Author archive for Anna Huddleston
How Square Leveled Up the Fun at the 2026 National Restaurant Association Show
You hear it all the time: “Trade shows are no fun.” Square disagreed. For the 2026 National Restaurant Association Show, which took place May 16-19 at McCormick Place in Chicago, the brand activated the “Surprise and Delight” sponsorship during the busiest moments just before the doors opened with a skate show and mini-troopers falling from...
Field Report: How Brands Built Connection at Licensing Expo 2026, Starting with the Badge
Just as the Experiential Marketing Summit was bringing inspiration to brand marketers, across the Las Vegas Strip, brands were finding new avenues for fandom at Licensing Expo, which was taking place May 19-21 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The 2026 edition brought together about 12,500 industry professionals and a record 400 exhibitors, representing IP...
Eight Strategies for Reducing Food Waste in Trade Shows and Events
Some 2,600 unserved meals were donated by the Washington Hilton after the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner was cut short on April 25 by a gunman. During a rare and dramatic event, the staff were able to follow the established food-saving protocols and didn’t let the meals go to waste. The Washington Hilton is...
Skeletons and Tattoos: How Torq Brings World Building to Trade Shows
If you’re not putting on a show, you’re just paying for a spot on carpet, says Don Jeter, cmo of Torq. At RSAC 2026, the enterprise security company went all in with a 20-foot inflatable skeleton and a fully operational tattoo bus. Insight was sizzling at the Cyber Wok lunch and CISO Karaoke, meetings were...