Your Story Alive: A Live Communications Blog

June 14, 2013 3:29 PM

What’s Your Favorite Children’s Story?

Posted byAlisha

Have you ever looked back on your childhood, and immediately thought of the one book always made your imagination wander?

We would love to know what that book is! Help EWI by sharing your favorite children's book in support of Sammy's House, the Healthcare Convention and Exhibitors Association's charity of choice for its 2013 Annual Meeting, June 22-25.

Just click the link to share your favorite children's book, appropriate for ages 0-8 and we'll donate it to on your behalf. If you're coming to the show, stop by booth #413 during the Meeting and we'll help you personalize and commemorate your contribution.

As we get closer, we'll share out the rare finds and trending favorites. Thank you for your support!

Tags: Brand Stories, Healthcare, Special Events

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May 21, 2013 12:54 PM

Coca Cola Happiness Without Borders

Posted byAdam Sweet

This is a really beautiful experience; helping to unite two groups of people who may not interact at all, yet are similar on so many levels.

Interestingly, it has almost nothing to do with the brand or product, and everything to do with the user and lifestyle.

Enjoy this soulful video. More information: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/happiness-without-borders

Tags: Brand Stories, Cool Stuff, Consumer Electronics, Global Design, Advertising, Guerrilla Marketing, Innovation, Interactives, Media, People, Pop Culture, Product Launch, Promotions, Pop-Up Retail, Special Events

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May 13, 2013 2:18 PM

Key Trends: Event Marketing Summit 2013

Posted byKatie

Waiting for class to start at EMS 2013.

The annual Event Marketing Summit is known for big ideas and big campaigns - and this year did not disappoint. Here are the top findings from our attendance this year - with the caveat that try as we might, we couldn’t attend every session that we wanted to.

Employees are gaining more market share and attention. Several brands talked about the importance of communicating internally – and not just to the sales force. One presenter from Textron, the maker of the Bell Helicopter – shared concerns about keeping new product details under wraps, even from employees. An information leak happened despite their best efforts, and when they realized that the leaked information wasn’t factual, they decided to embrace it instead, and go for full transparency. The resulting campaign was a mix of surprise and delight, starting with tactics as simple as window and floor decals in employee lunchrooms. The campaign that started with employees also served as the foundation for an incredible product reveal. They may not be responsible for sales directly, but employees certainly bring something to the table when it comes to brand integrity, reputation and buzz.
Long product cycles and sustained outreach. This year, we saw a bit more focus on those brands that face long product cycles. Whether its helicopters or cars, it seems that brands are shifting away from campaign or program-focused execution, and instead looking for the long game. What are the implications for the brand identity? What kind of messaging are we putting in the marketplace? By being considerate of the flow of information and cadence, some are finding a way to refocus on the sequence of live events – not just a few nights a year.
The brand ambassador is changing. Forget booth babes and the traditional product specialists! We kid. But seriously, for many of the events and case studies we saw, the idea of the brand ambassador is going through a fundamental shift, and not just for tradeshow programs. Take Genlivet’s campaign, The Guardian. This membership club brings together highly curated content, events and recommendations, anchored by the venerable, agency-created, Jonathan Dram. (Who, by the way, comes complete with his own Pinterest account: http://pinterest.com/jonathandram/pins/). Another presenter that we saw talked about how one automaker worked with an architect for a recent event and even asked him to open his home and car collection to journalists. And, Audi shared their efforts as they identified a niche audience representation, skiers, led by a former US team member, as they delivered experiences for one of their most niche products, the Audi allroad. While these representatives are implicitly talented and cool – they also safely guard their own creative content and presence, so good luck telling them what to do and say, exactly. In the words of the Glenlivet representative, properly vetting this group is a “fine art.”
The power of the personal story. We believe this goes hand in hand with the trend in brand ambassadors. While a corporate brand is cool, personal stories are better. The Textron marketer talked about how their sales meetings kicked off with a look at what makes their speakers unique – and those interests helped drive better connection during those meetings. Likewise, Paul Blurton of inVNT found that people who had the same personal aspects as those the brand was working to emulate (creative, adventurous, discerning, etc.) helped create touchpoints that prospects and customers could relate to. Interesting people, they are finding, drive more interesting conversation and more effective communications. While it means less control, better relationships are the tradeoff.

Sending a huge thank you!
Last but not least, thanks to everyone who joined us at our UX track session, “Big Footprints, Bigger Impressions: Making the Most of Large Real Estate.” Great questions were asked. If you want a copy of the presentation, leave a comment or contact us at media ‘at’ ewiworldwide.com.

