Great Night In Chicago

Yesterday I made it to Chicago for the 30th annual Event & Arena Marketing Conference.  It literally took planes, trains, and automobiles to get here.

What a day to come to Chicago.  Wednesday night was the night the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup.  Everything around this town Wednesday was Blackhawks.  Rush hour even started earlier than normal so everyone could get home or to a bar to watch the game.  At the opening party at Navy Pier they kept us updated with the DJ giving the scores.

After they won the game I fell asleep only to be woken up a few minutes later by the sounds of cheering in the streets and horns blowing.  I am staying on the 36th floor of the hotel.  Think how loud the noise in the streets was. The cheering in the streets went on for hours.  It is always exciting to be in a town when a pro team wins a championship. 

Yesterday at the conference I ran into many of the veteran arena marketers. I was excited to hook up with Alex Hodges.  Alex is the COO of Nederlander Concerts.  I have not seen Alex since my days in Atlanta when I was handling the marketing at Lakewood Amphitheatre. It’s been over 10 years! He has not changed a bit. 

Today is the first full day of the conference.  As in the past two years, I plan to take lots of notes and will give you the highlights and updates.

Monday Housekeeping

The world’s biggest event is over.  Now we can get back to promoting and creating our own events and shows.  If you followed the Olympics closely, you might have picked up a few ideas.  I know I did.  As I mentioned in my post at the start of the games, the Olympics is a monster event with tons of little events all going on at the same time. 

Was it just me or did anyone else think NBC did a weird thing on ending primetime coverage of closing ceremonies? The ending we saw on the East Coast was not the end of the ceremonies.  I understand they were trying to give the new Marriage Ref show big ratings but at the cost of cutting off the world’s biggest event?  Also, didn’t the faux finale look just like something out of Ringling Bros.?

Event & Arena Marketing Conference Update

The 30th annual Event and Arena Marketing Conference will be in Chicago this year.  The dates are June 9th – 12th.  We are only 100 days away from the conference.  They have an early bird price if you register before March 31st.  I do plan to attend again this year.  The keynote speaker is Ross Bernstein.  He is a big time sports book author. Check the conference website for all the 411 you need.

Event News?

If you have an event, show, promotion, or PR stunt that you would like to share with the event & entertainment marketing community, send them my way.  Here is what I don’t want:  guest posts, anyone selling stuff, or anything that doesn’t apply to event & entertainment marketers.  This blog is for information we can all use and maybe learn from.

It May Be News To You

EAMC names its 2010 location

In case you have not heard yet, the Event & Arena Marketing Conference announced last week the dates and location for the 2010 conference.  The lucky city is Chicago. They invade the Windy City June 9 thru 12 at the downtown Marriott.  EAMC used their new Facebook page to make the announcement. 

Power in numbers

Speaking of Facebook, if you still have not joined yet, it seems you are in the minority.  Facebook announced yesterday they now have 300 million users. Do you still think that traditional marketing and advertising is the most effective way to go?

TV ads for the 21st century

The cable companies know that just running TV spots are no longer working.  They are getting into the 21st Century with interactive ads.  There is an article in today’s Wall Street Journal that discusses this.  The article mentions that some of the issues with TV spot watching are self-inflicted.  Cable companies are pushing DVR technology with their cable boxes.  Everyone is skipping the ads.    This new interactive ad technology is similar to what you might find on a website.  During the spot, you get on-screen buttons that you can click. I believe this is the way we are going with television in general.

Pushing the youth groups

I picked up a flyer at my kids hockey rink this past weekend.  It is a flyer for Boston Bruins youth group hockey opportunities.  The flyer is a group sale piece designed for teams.  The Bruins offer is more then just tickets but a chance to “play” on the ice prior or during an intermission of a game.  The youth group also gets the on ice experience shown on the video scoreboard and DVD of the event.  The flyer posts all the home schedule dates and shows which games are already booked by other youth teams.  I am glad they did this.  It shows “urgency” and helps teams with planning.  Of course as soon as the flyer was printed, I am sure it was outdated.  But that is okay.  It is a good problem if you can fill it up.