Technology

In our new regular series, EM revisits old event marketing trends to find out where they’ve gone since we first reported on them. Are they old hats and has-beens? Or is that past up-and-comer a future best practice that’s now an industry standard? In this installment, we focus on interactive touch screens, which we first examined in October 2006.

When Ohio passed legislation in 2008 to become more energy efficient, utility companies like American Electric Power—one of the largest companies of its type in the country—were tasked with educating residents on how to save energy in their homes and workplaces. The solution was The Home Energy Savings Tour: Featuring gridSmart from AEP Ohio.

Getting a few of the right reporters to cover an event used to be good enough. These days, companies are adding blogger- targeted experiences to their p.r. and event programs in order to give their message extra reach and credibility. But once bloggers are on site, it takes more than a swag bag to keep them tuned in. Brands need to show that they read the blogger’s blogs, they know what’s going on in their lives and they understand their unique interests and needs. Sound like a lot? It is.

At this year’s International CTIA Wireless 2010 trade show, held March 23-25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, LG created an intuitive and focused experience in its 4,800 square-foot-space. Driven by the concept of simplicity in a complicated life, the overall design sought to unite the product offerings in an organic way while at the same time delivering messaging targeted at specific personalities. Productivity, entertainment and style were some of the core concepts.

Whether you're presenting at the premiere industry event of the year (Event Marketing Summit, anyone?) or calling for votes on this year’s “American Idol,” you want, no, you need to know what the folks listening in are thinking, and they need to know you give a damn. In the world of digital audience interaction and response tools (you’re not still using paper, are you?), there are two options: dedicated handheld systems or attendee-owned mobile devices.