Ever wondered what goes on at a Bloggers’ coverage event? Lifestyle blogger, Beatrice Tan, very kindly invited me along to The Most Marvellous Bloggers’ Party held at Nassim Hill @ Tanglin Post Office this month for a sneak peek!
1. Photography is often the key highlight
… are a tonne of equipment. Advertiser, Cadbury Singapore, engaged professional photo-booth company, Hello Stranger, for this event.
This draw point was even emphasised in the bloggers’ invitations, which highlighted that unlimited 4R print-outs would be made available on the spot.
2. There is a fair amount of showcasing involved
Blogger-ambassadors do their best to encourage others to purchase the product they are showcasing. This means being seen/photographed with the product by attendees to generate hype and some honest compliments from the ambassadors themselves. Here bloggers, Maureen, Brad, and Beatrice are posing with cardboard prints of the Cadbury flavours they are ambassadors of. Each flavour is said to match the personality of the ambassador.
3. Events must be memorable
Because blog-based advertising (also known as advertorials) is exceedingly popular in Singapore and regional countries, blogger parties/previews/coverage/events are frequent weekly affairs. The onus then falls on the advertiser to make the event memorable and distinctive from the rest. At this bloggers’ party, the blogger-ambassadors were challenged to (literally) tear apart candy-filled pinatas!
4. Free tastings for everyone!
Advertisers are also usually fond of handing out samples for bloggers and participants to try out. In this case, Cadbury was pretty generous with copious amounts of chocolate.
And this is the crowd scurrying to the Cadbury stand – a lovely chocolate buffet for all!
5. Social media brings instant hype
In the social media industry, things go viral in a matter of minutes. Here, bloggers and participants were constantly encouraged by the emcee to post their favourite Instagram shots and Tweets bearing the official event hashtag. We’re talking about instant live updates to hundreds of thousands of people on all their social media feeds combined. The incentive? The best posts were announced at the end of the event with more mountains of Cadbury goods as prizes. Pretty nifty ‘mass’ advertising, almost for free.
6. Friends and fans want to see and be seen
Newer/smaller-time bloggers and fans who were not personal friends with blog personalities often ask to snap shots with them. For some, it makes for a nice commemoration of a lovely day, while others are slightly star-struck to be up close with their favourite blogger.
Needless to say, this photo-booth also drew a continuous stream of fans/friends asking to snap shots with bloggers.
7. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not all fun and games
Cataloguing the entire event – be in in pixels or text – is no easy feat. In between their official ‘ambassador’ duties, socialising with friends, and networking with partners, bloggers are constantly on the go, pictorially capturing the best angles of the moment. It also takes much effort to mentally note details such as quality of the food, interior decor, fellow attendees, and the sequence of events… all to churn out quality advertorials. Check out the coverage by food bloggers Maureen Ow and Brad Lau.
Other newer/smaller-time bloggers and friends/fans are also hard at work pictorially cataloging the best moments for their blogs and social media feeds. And I bet these giant semi-professional cameras were a drain to drag around.
8. Work hard, play hard
They’ve done a great job, the work is half done! There’s still the ever time-consuming photograph editing and advertorial crafting that bloggers go home to.
All in a days’ work. And we’ve even managed to have some fun :)
WISHCRYS 