Red Wagon Management » creativemix

Guest Post on Eventbrite Blog

Red Wagon Management — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:27:21 +0000

In the midst of all the planning, we event managers often have the difficult task of leading the marketing effort for our projects. Generating demand for an event is no simple task, but it’s even harder when we spin our wheels promoting the wrong thing. When advertising efforts focus on registration (and ticket sales), they are a liability rather than an asset to the marketing plan because they require the most difficult type of commitment from our target audience: a financial decision.

Continue read Corwin’s latest post “For Events, Promote the WHY” on the Eventbrite Blog.

Promo FAIL

Red Wagon Management — Wed, 05 May 2010 22:04:10 +0000

In preparation for this year’s conference we’ve been brainstorming on ways to spread the word and continue building the brand of CREATIVEMIX. Some of the questions we’re asking are: Should we do the 100% recycled coffee sleeves again (they were cool, useful, but were a lot of work to distribute)? What about posters? Facebook ads are so 2007, should we just tweet our blog posts instead? How can we generate love and web traffic for those who help spread the word? Do you think people would join an affiliate program if we give them $10 for every ticket they helped us sell? How much is a colour ad? You’re kidding, right? And so on, and so on.

Now, for whatever reason, my brain got sidetracked the other day with all of the things that I HATE about events (and event-related marketing) and I went OFF on a mental tangent that produced some totally useless but funny images (at least to me, I giggled as I photoshoped). So, I’m going to call this a little window into everything that I think is sick and wrong with respect to events. Here’s some event promotion FAIL items that I’ve received in the past when attending an event, conference, or tradeshow; a couple at the end are just for fun – I got carried away.

Stress Squeeze Toy	Silly Putty
Logo Launcher	Game Cube
Frisbee	Credit Card
Snuggie Blanket	Pack of Smokes

Now I have to get back to work. The moral of the story is: cut out the crap. We’re going to continue with what we did last year: keep things simple like not giving people a name badge or a printed program and making everyone use ceramic coffee cups filled with Ethical Bean Coffee – that kind of stuff. How we’re going to get people there is still being worked out. Chime in if you like.

So if you’re planning an event do the world a favour and don’t destroy the earth one tchotchke at a time. If you need gifts or giveaways for your event be smart and order it from Saul Good Gift Co.

Posted by: Corwin Hiebert [This post can also be seen on CREATIVEMIX.ca/blog]

Event for Creatives

Red Wagon Management — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:40:08 +0000

As you probably already know, Eileen and I host an annual creative conference here in Vancouver (annual is a strong word, last year was the first). Well, it went super-duper and we’re doing it again. Here’s the date announcement from CREATIVEMIX.ca:

Big news! CREATIVEMIX is coming back for another round! Thursday, November 4th. Remember that. Write that down. Tell other people.

Now, you’re probably wondering what’s happening and who’s speaking . . . well, we can’t tell you that. There’s a lot we can’t tell you right now but not because we don’t know. Well . . . maybe it’s because we don’t know, or maybe it’s because we’re busy connecting and collaborating with a lot of cool peeps right now and it wouldn’t be fair to let the cat out of the bag. There will be interesting and useful updates every couple weeks from here on out so be sure to sign-up for our e-mail newsletter (or the RSS feed); that way you don’t miss anything. We’re aiming to launch the program and open registration May 1st.

We CAN tell you that we’re adding workshops and will be hosting a contest for the exhibition. Oh, and the conference will again be at the cool-n-funky Roundhouse Community Arts Centre! Helpful eh?

Follow at Twitter.com/CREATIVEMIXca

CREATIVEMIX was a Hit!

Red Wagon Management — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:32:34 +0000

The reviews are pouring in! Here’s what people had to say about their experience at CREATIVEMIX:

“This was a day of mind-expanding learning experiences. I’m glad I came. Thanks!” – Mary Mahon Jones

“Working in a creative field is one thing, but learning how to connect with other creative people in other fields and getting to broaden your experiences in an overall creative community is something quite spectacular.” – Ewan Johnstone

“It is a collaboration for generating and indulging in new ideas! It is a way to connect yourself to your creative passion and with others who share it.” – Cecilia Daude

“CREATIVEMIX was an awesome mish-mash of creatives from all over Vancouver doing all sorts of things that you wouldn’t expect you could make a living doing. I got so much inspiration and I loved the approach that was taken.” – Colleen Keith

“We attended CREATIVEMIX for some “inspirational disruption” and were happy we did! It was a great reminder that as creative professionals we’re part of a vital, interesting community, and that it’s important to not only stay connected with this community, but indeed reach out to foster new relationships.” – Ryan Thompson

“Vancouver has been starved for this kind of conference that happens here and is about here. We need to stop identifying ourselves just with our amazing geography and start sharing how the creative mix of people are truly this city’s killer app.” – Darren Roberts

“The quality of speakers was impressive, the topics engaging, the organization outstanding, and registrants were taken care of at every turn. From the flowers to the fruit to the lounge, it was like you were at a friend’s house. Everything was comfortable, well thought out, and my brain is still processing the plethora of images and information. I am definitely looking forward to next year’s conference.” – Carol Fergusson

CREATIVEMIX is proudly produced and hosted by Red Wagon Management. To learn more please visit creativemix.ca.