Product launch ideas

A product launch brings in huge numbers and the feedback you receive is invaluable. Not only that but a good product launch will ensure that people remember your brand and you may just notice a number of people sharing your special hashtag all over social media. How to attract the public to your product launch though? Well, we have a few party entertainment ideas.

Lian The Robotic Man
Stop for a moment and imagine what you’d do if a walking robot came out of nowhere, started dancing around to a hit pop tune and then managed to announce your product to the world. You’d be impressed, right? Lian the Robotic man can do all that and much more! A hit at corporate events all over the world. A brilliant example of strolling entertainment that is a little bit more unique than most acts in the industry!

Illusionists
Who doesn’t love magic? Rather than be specific by naming one of our brilliant magicians, we thought we’d go all-encompassing and simply suggest hiring a magician for your next product launch. Whether making your company business cards disappear and reappear or producing the exciting new product into your hands, magicians are a brilliant way to launch a product and it’ll certainly be a memorable moment for the members of the public lucky enough to see the magic first hand.

Chicks on Sticks
You need only look at Chicks on Sticks not only are these wonderful entertainers on stilts – so sure to draw a crowd from far beyond the eye can see at street level – but they can also offer up a drink or two to your guests as they arrive. A sparkling sensation for events far and wide, we highly recommend this entertainment and they have been particularly successful at product launches in the past!

Splitting Images
A celebrity lookalike is great for pulling in the crowds. Not only will a good lookalike be able to pull off an uncanny impression of a popular character or celebrity, but they’ll also be more than happy to pose for photographs and video. Sneak your brand into the shot and hey presto, your product is going places! Fun for all sorts of brands and product launches, a celebrity lookalike is an absolute must.

Lookalikes galore

Putting a smile on your guests’ faces is guaranteed to make your special day one that stands out in everyone’s memory. When you book a celebrity look alike that’s exactly what you’ll achieve, adding a real wow factor to your event’s entertainment mix. And, there are so many recognisable faces that will get everyone talking at your wedding reception, private party or corporate event…

The beauty of hiring lookalikes is that you can introduce them to your party at various points. There are no rules. How about at the start of the evening, perhaps for a short time while guests mingle with drinks? During dinner service, as part of the music or DJ set, or maybe someone who simply adds an element of surprise midway through your event.

Lookalikes are a brilliant addition to your wedding plans, and they can be the perfect solution for a red carpet event, grand opening or corporate evening.

We say mix it up a bit. If you’re hoping to keep your party or corporate event on the light-hearted side, there are so many possibilities when booking a look-alike that could inject some real fun and creativity into the day, or later in the evening. So here are a few ideas:

The Drinks Reception is a wonderful opportunity for friends and guests to meet-up, chat and remember old times. Throw in the most absolutely fabulous lady to really liven the mood, with a Joanna Lumley look alike who not only looks the part, she can act as well.

How about a real splash of comedy to have your friends, family and guests in stitches? It could be at the hotel when your nearest and dearest meet on the evening before your special day, or how about having the Fawlty Towers team involved in the Breakfast Reception? Madcap fun, a fabulous trip down Memory Lane for lovers of the show, and a polished feel to your celebrations.

Of course one of the key elements to any entertainment mix is the music. That’s especially true at a wedding reception where you want guests to be engaged, feel part of the experience and, ideally, up on the dance floor. So why not hire a hip lookalike artist like Lady Gaga, Madonna, or Whitney Houston?

We love the food theme at Red Masque Directory, so a man who not only cooks up a storm but can serve your guests could be a real winning combination. Hire a Gordon Ramsay lookalike who could offer an impressive menu, either meeting guests over nibbles and drinks, presiding over the main course or maybe remonstrating with diners if you’d like to generate a little harmless drama. He’ll look and sound the part.

And finally, an old favourite sure to remain in the hearts of all Only Fools and Horses fans forever is the Del Boy Lookalike. Now he could hustle with guests if you wanted, offering his amazing range of hooky watches, but how about a dramatic entrance in his clapped-out old three-wheeler yellow van.

