Sonia Andresson-Nolasco

Most event marketers who weathered the recession will tell you, there are no sacred cows anymore. Even the industry’s oldest legacy shows and events are being reevaluated. And that’s nowhere more evident than in the world of customer and user conferences where brands ranging from high-tech to heavy equipment are realizing that it’s more cost efficient to either streamline multiple annual events that reach the same audience into one, or combine similar audiences at the same event and share expenses.

When virtual events first came on the scene nearly a decade ago, their main purpose was to mimic physical events. But in the last couple of years that has changed. Virtual platforms have begun to evolve as their very own medium and not just as a substitute or supplement to a physical event. The newest iteration of the virtual event is the perpetual environment, also referred to also as an “always on,” “evergreen” or “365” environment.

Anyone who has ever worked a trade show has seen his or her fair share of glassy-eyed corporate presenters, reciting their pre-rehearsed spiels along the aisle with plenty of energy and polish, but little in the way of genuine conviction. The presenters, who are often fed a script via an ear prompter and a micro cassette they control with a remote control in the palm of their hands, have been a trade-show standard for decades now. But their role is evolving as companies look for new ways to make more authentic connections with attendees.

Photo marketing is a valuable tool for a variety of reasons. It’s an incentive to get consumers to interact with your brand, it captures data, it serves as a long-lasting memento and generally drives eyeballs to your website during the photo retrieval process. But what’s next on the horizon for photo marketing? Once that photo lands in the inbox or on the Facebook page, how can event marketers get the photo activation past the point of distribution? EM checked in with the experts to find out how they’re using photo marketing to inspire consumers to take action.

In the battle for mindshare among automakers that make alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles, it’s no longer enough to simply target the eco-conscious. If they hope to capture consumer interest—and market share—as the clean energy movement evolves, today’s auto brands need to grow the green consumer market, too, and make a case for sustainable lifestyle purchases to new demographics.