Last Friday, The Jamaica Pegasus put on its third tweetup deemed the ‘Tweetheart Tweetup.’ I attended the second tweetup in September 2010. That one was held at the ‘Gardens at the Pegasus’ and I was very impressed. There are some great reviews of the second tweetup here and here. When registration opened for the third tweetup, tickets were sold out in 15 minutes. This time around the Pegasus did not match the success of the second tweetup. They surpassed it!
Why a Tweetup?
Tweetups are essentially about marketing and networking. It provides companies with an opportunity to amplify their message about what they do. They can also obtain feedback which is essential in becoming better at what they do. Additionally, tweetups have been known to create or cement brand evangelists – customers who will go out and have conversations about why your product is so great. Invaluable!
A tweetup is also a networking event. Networking is essential in an ever changing labour market. Too many of us see ourselves as a business ‘army of one.’ It is neither true nor realistic. Your network is your resource for information, advice, help and inspiration. It was great to reconnect with my tweeps @Endzoftheearth, @YardEdge, @Stunnerj, @marciaforbes and @Jamaipanese. Shoutout to the new people I met too.
What was different about the Tweetheart Tweetup?
The ‘Tweetheart Tweetup’ had more of an upscale, focused, yet familiarly friendly feel. A great deal of the effect was due to layout. After the quick registration process you go up the stairs to the ‘Top of the World’ and you are greeted by a very enticing chocolate fountain by Chocolate Dreams.
We were then greeted by tasteful use of red and white decoration and lighting as you enter the ‘Top of the World.’ The participating companies became more adept at displaying their products. Lime had a couple of digital billboards in prominent places. There were also quite a few projectors displaying company logos and products. Nuvo also had very effective signage. There were also a greater range of companies. There were a number of tables and seats dotted around the airy venue. The music, M.C. and food were all great. See other takes here and here.
What also struck me was how diverse the crowd was. A range of ages, professions, and socioeconomic backgrounds were in attendance. With this series of events, The Pegasus was reaching out to a range of present and potential customers and reinvigorating its brand.
As the competition for the consumer dollar heats up, companies will have to find innovative ways of conceiving, producing, distributing and marketing whatever they sell. INNOVATE OR DIE. I am glad to see the Pegasus grappling with this challenge headon. Many are not.
About Astley Henry
Astley leverages his research expertise to help both public and private sector organisations better understand the people they wish to serve. He is especially interested in policy evaluation and market research. Connect with me on Google+
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Very nice post about the tweetup.
Thanks dude!
This is very interesting. I’m going to store this for future reference and look into it some more. Anything like this to help the small business guy that doesn’t have access to what the major corporations gobble up all the time. I think it so important to keep US business in the US. Working together and networking I believe is a key to doing this.
Geez, I can rant about this issue all day. Oy!
Thanks for stopping by blog. It’s been a pleasure!