blo | north america's original blow dry bar

“Pop-up” is marketing’s buzzword for extending a brand or product’s sales reach by recreating something — a mini store — in a temporary, non-traditional environment — an empty building.

Honestly! What’s new with that? Heck, on-the-spot transformations are the heart and soul of the event business! However, TSEvents XS is grabbing this chance to jump on the essence of pop-up and spin the spotlight on a few ideas and services with the mobility to do just that.

Vodka On The Go
Take the gang to Pravda Vodka House — an opulent, two-level playground for all things Russian — or let Pravda bring its stylish novelty to you. Babushka dolls, drapery and Russian accents embellish an interactive catering station where costumed servers behind the ice bar guide guests through vodka’s history, distilling process and tasting. They can do the same for caviar.

Tasty eats range from smoked salmon and traditional rye bread and pickles to Russian-inspired tapas or a full carving station with offerings from the restaurant’s recently revamped menu. Pump up the entertainment quotient with a talented Pravda pal or two including instrumentalists and trapeze artists.

“Dos” For Guests
Who hasn’t done the mad dash from office drudgery to gala? How wonderful a sight then is the pop-up hair salon? Blow Dry Bar’s Blo On The Go works a charm on stressed guest tresses. The no-cuts, no-colour specialists — there are currently five Toronto locations — set up a simple photo op-ready branded salon with tools (pink, no less!) and stylists ready to primp and preen attendees at events of all sizes.

Guests choose from Blo’s seven-style menu that covers the Bardot Updo to the Perfect Pony. Five to 10 minutes per person and voila — catwalk-ready guests! Customized hair accessories can be arranged.

Beyond The Chip Truck
Poutine’s where it’s at — fries plus so much luscious, calorie-laden delicious more. Smoke’s on Wheels — the mobile face of Smoke’s Poutinerie shop — rolls its tartan-clad deep-fry truck anywhere events happen. The on-the-go menu offers signature gravies, including curry and Bolognese, and loads of toppings — thumbs up to caramelized onions atop squeaky fresh cheese curds.

For now it’s one truck but reportedly there’s a whole city fleet in the works, along with stores and on-the-go coverage for London, Kingston and Ottawa. Luckily, Smoke’s has a nifty poutine pop-up station, too, complete with millwork benches and stand-up counter, perfect for indoor and outdoor events.

A Double Shot Of Wellness
The concept of on-site spa perk-me-ups just jumped to a whole new level with the recent partnering of services from Massage On Wheels and Element Oxygen Bars. Planners can now offer weary attendees the opportunity to simultaneously benefit from two energy-boosters in one location.

Massage on Wheels’ specialists give an aromatherapy hand, neck or shoulder massage to guests breathing in their choice of scented O2 at Element’s full-size oxygen bar. Guests can also hook up to portable oxygen infusers located beside ergonomic massage chairs — energize the brain while de-stressing the body with reflexology. Now that’s what we call one-stop experiential goodness.

A Case Of Toilet Humour
Nature’s call at outdoor events means the oft-reluctant pit stop at portable restrooms. But wait … what’s this? Tuxedoed greeters? Toilet maître d’s? Themed décor? Ambient in-toilet music? The Privy People, playing their over-the-top improv off unsuspecting restroom visitors, turn Johnny-on-the-spots into funny-on-the-spots.

Comedians Rick Guntz and Dana Fradkin pull in the yucks by performing their toilet concierge duties very seriously, going to great lengths to theme-dress toilets, clean them, stock them with niceties and ensure guests have an attention-to-detail Disney-like experience. Restroom concierge duties can also be assigned to celebrity impersonators. The Queen and her themed “Throne Room” is always a hit.

Virtual Ticket
Twicketer, a new patent-pending web-based application turns the average smartphone into a mobile box office or interactive coupon delivery channel. The ticketing solution is simple: Events, after creating their ticket on Twicketer’s website, share the page link through email and social networking sites. Guests click on the link, make the online purchase and receive the ticket on their phone.

Event security checks the phone ticket and double-taps it to validate — no scanning necessary. Along with mobile ticketing, Twicketer’s application also gives marketers the opportunity to target customers with sponsor-promoted surveys, coupons, games and videos.

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