B-to-C Events

Frozen pizza brand Freschetta hit the road this summer on a cross-country food truck tour designed to make new connections with female consumers ages 28 and older. The brand’s Freschetta Simply… Inspired product line sponsored Natasha Bedingfield’s “Less is More” Live Nation Tour and at each stop served up fresh, hot slices at concert locations across the country.

Red Bull energy drink set 16 teams of elite “makers”—a demographic made up of eco-conscious do-it-yourselfers and amateur inventors—to work in Brooklyn, New York, from July 7 to 10 for its Red Bull Creation contest. The idea was to build a vehicle out of found objects that could move a person 200 feet, using no fossil fuels. And boy did they. From the wedgie-powered trampoline cart to the steampunk-inspired railroad handcart to the robotic Santa’s sleigh, the makers went all-out.

To promote the launch of LG Thrill 45, its glasses-free 3D smartphone that will be available on pre-order on Aug. 1, LG Mobile teamed up with YouTube and rock band Jane’s Addiction to present the world’s first user-generated concert.

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.

Virtual events rose to prominence out of need, and now they are as ubiquitous as branded swag at a tradeshow. These days, most brands look at how they can pair a virtual component with an existing live one, in what has become known as the ”hybrid” event, creating a one-off virtual experience tied to that specific event. In the last year, however, there has been a rising tide of “always-on” virtual environments, owned by a brand and through which all of that brand’s virtual experiences flow, like owning its own conference center.