Technology

Large-scale trade shows, b-to-b conferences and trade show exhibitors have gotten a bad reputation over the years for producing too much waste and having too little regard for their impact on the environment. But over the last decade or so, the organizers and exhibitors at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (North America’s largest trade show and the world’s largest show for consumer technology) have been making strides to offset their carbon footprints as much as possible. 

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are all quickly becoming vital contributors to b-to-b event programs. As attendee communication tools, channels for fast and cost-effective content propagation and forums for feedback and real-time troubleshooting, mainstream social media is changing the way conferences and user events get planned and managed. But for many event marketers, the strategic value of LinkedIn still remains a mystery. Is it a pure networking tool for industry job seekers?

 Finnish tech brand Nokia brought its state-of-the-art research and development laboratory to the South by Southwest Interactive, Film and Music Festival (SXSW) last week in the form of the Nokia Lab. From the outside, the three-domed, otherworldly space evoked the brand’s Scandinavian roots, partly thanks to the very aggressive exterior bubble cannons that created a downpour of bubbles resembling snow over the long lines of eager SXSW attendees trying to get inside. Once through the doors, guests got hit with some hot music and two drink tickets for the in-house bar.

In this monthly 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.

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 new 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.