Last Thursday, 451 Marketing was privileged to be both an event partner and honoree at the Boston Business Journal’s 2011 Pacesetters Awards.  The 55 companies recognized by the awards arrived bright and early for networking and a delicious breakfast at the Fairmont Copley Plaza followed by the awards ceremony itself.  451 was there in full force to create online buzz around the event and collect data about attendees’ readership and media consumption habits.

Pacesetters are recognized annually by the BBJ as the fastest expanding privately-held companies in Massachusetts.  This year, 55 firms achieved the minimum of 20% growth over the past three years.  451 Marketing was lucky enough to come in 15th place with 141.83% growth!  The ceremony included more than just acceptance speeches – attendees were also treated to a panel on corporate growth and strategies used during the recent economic recession and a video produced by Element Productions.

The 451 Marketing/Boston Business Journal Command Center was a popular destination during the networking portion of the event.  Attendees filled out a survey for the BBJ using SURVEY ON THE SPOT, an intuitive and interactive survey product accessed through three iPads and an iPod touch at the command center.  Attendees who participated were entered to win an iPad 2 and given a free bottle of 451 Hot Sauce.

In order to establish a social media presence for the awards, a standardized hashtag, #BBJPacesetters, was created for Twitter.  During the ceremony, the 451 team live-tweeted congratulations to all of the winners and commentary on the ceremony and took pictures of the event. By May 3rd, #BBJPacesetters had been seen by over 49,000 users and 634,000 online impressions  -  and this reach continues to grow.

Not only did the hashtag tag trend in Boston for the day (which is significant, considering all of the web chatter around the Boston Bruins’ win and the Royal Wedding), but the BBJ’s own Twitter account (@BBJNewsroom) noticed a bump in followers and Klout score.  We look forward to supporting the Boston Business Journal for their next event, #BBJGreenAwards!

-Halley Sheffield, 451 Marketing