B-to-B Events

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.

The 10th annual Event Marketing Summit is officially behind us now, and for those on-site at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Chicago the sessions were sizzling hot, the keynotes were right on pitch and the drinks were bottomless. But the goodies weren’t just for those folks who saw it live. Twitter was all a-flutter thanks to all you social-savvy event peeps passing around the content jewels, high points and (yes) complaints. We’ve collected a very short list of some of our favorites for your recapping pleasure.

Launching a new product or program requires a big splash, immediate engagement—and ultimately sales. Marketers have to create buzz, trial, influencer recommendation and combine them to drive sales. For the newest Windows Phone, social media and influencer events helped Microsoft’s launch campaign fire on all cylinders, creating reach, frequency and recommendation.

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