Celebrity lookalikes

Everyone wants their party to be memorable. One fun idea is to hire celebrity lookalikes to mingle with your guests at your private party or corporate event. Nothing loosens up a stuffy corporate crowd quite like sharing cocktails with Gaga or Elvis.

Just imagine hiring Michael Buble, Bette Midler and Elton John impersonators to work your party! After, the impersonators can mingle with your guests. Then your acts will continue doing the show again and then 30 minutes later Elton can take over the stage with a medley of his greatest hits,

We at Red Masque have obviously chosen our favourite celebrities but you can choose whoever you like to invite to your party. We particularly think Lady Gaga, Tina Turner, Prince, Beyoncé and other larger-than-life entertainers would all be great choices too.

There are absolutely loads of great celebrity lookalikes to hire and some will be hard to tell the difference. They can be hired for a many other events too, you could use a few celebrities to open up your new shop or restaurant. A perfect photo opportunity and a great talking point to get people talking about your business!!

So when you are next thinking about entertainment for your event, think about a celebrity!!!

Here are 10 things to consider when booking entertainment

1. Type of entertainment for your event

What type of event are you hosting? There are different types of entertainment to suit different kinds of events. Booking the right type of entertainment is essential.

For example;
A Dance music DJ would be suitable for an 18th Birthday party but wouldn’t go down too well at a 70th birthday (Unless they are young at heart!).

Whereas a Country Band would be perfect for a 70th Birthday party but would not be suitable for an 18th party!

Make sure that the entertainment you book matches the theme and requirements of your event so that everyone can have a good time.

2. Plan Early

Make sure that you plan and book your entertainment early. Don’t leave it to the last minute as the most popular Bands, Entertainers and Acts have bookings 2 – 3 years in advance (especially with weddings). Avoid disappointment and start looking for entertainment as soon as you have your venue booked.

3. Location of Entertainer

When searching for the perfect Entertainer for your event, try to find someone local which can save your precious budget instead of paying travel expenses. If you book an entertainer located over 200 miles away they are obviously going to charge extra for travel, or even an overnight hotel stays. One exception is when you are booking a completely unique entertainer that you won’t find in your local area.

4. Date of event

Be mindful of the date of your event. You may find that your entertainer charges a smaller fee for midweek gigs. Also consider that most entertainers charge more for events like New Year’s Eve and Christmas Holidays.

5. Experience

How much experience does your entertainer have? Are they full-time entertainers? Have they previously performed at events like yours? Ask for testimonials – Every good entertainer should have them!

6. Setup Requirements

Different entertainers require different setups. Some bands will need a large stage area to fit their sound and lighting rig, while solo acts can stand in the corner of your room with just an instrument and microphone. Make sure that you plan the layout of your room and discuss setup arrangements with your entertainer. Ensure enough time for your entertainer to set their equipment up and sufficient access to load equipment into your venue.

7. Contract

Does your entertainer use a written agreement or contract? If they don’t, how do you know that they will turn up on the event? Start late? Finish early? Charge you more? A written contract is essential when booking entertainment, as it guarantees that your entertainer will provide the service that is specified on the date and times you require. The contract should also specify the fee for the entertainer.

8. Public liability insurance

Booking an entertainer without public liability insurance can end up being an expensive mistake. Firstly, some venues and hotels require entertainers to produce a PLI certificate. If your entertainers cannot prove that they are insured, the manager won’t let them in! Imagine you have a room packed full of guests attending your event and your entertainment is not allowed in… What a Disaster! Secondly you may be liable for the costs if the entertainer you have booked causes damage to individuals or property in the venue. What if your entertainer had equipment that fell on top of a guest or member of staff? For peace of mind; make sure your entertainer has Public Liability Insurance. Don’t take a risk!

