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Managing a trade show exhibit with 70 percent less than last year’s budget is become a reality for some marketers. At a time when cfos are slashing marketing dollars like the tails off shrimp on a sizzling Hibachi grill one exhibitor—Chase—not only worked with the slashed budget; it achieved a two-to-one return on its trade show investment.

The biggest challenge Walmart faced in preparing for this year’s annual meeting wasn’t where to house the 16 000 store associates and shareholders descending on its headquarters in Bentonville AR for three days in June. And there was no shortage of headliners willing to come to town to entertain them. Indeed Walmart’s dilemma was how to celebrate its growing market share—it surpassed a hefty $400 billion in sales during the last fiscal year—at a time when most of the country is struggling through one of the worst recessions in history.

Doing the right thing is not always easy. Just ask any marketer trying to build green marketing practices. Despite the fact that environmental awareness is at an all-time high the industry is still searching for a definitive system for qualifying sustainable events.

If Larry King can Twitter then anybody can. The recent Twitter popularity contest between the CNN host and actor Ashton Kutcher (a.k.a. Mr. Demi Moore) to see who could gain a million followers first had crowds tweeting fast and furiously to put their favored celebrity on top. Kutcher took the trophy but in the end Twitter won the biggest popularity contest of all.

Can't find a sport that matches your corporate image? Hasbro's Nerf unit solved the dilemma by creating one of its own: Nerf Dart Tag. To give it an extra dose of legitimacy (think Frisbee Golf) it also created an official governing body the Nerf Dart Tag League (NDTL). The new sport set off on tour this summer holding competitions in 15 markets including five in conjunction with the AST Dew tour (Vivid Marketing Atlanta handles).

The championship took place Oct. 15 to 18 in Orlando where winning teams of four in several age groups vied for a $25 000 prize.