B-to-B Events

The world of b-to-b marketing is getting a much-needed upgrade thanks to a few enterprising brands that are recognizing that the same people who “conduct business” on the trade show floor are also consumers who enjoy a little fun and excitement, too. As a result, some exhibitors are taking cues from consumer events to enliven their shows and increase the effectiveness of their b-to-b programs.

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.

It was only fitting that TEDx would make its way to Harlem, a community in upper Manhattan that has a rich history of ideas and innovation that started in the 1920s with the Harlem Renaissance. During that period, Harlem’s community became a hotbed for theater, literature, art and music that has since become an indelible part of America’s cultural identity. And today, Harlem is seeing a rebirth once again with the renovation of entire blocks of multi-million-dollar brownstones and the constant presence of former President Bill Clinton whose William J.

On a brisk winter day this February, 400 students, faculty, alumni and local community members converged on Yale University’s neo-gothic campus to experience the school’s first-ever TEDx event. Yale had been host to other TED-affiliated events, including a livestream of a TEDxWomen conference from the TEDGlobal event in Edinburgh, Scotland, and a Salon with a guest curator from TEDGlobal. But TEDxYale 2012 was the first official TEDx event on campus wholly planned and organized by two of its students, Diana Enriquez and Miles Grimshaw, both of the class of 2013.

Attendees of all stripes flock to it. Brands can’t wait to get a piece of it. And the world can’t seem to get enough of it. “It,” of course, is TED, the fast-growing event platform that’s shaking up the typical conference format and showing event marketers the value of co-creating content with consumers. EM takes you inside the phenomenon that just won’t stop.