B-to-C Events

The North American International Auto Show, in preview week right now in Detroit, was chock-full of hot cars and sweet interactives, and the digital star of the show was the Toyota Vision wall. The wall is made up of three 82-inch LCD panels, equipped with multi-touch technology and loaded with tons of content and features about the new Prius. Each of the three screens focuses on one area of content, combining to tell the whole ownership story of the Toyota culture and the lifecycle of the vehicle. The software that runs the experience is based on Microsoft Surface, but is custom-designed.

iVillage, the female-centric website, and American Express in November hosted an event at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art to spark a discussion between young adults and moms about financial responsibility. The program was part of a larger initiative called “The Talk” which promotes PASS from American Express, a prepaid reloadable debit card.

When Pop-Tarts set up a Facebook fan page last summer, it was flooded with more than two million consumers interested in talking about its toaster pastries. The online chatter, which included new flavor combination suggestions, inspired the Kellogg’s-owned brand to bring the excitement to life in a pop-up store. The result? The 3,000-square-foot Pop-Tarts World on 42nd Street in New York City (more on all the sweet details in a moment).

Ask anyone who’s ever waited endlessly to get into an event and they’ll agree—a long check-in line is a short distance to frustration, second only to forgetting your ticket. It’s a feeling often shared by the event organizers themselves as they flip through pages of printouts, checking off names, and inevitably missing a few. But now, thanks to mobile ticketing services that take advantage of smartphones, bar codes and other technologies, the hassles of paper tickets are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Even airlines and public transportation systems are jumping on board.

To bring its Good Hands Roadside Assistance service to life, Allstate handed sports blogger Spencer Hall of edsbs.com (Every Day Should be Saturday) the keys to a branded SUV in which he is traveling to football games across the country through Jan. 10.