B-to-C Events

 To promote its new smoothie flavor, the McCafé Mango Pineapple Real Fruit Smoothie, McDonald’s on July 14 staged a flash mob-esque beach party in Chicago’s Riverside Park during lunch. It all began with a bikini. An attractive young woman strolled through the park in a bikini as the business people of Chicago gathered in the park for lunch. She set up a beach chair right in the center of the park and asked a passing male “consumer” to help put some sunscreen on her back.

EM brings you tips and tricks from pros and experts who’ve been eating social media marketing for breakfast. So eat up, and check us out on Twitter @eventmarketer and facebook.com/eventmarketer for more.

Today, New Balance opens its first North American Experience store in the Flatiron district of New York City and to get the buzz building and peeps through the doors, for the next four weeks the brand is challenging runners throughout the five boroughs to race for the chance to win free shoes, gift cards and, for the grand prize winner, a solid gold New Balance Baton worth $20,000.

B-to-B events, like everything else, are changing fast. Hybrid events, no doubt, are the hottest thing on the event marketing planet, but other trends are taking hold in the world of internal meetings and corporate conferences. Buckle up, dear readers, for a spin past five signposts in the current b-to-b landscape. And see if you can find the common thread connecting them all.

Adobe on July 23 activated a two-week pop-up shop in San Francisco called “Photoshop & You.” The pop-up offered hands-on experiences with Photoshop through how-to sessions, photo walks, printing workshops and individual sessions with Photoshop experts.