to fit their channels, it’s crucial that the styling looks beautifully Instagrammable.
Unless you’re an interior design expert in your spare time, we’d recommend working with a professional to style your event. We worked with Muddy Boots Sleepovers who created a gorgeous tepee picnic layout, complete with toys and dreamcatchers. The picture-perfect setting gave the influencers everything they needed to create stunning content.
Working with a stylist gives you more creative control over the influencers’ imagery, ensures all posts follow the theme of the campaign and most importantly, that the product / brand is showcased in a gorgeous way!
- Assign budget for attendance
Gone are the days of influencers attending events for free. Many of them are now making a living out of their content so it’s important to respect their trade and offer the appropriate fee. Working with influencers on a paid-for basis also guarantees all attendees will turn up (no pacing at the door with your clipboard!) and allows you to share a full brief ahead of the event, which leads me on to point four.
- Provide clear briefs
Whether working with influencers on a paid-for basis or for free, it’s essential they have all the information they need ahead of the event. Share a clear brief including key facts about the campaign, expectations, a content moodboard, and relevant details such as timings, location, hashtags and social handles. Ensure you have the brief to hand at the event too just in case!
- Choose relevant influencers
As with any PR or influencer campaign, working with the right influencers is essential. And it’s not just about the follower count, do your research into hard and soft metrics to ensure they fit the theme of the campaign (e.g. families), plus have the right audience and engagement levels to meet your KPIs. Do a deep dive into the content on their channels and make sure you’re confident they will produce content that is a good fit for your brand.
- Boost your reach with a celebrity
If budget allows, always consider a celebrity face to front your event. It gives the campaign credibility, makes it more attractive to other influencers and offers a huge boost in reach and engagement. Working with a celebrity also has the advantage of PR opportunities such as Mail Online coverage for the influencer’s appearance.
- Make sure the product is the hero
It’s easy to get carried away with creating a stylish looking event, but it’s important to remember the reason for the whole thing: your client. Whilst the brand should take centre stage, heavily branded content can look too promotional so weave your product into the set-up as naturally as possible.
Hosting a picnic allowed us to ensure the Cadbury Mini Bites were front and centre of the set-up and featured in all images taken by the influencers. We scattered them amongst the tepees, served them on afternoon tea stands on picnic benches and offered lots of product samples in Cadbury-purple goodie bags for attendees to take home.
If you’re planning an influencer event, working with a PR agency is ideal because you’ll get a holistic approach covering all areas from event planning, influencer engagement, social media and of course, PR.
To find out more about our work with influencers or if you need help planning an event, contact Brazen HERE
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