B-to-B Events

When interactive learning technology provider Promethean saw trade-show attendance drop last year, it created the ActivClassroom Experiential Tour, which takes its products directly to customers and beefs up its experiences at industry events. The tour is geared toward school district decision-makers at K-12 schools, such as superintendents, principals, teachers and IT consultants. The tour travels in a 36-foot ActivBus, which started up in April and is currently on the road with a second vehicle in the works for 2011.

 Orlando@50+, the national event and expo sponsored by AARP that is expected to draw more than 25,000 people aged 50 and older to Orlando later this month, this year will feature the AARP Digital Experience, a virtual event that expands the reach of the three-day extravaganza for members, exhibitors and sponsors.

This year’s Cisco Live! event at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas was a five-day paid conference featuring content-packed days and nightly networking opportunities.

It can be looked upon as a throwaway element, but if that’s your promotional product modus operandi, you are probably just throwing away your money. If handled properly, the stuff you give away can come back to you in the form of brand loyalty and ROI. But the promo industry is in flux, with new laws restricting giveaways and popular outcry against waste, and while going green might make you look good, it also might be less green than it is a red herring. With all this in mind, EM brings you its State of the Tchotchke report.

When the G20 Summit hit Toronto June 25, the delegates were tasked with the big issues: the global economy, green energy and financial reform, to name a few. Canada Tourism had just one mission: to remind the world to “Think Canada” for tourism, business and investment. With this directive in mind, the Experience Canada Pavilion was born.