This past September, TK Events managed a strategic integrated marketing program for Salesforce Canada at Toronto’s Elevate Tech Fest, the country’s leading tech and innovation festival.
The program was way more integrated than your usual booth set up, and included a number of elements that had many guests stopping in their tracks — something TK Events is used to providing, as a full-service events agency based in Oakville.



According to Trish Knox, president of TK Events, Salesforce has an already compelling brand so when she and her team helped to build the program, it was really inspired.
“The ‘Trailblazers’ theme that Salesforce already had was such a great lift-off point for us,” she said. “It really allowed us to play into the theme, and work it in with the Grow Your Business campaign that we could do so much with already.”
TK Events went full-force with the Grow Your Business theme and tied it in with the striking visual elements of the Salesforce space. Lush greenery and blossoming blooms grazed the entrance to make it more inviting for guests.




To help push that theme event further, Salesforce had their Greenhouse trailer at the event, which was a major place Salesforce wanted attendees to go and learn more about their business.
In order to drive more traffic to the Salesforce greenhouse, TK Events thought up the idea to have brand ambassadors hand out ‘sprout pencils’ and seed packets at Merdian Hall (Elevate Main Stage).
“And that really tied into the Grow Your Business theme,” Knox said. “And we got a lot of feedback with the pencils especially. It really helped up the engagement, and drove traffic to the place where Salesforce reps could qualify leads.”



Knox added that the program also featured a series of thought leadership roundtables and masterclass discussions from renowned authors Geoffrey Moore and Guy Kawasaki that went over very well with attendees.



The grand finale, a #WeTheTrailblazers party, took place at Early Mercy during Elevate King West.
The space was turned into a spot for technology innovators and lovers alike, and even featured a special performance by celebrity DJ, The Jillionaire.



“The main purpose of the party was to have multiple engagement points to have the audience stopping in their tracks,” Knox explained. “We wanted to keep that momentum going so we had lots of interactive, fun activations, like our photo booth with the 180 effect, and the augmented reality station.”
Knox said the most talked about (and Tweeted about) activation was the Augmented Reality zone where guests could take their mobile phones, aim it at the images in the station, and could see stories come to life.
“Guests called the activation mindblowing, and that was really what we were hoping for,” Knox added, saying others said this was their first time engaging with Salesforce and definitely wouldn’t be their last.





The Details
Planning by: TK Events
Submitted by: Trish Knox and Rachel Li, TK Events
Event: Salesforce Canada program at Elevate Tech Fest, Elevate King West
Venue: King Street West
Brand Ambassadors
Tigris Events
Masterclass Venue
CORUS Entertainment
Cocktail Reception Venue
JUMP
#WeTheTrailblazers lounge party
Early Mercy
Creators Dinner Venue
JACOBS
Décor/Branding At Party and Dinner
Dance Floor Décor
Photography/Videography
Angle Media
Furniture Rentals
Divine Furniture Rental
Photobooth
Pixperience Photo Experiences