Activation Crew Conduct

01You are the brand

An activation puts a brand in front of people, face to face. The client has spent years and millions building what that logo means. For the next six hours, you are holding it.

• Know the brief. What is the product, what is the one message, what is the giveaway, what is the target for the shift.
• Know the product. Taste it or try it in training, not on shift. Know the price, the flavours, the alcohol content if it has any, where to buy it.
• Know the rules. Who may receive a sample. How many. What you may never say or promise.

02Dress, time and conduct

• In uniform you are on duty, on the way in, on your break and on the way home. A promoter drunk in a brand shirt at the taxi rank is a photo on social media.
• Social media: post only what the client has approved, from the account they name.
• Competitors: never run down another brand. Talk about yours.
• Late or sick: phone the team leader before call time, not after.

03Setting up the stand

1. Report to the venue or outlet manager. Confirm the position, the power point and the times.
2. Build to the layout the client approved. Gazebo, counter, banners, fridge or cooler where the plan shows them.
3. Weigh it down. Gazebo legs weighted or pegged outdoors. Banners on stable bases. Wind takes a gazebo into a crowd (Module 15).
4. Power safely. One multiplug from a proper socket, cable taped or matted, nothing across a walkway (Modules 8 and 12).
5. Clean and straight. Banners upright and uncreased, logos facing the traffic, counter wiped, no boxes or bags in sight.
6. Product facing forward, labels to the front, cold product cold.
7. Music at talking level, and only what the client approved. You must be able to speak to a guest without shouting.
8. Look at it from where the guest stands. Fix what you see.

04Stock is money

Product, prizes and branded gifts belong to the client until they reach a guest. Every unit is counted in, counted out and explained.

• Count with a witness at handover and sign the sheet together.
• Tally as you go. A mark for every sample or gift, not a guess at the end.
• Damaged stock is kept, photographed and returned. It is not thrown away or taken home.
• Nothing leaves in a bag. No product, prizes or branded items for you, friends or the venue staff unless the brief says so in writing.
• Lock or watch it. Stock is never left unattended at the stand.
• Cash: if the activation takes money, it is counted, bagged and signed for the same way.

05Sampling responsibly

Sampling food or drink carries the client's legal risk as well as their name. With alcohol, the rules are strict and they are yours to enforce at the stand.

Alcohol

• Adults only. Nobody under 18 is served, sampled or given branded alcohol items. If someone looks under 25, ask for ID. No ID, no sample.
• Not to anyone who is drunk. A polite no, and offer water.
• Not to pregnant women, and not to drivers who say they are driving, where the client's code says so. Most do.
• Sample size and limit exactly as the brief states. One per person means one.
• Inside the licensed area only. Product does not walk out of the venue or the demarcated zone.
• You do not drink. Not on shift, not in uniform.
• Water and the responsible drinking message visible at the stand where the client supplies them.

Any food or drink

• Clean hands, clean serving tools, gloves or tongs where the brief says.
• Cold product kept cold. Check use-by dates when you open a case.
• Know the allergens. If you are not sure what is in it, say "I am not sure, please check the label."
• Bins at the stand, and the area left cleaner than you found it.

06Talking to people

• Go to them. Step forward. Do not wait behind the counter.
• Greet in the guest's language where you can.
• One message. The line from the brief, in your own voice, not a speech.
• Take no for an answer. Once. Smile and let them go.
• Complaints: listen, do not argue, apologise for the experience, call the team leader. Never promise refunds or prizes you cannot give.
• Harassment: you do not have to accept it. Step back, tell the team leader, involve venue security.
• Children: no samples of restricted products, no photos without a parent's yes, no data.

Collecting names and numbers

• Only collect what the brief asks for, on the client's form or app.
• Tell people what it is for and get a clear yes. That is what the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) requires.
• Never copy details to your own phone. Never photograph an ID.
• Paper forms are handed in. They are not left on the counter.

07Photos, numbers and the report

The client was not there. The report is how they know the activation happened, where, for how long and what it achieved.

• Real numbers. A true 80 is worth more than an invented 300. Clients compare outlets, and invented numbers stand out.
• Real times. Arrive late, write the real time and the reason.
• Guest comments in their words. "Too sweet." "Where can I buy it?" That is gold to the brand team.
• Send it the same day.

08Close-out

1. Stop sampling on time
   At the time in the brief or when the outlet says so.
2. Count closing stock with a witness
   Balance the sheet. Explain any variance now.
3. Damaged and leftover stock packed
   Sealed, labelled, returned. Nothing goes home.
4. Stand struck and packed to the list
   Gazebo dry and bagged, banners rolled face in, counter wiped (Modules 14 and 16).
5. Area cleaned
   Bins emptied where agreed, floor checked, no tape left behind.
6. Outlet manager thanked and signed
   Get the signature or stamp the client asks for.
7. Photos and report sent
   Before you leave the site.
8. Uniform home clean
   Washed and ready for the next shift, or handed back.

That is the last module. The course ends with the crew practical: your crew chief watches you do the job for real.