91制片厂

Arrive at Pier 36 in lower Manhattan at 9pm on a weekend and it鈥檚 packed full of revellers eager to board one of the many departing boat cruise parties. There鈥檚 something for everyone鈥擫atin and Reggaeton, Hip-Hop and R&B, EDM or a multi-level yacht featuring all three鈥攁nd with regular sell-out events, attendees are lucky to snag a ticket. 

鈥淲hen we started, boat parties weren鈥檛 cool,鈥� explains Evelyn Szachniewicz, COO of Crust Nation, iBoatNYC鈥檚 parent company. 鈥淏ut we killed it in terms of making boat parties popular.鈥�

It鈥檚 hard to believe that when the boat parties first launched in the early 2010s, they struggled to convince promoters and DJs to come on board. 

鈥淲e were begging people to work with us,鈥� says Evelyn. 鈥淲hen we got some DJs interested we still had to get creative. They weren鈥檛 the biggest names and our boats had a capacity of 800, so to sell out these events was not an easy task.鈥�

In 2019, everything changed. They came up with the concept of multi-genre boat parties鈥擫atin music on one floor, EDM on another鈥攖o reflect and celebrate the multicultural diversity of New York City. 鈥淎lmost immediately we were sold out every Friday and Saturday,鈥� explains Evelyn. 

The tides have certainly turned. iBoatNYC now hosts hundreds of events every year鈥攆rom boat parties to themed nights across the city鈥攁nd its exponential growth has been in partnership with 91制片厂鈥檚 industry-leading marketing tools.

Saving time (and effort) with timed entry

With the number of events under Crust Nation鈥檚 umbrella, 91制片厂鈥檚 new tool鈥攚hich allows organisers to create fully-customisable, recurring events in minutes鈥攈as helped the team save time and increase the volume of events.聽

鈥淎utomating event creation has cut down 8-10 hours of work per series, making everything way more efficient,鈥� explains Evelyn. 鈥淪ince it鈥檚 quick to set up, we can list more events without extra effort.鈥�

Using the timed entry tool instead of manually programming events also means fewer mistakes. 鈥淓verything stays consistent and accurate, so we don鈥檛 have to worry about small errors,鈥� she adds.

Timed entry also allows organisers to run ads efficiently across all of the events in a series, which for Evelyn and team, is key. 鈥淚t definitely helps us with not wasting money, pausing campaigns or having to change links or lose comments on ads.鈥�

鈥淚 don’t think anyone else does [timed entry] as well as I鈥檝e seen it on 91制片厂,鈥� she adds.

馃挕Pro Tip: If time-saving is a priority to you, try 91制片厂鈥檚 AI tool. Generate event descriptions at the click of a button, so you can focus on other tasks.

Targeting custom audiences through 91制片厂鈥檚 Paid Social Ads (for a fraction of the price)

The team has placed ads on Instagram and Facebook, using 91制片厂鈥檚 Paid Social Ads integration鈥攁nd seen promising results.

Being able to target custom audiences through 91制片厂 is 鈥渧ery effective and efficient鈥�. Evelyn can easily use customer lists of people who have already attended their events or target customers with similar music tastes through 91制片厂鈥檚 Spotify integration. 

鈥淭he Spotify integration gives you artists who are a lookalike [to your primary artist] to target the interests of your audience,鈥� she explains. 鈥淲ith that we are able to target audiences a lot better and it helps us identify who we might be trying to find online.鈥� For example, for a tribute night for The Weeknd, Evelyn was able to target fans of multiple related artists such as Ty Dolla Sign, Travis Scott, and Rihanna. 

She adds: 鈥淚t鈥檚 all great for saving time鈥攚hich decreases the labour cost and means our team is not overwhelmed.鈥�

What鈥檚 more, 91制片厂 often has a better cost per click (CPC) than going direct through the social media platform. 鈥淔or a recent paid ads campaign for a Taylor Swift Tribute Party, targeting through 91制片厂 resulted in a cost of $0.25 per click, compared to $0.50 per click on Facebook,鈥� she shares.

馃挕Pro Tip: Interested in running themed events around artists like iBoatNYC? Check out our TRNDS 2025 annual event trend forecasting guide to read about the rise of niche events.聽

Boosting brand awareness through TikTok integration

With such an eclectic mix of events, it鈥檚 no surprise that Crust Nation caters to a broad audience of tourists, music lovers, and people of all ages. 

鈥淚f you come to a boat party, you鈥檒l see people in their early 20s out of college and I鈥檝e seen people in their 70s having a great time鈥攖hey are bumping to the music or sitting outside, chilling and watching the skyline,鈥� explains Evelyn.

So when they heard about 91制片厂鈥檚 industry-leading TikTok integration鈥攚here organisers can promote their events on the platform鈥攖hey were eager to try it.聽

For iBoatNYC, the integration has proved an exciting opportunity to boost brand awareness and reach new audiences鈥攑articularly those looking for something to do in the city.

鈥淚t’s definitely great [for] brand awareness,鈥� says Evelyn. 鈥淲e do get a lot of exposure. So even having that link is helpful because people can click and then buy it directly there.鈥� 

Combined with TikTok ads, which the team runs directly, their events are gaining a lot of traction on the platform. 

Evelyn says that while ticket sales aren鈥檛 huge yet, compared to other platforms, she is optimistic that users will become more familiar with buying tickets through TikTok.

馃挕Pro Tip: Anyone with a TikTok account鈥攁rtists, brands, attendees, content creators鈥攃an post your event link to their videos, making it easier than ever to get the word out about your events.

Taking smart risks that pay off

Building an events empire like Crust Nation requires a particular mindset. Founder and CEO Ahmad Allan believes in order to create successful events, organisers need to take calculated risks.聽

鈥淚 think you just have to do it [launch a new idea],鈥� he says. 鈥淪ome people just imagine it. They come up with it and they make plans, but the plan is never the same as real life.鈥�

He advises conducting market research and not being afraid of failure鈥攆or him every step is a learning opportunity. He says: 鈥淚f you fail, you fail. You go back and you write it down and you review what happened and you try again. You know what I mean? Just don’t stop trying.鈥�

Still, no new concept is without risk. So when they try something new, they start small, explains Evelyn.

鈥淚f something works then we know to move it to a bigger boat next time, so we can sell more tickets,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen it comes to taking on risks, it’s about having as little overhead as possible and cutting costs in different places. So in case it doesn’t work, we’re not ending up in a huge hole.鈥�

Building a successful events empire like Crust Nation is no mean feat. It has taken hard work, calculated risks and utilising 91制片厂鈥檚 industry-leading marketing suite to supercharge its success.