Brant Beach resident and Viavo skincare owner Stacey Maggio is to fly out to Beverly Hills, Calif., this week to get ready to present her avocado oil body and bath product line to the 2013 Oscar nominees. She will be giving away a full-size, lavender rose-scented body lotion, made with avocado oil from Southern California, which retails for $20, to each of the 91 awards nominees at the 2013 Academy Awards gift lounge on Friday, Feb. 22 and Saturday, Feb. 23. The special event will ensue just two days before the 85th Academy Awards ceremony takes place at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.
 |
| Photo by Jack Reynolds Viavo skincare owner Stacey Maggio prepares her products for shipment to California where she will offer samples to Oscar nominees. |
Maggio was invited to the chic affair after GBK Productions, a Los Angeles- and New York-based marketing and special events company, spotted her at the 2012 Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards – her first major break since she started her business in 2006. As part of the deal, she is assigned to a photographer who will be at the event to capture photographs of the celebrities holding her lotion product. She is hoping to receive a celebrity endorsement she can share on her website and social media outlets, including Facebook and Twitter.
“Right before the event begins, we’ll be given a cheat sheet so we know what celebrities are coming in at what time,” said Maggio. “Product endorsements happen all the time because the celebrities know what these types of events are for. Since men are not traditionally my customer, I would like to get somebody like Bradley Cooper or Ben Affleck,” she added.
Maggio said she is all set to go for the big event. Her products and 7-foot traditional popup banner, made by Typestries Sign & Digital in Manahawkin, printed with the Viavo name and a special QR reader for event-goers to easily connect with her website, were shipped to California last week. She is also prepared with business cards that offer recipients 50 percent off their next shopping order, a coupon known as a “bounce-back” to her website.
“Now I’m really set up to do all the big events. I have the right tools, where before I just had my business cards,” said Maggio. “Now I have a Paypal swiper; I can take cards on the fly if someone wants to buy it on my iPad. I’m really excited about that. I have some elements that make me seem like more of a traveling solopreneur instead of like an arts-and-crafts kind of person, which is how you start. Everybody starts at the flea market,” she added.
If Maggio receives a big enough response from attending the Oscars, she said she would consider taking her products to New York Fashion Week in December.
A 22-ounce, mint-scented Viavo sugar scrub made with organic ingredients, which retails for $40, will also be included in GBK’s Oscars Pinterest contest, led by hair guru Jose Eber. Pinners who repin an image featuring everything included in the Oscars grab bag with the hashtag #GBKOscarsGiftLounge will be entered to win one of the fancy gift bags. The contest will start Sunday, Feb. 24 and end Friday, March 1.
Maggio is also hosting her own special Facebook contest, which allows people to guess the winners of selected Oscars categories. Those who guess correctly will be given something only those who attend the awards ceremony could obtain. To participate in the challenge, visit https://www.facebook.com/ViavoAvocadoOil?fref=ts.
 |
| Photo by Jack Reynolds A display of Maggio's appearance at the 2012 Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards hangs proudly in her living room wall. My article, on the right, made the board! |
The local entrepreneur was also invited to showcase her product at the 70th Golden Globe Awards in January. However, she had decided to skip the event because it was so soon after the onslaught of Superstorm Sandy. During that time she had wanted to be a part of the community’s recovery and also be there for her parents, whose home in Harvey Cedars sustained 4 feet of floodwater damage.
“Water seeped into their garage, where I keep all my product inventory,” Maggio recalled. “Luckily, they had very minimal damage. My product was okay; it was just soggy boxes.”
Although Maggio said, “I basically spent my advertising budget for the year on these events right now,” she did mention other exciting future events. Unable to discuss those dealings, she said people will just have to stay tuned in.
This article was published in The SandPaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment