Since in-person gatherings, concerts, and fan meets are getting more and more frequent lately, we're starting to see a lot of *live* cup sleeve events coming back, too. It's one of the fun ways to connect with fellow fans and find a safe space to fangirl or fanboy your heart out, so we understand why it's a hit. But as with any event, you need thorough preparations if you want to organize one yourself.
What exactly is a cup sleeve event?
It's hard to trace back how this tradition started, but over the years, the point of it has always been the same: to hold a celebration or show support for your idol. Cup sleeve events or CSEs are usually held for K-pop idols who propagated the merch culture, but now, even fans of K-drama actors and even P-pop stars hold such events, too. Before, the traditional cup sleeve was just the one used for coffee or boba cups. The event's name, date, and the celeb's picture are usually printed on the sleeves. You buy a drink from the café where the event is held, and you get the ~Hallyu-fied~ cup sleeve together with your drink. Now, there are so many variations and complements of the cup sleeve already. More on that later.
A step-by-step guide to organizing a cup sleeve event
Whether it's for your own idol or you want to hold one as a present for someone special to you, here are the basic ways to organize a cup sleeve event:
1. Start your plans based on the event or milestone you're celebrating.
Is your fave's concert or fan meet coming up and you want to entice people to join? Is his or her birthday coming up and you simply want to celebrate their existence? These are some of the usual reasons to hold a cup sleeve event. Recently, fan bases or shops also use these events to raise funds for a cause—say a surprise for their idol or a donation in their idol's name. These also determine the basic details, such as the date and theme.
When it comes to themes, what you'll usually see are inspired by the celeb's albums or dramas. It could be their catchphrases (like BamBam's "Just shot puno!") or animated characters linked to them (like whales from Extraordinary Attorney Woo for Park Eun Bin). Nail down the main concept before the other details!
2. Set a budget and determine your target number of participants.
There are simple CSEs where the merch is free—you find a café willing to do it for free and hand them out to customers. In such cases though, you need to determine how much you're willing to shell out for the printing. You can find a lot of suppliers that customize cup sleeves and other merchandise on Lazada, Shopee, and Facebook Marketplace. Canvass the options and draw up a budget from there. Decide how many you'll have printed out—maybe do a pre-registration, so you have a good estimated head count.
Then, there are the more common cup sleeve events now, where you have a set budget per person. For instance, you'll ask participants to pay around P150 to P350, and in return, they get a drink, maybe a snack, the custom cup sleeve, and other merchandise. In these cases, you'll typically need to pay the café before the event. We discovered that some cafés actually have packages for CSEs already! Take Unnie Café, for instance. Located in Taft Extension, Pasay, this coffee shop shared that their packages start at P230/pax if you're bringing your own cup sleeves. This comes with a choice of pastry and drink. If you want it to be more hassle-free, they also offer a P380/pax package with cup sleeves and other paper merch already.
It's a good idea to collect payments of participants in these cases, so you're assured they'll show up and you don't need to cover the difference. You can get their venue exclusively, depending on how big your event will be and how large your crowd is. Again, make sure you have enough funds for that investment.
3. Be practical with the schedule.
We asked KOPFA or the Korean Artists Organization of Philippine Fan Clubs about their tips. KOPFA CEO Katherine San Jose said, "CSEs are usually just another form of a fan gathering for fan club members or even just casual fans of the artist so the first consideration would be the date and time, of course. As most fans have work and school during weekdays, weekends would be the most ideal. These usually are scheduled from 1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. para not too late naman ang pag-uwi ng attendees. Some fan clubs have them as early as store opening. Most cafés allow 3 to 4 hours for events like this."
4. Look for the right venue.
This will depend on your budget and schedule, dictate the beverage served (and food, if any), and affect your estimated head count. Korean-themed cafés are the usual choice, of course, but you can explore other shops or venues depending on your event.
When it comes to the location, pick one that most of the fan base finds convenient. Katherine also stressed the importance of choosing a venue that's easy to reach and can accommodate all attendees. "The café should be accessible or at least close to public transport. And if you're expecting 30 to 50 attendees, [the size of the] space is important, especially if you will be having a program or games."
And if you'd still rather celebrate while social distancing, you can try virtual cup sleeve events, too. What usually happens is you partner with a café, and the CSE kits get delivered instead of being picked up at the venue.
5. Prepare the cup sleeves and other merch.
As mentioned, you can browse options and materials online. You can stick to traditional carton cup sleeves or level up to reusable canvas or cloth ones. Then, for the other merch, you can print out your own photo cards, stickers, banners, and more. Others have drawstring bags, light stick pouches, and reusable tumblers—so many possibilities!
Other events also have giveaways or raffles, where getting one cup sleeve kit entitles you to an entry already. The prizes can be official merch like albums, light sticks, legit photo cards, and even tickets to the idol's concert or fan meet. The prizes can either be donated or bought with proceeds from the cup sleeve kits.
"Freebies are also big part of CSEs," says Katherine. "Fans like us, in general, are mababaw and madaling pasayahin. Any item with our fave artist's face on it, patok 'yan. CSE freebie staples are cup sleeves or air holders, photo cards, stickers, and photo strips. Pretty much anything na pwedeng lagyan ng mukha ni artist. At the end of every CSE, ang main goal of the fan clubs naman is to make the attendees happy and as long as nag-enjoy sila, nakakawala na ng pagod ng admins 'yun."
6. Advertise your event.
Once everything is set, you must get people to join, of course! You can post about the event online and ask friends to share the deets. If there will be a program or a limited period when kits will be handed out, make sure to indicate the time. You can also tweet about it or ask fan bases to help you. For instance, there's a Twitter account called Cup Sleeve Events in the PH. Tag them when you tweet, join threads, and maybe they can help spread the word, too. But the most effective way is to really know where to reach fellow fans—usually, that's in Facebook groups and other online communities.
Karnelica of Unnie Café also advised to be patient and consider collaborating with fan bases and K-pop shops. You also need to clearly communicate with the venue when it comes to the details of your event. For instance, the venue is usually only in charge of the food, drinks, and sometimes merch prep. But, when it comes to recruiting people to join, it's up to you to spread the word.
7. Have fun!
And when the day of the event comes, have one with your fellow fans! The community makes fangirling such a wonderful experience, after all. Karnelica also reminds us, "Be considerate, especially since most the K-pop fans are still students and minors. As much as possible, accommodate fans very well, and be sure to make a program. It's not about the money that you will make. It's about how the fans will feel and if they enjoyed the event. Make all fan bases feel included, too. It doesn't matter who is their bias, it's all about exchanging moments with their fellow K-pop fans."
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