Piercings, hot dogs, and a nice steak

What's the play

Turn your conference booth and all the events around it into an experience people cannot stop talking about. Torq offered free real tattoos and piercings, free hot dogs handed out on silver platters, and a proper steak dinner before a lit after party.

What was the alternative?

A standard booth with a demo screen, a bowl of branded pens, and a badge scanner.

Results / what moved

At Black Hat, Torq ran 'Torq Club Tattoo' giving out real, permanent flash tattoos and piercings at its booth, handed out 'Torq Dogs' on silver platters, and hosted a steak dinner at StripSteak. The mix of permanent ink, hot dogs on silver, and a nice steak turned a booth into a talked-about spectacle at a conference full of identical vendors.

Cost breakdown

Not gonna lie, this one isn't cheap.

Would you run it again?

Yes. Torq has made real tattoos its signature move at security conferences.

Steps

1. 1

   Truly make your activation stand out at the event

   Lead with something bold and real, like free permanent tattoos and piercings, that no other booth would dare.

2. 2

   Play high against low

   Add an absurd contrast, like free hot dogs handed out on silver platters.

3. 3

   Add one classy touch

   Host a proper steak dinner for the people you most want real relationships with.

4. 4

   Make it genuinely real

   Actually deliver the wild thing, real ink, real steak, not a gimmick.

Notes

Anchor it with something so committal people cannot ignore it, a real permanent tattoo beats a stress ball. Play high against low, hot dogs on silver platters is funnier than either alone. Torq is always the bluebrint for standing out at events.

Receipts

Torq Black Hat event pageTrevor from Torq LinkedIn post