B-to-C Events

As part of its stepped-up partnership with the IZOD IndyCar Series, Verizon has signed on as a founding sponsor of the IZOD IndyCar Fan Village, a newly reformatted fan experience at the races. Verizon also sponsors a car in the series, Penske Racing’s No. 12 car driven by Will Power.

Verizon presented the idea for the village to IndyCar, which in turn worked with Verizon’s agency Marketing Werks to design the village. Additional sponsors include title sponsor IZOD, National Guard, Honda and Mattel Hot Wheels.

The Couscous Caravan is on the street in Seattle, spreading the good word about its tasty side dish until May 15. This is the Near East brand’s first foray into food trucks and the vehicle will be visiting retailers, weekend events and downtown locations to serve up free couscous samples, recipes and coupons all the while building buzz and excitement via the brand’s Facebook page at facebook.com/neareastdish and on Twitter @NearEastDish.

When Comdex resurrected itself as a virtual show last November after the live event was dormant for eight years, longtime sponsor and exhibitor Microsoft got back on board, but this time with a soft sell strategy that was less about plugging the company’s products and more about helping Comdex attendees find solutions to their biggest IT challenges.

To position its products as a milk alternative for the whole family and not just health-conscious moms, Silk hit the road from April 1 to May 8 in a fleet of graphic-wrapped Ford Flex’s and Dodge Sprinters to visit 10 markets on the East and West coasts and the Midwest. The tour is an extension of the brand’s Silk for Milk 10-day Challenge TV and digital campaign that encourages folks to go to switchtosilk.com and switch the whole family from milk to Silk for 10 days.

To show its appreciation for over-the-road drivers and promote its IntelliRoute navigation devices, specifically designed for big rig truckers, Rand McNally recently set off on a five-month, coast-to-coast mobile program known as the Moving America tour.