Alberta Meeting & Event Guide Fall/Winter 2017/2018 | Page 18

modern art, and impact Calgary’s status
as a city of choice globally.
Wrangling their energy became the
work of one full-time staff member of
Boom Goes the Drum. According to
Derek, it required a dedication to clarity:
clarity of story, value, ask, and expecta-
tion. The approach wasn’t a ‘call to action’
or transaction, but rather an invitation
to collaborate and contribute. Only when
the committee’s enthusiasm was ignited
and clear expectations delivered could
they be activated to be ambassadors for
Contemporary Calgary’s story, and attract
their networks to want to be a part of it at
LOOK.
To support the committee’s efforts
to introduce the Contemporary Calgary
story and attract people to LOOK, Boom
produced a private shopping night experi-
ence in support of the fundraiser, which
took place at Holt Renfrew (the present-
ing sponsor) one month before the event.
This pre-LOOK event gave invited Holts’
shoppers the chance to get to know and
interact with Contemporary Calgary’s
brand through visual art installed in
the store, a curated fashion presenta-
tion, and some of Calgary’s best food
and beverages, as well as a compelling
invitation to shop: Holt Renfrew gener-
ously offered to donate 10% of sales that
evening to Contemporary Calgary. “The
plan,” MacDonald says, “was two-fold:
get them in the door, and then get them
in the door again.” Beyond shopping, this
cross-promotional event involved a ticket
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sales strategy: guests who purchased a
LOOK ticket at Holt Renfrew that evening
received 50% of their ticket purchase price
back on a gift card to be spent that eve-
ning at Holts (and 10% of that purchase
when back to Contemporary Calgary as
well). The event resulted in one of Ho