People’s Choice: Our Top 10 Most-read Stories of 2020

The people have spoken and EM’s top 10 most-read stories of 2020 have been determined. As you can imagine, the following case studies, tips pieces and field reports reflect a year of challenges, wins, and, yes, pivots for the industry. A few even harken back to the old normal. Now, grab yourself a hot beverage and join us for a journey back through the year’s top trends and topics.

How Four Brands Pivoted Their Trade Show Exhibits to Virtual

Big trade shows were some of the first event casualties of the pandemic, but that didn’t stop exhibitors from reaching their audiences. From VR demos to 360-degree immersions to smart city simulations, several brands pivoted their booths to virtual this year. Here’s how they did it. Read more.

On a Dime: Four Insights on Pivoting to Digital

As brands scrambled to find ways to recover their event programming in Q1, the age of the pivot emerged. With help from two experts, we dove into the era of the “distributed” event, and how marketers could make the most of platforms, lead times and messaging. Read more.

How Brands Activated for Football Fans at Super LIV in Miami

February was still a period of relative normalcy and Super Bowl 54 went off in Miami without a hitch. Sponsorship activations placed creativity front and center, from Poo-Pourri’s 30-foot-tall inflatable “giant poo,” experience to Procter and Gamble’s revival of “Hungry Hungry Hippos.” Read more.

Everything We Learned from Hosting Two Unsuccessful Virtual Events

Among the event organizations that hosted virtual events in 2020 was yours truly—and things didn’t go exactly as planned. Devastating platform failures and other technological obstacles took down not one, but two of our events, and taught us a ton in the process. Read more.

What Event Marketers Can Learn from Airbnb Online Experiences

We signed up for two highly-rated experiences on the Airbnb Online Experiences platform, a “Guided Sheep Meditation” and a “Coffee Masterclass,” to see what we could learn about engaging digital audiences. Here are four things we learned from our virtual hosts. Read more.

Event Marketers Predict How Event Formats Will Evolve

To mark 2020’s halfway point, we sat down with a group of leading event marketers to get their takes on how the industry would evolve in a post-COVID world. Among their predictions: Hybrid is here to stay, e-commerce will be intertwined and a creativity boom is in the works. Read more.

CES 2020: Magicians, Potty Prototypes, Booth Builds and VR

Parallel Reality, prototypes and personalization, oh my! CES 2020 was a site to behold, as brands of all stripes showcased their tech chops and immersed digitally savvy audiences in the latest and greatest devices and solutions. Grab a VR headset and take a trip back to Vegas. Read more.

How American Express Delivered 40 Virtual Consumer Experiences in Six Months

Amex is focused on providing cardmembers with unparalleled experiences, whether live or digital. In 2020, the brand offered access to an entire platform’s worth of virtual adventures, often leaning on its target’s passion points, like sports and culinary, to deliver value. Read more.

Ford Takes the Media Off-roading to Launch the New Bronco

To celebrate the relaunch of the Bronco, Ford executed a COVID-friendly ride-and-drive experience for media at an off-roading park in Michigan. The socially distanced event included a reveal moment, classic Bronco models, a memorabilia tent and adventure rides. Read more.

Three Experts Weight in on Designing Events for Social Distancing

Among the countless aspects of events that marketers have had to rethink in the wake of COVID-19 is how social distancing impacts experience design. So we sat down with three experts to talk “owned” spaces, signage and decals, and adhering to safety guidelines. Read more.

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