The Blog Societies Conference 2017 from Julie Kennedy on Vimeo
Can’t believe another conference has come and gone! Time sure does fly when you’re having fun! We held our The 5th Annual Blog Societies Conference in Chicago and are still on a high from all the excitement from the weekend. Scroll through to see all the networking, workshops, parties and more that made this our biggest and best conference yet!
OUR HOTEL: W-LAKESHORE
Changing up our location meant finding a great new hotel. The second we stepped into the W-Lakeshore, we knew this is where our 5th #TBScon had to be held. From the modern decor, stunning views of the navy pier and the chic rooms – this was the perfect home away from home.
VERA BRADLEY WELCOME PARTY
Thursday night, we kicked off #TBScon with a welcome party at Sugar Factory, hosted by Vera Bradley. Bloggers and brands were able to mix and mingle fresh off their flight and enjoy delicious cocktails and bites. Vera Bradley highlighted a few of their favorite new products and had everyone so excited to begin the conference over the next couple days.
WORKSHOPS
One thing we really try to focus on with #TBScon is providing a lot of educational content for our bloggers. We want them to come away having learned a TON and with motivation to make their blogs/brands bigger and better. On Friday morning, we started working with our breakout workshops. We provided the attendees with four workshop options: Lightroom with Stephanie Drenka, SEO Strategy with Lindsay Humes, a Tailwind Tutorial with Melissa Megginson, and Turning your Blog Into A Business with Amy Northard. Each workshop lasted one hour and the bloggers were able to rotate and attend three of them.
MARC FISHER LUNCHEON
After the workshops, we all headed in the big bus over to The Boarding House for lunch. This elegant space was the location of the most stunning luncheon hosted by Marc Fisher. This place was AMAZING! The restaurant decor was all about wine in a super cool industrial building. We all a delicious three course meal and mock-tails! Plus we got a sneak peek of all the new Marc Fisher designs coming out in the fall.
NETWORKING SUITE
Hands down, our most buzzed about part of the conference is always the networking suite! With champagne in hand and music playing, the bloggers were able to walk from booth to booth to meet brand reps and interact with their product. It’s such a cool and fun vibe in the room as we were able to create our own custom monogramed metallic with Marc Fisher, get a customized skincare mask from Advanced Clinical, browse the cozy collection from Lilla P, play in a photo booth with Charming Charlie, learn about skin hydration with Cosmedix, take pictures with the the pink Lauren James donut wall plus so much more!
CHARMING CHARLIE BREAKFAST + CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
For the last day of #TBScon, we all enjoyed a delicious breakfast hosted by Charming Charlie. Their team told us a little history of the brand (like why they color coordinate their stores) and their vision for the future! It was great to hear from them and got us excited to head up to the top floor of the W-Lakeshore where we kicked off our speakers. First up, Instagram- powerhouses and real life BFF Danielle of Shop Dandy and Grace from A Southern Drawl. They shared their tips and tricks on how they pitch their travel collaborations and fit the work seamlessly into their fashion feeds. Next was the always eloquent and super sweet key note speaker Rachel Martino. Such an amazing woman with the best story on how she grew her brand to what it is today! Next, was Brittany Stevens of Lawyer Lookbook going over all the rules, regulations, contracts and FTC guideline knowledge you need to know about as a blogger. She made all the legal jargon behind the blog approachable, understandable and the girl was hilarious Finally. We rounded things out with a brand panel where we did a fun Facebook Live and attendees could do an open Q&A with our brand reps.
A big thank you to all of our amazing sponsors for helping to make our 5th #TBScon such a success. Check them out below!
PLATINUM SPONSORS:
Vera Bradley, Marc Fisher, Charming Charlie
GOLD LEVEL SPONSORS:
Lauren James, Cosmedix, Advanced Clinical, Physicians Formula, Lilla P and Lilly Pulitzer
SILVER LEVEL SPONSORS
On Gossamer, Mary Kay, and Cheree Berry Paper
…and we also have to thank our coordinator Caroline of Birdie and Boe Events and our photographer/videographer Julie Kennedy