My First Event Marketer Summit Experience
Author: Erin Bagby (2 Articles)
Account Coordinator: spaghetti wrestling wrangler | logistics connoisseur | beauty queen
My first Event Marketer Summit was a blur of speakers, case studies and seminars, getting lost in the hotel, stealing sombreros, and eating my weight in Mrs. Fields cookies. I was excited to take it all in until I noticed how out of place I was, standing in the registration line behind a lot of stuffy suits. Fortunately, it soon became clear the line was for a biotech conference. As soon as I found the right registration area the crowd around me was casual, lighthearted, and dressed in green ties, purple sneakers, feather skirts, etc. You know…the usual marketing look.
The days were crammed with engaging speakers, “BeLinking” and conversation. The highlights for me were HP, BlackBerry, AT&T, Yahoo, Sports Illustrated, Virgin Galactic, and several authors. Impossible to ignore was the massive amount of branded swag from room drops and vendor exhibits, ranging from cheese to charcoal to notebooks. It was nice to finally to put some faces with some of the names I’d been chatting with by email – and to check out all the latest technology on display.
The nights were full as well. On Monday I attended The EX Award Gala, along with other Javelin folks, to represent Bacardi B-LIVE in the Best Nightlife Program category. Cheering for ourselves and our competitors was equally fun, and we looked damn good doing it!
Donna Meier, Jen Novak, Erin Bagby, Meredith Goette - EX Awards 2010
Tuesday, after dinner with my colleague Meredith and some of her Chicago agency friends, we headed to MasterTent’s Cuatro de Mayo Party for free food, free booze and free sombreros. Actually, I’m not absolutely sure the sombreros were free – but we took them anyway.
Reconnecting with friends
The best part was dragging our sombreros to all the morning seminars and then through the airport. Not. It was worth it, though – we had them for the real Cinco de Mayo.
Ole!
All in all, my first experiential marketing summit was a success. I met tons of vendors, learned new ideas and ways of approaching projects, and my suitcase weighed about 10 extra pounds with all the swag I brought back! I’m looking forward to many more in the future.
