Social Influence is Alive and Kicking at Zombie Pub Crawl

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“Where are you going tonight dressed like that?” my dad said as I prepared to leave for the Zombie Pub Crawl dressed as a Hunter S. Thompson zombie.  “I’m going out to eat braaaaiiinnnsssssss!” He wasn’t amused.  My dad had never heard of a zombie pub crawl.  He also has never heard of Twitter. Therein lies his problem. Social media has played a huge role in the success of this ghoulish event.
 Taylor Carik, one of the original founders of the Minneapolis Zombie Pub Crawl, explains the use of social media in an interview via the  Fast Horse blog
“We already have an audience so we don’t use marketing.  All of our communications tools are used to share information and our messaging…Twitter is used to answer questions and engage with our audience.  Lately, it’s been a great resource for customer service and we’re able to provide real time updates about the status of tickets and drink lines during the pub crawl.  Facebook is used for many of the same messaging and communication reasons, but people also can invite their friends to the pub crawl.”
Zombie Pub Crawl has struck a chord with twenty-somethings who love their social media just as much as they love dressing up in fake blood and tattered clothes with their friends.  This past weekend over 18,000 zombie wannabes gathered in Minneapolis and St. Paul to find brains and booze.  The turnout rate has continued to skyrocket ever since its inception seven years ago in Northeast Minneapolis when roughly one hundred zombies braved the streets. 

Zombie Pub Crawl

I (Zomb-E) also took part in the Zombie Pub Crawl over the weekend–in a half human, half Zombie sort of way. From 1-6pm, I was behind the scenes volunteering in a white hazmat suit. My duty included scanning the QR code on each zombie ticket using the Vital Culture App I downloaded on my iPhone. Once checked-in, I was able to account for the zombie in our system and distribute their wristband. This allowed for tickets to be distributed  from 7 locations throughout the Twin Cities!

Digital integration is helping to improve live events more than ever. I can’t count the number of zombies who cracked a smile when I scanned their ticket from the App in under 5 seconds or bowed in thanks when I searched and found the ticket they had forgotten to print beforehand. The key element was the digital ticket platform and knowing how to use it.

After 6pm, I participated as a zombie and was pleased that I could “check-in” to the Zombie Pub crawl from various places around the West Bank. It certainly was a scary event, but planning and organizing 18,000 zombies was a lot less scary and lot more interesting with the use of social platform and digitally integrated apps!

 
-By Darren & Emily

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Background on The Social Lights
The Social Lights® is a social-first agency headquartered in Minneapolis that partners with clients to grow their business through strategy development, creative production, media buying, and social media management. Current clients include General Mills, Ecolab, Cargill, Caribou Coffee, Kwik Trip, Polaris and Massage Envy. The Social Lights was founded in 2011 and is a WBENC-Certified Women Business Enterprise. Learn more at The Social Lights.

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