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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.

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.

Strategy: UBS Enhances Orchestra Activation; Adds Minnesota To Lineup

Orchestras have been one of its core sponsorship platforms for the last three years but financial services giant UBS says it’s leveraging better these days. Now the company is attempting to build in more exclusive experiences for its guests inviting clients to panel discussions with musicians and offering CDs with tracks from several UBS-sponsored orchestras.

“The company has fine-tuned what works from a client perspective ” Melanie Wright the company’s head of U.S. sponsorships told Buzz.

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.”

Hispanic Marketing: Sprint And Dr Pepper Use Concerts To Make A Connection

Sprint Nextel is targeting Hispanic consumers with a title sponsorship of rock band Maná’s upcoming U.S. tour. As part of the on-site activation consumers will be able to text messages and pictures to a large Sprint Nextel-sponsored screen that’s visible to the entire audience. Sprint Nextel consumers who participate will get a message back from the company inviting them to check out exclusive content through Sprint Nextel.