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Some companies only pay lip service to event marketing seeing it more as an add-on than a key part of the marketing strategy. Others see it as a tool to be used sparingly because they don’t know how to measure the ROI. Then there’s Bliss. The spa brand (owned by the Starwood Hotels chain which also owns the W Hotels brand) dedicates about 25 percent of its entire marketing budget (including sampling) to you guessed it experiential marketing.

Ross Burton credits media training with giving him confidence whether he’s working behind the scenes at awards shows like the Academy Awards hosting a consumer make-up event or fielding a reporter’s questions. And although he comes across as self-assured and comfortable with the press Burton says that wasn’t always the case.

For a technology brand with the word “invent” as its slogan an early foray into the world of virtual events may not seem like much of a stretch. It was Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard after all who first staked out territory in Silicon Valley in 1939 founding one of the most successful high-tech companies in the world out of a one-car garage and bringing to market over the next 75 years industry firsts like calculators handheld devices email programs laser printers and touchscreen PCs.

Some of the biggest marketing breakthroughs have come from brands that made new connections with unexpected demographics. Consider Nintendo Wii and its raging success with trendsetting moms for example. Who knew right? Following Nintendo’s lead brands once considered long shots with certain market segments are finding success by targeting tastemakers at niche events. The key to bringing together these odd couplings: connecting the dots through creative and relevant experiences.

Facebook has more than 150 million monthly active users. Twitter visits have skyrocketed 1 400 percent in the past year. And according to a recent Nielsen report the time consumers spend on social networks has increased 73 percent since 2008. Yes social media is exploding all around us. Even our moms are giving it a go.
Yet despite its popularity the social networking space is a vast and tricky medium to activate in.