9. PAT Testing

If your entertainers use any electronic equipment, they are required by law to have it PAT tested (Portable Appliance Test) for electrical safety. It is a UK legal requirement for your entertainer to have their equipment tested annually, to comply with The Electricity at Work Act 1989. PAT testing is also necessary to meet the requirements of the entertainers PLI policy. Does this matter to me? Yes, as some venues and hotels also won’t let your entertainer perform without a valid PAT certificate.

10. Price

When booking party entertainment, don’t always go for the cheapest entertainer. Why? Because booking entertainment isn’t the same as looking for the cheapest TV or the best Insurance quote. Your entertainer needs to be of a professional standard and have the experience to entertain you guests. Their equipment needs to be of a professional quality, so that it doesn’t break down on the night. Also their service needs to be professional so that you are happy with booking. Notice the word professional is used a lot?

Hire a celebrity Line-Up

Everyone wants their party to be memorable. One fun idea is to hire celebrity lookalikes to mingle with your guests. Nothing loosens up a stuffy corporate crowd quite like sharing cocktails with Kim & Kanye.

At one party a pianist was hired as entertainment for a corporate party. What he didn’t know was that they had also hired Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey and Elton John impersonators to work the party as well. Before he took the stage, he spoke with all three and asked if they would mind singing with him. He figured out what songs they could all do, and then they began their act. After the act the impersonators were mingling with the guests. The acts continued doing the show again and then 30 minutes later Frank took over the stage with a medley of his greatest hits,

I thought that the choices of Frank and Elton John impersonators were particularly inspired because they are both over-the-top personalities and you can’t help but have a good time and smile in the face of such flamboyance. We think Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner, Beyoncé and other larger-than-life entertainers would all be great choices too.

Just look on our list of celebrity lookalikes and see who could be at your party!!

A reliable Directory

You can save enough time and energy when you engage a good entertainment directory in most cases, we have taken care of the brain work you would have carried out, and have the best unique and highly acclaimed artists in the business.

Red Masque will help you filter available options. You can get several options when thinking of hiring bands, singers, musicians, comedians and other artists. You may be confused especially when you don’t know any of the artists in person. You can save yourself the trouble by ensuring that Red Masque only advertises the very best and whatever choice you make will always be the right one.

We understand exactly what you want. You are able to contact various artists of your choosing and meet if you so wish to choose suitable music or songs for your event.

With a reliable entertainment directory, you can get suitable price for hiring a band. You can also get the right price for other artists you may want to hire.

To locate us, you have to come online; which is the first step. There are several agencies offering unique services on the internet, but you need to consider some factors when looking for the right agency. You have to compare several agencies before making your choice. You can ask the manager some questions. Or you can also arrange a private interview with each artist. This will help you make the right choice.

Retirement party ideas

If you’re planning a party for a work colleague, a novel party idea is to give a countdown clock which runs backwards for 6 months until the last day of work, ideal for someone whose retirement can’t arrive too soon!

Traditionally a gold watch was given to prized employees retiring after 30 years, though long service medals and other gifts were often given depending on the nature of the job or the type of work carried out.

These days the whole emphasis of working life is much more temporary than ever before in history, with few people expecting to stay in the same employment for 30 months, let alone 30 years!

If you, or someone you know, have been lucky enough to keep the same job right up to retirement age then they certainly deserve a fun-filled and exciting send off.

Party Themes…

To decide on a theme for your party, choose something relevant to the retiree, for example a favourite hobby, a work related topic, their favourite musical era or the place they’re retiring to, especially if this is abroad.

A popular theme is to dress up and hire a live band to suit the era when the retiree started work. For the 50’s choose a rock n roll band or Elvis Tribute singer for the 60’s go with a Beatles tribute band, for the 70’s how about a 70’s tribute act? The options are endless.

We also have a great range of lookalike artists for hire so why not surprise the retiree with a visit from their favourite celebrity or sports star?

Decorate to suit the theme…

You should dress the entire venue with memorabilia, ‘Happy Retirement’ banners and decorations which follow the theme in seamless detail. Lots of companies supply party props and ‘scene setters’

If you choose a golf theme for example then decorate the room as a golf course, with elaborate sand pits, flags, golf ball name settings and card board cut outs of famous golfers. Everyone should arrive in outrageous golfing trousers and pringle jumpers, and if your venue is a golf club why not include half an hour on the driving range before dinner?

