Technology

Indeed, it was the year’s greatest case study. An amalgam of every hot trend, activated by every new event marketing strategy—all with the power to drive $1 billion in sales (and that’s just for starters).

Every conversation in the event marketing industry eventually comes around to technology. You want to know what tools are out there to make your jobs easier, make your programs more successful and most crucially, make your target consumers love you the most. We have heard your clarion calls for help and now, with this monthly series, EM’s own Ken Briodagh will collect and codify the hottest, newest, most interesting, best (and sometimes worst) technological doohickeys available to you.

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive, Film and Music Festival, hosted each year in Austin, Texas, is one of the biggest and most sought-after live marketing opportunities all year, thanks largely to the 50,000 attendees who are members of a hip, trend-seeking and mostly well-funded demographic.

In this regular series, EM brings you tips and tricks from pros and experts who’ve been eating social media marketing for breakfast. So eat up, and check us out on Twitter @eventmarketer and Facebook.com/eventmarketer for more.

The centennial of the sinking of the Titanic will be this April 15, and events are springing up everywhere from Belfast, Ireland, to St. Louis, MO. And now, one of the biggest aquariums in the northeastern U.S., the Mystic Aquarium, is jumping into the pool, too. The institution, operated by the Sea Research Foundation, has worked with the discoverer of the Titanic, Dr. Robert D. Ballard, and former Disney Imagineer Tim Delaney to develop its Ocean Exploration Center exhibit hall, representing a more than $1 million investment. It will open next week.