Today, I am On the MOVE to check out the 2023 rock-it promotions (rock-it promo) Media Preview VIP Event that was held at 2nd Floor Events, a venue space that I know fully well as many brands and media relations agencies luv to rent out this space to host an event.
So, what is the main purpose of this media preview? Well….it’s a very common practice for a PR company to showcase their clients to the media so that the media learn and know more about the products/services and possibly hoping the media to blog about it or mention on their respective media platforms.
Most often, they setup stations for each brand to show the media what their products/services do. In some cases, media get samples to bring home to snap pics/videos with, to generate content or write an article/blog about what’s trending and latest gift ideas for Christmas, New Year, Birthday, etc., kind of like a gift guide of some sort.
MoVernie FUN FACT: I have always liked the name “rock-it promo”, I don’t know what it is, it stands out to me, it has a ring to it. All these years, they do wonderful things in the industry for all various types of products/services. They host cool events.
Anyhow, let me show you these brands and the products/services that they offer to the public.
As many of my followers know, how much I luv Whisky. The first booth that I went was Signal Hill Whisky and Crystal Head Vodka.
I got to try the 1st cocktail prepared by Crystal Head, a vodka brand made by a Canadian owned business and is available at the LCBO. The cocktail is called “Crystal Cranberry Refresh Mint”, consists of Crystal Head Vodka, fresh cranberry mint juice with Fever-Tree sparkling lemonade.
Instagram: @CrystalHeadVodka
Then, I told the representative that I had visited St. Johns, Newfoundland back in 2018 as I was invited by Air Canada to cover its Signature Lounge at the St. John’s International Airport (YYT), I went to check out Signal Hill, a historic landmark located at the top of the mountain slope overlooking the harbour and the city. I asked the rep if Signal Hill Whisky was named after the same landmark and she said “Yes!”.
I still remembered the ritual “screech” that I did when I was in Newfoundland. If you don’t know what’s a screech, that’s ok, click here to find out more.
The 2nd cocktail was called “Fall for Whisky”, it consisted of Signal Hill Whisky, fresh pear apple cinnamon juice, fever-tree ginger ale. It’s super smooth and tasty.
Instagram: @SignalHillWhisky
While I am holding my awesome drink, it’s time to roam around.
UNCUFFED – Women Leather
UNCUFFED is a women’s fashion brand that focuses on the use of leather as the main design and material. It ranges from women’s hand bags, accessories, belts, harness, corsets to other women’s clothing. From the looks of it, these outfit are funky, stylish, and perfectly for ladies who wants to express themselves with character!
Click here to learn more about the designer/owner’s story of her brand.
Instagram: @uncuffedleather
1MX Toronto Music Festival – Budweiser Stage – September 10, 2023
I got a chance to chat with the organizer, Abi informed me that this 1MX Toronto Music Festival features all the local Asian talent to perform and showcase at this music festival that is happening on September 10, 2023 in Toronto. She said they had success in the past few years at different destinations such as Europe.
Each year, the music festival is at a different spot, but the common theme is hiring local Asian artists to perform at this music fest (click here to check out the performers’ lineup).
I told her that I was born in Hong Kong, generating content and post them in BOTH Chinese and English. I know my roots and understand the importance of Asian representation and promote diversity.
I would be interested in covering any media events prior to meet with these local Asian talents as well as attending the music festival.
Instagram: @1mxmusicfest
Easy Mondays – Men Fashion
As I walked towards this Easy Mondays booth, I was intrigued by all the simple men outer wear. As I get older, I may not necessarily want to wear loud stand out fashion anymore. Especially during and after the pandemic, I just want to wear something nice & simple, comfy and just tone down a bit.
So, when I saw the entire collection of Easy Mondays, they speak my language. They sells t-shirts, long sleeve shirt, hoodies, sweaters, short pants, blazers, jackets. Although they offer many different colours, the palette are subtle and just easy on the eyes for daily usage.
Easy Mondays Mott: “We create basics that make life easy.”
I met the owner, Jeremy, he told me that his clothes are designed in Canada and made in Portugal. I asked him why Portugal as he said the cost are relatively more reasonable and sustainable in Portugal but more importantly, he appreciates the manufacturing productions in Europe overall and all of the clothes are handmade by people from Portugal.
