Halloween is a hauntingly good holiday to rev up the branding strategy for your business. Each holiday is a prime time to find an innovative route to reach a specific niche of people: lovers of festivity and nightlife. What better way to generate buzz about your product or service than by bringing it to the forefront of a lavish party filled with millennials posting and tweeting on social media? Over the weekend, Home Business Magazine had the opportunity to get an inside look at THE top celebrity marketing event of fall: the 2016 MAXIM Halloween Party.
Held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, MAXIM’s Halloween bash made headlines for the many costumed celebrities and top notch lifestyle brands in attendance. Produced by Karma International, the event was not for the faint of heart or fearful. Creative Director Ryan Patterson and his team upped the scare ante to maximum levels with the morbid playground they created. Hair-raising haunted theme décor included multiple graveyards with snow falling about from a dark eerie sky, frightening vignettes, and a smoky haze that shielded the horrors from clear vision.
Scare actors shocked and delighted guests in the very realistic haunted maze that caused many to scream. Live performers enacted terrifying scenes. A woman received live piercings all over her body, a man hung above the crowd from a stake, and a giant monster loomed over the guests’ heads with a creepy grin on his face. Guests stared in horror and fascination at these visuals, many only ever to be seen on TV.
The lighting and sound really brought reality to the experience. Dance music thumped through the speakers, raising energy and the spooky lighting cast a dark glow on the event. Sets from DJ Vice, who performs at trendy clubs all across the nation for sold-out audiences, Miami’s Lee Kalt, DJ CJ, and Steve Castro all spun entrancing mashup hits that kept the crowd dancing all night. Go-go dancers awed the patrons with their gorgeous costumes and sleek, mesmerizing moves.
Celebrities in attendance included singers Ne-Yo and Chris Brown, actresses Karrueche Tran and Tara Reid, Shane West, Instagram star Dan Bilzerian, Antje Utgaard, Rachel McCord, DJ Pauly D and Aubrey O’Day.
The companies who participated at the event truly capitalized on an opportunity to gain more fans for their brand. The partygoers enjoyed Best Damn Root Beer floats, hot and tasty catering from The Bird’s Nest, and delectable Halloween-themed desserts by Belladonna Sweets. Beautiful models from Pure Model Club served hors d’oeuvres, guests revived their bodies with Monster Energy, and sipped on drinks by Don Julio and CIROC. The gorgeous MAXIM bottle girls flitted about the venue in jaw-dropping costumers provided by Foreplay.
Have your marketing efforts become ghoulish in their lackluster effect on your customer reach? Are you finding your inbox filled with cobwebs from a void of requests by prospects? Don’t wait until 2017 to consider presenting your products at a popular holiday event. Celebrity parties are valuable, as all it takes are a tweet or Facebook appreciation post about your product and your fanbase can flourish. Research upcoming events for this holiday season and invest in a unique marketing strategy that can launch your small business to greater heights.
ABOUT MAXIM: Maxim Media Inc. is a multimedia company and publisher of MAXIM, the largest young men’s lifestyle brand in America, which reaches nearly 9 million readers each month. MAXIM Digital reaches more than 4 million unique viewers each month. MAXIM magazine publishes 16 editions, sold in 75 countries worldwide.
ABOUT KARMA INTERNATIONAL: Karma International is a globally recognized leader in producing branded, experiential events. Led by acclaimed live show and award-winning producer, Dylan Marer, Karma is a collaborative team of highly creative production designers and logistics specialists. Together, the Karma team is consistently known for putting on world-renowned, theatrically produced events that range from the most intimate, exclusive gatherings, to full ship cruise concert charters, themed estate takeovers and celebrity driven award show parties. In addition, Karma is also known for producing events around some of the most coveted, top media-driven sporting events in the nation, like the Super Bowl, Indy 500 and the Kentucky Derby.
