2012 BLOGHER RECAP & SPONSOR BEST PRACTICES

1. 2012 BLOGHER RECAP &
SPONSOR BEST PRACTICES
Sloane Davidson, Lippe Taylor sdavidson@lippetaylor.com
Senior Vice President, Digital Marketing www.lippetaylor.com
215 Park Avenue South, 16th Floor @sloane
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New York, NY 10003

2. OVERVIEW
BlogHer is a conference that brings together over 5,000 attendees for diverse panel
discussions, interactive learning, and networking opportunities with thousands of other
bloggers and well-known brands and took place this year in New York City from August
2nd-4th. Celebrities and major influencers also made appearances at the conference,
including a virtual speech by President Obama and a panel with Katie Couric.
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3. ACTIVATION EXAMPLE: ELIZABETH ARDEN
 Elizabeth Arden participated in BlogHer 2012 as the backstage makeup
sponsor during the conference’s first-ever Fashion Show.
 A total of 19 online editors, who cover beauty, fashion and lifestyle topics,
were chosen as models and a team of Elizabeth Arden makeup artists, led
by Global Makeup Artist, Rebecca Restrepo, provided each of them with a
complete makeup look for the show.
 Before, during and after the event Elizabeth Arden engaged with the
models on Twitter using the official BlogHer hashtag #BlogHer12, which
helped maintain and further the brand’s relationship with these influential
women
 Results:
o Twitter
 2.1 million impressions
 206 Twitter mentions
o Facebook
 563 total post likes
 30 total post shares
 25 total post comments
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4. ACTIVATION EXAMPLE: PAUL MITCHELL
 Paul Mitchell hairstylists from Raika Studio created
hair looks for 18 top lifestyle bloggers at the 2012
BlogHer Fashion Show, utilizing Awapuhi Wild Ginger
products
 Paul Mitchell product, signage, and décor was placed
backstage to maximize the brand’s visibility among
this influential audience
 Paul Mitchell secured an exclusive with Elle.com
featuring interviews with the Raika Studio team
highlighting their inspiration for each style, and noting
Paul Mitchell products utilized to achieve the looks;
additional media coverage and twitter buzz was
generated on behalf of the bloggers styled
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5. ACTIVATION EXAMPLE: NESTLE
Coffee-mate Natural Bliss and Nescafé Memento exhibited at BlogHer ’12 in NYC. This was
the 2nd year for Natural Bliss and the first for Memento.
Nescafe Memento:
In order to spread awareness and introduce a new-to-market product to the blogger
community, the Memento booth assigned baristas to engage with the bloggers while
simultaneously offering free samples of each Memento flavor.
Memento passed out branded envelopes with samples of each flavor, as well as a branded
hologram coaster, for bloggers to take home and enjoy. They also provided branded USBs
with additional information, recipes and images, so bloggers could easily pull the information
they needed.
To bring fun and interaction to the booth, there was a magician to entertain attendees
throughout the conference and do exciting tricks, using the Memento packets.
Natural Bliss:
To continue to drum up excitement for the Coffee-mate Natural Bliss line and the new low-
fat option, the brand coordinated a “Cow Scavenger Hunt” and hid 10-15 branded stuffed
cows around BlogHer for attendees to find. The scavenger hunt was promoted at the booth,
through word of mouth and visual signage. When a blogger found a cow and brought it back
to our booth, they collected their prize, a $25 dollar gift card to Bliss Spa.
Since BlogHer took place during the summer, we hired baristas to create the new summer
smoothies, using the Natural Bliss creamers, highlighting the low-fat option. Bloggers were
also encouraged to try Natural Bliss in their recipes at home and blog about it.
Natural Bliss also provided branded USBs with additional information, recipes and images,
and passed out coupons for a free bottle of Natural Bliss and branded lip balms.
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6. MOST TALKED ABOUT ACTIVATIONS
 Dannon
– Dannon revealed their new Activia Breakfast Blend
yogurt at the event.
 Jimmy Dean
– Bloggers loved the substantial samples and they
loved that the brand brought in the Sun actor from
their TV commercials
 Land O’ Lakes
– Bloggers posted about the free food that Land O’
Lakes passed out in the expo hall. Many bloggers
specifically called out that they loved meeting the
‘Pioneer Woman,’ chef Ree Drummond
 Trojan Condoms
– Guests were surprised, and overall pleased, to
discover sponsor Trojan Condoms distributing 4,000
vibrators (after guests completed an iPad survey).
Some commented it was out of place, but many
appreciated Trojan reaching out to women.
– Eden Fantasy also had a BlogHer booth and ran out
of their sexy freebies very early in the event
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7. BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION
 Brands
‒ Jimmy Dean used its BlogHer booth to support charity partner No
Kid Hungry. To cross-promote on social media, No Kid Hungry
tweeted during BlogHer, tagging Jimmy Dean
‒ Dannon partnered with blogger Veep Veep who posted about
Dannon’s BlogHer booth and new products during the conference
‒ Samsung hosted a tweetstakes where entrants who used
hashtag #SamsungBlogHer were randomly selected to win a
phone and autographed basketball
 General
‒ During Martha Stewart and Katie Couric’s keynote speeches,
both accepted Twitter questions that used the hashtags
#BH12Martha and #BH12Katie, respectively. The speech was
later put on YouTube by BlogHer
– Some brands encouraged BlogHer guests to use specific
hashtags to engage with them during the event, but most simply
used the official #BlogHer12 hashtag
o Johnson & Johnson pushed hashtags #inspirecare and #JNJ
– Upcoming movie The Host had a photo booth live-streaming
images to the movie’s Facebook page
 Blogger Integration
‒ Wells Fargo launched a blogging contest at BlogHer. To enter,
users had to submit a written entry, in 250 words or less, about
their relationship with money. Winning stories were featured on
