How to manage a launch event
How to manage a launch event Recently, we had the honour of being asked to contribute our expert advice to the best-selling book “The PR Bootcamp” by Angelica Malin. As a creative events agency, Purple Riot boasts an impressive 11-year track record in orchestrating launch events across many sectors. Our portfolio includes large-scale city and shopping centre events, bar and restaurant launches, music events, retail launch events, and intimate influencer gatherings. Leveraging our extensive expertise and creative flair, we’ve been able to craft memorable experiences that resonate with audiences and elevate brands. We share our insights through these 5 top tips for how to manage a launch event. Crafting a Strategic Guest List for Your Launch Event The importance of a well-curated guest list Your guest list can make or break your event. It’s essential to invite key influencers who have the clout to promote your event across their platforms and don’t forget about those crucial media contacts. Scrutinise potential invitees to ascertain if they align with your brand and if their audience is relevant to avoid packing the venue with people who don’t contribute to your goals. Collaborating with a specialist PR and events agency like Purple Riot can take the hassle out of curating and managing the guest list, ensuring that the right mix of attendees turn up. Leveraging Social Media to Amplify Your Launch Event Create a visually appealing event space Social media is an important tool for creating buzz around your event and there are lots of ways you can use the various platforms to maximise impact. Elevate the experience with food and drink for a special launch event experience Food and drinks are more than just refreshments; they’re an integral part of the event experience. A carefully curated menu will help make your event truly memorable and adds to the opportunity for social sharing. Additionally, it’s imperative to cater to diverse palates and dietary preferences, so include options that consider allergies and dietary requirements. Entertaining Your Guests from Start to Finish Engaging entertainment is paramount in creating an immersive atmosphere. Consider various entertainment options, such as live music, performance art, interactive installations, and themed activities. Make sure you tailor the entertainment to the preferences of your audience and the theme and engage the senses and create opportunities for participation, ensuring that guests are actively involved and not merely passive observers. Connect with your guests post launch event. The work doesn’t end when the curtains fall. The post-event phase is crucial in solidifying relationships and capitalising on the buzz generated. Reach out to influencers and media to obtain feedback and secure post-event press coverage. Don’t let the memories fade; share photography and video content captured during the event on your social media platforms, tagging attendees and continuing the conversation. Are you looking to launch your brand and make a lasting impact? Whether it’s an intimate gathering or a large-scale experiential event, Purple Riot is a creative events agency you can rely on. We’ve worked with brands across the UK to deliver seamless award-winning event experiences. Find out more about our event agency services here. And you can view some of our award-winning launch event work here. Get in touch. #CreateARiot
Life of a neurodivergent Marketing and PR Executive.
Life of a neurodivergent Marketing and PR Executive. This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week which aims to bring about worldwide neurodiversity acceptance, equality and inclusion in schools and workplaces. An estimated 1 in 7 people in the UK is neurodivergent, so why does it often feel like workplaces don’t cater to those on the spectrum? I’m Erica, a Marketing and PR Executive at Purple Riot, and I’m autistic – nice to virtually meet you. This week is Neurodivergent Week, so I’d like to share my experience as someone with autism working in this industry. I think it’s important that more transparent conversations around neurodiversity happen regularly in the workplace; so that people like me can feel less alone. I’ve always struggled to navigate my autism, I often got thought of as ‘rude’ or ‘blunt’ – but I never meant to come across that way. I don’t realise I’m doing it. Neurodiversity in the workplace My experience in the marketing industry has been a whirlwind from the beginning. After graduating from university during peak Covid times, finding a job was pretty difficult. Interviewing was an interesting experience. Employers would either find my straightforwardness really charming or rude; there was no in-between. In applications, I simply glanced past the Equality Act that every employer puts on job ads; I just never honestly thought about the prospect of my autism affecting my work – which was absurd, as it impacted my studies quite a lot. When I got my first marketing job, I was getting used to the structure and post-graduate life as I voyaged into proper adulthood. Focusing on the task at hand was and still is difficult for me. The