This is your life!

A great idea for a surprise retirement party is to hold your own version of the TV show ‘This is your life’.

Friends, family and colleagues will love collecting stories, photos and tales of long-forgotten, and often best forgotten antics from the workplace or otherwise. Try and get in touch with old colleagues or long lost friends and invite them along in secret, introducing them at the perfect moment for an emotional reunion.

A confident younger relative or the retiree’s manager should host the event. Buy a ‘big red book’ as an album for the collection and present it to the retiree at the end of the night.

Really stand out!!

In order to promote your brand successfully, you have to be excited about the product. Well, what if your product just isn’t that exciting? If you can’t present it to your trade show visitors in a way that delights them, they’ll move along. To attract crowds to your trade show booth, you’re going to have to use a little creativity. At Red Masque we like to help you make every event extraordinary. So, here are our five proven ways to attract crowds to your trade show booth and make your brand stand out.

Make your services clear, offer some freebies, display visuals, and have an articulate staff. Now what?

Photo booths

Offering to take a visitor’s photo can help you initiate a fun conversation and leave them with a memorable souvenir. We recommend using an electronic photo booth for a contemporary approach. This new form of photo entertainment allows you to add quirky graphics and can instantly be shared on social media platforms. With the green screen technology, you can place your company’s logo into every photo, transforming a fun experience for the trade show attendees into a unique opportunity to promote your brand.

Themes

Creating a theme for your exhibit requires a bit of associative thinking. For example, if your product solves a customer’s problem, you could opt for a magic theme, playing off of the idea that your product will cause specific problems to magically disappear. Your theme could be incorporated into ornate and unique attire for your company’s exhibitors. You could offer giveaways associated with your theme, like pens with disappearing ink. And of course, you can hire an entertainer (such as an illusionist) to draw in the crowd and keep them in awe.

Strolling Tables

Strolling tables, also referred to as living tables, are performers who wear elaborate costumes designed to provide a flat surface surrounding their form. On this, you can display promotional materials, giveaways, or even hors d’oeuvres. Not only will visitors remember your company, but they’ll also associate you with innovation and imagination.

Casino Games

With all of the exciting lights, sounds, and moving parts of casino games, it’s easy to see the benefits of offering them at your exhibit. You can recreate the adrenaline-inducing casino atmosphere to draw in a crowd, and likely the crowd will inspire more onlookers to stop out of curiosity. For the prizes, you could offer your company’s giveaways, and for the grand prize, offer one of your products. You’ll create more value in your product by making it fun and challenging to win!

Impersonators

Nothing is as eye-catching as a well-known celebrity standing in your booth. Hiring an impersonator or celebrity lookalike is a comical way of showing mock celebrity endorsement for your company. The impersonator can offer their autograph on your promotional materials to keep your brand in the visitor’s hand. Create a memorable experience for your visitors by offering photo opportunities with the ‘celebrity’ at an electronic photo booth. This will allow you to brand the photo with your company logo, and visitors will be excited to share the moment with their friends on social media, offering additional exposure.

With these five showcasing methods, you can make your visitors as excited about your brand as you are. Your company will step outside of the ordinary, and trade show attendees will remember your brand and associate your product with ingenuity.

Event Ideas to attract customers

Customer events are outstanding ways to create excitement and attract new prospects and loyal customers to your business. But how do you come up with an event idea that people want to attend and then get the word out? Here are five ideas for customer-attracting events that any business can use:

1. Learning event – At this type of event you focus on teaching attendees “how-to” do something. Options are limitless and could include things like a winery having a food and wine pairing, a makeup artist could reveal the latest techniques in contouring and highlighting, a dermatologist could address the benefits of proper skincare and the effects of aging, a plumber could advise about the benefits of pipe maintenance and how much money people can save with proper upkeep.