the Wells Fargo blog for women.
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8. OVERALL THEMES AT BLOGHER
 Celebrity Integration
– Brands that incorporated celebrities had strong social media coverage from
bloggers posting and tweeting pictures from their personal accounts
o Kate Gosselin made an appearance at the Coupon Cabin booth
o Real Housewives’ Jill Zarin demonstrated products at the Bissell booth
o Jimmy Dean’s booth had the actor who plays the sun in their commercials and
he was incredibly popular amongst the bloggers
o Eggland’s Best had Iron Chef’s Candice Kumai
o Land O’ Lakes’ booth had Food Network chef and blogger Ree Drummond
 Private parties and events resonated with bloggers
– Bloggers posted as much about the private parties, screenings and lunches they
attended as much as they posted about the Expo Hall of sponsors. Bloggers
appreciated the more intimate and comfortable settings.
– Private events included:
• Harley Davidson cocktail party where comedian Margaret Cho was the emcee
• Disney hosted a movie screening of The Odd Life of Timothy Green and a
cocktail party
• Hasbro hosted an evening party with games, dancing and cocktails
• The American Cancer Society hosted an intimate gathering to honor a mom
blogger who recently passed away from cancer
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9. ON VS OFF SITE ACTIVATIONS
 On Site:
‒ Pro: An on-site activation, such as an expo booth,
exposes the brand to the masses, allowing them to drive
awareness, conversation and sampling to thousands of
attendees.
‒ Con: While the quantitative exposure is significant, the
quality of the connections with bloggers may not be. It’s
important to leverage these conferences to build Pfizer invited BlogHer attendees to meet the
relationships with influential bloggers that relate to the Rockettes for a dance lesson
brand.
 Off Site: Private gifting suites
‒ Pro: Inviting brand evangelists and ambassadors to an
off-site private party can be a more intimate experience
for both bloggers and marketers, allowing deeper
conversations and stronger relationship building.
‒ Pro: These exclusive parties also provide a better
opportunity for brand’s to show more product than can
typically fit in a small expo booth space or provide an Private rooftop parties
experience that is bigger than a hotel suite.
‒ Con: There is a risk of being excluded from the online
conversation, which is essential in driving brand
Hasbro held an offsite party for BlogHer
awareness. attendees
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10. IMPLICATIONS
 Timing
‒ In order to implement a robust, successful activation it’s suggested to begin the
planning stages 3 - 4 months in advance
 Ambassadors
‒ Having an influential brand ambassador on site, such as a spokesperson or
blogger, is critical to drive the conversation on and offline, as well as gather
content
 Content
‒ Leveraging blogger conferences to gather content is essential. These conferences
can be used for video and/or photo content, including testimonials, interviews,
reviews and product usage shots. This content can then be used for future .com,
social media, marketing and PR purposes.
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11. SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICES
 At blogger conferences like BlogHer, a brand’s success is based on their initial goals and
objectives
 Social media integration and sampling opportunities are top priorities for many brand’s at
blogger conferences.
 Utilizing social media, such as Twitter with a unique hashtag, to promote product sampling
initiatives boosts the brand’s online awareness and attendee participation, as well as
excitement around the brand
 Other social media best practices include:
o Create a unique hashtag on Twitter for conference attendees to follow and participate
in to drive virality
o Encourage attendees to check-in to a brand’s booth on Foursquare so their friend’s will
know to stop by the booth also
o Implement exclusive giveaways on social media channels, such as Instagram, Twitter,
Facebook and Pinterest for conference attendees
o Leverage photo sharing iPhone app Instagram to share across channels
o Gather content, photo and/or video
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12. OTHER UPCOMING CONFERENCES
 Social Media Strategies Summit:
‒ September 25-26 in San Francisco, CA: Engage and learn from the best and
brightest in the social media strategies industry
‒ Social Media Strategies Summit: October 23-25, 2012 in Boston, MA: The brightest
minds in social media marketing present emerging strategies, tactics and case
studies in the successful use of social media.
 Blogalicious: September 28-30, 2012 in Las Vegas, NV
– The go-to destination for influential multicultural women social media enthusiasts
from all over the world to collaborate, connect and uplift one another.
 SXSW Interactive Festival: March 8 – 12, 2013 in Austin, TX
‒ Compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology,
networking events hosted by industry leaders, the SXSW Trade Show and special
programs showcasing the best new digital works, video games and innovative ideas
the international community has to offer
 Blissdom: March 21-23, 2013 in Dallas, TX
– Speakers and panels featuring the best blogging, public relations and social media
pros
 SheStreams: March 2013, dates and location TBD
– Informative and engaging sessions intended to catapult women and brands into the
future of social technology
 Mom 2.0 Summit: May 2-4, 2013 in Laguna Niguel, CA
‒ The Mom 2.0 Summit is a premier professional conference for influential mom
bloggers and female entrepreneurs who create online content.
 BlogHer Food: June 7-8, 2013 in Austin, TX
 EVO Social Media Conference: Date TBD, Park City, UT
12 ‒ The evo Conference blends workshops, intense learning, networking, parties, and
relaxation with beautiful scenery of summertime in the Utah Mountains.

13. THANK YOU!
If you’d like to discuss in more detail, please contact:
Sloane Davidson
SVP, Digital Marketing and Social Media
sdavidson@lippetaylor.com
@sloane
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