Refinery29 sold 20,000 tickets in two weeks for its annual #29rooms event this year, and all directly to consumers. The event has grown so big that Refinery29 Founder Philippe von Borries tells Axios "the event has become a very substantial part of our business and intellectual property."
Why it matters: If you can get the direct-to-consumer relationship right, you can make money off events. What started out as a small party idea has become one of the biggest fashion media events of the year. The number of total social posts around #29rooms is now at over 729MM potential impressions (which doubled from last year). The user-generated content created by #29rooms drove massive engagement as well, with total social interactions exceeded 520MM, proving the power of a strong direct-to-consumer relationship.