I was also curious about the meaning of the name of the brand, “Why called Easy Mondays?”. Apparently, Jeremy said the name originated from his luv of playing crossword puzzles from the newspapers/magazines weekly and he said the puzzle usually begins with the most easiest on Mondays to give the readers some sort of satisfaction and motivation to start off the week. But the crosswords will get harder as the days in goes by during the rest of the week. Hence “Easy Mondays”. That’s actually very cool as I like names that has a special meaning and it makes sense!
For me, I first thought that rollin’ out of bed every Monday to go to work is the most challenging day of the week, hence these clothes that are comfy and simple would give us motivation to get out of bed and go to work, Jeremy luvs my interpretation.
When I first touch the fabric of these clothes, they felt different, they are stretchable, smooth, comfy and super soft.
Jeremy gave me a blue tee to take home as a gift. I can’t wait to open it and start wearing them at events or just casually walking down the street for a walk. Thank you Jeremy!
Click here to learn more about Easy Mondays!
Instagram: @easy.mondays
Best Buy Canada
Well…everyone knows Best Buy Canada as I am sure most people made at least one purchase or visit to their nearest store location. At this media preview event, they had a nice setup with comfy sofas, coffee tables, a big flat screen playing a loop of cool places from around the world. But today, their focus isn’t about furniture or typical electronics. The main focus was on some self-care therapy devices and with some of them I never knew it exists, so that was cool!
Venom Go
A portable heat + vibration wearable that massage your body on the go. The moment I saw the demo from the rep, I was super excited coz I travel often for Press Trips and leisure that if I am on the plane often, this portable massage would be perfect to massage my back, shoulders while I am sitting so stiffly on the plane.
JBL Portable Speaker
Luv the colour of this JBL portable speaker and it’s light weight, very easy to carry or pack while it’s going to be a fan-favourite with the music pumping out of this little gadget.
Smart Googles
Apparently, as I was told, the therapeutic segment is trending and gaining lots of interests and product launch for people who are looking for self-care. The rep told me Therabody is the leading brand pushing products out and trying to fill the niche. And this media preview, we got to learn this Therabody Smart Googles that can help reduce eye strain and headaches, as well as help ease facial tension. Hopefully, in the future, these machines could help lower the noise exerted via snoring (I can only dream but never say never).
LED Light Therapy Mask (Not for Sale – Prototype Mode)
So….this is a very interesting prototype product that is not yet on the market yet. It’s called the “LED Light Therapy Mask”, the concept is when someone put it on and can select different LED colour lights on the skin and the colour of the light will help make your skin with more glow, smooth and radiate. Currently, the prototype requires you to sit or stand stationary with the eyes being in a google compartment away from the light. Their ideal goal is to make a therapy mask where you can walk around, see where you are going, vacuum, watch tv and do other stuff while your face is being rejuvenated.
I am very interested to try these products in the future and do some product reviews with it, as these are new products, new technology and I am skeptical but yet curious about their functionality and would luv to share my experiences with you all.
Click here to check out the Best Buy Canada website.
Instagram: @BestBuyCanada
Crumps Naturals – Pet Food
I was super excited to learn about Crumps Naturals as we have our beloved dog, Portia the Pom. We care about her diet and what she likes to eat. She does get treats. She mostly enjoy eating salmon, chicken, cheese balls, she pretty much eats everything, kind of reminds me of a “Dog Foodie”. LOL
The representative came over and told me that Crumps Naturals have recently been rebranded, packaged and introduced more new flavours and products for the dogs.
At Crumps Naturals, they believe that your family member deserves to eat food that is made with farm-fresh ingredients and created with minimal processing. It’s made in Canada with all natural ingredients.
Otherwise, there are beef, chicken, duck, sweet potato flavours, just to name a few.
They gave me a bag with samples for Portia to try. But as you know, it’s important that we do our research and due diligence before we feed Portia. So, we will check the calories, ingredients and to ensure that it’s safe for our princess to try before feeding her.
Anyhow, that’s all the brands that were on hand today at the rock-it promo 2023 Media Preview. I learned a lot about these products and services. The best part? I enjoy these in-person human interactions, just to chat with real human beings and get to try and sample products. It’s a great event!
Special shoutout to rock-it promo for their kind invite!