Tags: Brand Stories, Creative Inspirations, Exhibits, Innovation, Interactives, People, Special Events, Technology

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April 19, 2013 2:49 PM

Look Out 2013

Posted byAlisha

The past five years have been rough, regardless of what industry is being used as an example. In 2013, the economy is finally turning around; spending and optimism is up and pessimism is down. EXHIBITOR magazine recently published an article, “The 2013 Economic Outlook.” It focuses on the exhibits industry and can serve as a tool for planning the 2014 fiscal year. Here are some of the highlights:

30 percent of exhibitors are increasing their budget this year compared to last.
81 percent of exhibitors said they feel confident or extremely confident that tradeshow involvement will achieve better results in 2013 than 2012.
The majority of exhibitors have definite or tentative plans to purchase a new booth in the next 12 months.

While the article does make a point to say that the economy is not nearly as strong as it was six years ago, there is hope. With all of this information at your fingertips, how is your company expanding their tradeshow experience?

Tags: Exhibits, Brand Stories, Special Events

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March 14, 2013 8:26 AM

EWI leads international, tech sessions at EXHIBITOR2013

Posted byAlisha

The buzz surrounding EXHIBITOR2013 is louder than ever here at EWI Worldwide. We are excited to be hosting two educational sessions during the conference March 17 and March 18 in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino.

EWI’s Benedict Meissner, managing director, Europe headquarters, and Andy P. Austin, president, Digital Engagements will present a half-day workshop entitled “International Cultural Protocol” in room Palm A, Sunday, March 17 from 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Andy and Benedict will discuss how our commonalities and cultural differences can overlap in an ever changing and expanding global economy, give pointers on regional cultural practices in order to navigate communication between cultures and give a top 10 etiquette “do’s and faux pas” to be successful in international interactions.

On Monday, March 18 from 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Elisa Stokoe, global account director, and Austin will present the new session “Hands On - Tech Possible” in room Palm A. In order to understand how technologies transform the way marketers communicate at live events you must first understand how the latest innovations can impact the bottom line.

Attendees will learn ways to apply popular interactive tools strategically to allow for longer dwell times and increased ROI and will explore various delivery methods such as tablets, touch screens and RFID readers. Within their session Stokoe and Austin will also be inviting attendees to participate in an interactive to demonstrate different program solutions.

To join EWI Worldwide, Andy, Benedict and Elisa in Las Vegas sign up here.

Tags: Interactives, Special Events, Technology

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March 13, 2013 12:46 PM

Together Again – at EXHIBITOR2013

Posted byAlisha

Building upon its award-wining storyboard experience, EWI Worldwide is excited to be exhibiting at EXHIBITOR2013 at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Starting Monday, March 18 and going through Wednesday, March 20 from 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. each day at booth 2027 EWI will be in the middle of all of the action and excitement.

As one of the biggest shows focused on the exhibits industry, EXHIBITOR2013 is a great way for exhibit and tradeshow managers to learn from industry experts about strategies for face-to-face conversations that create lasting relationships.

Make sure to check back here tomorrow for information on our speaking opportunities.

Tags: Exhibits, Promotions, Special Events

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March 08, 2013 2:13 PM

24 Hours of Fashion

Posted byAlisha

What do you get when you mix one of the world’s biggest brands with one of the biggest fashion show events to ever hit South Beach? Cotton’s 24 Hour Runway Show. The show, which debuted last week, boasted 1,440 different cotton focused outfits all hitting the runway, one per minute for 24 hours. This event served as a platform for Cotton Inc. to give focus to the versatility of cotton and showcase the latest styles using the material.

While the show was live streaming on eonline.com and mtv.com from the heart of Miami, Cotton Inc.’s team was feverishly generating buzz around the event on Facebook, Twitter and even Pinterest to ensure a positive brand message was being released to members of those social media outlets.

During the event, participants were able to log onto Cotton Inc.’s website and purchase the clothing featured on the runway for 24 percent off, a pretty clever nod designed to reference the 24 hours of nonstop fashion. The event’s ability to infiltrate an entire city along with the entirety of social media is impressive and is a perfect example of how to make a lasting impression – live and online - when creating an event.

Tags: Promotions, Special Events, Social Media

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February 08, 2013 2:51 PM

What We Can Learn from the Super Bowl Blackout

Posted byAlisha

photo by: newdiscovies.com

With the phenomenon that is the Super Bowl, the producers and team have a backup plan for just about anything that could go wrong. Well, this past Sunday viewers across the world were able to see that backup plan when the power went out in half of the Superdome.

While 108.4 million people watched Super Bowl XLVII at home and another 72,000 people waited patiently in their seats within the dome, crews scrambled to get power back up and running. Thirty-four minutes later the game resumed, but not without talk of how the power outage changed the whole momentum of the game. Just before the lights went dark Jacoby Jones of the Baltimore Ravens returned a history-making 108 yard opening kickoff, continuing the Ravens’ domination into the second half. After the blackout the Ravens only scored six points for the rest of the game, while the 49er’s gained 25 points.

