Trade Shows: E3 Announces Major Revamp

It’s another major sign of the industry’s evolution from massive one-off trade show exhibits to integrated event initiatives. The Entertainment Software Association owners of the evergreen videogame show E3Expo last week announced a major overhaul to the event.

Organizers said that starting next year the event will move away from the trade show model and instead serve as a platform for media events and “small meetings with media retail development and other key sectors” of the videogame industry.

Mobile Vehicles: Nike Hits Action Sports Events With Pimped-out Eagle

Nike’s 6.0 action-shoe brand is hitting surfing and skateboarding events this summer with a vintage AMC Eagle that’s pimped out especially for the action sports crowd.

The vehicle features an 80s-esque brown and tan paint scheme and three axles and six wheels with 31-inch tires. But the coolest part? A quarter pipe that attaches to a deck on the roof of the vehicle giving skaters and BMXers the opportunity to ride off of the roof of the vehicle.

Mall Marketing: After Success In New York Citibank ThankYou Program On The Road

What started in New York City as a one-off event earlier this year has become a multimarket event campaign for Citibank.

Tactics: Melitta Arranges Campus Sampling Through Residential Life Offices

Melitta USA is staking out college dorm rooms to build preference among the next generation of caffeine junkies. The company is seeding 36 college campuses—all in the Northeast—with a total of 300 000 coffee makers. On most campuses the units will be placed inside residence hall rooms; at commuter schools (about one-third of the campuses) the brand is getting distribution during student registration.

Activation: Maxell Leverages Its First X Games

Maxell has made its first-year sponsorship of the X Games held last weekend in Los Angeles part of a multimedia campaign to reintroduce the brand’s iconic “blow away guy.”

One key goal was generating “brand awareness with a group of young people who were not even alive when the image was first conceived ” Cheryl Severini senior marketing manager at Maxell told Buzz. “The X Games is a perfect fit for the effort. The demographic is young and tech savvy.”