Re-engineering the traditional happy hour mixer format.

Posted on | May 27, 2008 | No Comments

Here’s the problem with current happy hour mixers that I see. I know of a few groups that organize big happy hours. Mostly young adults. Some get 50 people. Some get 200 and over. Problem is, it’s not that effective. Well, I guess it depends on what your goal is. If people continue to come out on a regular basis, then I guess you can’t argue the success of the event. However, I’ve always enjoyed seeing and looking for things that most people will often overlook. Here is what I think some people often overlook about such massive happy hours.

Music is too loud.
Way too many people.
Accoustics are horrible.
Impersonal at best even though organizers try their best to encourage mixing and networking.

I could go and on, but that is the gist of it.

Here’s a better format that I’ve been considering doing between some friends.

Each one of us will invite our own personal social network.
We brand the event as a friend of friend happy hour event.

This ensures that every person who comes knows everyone else through one of the inviters. At most, there is only 2 degrees of separation between everyone. It’s a much friendlier environment. The rapport is much stronger because everyone knows at least a few people. You won’t see as many people have a drink in their hand and not talking to anyone because of the increased commonality between the various little social circles that are forming.

If you want to get even more creative, you could designate a different colored sticker to each person who comes. So anyone that was invited by me will get one colored sticker. And then those invited from the other co-host will get another. This helps let people know who knows whom and can be an effective ice breaker if done properly.

I’ve been considering doing this with a couple friends and see how it goes. Just gotta find the time to do it.