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Bars Wars? Battle of the Bands? Wha? This is a team-building event?  Oh indeed... oh indeed. One of the largest budget increases across the event marketer’s line items? Team training. Across corporate America, events and meetings are investing in team-building activities that disseminate information and/or bring attendees closer together. The goal, of course, is to increase performance. And the newest team-building activities are doing just that, with fun, funky elements that have event attendees begging for more and ROI through the roof.

To show its appreciation for over-the-road drivers and promote its IntelliRoute navigation devices, specifically designed for big rig truckers, Rand McNally recently set off on a five-month, coast-to-coast mobile program known as the Moving America tour.

Creating a marketing campaign that targets teens and children is never just about the kids. It’s really a two-pronged approach that is designed to appeal to the youngsters, but draw in the parents for the real brand conversion and sale. State Farm has been mastering both goals for years at high school sporting events across Texas. It was a natural fit to get into the local games, according to Stuart Selig, assistant zone manager for Texas at State Farm. “Football in Texas is the be all and end all. That’s where the people are on Friday nights,” he says.

For many brand marketers, there may be no bigger event than the Super Bowl, when practically all of America gathers around their TVs to watch not only the biggest football event of the year, but the boldest commercials that people will be buzzing about for weeks after the game is over. While Madison Avenue may get a lot of attention, it’s not just the TV marketing that’s on fire during Super Bowl season.

The biggest challenge in identifying how sports fans want to be engaged isn’t lack of information about who they are, what they’re watching and when or even where—it’s why they’re so passionate about their particular sport. So in recent years, event marketers have developed more rigorous research methods to get at the heart of why fans have an affinity for certain sports over others. Once they identify the why, it’s a lot easier to create sports activations that are truly meaningful and memorable to that fan base.