B-to-C Events

There were many changes to the March Madness program this year: Expansion to 68 teams, starting on a Tuesday instead of the traditional Thursday and broadcasting every tournament game across several networks, breaking the CBS network’s nearly 30-year run as exclusive broadcaster of the games. To promote its new involvement and to help fans get a handle on the shortened timeframe for filling out tourney brackets, the Turner Sports network launched the Bracket Lounge in New York City’s Time Warner Center on March 14, dubbing the occasion National Bracket Day.

Image enhancement technologies like holograms and 3D have been building in popularity over the past few years, and though neither is new, event marketers have been finding clever new ways to leverage them. More interestingly, marketers have been discovering that each special effect has a strategic strength that makes it more effective in moving the needle depending on the objective of the event. Here, a closer look at each technology and how brands like Honda and Ralph Lauren leveraged them for distinctly different purposes.

How it Works

Time Inc.’s People StyleWatch on March 4 launched a “celebrity stylist” pop-up experience that is running concurrently at six Taubman malls each weekend throughout the month. The pop-ups feature spring styles available in the malls now, and will return in September with fall fashion.

Busy consumers today know how to kick back and relax—at beachside hotels, ski resorts, heck, even a trip to the hair salon can be a refreshing hiatus from their hectic lifestyles. For smart brands these pleasurable pauses are an opportunity to join in the fun and connect with consumers while they are open to conversation—and receptive to a steaming cup of fresh-brewed coffee, a hair treatment or a chance to try out a new camera. And if they can generate some online buzz about it, so much the better.

To encourage test drives and drive foot traffic into its dealerships, from March 16 to 23 Chrysler is executing the Premiere Event, an integrated campaign that offers consumers $25 gift cards and a chance to win a 2011 vehicle. Almost 2,000 of the group’s dealers, representing 86 percent of the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram dealership roster, are taking part.