B-to-B Events

Terminix and kid's museums seem like an odd combination at first. But upon closer inspection (pun intended), they’re a perfect pair. Most kids are fascinated by bugs. And, where there are children, there are family decision-makers. On the heels of a successful museum tour started in 2008, Terminix has hit the road again this year with the help of a new technology.

Most trade show veterans will agree— there are few places less desirable than the back corner of the exhibit hall. After a year of setbacks and cancellations, many brands are struggling to get back the prime spots they once had at their industry’s biggest shows. What to do when life hands you a disappointing trade show location? In most cases, you can file for an appeal. But you may only be rewarded with a better spot next year. Until then, a few alternative strategies.

In our new regular series, EM revisits old event marketing trends to find out where they’ve gone since we first reported on them. Are they old hats and has-beens? Or is that past up-and-comer a future best practice that’s now an industry standard? In this installment, we focus on interactive touch screens, which we first examined in October 2006.

At this year’s International CTIA Wireless 2010 trade show, held March 23-25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, LG created an intuitive and focused experience in its 4,800 square-foot-space. Driven by the concept of simplicity in a complicated life, the overall design sought to unite the product offerings in an organic way while at the same time delivering messaging targeted at specific personalities. Productivity, entertainment and style were some of the core concepts.

The dream started in 1960, when a group of ski-loving Canadian businessmen returned from the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, CA, with an idea: Develop a ski destination in British Columbia to host the 1968 Games. They rented planes and did air reconnaissance, then put on their warmest boots and walked the terrain. They eventually selected London Mountain, a massive summit located high above Alta Lake some 70 miles north of Vancouver. London was renamed in honor of the local alpine marmot, which “whistles” when it communicates—and Whistler was officially born.