B-to-C Events

EM editors Rachel Kirkpatrick and Kenneth Briodagh kissed the frigid Northeast goodbye and embedded themselves for a few days of sun, surf and sponsored activations at two of the country’s top spring break destinations. Despite being a little overdressed and, let’s face it, a lot over age, the duo hit the scenes like a couple of college kids fresh off midterms. What follows are their full reports on the best marketing programs on the beach.

Every conversation in the event marketing industry eventually comes around to technology. You want to know what tools are out there to make your jobs easier, make your programs more successful and most crucially, make your target consumers love you the most. We have heard your clarion calls for help and now, with this monthly series, EM’s own Ken Briodagh will collect and codify the hottest, newest, most interesting, best (and sometimes worst) technological doohickeys available to you.

Event staffers today come in every stripe and skill set and it’s up to you to pick the right one for the job. Do you need them to tweet, post and Instagram from the fair, festival or trade show floor? And if so, how big should their personal social networks be? Do they need to talk product features and benefits like an expert, or do you actually need a real expert to talk to your attendees?

For the beverage category, a bottle of water is always more than just a bottle of water.

It’s a promise of refreshment. A vessel filled with good health and hydration. Sometimes it’s a momentary escape to a mountain spring or an exotic island. Or a reflection of a lifestyle you live, or aspire to, in your everyday life.

Verizon has reinvented its mobile FiOS SoCal Experience this year with a larger fleet and a more locally relevant, integrated campaign that incorporates cause marketing and rewards creativity. And with early results showing a sales increase of 27 percent in areas where it has focused, the strategy seems to be working.