My Three-Step Guide to Hosting the Cutest Campus Event
Finding something everyone will love isn't an easy feat. What makes DePaul Unversity so special is the unique styles, passions, and hobbies among the student body, but that also presents some challenges for establishing new, high-yield events. Paying attention to internet trends and experiences around the city (as well as sprinkling in your own niche fascinations) is the best way to gauge your audience's most common interests. Viral videos of blind box unboxings, lines a mile long to get the newest collectable in the city, and our love of all things cute brought our DAB (DePaul Activities Board) Mart program to life. And here’s how we did it:
Step 1: Design
We first worked on which stuffed animal keychains we’d make and figured out what quantity of each made sense for our campus. We were aiming for an attendance of 1,500 students. We ordered an even quantity of five characters: our mascot plus four other animals, pictured below. From there, we worked with one of our student graphic designers to create a custom design for the box that highlighted our campus colors and fit the theme.
Step 2: Plan
You are going to need a team; depending on the size of your attendance goal, you might need several teams! To reach our goal, the whole office chipped in to fold and stuff blind boxes. We could not have done it without our DePaul Activities Board, volunteers, and our Office of Student Involvement team!
Step 3: Execute
Event day is always the scariest, but the most rewarding and exciting part. Preparation, organization, and teamwork led to a successful event! Advanced planning also allowed us to add some extra details: we had two photo ops for live blind box unboxing stations, created signage for a “Blind Box Trading Station”, and enough volunteers to keep the line moving.
Post Event
Following the event, we have already identified ways to improve in the future. Student staff and other leaders dedicated hours to assembling and stuffing the blind boxes. In the future, we plan to use custom polymailers to make the process easier before the event. We are looking into other ways to keep the event fresh and exciting for our students. We’re excited to make this a tradition for future Blue Demons!
