Nationwide tryvertising parties

While promoting goods and services through friendly get-togethers is nothing new, House Party has given the concept a radical makeover. A far cry from your mother’s Tupperware gatherings, House Party combines in-person tryvertising with rich media sharing to link thousands of parties where consumers convene with friends, family, co-workers and neighbours to test products and share their experiences. Unlike traditional sales parties, hosts don’t sponsor events to earn a cut of the profit, nor are company representatives or consultants present to pitch their wares. Instead, anyone can apply to host a party through the House Party website, where they can browse a list of upcoming events—which may include anything from watching a previously unseen television series, listening to an unreleased CD or tasting a new food or beverage. Hosts get freebies, samples and special offers, plus planning tools to help create invitations, manage RSVPs and more. There’s an online community for hosts to interact with fellow party-throwers to share tips and suggestions as they plan their bashes. The other key factor is that for each event, House Party aims to book at least a thousand parties across the United States to take place on the same day. Which bundles the buzz and exponentially increases the effect of word-of-mouth advertising following an event. On Party Day, as many as 10,000+ individuals take part in parties across the nation, which are documented by hosts through photos and videos on houseparty.com. Anyone looking for an innovative way to get the word out about their service or product—and receive fast focus group feedback—may want to give the service a whirl. House Party, which got started in 2004, has worked with a number of big brands, from Nickelodeon to Pepperidge Farm. Time to get the party started in other parts of the globe! Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz Related: The perks of product testing, Putting cash test dummies to work & Sampling salons for cosmetics