B-to-C Events

Most people know at least one self-proclaimed king of air guitar. The act of strumming an invisible stringed instrument has been a favorite pastime for decades. Now thanks to the proliferation of in-home gaming products like Nintendo Wii Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation everybody (of every age) is doing it.

The luxury sector like mainstream America for the first time in decades has fallen on hard times. Layoffs in banking and finance have slowed sales of diamond-encrusted Swiss watches designer apparel and sleek sports cars sending holiday sales of high-end goods tumbling 27.6 percent in December compared to 2007 according to a report by MasterCard SpendingPulse. Luxury car sales fell 21 percent in 2008 according to sales tracking firm Autodata which predicts another decline this year.

Green-screen photo activations have long been used to entice customers to exchange personal information for a memorable moment captured on film.
But despite its popularity marketers may not be making the most of the data after the fact. As the financial firestorm continues to topple companies left and right green-screen providers are rising to the challenge by offering targeted on-site data collection strategies detailed backend reports and tactics that extend the experience online. Collecting data for the sake of collecting data? Not in this economy pal.

Whether you’re managing design and fabrication in-house from soup to nuts or farming out the whole shebang to the hipsters with the designer glasses cutting costs ultimately comes down to you. What to do to stay current in the eyes of a discriminating public when funds are running low? Before you send your design budget to the chopping block consider these top trends and economical tips.


Trend: reinvention

SITTING IN ON A BRAINSTORMING SESSION with Autodesk’s event marketing group must feel a bit like a meeting with Al Gore. The company has become an innovator in designing exhibits and events that leave little environmental footprint but still pack an awe-inspiring punch. Just one look at the brand’s eco-friendly plywood trade show booth and it’s pretty clear—at Autodesk going green doesn’t mean sacrificing exhibit substance or style.