Eventbrite is making a bid to dominate the events space as it recovers from pandemic shutdowns. 

The event and ticket managing site’s bold new marketing campaign, created with agency Mojo Supermarket, is aimed at engaging with local communities at scale after several years of COVID-induced social isolation.

According to a survey by Carnegie Mellon’s CivicScience initiative released in January, only 43% of Americans socialize with their friends in person on a daily or weekly basis. Eventbrite, which laid off about 8% of its workforce and announced it was offshoring many of its roles in February, sees that as an opportunity as the world opens up again.

Eventbrite posted a 20% year-over-year increase in second-quarter revenue and is carving out a niche for itself to continue the momentum, said Tamara Mendelsohn, its chief marketing officer.

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“Our mission is to turn Eventbrite into the place that people go when they’re wondering, ‘What should I do tonight or this weekend?’” Mendelsohn said. “We have an amazing breadth of local unique inventory event experiences that people can attend, and we think there’s a great opportunity to be top of mind with consumers when it comes to answering that question.”

To do so, the digital ticket seller is focusing on local events, from community art shows and chili cook-offs to educational speakers and book signings.

Eventbrite brought on Mojo Supermarket in the spring as its creative agency of record. It won out “over a handful” of unnamed agencies following a competitive pitch, Mendelsohn said. 

“We knew that we needed to be pushed outside of our comfort zone a little bit, and Mojo made us uncomfortable in that way,” Mendelsohn said. “Do we really want to push the brand that far? Do we want to be that bold? And the answer is a resounding yes.” 

GTFO

Mojo Supermarket’s first campaign for Eventbrite is a digital and social media push designed to break through the awkward transition many people face of getting back into socializing in the wake of the pandemic, imploring them to “GTFO” (Get The F*ck Out). 

“Planning can seem tedious and sometimes it’s just easier to resort to staying in,” said Mendelsohn. “Yet we heard from our audience that, especially in this post-pandemic world, they want to get out more, try new things, and experience more adventure—and that’s exactly what this campaign is all about.”

The campaign targets both people planning casual friend get-togethers and professional event planners.

One spot focuses on the age-old fear of a planner worrying that no one will attend her meticulously planned event. The commercial shows an art gallery party planner flashing back into her past as a 14-year-old braces fretting that no one will show up to her birthday party. She is taunted by a flip phone-wielding “Becky” heckling her about being “lame.”

Thankfully, because she uses Eventbrite, the event planner has a successful event and ominously warns Becky that in future years she will grow up to get trapped in a pyramid scheme selling natural deodorant.

Within the spot are reasons to use Eventbrite: It can reach 90 million people, responses can be tracked with its app and using its marketing tools can help planners sell 63% more tickets.

Other digital ads in the campaign are more in-your-face with lines such as, “You can’t carpe DMs,” and “Your houseplants are not your friends,” with the GTFO tagline.

Mojo attacked the brief as a cultural problem, not a business problem, said Mo Said, Mojo founder and creative director. “There’s still a hesitance from a recent culture of the past asking ‘Why do we go out? Why do we meet people?’” Said said. “[Eventbrite] wanted to push culture by saying we should get together more as people.”

More about Mojo

Mojo has made a name for itself in breaking the mold, first getting noticed in 2020 after “hacking” the Oscars and doing buzzworthy work for Girls Who Code and Savage X Fenty. 

The independent agency has picked up clients including the Truth Initiative and Match, and has already surpassed the $16 million in billings it made in 2022, according to Said. 

If news out of the agency has been slow in 2023, that’s by design, said Said. Instead of focusing solely on work, Mojo is looking for the “hardest problems to solve.” In May it hired Ray Kang as head of growth for the agency.

“The first half of the year, we spent a lot of time trying to find our partners, and the second half of the year, we started making work for them,” the founder said. 

The agency has also been growing its headcount, up to nearly 80 people from around 50 this time last year. While Said admits to some “interesting challenges,” he said he has been learning. 

“The growing pains were painful, but every day I wake up, I realize how stupid I was the day before,” he said. “I’m having fun, but I’m excited to get closer and make some great work now.”