Nothing happens without promotion.
– PT Barnum
About five months ago, my friends and myself were fully engulfed on Twitter for hours tweeting the hashtag #UCFPinkParty until our thumbs were numb. We sacrificed time and followers in hopes of beating out the University of Texas in the 24-hour race to out-tweet each other. The prize described was vague; a party in the fall with appearances from Victoria’s Secret models and musical performances in the ranks of Drake and Kid Cudi. UCF, my friends, and myself were not entirely sure what we were competing for; but we knew we wanted to win. And win we did, out-tweeting Texas by over 40,000 tweets, and we were ecstatic.
Fast forward to September of fall semester. Pink banners are covering the UCF arena and there’s an enormous gold “Pink” dog outside. FINALLY, my friends thought, the fruits of our labor last semester are going to pay off!
Not exactly.
The UCF Pink Party was on campus… And half of us had a difficult time figuring out what was going on, what models are going to be there, who was going to perform, much less when any events were taking place. We had to ask everyone we knew and do some google searches to find out any details. And when we finally found them, we were far from impressed. A week-long celebration was promised. Instead, we received a few events that took place in the middle of the day, during class time. We were promised a performer in the ranks of Drake and Kid Cudi… and got Flo Rida. In my opinion, they’re not exactly in the same ranks. My sacrifices and the sacrifices of most were largely enjoyed by incoming freshman who have the convenience of living on campus.
While my personal disappointment is a matter of a opinion, the promotional strategies for this event are not. When searching the UCF Pink Party on Google, hardly any details about the event come up. I personally found most of my information through word of mouth rather than information posted on campus. When a company as successful as Victorias Secret is planning an event that was supposed to be the “party of the year,” I expect a lot of promoting available on every social media outlet and on the actual campus. From a company this large and this successful, I just expected more.
gintarepisciotto 