BlogHer '10: I came, I saw, I ate

 As an attendee and sponsor representative at BlogHer Food ’09, the she-blogger conference series’ sophisticated gourmet sister, I thought I was prepared for what to expect at BlogHer ’10. Whereas BlogHer Food catered, understandably, to niche foodie bloggers and the brands that love them, it felt to me that the sponsor area was an after-thought and we didn’t get as much attention or one-on-one time with the bloggers as we would have liked. BlogHer ’10, on the other hand, was bigger, bolder, and, in my opinion, way more successful from a brand sponsor standpoint.

BlogHer ’10 was held August 6-7 at the Hilton New York. More than 2,400 women – many of them bloggers who write in the parenting, entertainment, food, green, and home & garden categories – gathered to network, attend seminars on blogging, and learn about new products and services as demonstrated by the conference sponsors in the two massive expo halls.

As a PR representative for a major national food brand and a foodie at heart, I was very interested to see what the other food brand sponsors would do at the conference. I assume each brand had the same PR objectives for participation: engage with bloggers, introduce new products, and generate buzz about the brand online. Blissfully, that meant lots of tasty samples to nibble on from McDonald’s, Pepsi Co, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farms, Pillsbury Baking, Laughing Cow, and Got Milk, among others.

While sampling is a great way to get people to come over and try your products at any trade show, when you’re at a conference focused on social media make sure you also offer an interactive experience that can be shared virally. For some sponsors, this included photos with celebrity spokespeople (like Bruce Jenner for Tropicana – see below) and mascots, videotaped interviews, Twitter sweepstakes, Facebook giveaways, and sandwich-making cook-offs. Including a fun way to capture contact information is also important to continue building the relationships fostered at the event.