Art Guild: Mobile Event Marketing’s New Value Equation

Tradeshows have always been about getting in front of your audiences where they are, but sometimes access to them just 3 days a year isn’t enough. And then, of course, there are all the audience members who don’t come to your shows at all. Enter mobile event marketing – the opportunity to cut the tradeshow tether and bring the action to your audiences whenever and wherever they are – free of competitive clutter. Of course, mobile event marketing isn’t new (imagine the stereotypical traveling snake-oil salesman offering free samples). But it is experiencing a resurgence – in part because, like everything else, technology has redefined the mobile event value equation – creating new ways to promote the event, build engaging brand experiences, share these beyond the event, capture valuable insights and measure success. In short, the opportunities and returns created by mobile event programs are greater now, restrained only by imagination. And better yet, marketers may find audiences increasingly hungry for meaningful face-to-face connections with their  brands.

Months ago we posted a story about a mobile marketing program for MasterCard, designed to introduce their new payment technologies to businesses and consumers alike. Since that post we have taken it to more than a dozen new locations including bank headquarters’ parking lots, major league ball games, even a STEM event for kids (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). And in the meantime we’ve been creating programs for Mohawk Flooring and DuPont, promoting their new carpet fiber technology, a program for RAB Lighting – featuring a fleet of “RAB Runner” vans, and a mobile museum for National Grid (a power company) showcasing their view of the past, present and future of gas and electric power. All of them are vehicle-based, opening up and unpacking at their destinations to become complete event setups. Photos from all these programs are above.