How to Keep An Event Exclusive: Threaten to Cancel It
January 31, 2012 by Kevin Michael Gray
What would you do if you were the 98th person invited to a special event put on by an art gallery but could not invite anyone else because if you did the event would be canceled? Sound odd? In an attempt to create publicity and generate much buzz a small art gallery threatened to cancel their event if more than 99 people rsvp'd (101 people rsvp'd so they followed through and canceled the event). Do you think this is effective marketing? We would love to hear your thoughts. Tweet about it @seedingideas Read the article below:
To generate buzz around new artwork at Stockholm art gallery Bonniers Konsthall, DDB Stockholm invited people to an event via Facebook. But there was a catch: If more than 99 people agreed to come by 9 p.m., the event would be cancelled.
The sign-up started at 9 a.m., and the first 99 to respond received a silkscreen-printed T-shirt (which they also forfeited if the event was cancelled). They could choose whether or not to invite three more people.
The fine balance between wanting to come and wanting not to share highlighted the gallery's message that it is "not for everyone," even though the "event" was eventually cancelled when 101 people responded.
Event-planning experts can take notes from the gallery, which has done unusual invitations before. For last year's project, The Uninvited, the gallery sent notes to recipient saying they weren't invited, but could invite a friend.