With all of this drama that surrounded the Super Bowl it is important to point out how you can ensure a power outage will not happen during your event – pending any natural disasters. In an interview with Tony Barras, President of EWI Worldwide’s The TERM Group, we discussed the main points that need to be covered in order to help ensure your event will happen without losing power, based on his 25 years of experience working thousands of shows, exhibits and events:
1.   Do your due diligence to ensure you have all of the information about the venue that is needed
2.   Communicating venue information to the proper people, including managers, technicians, etc.
3.   Do not cut corners, answer all questions and have a backup plan; i.e., have a surge protector to ensure that the “abnormality” that happened at the Super Bowl will not happen at your event.
4.   Have skilled technicians on hand to handle any emergency situation. Usually the venue will provide you with a team.
5.   Before you choose a specific venue for your event run through this simple check list:
a.   Site Inspection
b.   Look at electrical capabilities
c.   Check the weather
d.   What is your back up plan?
e.   What are all the pitfalls?
6.   Have insurance to cover catastrophes. Murphy ’s Law states, “Anything that could go wrong, it will.” Prepare for the unexpected and address all problems before they get worse.

The goal to holding an event is to have it be successful in all aspects. The most important factor that needs to be considered is who you partner with for the show. The more experience, the better and the questions you know to ask the more successful the show will be.

Tags: Exhibits, Pop Culture, Special Events, Technology

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July 27, 2012 10:53 AM

Twitter at the Olympics

Posted byKatie

With the Olympics Opening Ceremony taking place today, it is a good time to look at how the international organization is handling something near and dear to the marketing world - social media.

All organizations - big and small, public, private and non-profit, regardless of industry - are challenged not only with managing public opinion of their brand in the social media world, but also the way their teams, employees, partners and other affiliates represent themselves.

The Greek Olympic Committee's recent decision to expell an athlete is the latest and one of the most high profile examples of the issues many are facing when it comes to setting the 'rules of engagement' for those involved in an organization.

A little background: This past Wednesday, Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou was expelled from the Games for Tweeting the following:

“With so many Africans in Greece... the West Nile mosquitoes will at least eat homemade food!!!”

According to The Guardian, "The Greek Olympic Committee condemned the comment as 'contrary to the values and ideals of the Olympic movement.'" The decision - which cited The International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s "Social Media, Blogging and Internet Guidelines for participants and other accredited persons at the London 2012 Olympics Games" - also caught headlines for how quickly it was made.

Not only has this set a precedent for other athletes and future Olympic Games, but it can also serve as a reminder for any organization looking to stage a team event, or simply to communicate with their employees about appropriate rules of behavor.

Let's take a look at some key lessons:

When dealing with your internal ambassadors (team members, partners, etc.), it's a whole different ball game than dealing with customers. Setting separate 'rules of engagement' and how you'll respond for each of these audiences will help reduce confusion down the road.
Get everyone on board. The social media policy was handed down by the IOC - not it's communications team, its PR agency, or by individual countries or participants. Make sure you are all playing for the same team (no pun intended).
Do it early, and be specific. By putting the rules out before an issue was raised - and having every Olympic hopeful commit to it - not only were the participants accountable, but the organization had a clear outline for its actions.

I'm sure there are many other lessons we can take here - and I am personally excited to see how the rest of the Games unfold and if anything else comes up. For those of you keeping up with the games online, be sure to follow these handles:

@London2012 (the official handle for the Games)
@NBCOlympics (your go-to network for news
@USOlympic – Manned by the U.S. Olympic committee.
@RyanLochte – Just because it's fun.

Enjoy!

Tags: Brand Stories, Cool Stuff, Creative Inspirations, Pop Culture, Technology, Social Media, Special Events

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July 13, 2012 5:49 PM

EWI Worldwide at CEMA

Posted byKatie

The Corporate Event Marketing Association's Annual Summit kicks off Sunday, and we'll be there offering attendees a warm welcome in the form of a reception - complete with drinks, eats and tons of interactive tech to try your hand at.

If you are planning to attend please stop by! We'll be in the Veranda Foyer Sunday starting at 1 p.m. and Monday.

See you there!

UPDATED: Photo from CEMA Summit 2012

Tags: Brand Stories, Technology, Special Events

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Your Story Alive

YSA

EWI Worldwide

This is a really beautiful experience; helping to unite two groups of people who may not interact at all, yet are similar on so many levels.

Interestingly, it has almost nothing to do with the brand or product, and everything to do with the user and lifestyle.

Enjoy this soulful video. More information: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/happiness-without-borders