sound of an email notification, someone clicking their pen in the office, the office dog wagging its tail across the room would distract me from work and then lead to spending the next block of time trying to refocus and recentre myself. A part of my autism is suffering from extreme sensory overload, which is not ideal for someone working in the marketing and PR industry and living in the busy city of Manchester. In the past, former employers have found it difficult to be supportive and provide an adequate working environment for me even though they were reasonable requests. I started to become very unhappy in my roles and felt like a burden often. Certain tasks I felt like I breezed through with ease, such as creative planning or strategy but other tasks, such as research, felt incredibly daunting as it’s like a never-ending pit that I couldn’t find the bottom off. I’d say it’s probably my greatest challenge…always having to see an end result to something before really being able to dive into it. I tend to work off logic, and as a result, anything that doesn’t put logic at the forefront appears to be a challenge for me. I’m still trying to figure it all out. Navigating my personal life as a neurodivergent person is hard, and navigating my work life is even harder. I was close to giving up a career in marketing, but then I got connected to my current role at Purple Riot. To my pleasant surprise, and have never experienced this before in my professional life, my manager is neurodivergent. I remember during my interview, we had a compelling conversation about being diagnosed and what it meant for us and how it affects us on a daily basis. She was very accommodating to my needs and gave me the full flexibility to work in a manner that suited me and allowed me to perform best. I understand that not every neurodivergent person is fortunate enough to be in this situation, but I never take it for granted. This week I’ve reflected on how out of place I’ve felt in my previous roles, but I am embraced and welcomed here and wish more workplaces were the same. To read more about life at Purple Riot, visit our news page here.
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Top tips on making it in fashion marketing
Purple Riot recently took part in a panel discussion on how to make it in fashion marketing at The Fashion Networks Careers Day in Manchester. Along with Nikki Kitchen, Marketing Director of Purple Riot Marketing, there were speakers from Elvis Jesus, MMU and JD Williams. So here are our top tips on making it fashion marketing. Be prepared to give up your life (to an extent). Marketing is not a 9-5 world and you will work crazy hours. Evenings, weekends, sometimes solidly for 24 hours (yes, I did that once!) Attention to detail! I cannot stress enough that when applying for jobs. Check your spelling and grammar. Get your friends, parents and dogs to check it. Employers won’t read past the first line if it’s spelt incorrectly! Be creative. You’re entering a super competitive world; you need to make yourself stand out. Don’t send a generic CV and cover letter; send something that shows your creative side, a blog, a design piece, an article; whatever it is, you need to sell yourself AND always research the company you’re applying to. Know who their clients are; know their style of writing; look for relevant news about the company, anything that enables you to tailor your approach to that company. A creative marketing agency, like Purple Riot, would expect a very different approach to a major corporate brand like JD Williams. Research research research! Be nice! It’s so simple, but be nice to everyone you meet. It’s a very small world and you will undoubtedly cross paths with that boss that you hated, the supplier you shouted at or the receptionist you were short with. Trust me, you never know when you may have to work with those people again and impressions are everything. Make yourself known. You may have to start at the bottom but if you have a great idea, tell your boss, if they’re busy, tell their boss! Even if they don’t like it or don’t use it, showing initiative and tenacity in this game will get you ahead. Keep up to date with new developments. Thanks to digital, things are moving at a faster pace than ever with advancements in technology and social media every week! Interning is a great way to get more of an understanding about the different areas of marketing and insight into what it’s actually like to work in the environment. These days there is much more crossover with skills and you might be expected to have an understanding of marketing in general even if you want to specialise in specifically social media or PR. Again, it’s a very competitive world so the more strings you can add to your bow the better. There is no formulaic route to making it. Marketing is about creativity, hard work, drive and passion, so if you have those qualities, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve studied marketing specifically or the level of experience you have, you just need to work hard and be prepared to get stuck in. Get in touch if you’re a graduate interested in work placements at Purple Riot.