B-to-C Events

Looking for a way to spice up content at your next show? Think Pecha Kucha (pronounced peh-chak-cha). It may sound more Pokémon than PowerPoint but it could be just the thing to spice up a stale session.

Here’s the skinny: Each presenter shows 20 slides for 20 seconds each resulting in an overall presentation that lasts less than seven minutes.

They’re opinionated they’re socially connected and they’re on the cusp of gaining a ton of new purchasing power (just as soon as they graduate from college). It’s no surprise then that marketers go out of their way to provide memorable experiences each year at spring break where thousands of these influential young adults congregate. But with economic doom and gloom in the air many companies are cutting back.

“See me. Feel me. Touch me. Heal me.” These words sung by The Who at Woodstock in 1969 and later in the rock opera “Tommy” are becoming the mantra of event marketers looking to engage consumers with sensory experiences. Events have traditionally tapped into our sense of sight hearing and taste with arresting visuals catchy tunes and tasty product samples. Now they are adding new sensations especially touch and smell to facilitate a deeper connection.

Most people know at least one self-proclaimed king of air guitar. The act of strumming an invisible stringed instrument has been a favorite pastime for decades. Now thanks to the proliferation of in-home gaming products like Nintendo Wii Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation everybody (of every age) is doing it.

The luxury sector like mainstream America for the first time in decades has fallen on hard times. Layoffs in banking and finance have slowed sales of diamond-encrusted Swiss watches designer apparel and sleek sports cars sending holiday sales of high-end goods tumbling 27.6 percent in December compared to 2007 according to a report by MasterCard SpendingPulse. Luxury car sales fell 21 percent in 2008 according to sales tracking firm Autodata which predicts another decline this year.