2. Interactive/Hands-On event – Similar to a learning event, a hands-on event takes that learning and literally puts it into the hands of an attendee. It allows guests to roll up their sleeves to learn and do at the same time. Some interesting examples of a hands-on event could include a plant nursery showing how to pot plants in mini trees, a printer demonstrating how to create letterpress cards or invitations, or a software company allowing customers to create an app using their technology.

If you’ve ever stepped foot in an Apple store, you know the power of putting your product or service into people’s hands. When they see it, touch it, experience the results of using it and how it can help them, it’s priceless.

3. Charitable event – Events that have a cause tied to them are brilliant at attracting customers because there’s a “feel good, do good” element. Shopping or spending for a cause is something people take pride in and it’s what helps make these type of events successful. You can do a charitable event any time of year, just make sure you connect your theme and cause to something that is relevant to your audience and something they care about.

4. Special Guest event – Inviting a special guest, host and event speakers or MC your event can be a great crowd pleaser and get people to attend. Many local sports athletes will lend their name and presence to causes they support. A restaurant or cafe could get a celebrity chef to cook a special meal and sign cookbooks, a wedding consultant could get a well-known makeup artist to provide “big day” makeovers.

5. VIP event – People love to be part of exclusive, special things and a VIP event can help attract them like crazy. You can create a members-only event or a VIP event for your most loyal customers and offer them special shopping hours, a nice discount and great customer service. These types of events have been wildly popular for years and spawned the now well-known concept of Friends & Family day events, etc. The key to doing VIP events well is to keep it small and manageable so you can offer only the best experience since these are your best customers. You can base “best” on a number of things including amount spent, number of purchases, number of referrals, etc.

A West End Musical event

We all love musicals. Even those people who say that they don’t can be found screaming Grease Lightning at the top of their lungs at party events every summer. It makes sense then that musicals from the West End and Broadway are therefore commandeered for weddings, corporate events and private parties

Mary Poppins

Ah yes. Famous for dancing penguins, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Dick Van Dyke’s horrendous cockney accent, this is a musical that combines animation and live action to great effect. A family classic for all the family. But how does that translate to events?  Why not hire a dance troupe with some costumes and umbrellas and create a wonderful Poppins scene at authentic venue of your choice?

Sound of Music

For a merry West End sing-song of all the hits from the Sound of Music. Do-Re-Me, So Long Farewell, 16 Going on 17, Climb Every Mountain and My Favourite Things could be belted out to a costumed audience. Who doesn’t like this film?  Such an idea won’t be perfect for every corporate gathering but it certainly be a unique and pleasant experience!

Mamma Mia

Knowing Me, Knowing You, Dancing Queen, Waterloo… The hits are endless and as a result, why not book a tribute band and dance away? Or go wild and have a full on 70’s costumed event. Abba is everyone’s guilty pleasure. The result; a fabulously fun and entertaining party that is thoroughly enjoyed.

Jersey Boys

“Oh what a night!” is exactly what you’d be saying after experiencing a Jersey Boys Tribute act. That was exactly what to sing a medley of brilliant hits. Cherie, Walk Like a Man, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Who Loves You… Just some of the hits that can be Working My Way Back to You.

Rocky Horror

Richard O’ Brien’s greatest moment? Only if you wish to disregard his marvellous work on The Crystal Maze. Even so, the Rocky Horror Show is a huge cult musical that fans always like to dress up for.  These themed parties for the Rocky Horror never go out of fashion. Many bands love to recreate the songs from this show and everyone will love a bit of ‘closet’ dressing up!!

We will Rock you

There’s no reason this can’t be done in its entirety but for the certified Best Single of All Time, Bohemian Rhapsody. “Galileo! Galileo! Galileo Figaro! Magnifico…” We’ve got Freddie Mercury lookalikes before and know that an all-singing, all-dancing inspired Queen recreation would be the perfect musical experience for a corporate or private crowd. Fun fact for you: Robert De Niro was one of the producers of We Will Rock You in the West End. Amazing.