Jessica Heasley

The days of in-booth demos and glassy-eyed product presentations are quickly going the way of the fax machine. In their place are trade show programs that are heavy on pre-show promotion, in-booth technology and laser-focused lead qualification strategies. Maybe the biggest shift changing the face of the trade show landscape is the consumer-generated experience. No longer are your prospects and customers content to merely pass by and act as receptacles of information.

When it comes to brand name recognition, it’s tough to compete with the “verbs.” Like Google, the search engine that became so synonymous with surfing the web that the Oxford English Dictionary made the company’s name a bonafide verb in 2006.

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?

High-tech brands are known for innovation. But behind the scenes at Cisco’s biggest annual user event, CiscoLive!, technology played an entirely different role—as a strategic partner.

Sunglasses brand Costa Del Mar has been a friend of the environment since 1986 when the company became the first official supplier of polarized sunglasses for conservation organization NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Since then, the brand has become a top supplier of shades and gear for anglers, boaters and adventurers alike, as well as a long-time supporter of philanthropies like the Coastal Conservation Association.