Posted by Todd Buckton on Wed, Sep 01, 2010
Incredible ocean photo by David Sifry
RoadBlog recently came across a survey done earlier this year by
B2B Marketer Online, based in the UK, that discussed the state of events in Europe. The survey found that companies are continuing to increase their focus and investment on face-to-face events – despite the downturn and the digital revolution, which many predicted could take over from traditional event marketing strategies. Events take a significant portion of many brands’ budget, with almost 40% of respondents setting aside at least a quarter of their total marketing spend for them.
And why? 40 % of companies surveyed believed that events were a “very good” way of targeting key decision makers in senior management. “Building customer relationships” was the most important reason cited by companies for running events.
These decision makers also looked ahead at what the digital revolution might have in store for face-to-face events. While there is much interest in virtual events, 53% have actually tried them, but few believe that they will supplant face-to-face interaction.
At RoadBlog, we like to see what's going on around the rest of the world. Continuing to keep abreast of global trends helps our clients "Drive The Brand Experience" here in the USA.
Posted by Todd Buckton on Fri, Aug 13, 2010
If you could have complete control of your next mobile tour, how much more effective could you be? How much time could you free up for other tasks? If you had all pertinent information for multiple events at your fingertips including venues, attendee invitations versus RSVP’s, food and beverage counts and confirmations, contact info for the company sales rep as well as the tour staff, that would make your life much easier, wouldn’t it?
The Promotional Management Group Event Management System (EMS™) does that and more for you. Every PMG tour comes equipped with access to a proprietary online system that acts as a dashboard for your entire tour. Each stop is updated in real-time with our logistics department giving you the information you need, when you need it, from any web browser. You can also grant access in varying levels to sales reps, superiors and guests so information does not get bottlenecked through one user.
Complete guest management from invites to post-event surveys can be accessed with this system.
One of the reasons that clients stay with Promotional Management Group long-term is that we give them the tools they need to keep apprised of tour status. The PMG Event Management System (EMS™) gives you complete control over your tour.
We think you’ll find that the EMS™ is the perfect tool to keep you informed and in touch with your coworkers, your customers and your brand.
Posted by Todd Buckton on Tue, Aug 10, 2010
Pop-Tarts, the venerable and tasty yet questionable snack treat has popped up in Times Square to great fanfare this past weekend. The
New York Times says this pop up store could become permanent if it proves to be successful. Featuring Pop-Tarts "sushi", custom flavors and computer screens to access video games and social networking sites, it's a retailing concept that fits in nicely in the Times Square conglomeration of sensory over-stimulation.
Here at RoadBlog, we like the idea of pop up stores. They turn empty space into selling space, they give prospects a fresh look at a brand by placing it in a new and unexpected context and they generate buzz. Exactly the same thing that successful mobile event marketing programs achieve. If you look at them in this way, pop-up stores are like mobile tours without the wheels. They have taken a short-term retailing opportunity and turned it into an experience that resonates, especially in this combination of venue and product. Now, if only this new pop-up Pop-Tart store could produce a toaster pastry that tasted like a freshly baked, light and buttery, flaky, chocolate croissant, they'd really be on to something.
Posted by Todd Buckton on Tue, Feb 23, 2010
Today's View from the Cab is from PMG Master Driver Dave who just finished a trip from California to Denver for the next leg of a mobile tour for a valued healthcare client. The photos he took are just west of the Vail pass. Dave said he just missed a huge storm that dumped lots of snow on Denver and the local ski areas.
Not only are these beautiful photos but they are a perfect way to show why mobile tours are a great way to get your product in front of people who want to buy. Multiple large scale gatherings like trade shows continue to fade in importance in the minds of decision makers. Decisions like increased travel costs, better online communication technology, inconvenience to attendees and a general desire to stay closer to home looms large with your core audience. That's why mobile tours are such a great way to break through the clutter. Take your product to where the decision makers are and make it easy for them to be bowled over by your incredible product. Make it easy for them to experience your product and you make it easy for them to buy your product.
Dave left Denver and is now in beautiful Minot, ND showcasing our client's product to prospects and customers who don't have to go far to be impressed by their offering. And at less than 100 miles to the Canadian border, the weather is lots worse in Minot than it is in Denver this time of year, but our client has made it easy for their prospects to experience an excellent product. We battled the elements. We brought it to them. Another great reason to use mobile tours to Drive The Brand Experience.
All photos by PMG Driver Dave Christenson
Posted by Todd Buckton on Fri, Feb 12, 2010
We've looked at the types of vehicles that are available for your mobile tour, now let's look at how these can transform into unique marketing spaces.
If we say that "you are only limited to your imagination" when it comes to customization, you might think that's an overused, hackneyed phrase. But when it comes to mobile event marketing, it's completely true. Once the transport is safely parked at the venue of your choice near your prospects and customers, that's when the fun begins. Set up for a transport can be anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days and these transports can become anything. Here's how they might start:
53' Single Slide Transport
This is referred to as a "single slide" transport. It's indicated as having stairs at the front and the rear of the slide out, but that choice is all yours. The doors can be put on the opposite side, the front, back, wherever it's right for the specific application. The slide allows the transport to get down the road and then opens up onsite to become a roomy, luxurious selling environment. Here's an example of a single slide:
A variation of this transport is the double slide:
53' Double Slide Transport
This transport will allow you to more than double the floor space of a straight 53' transport and give your product or service more than ample room to adequately market your product in a singular environment.
Another variation is a stage area instead of a slide. This makes the 53' transport a natural for live presentations to large audiences.
53' Single Slide/Single Stage Transport
Here's a couple of variations of that same stage concept. One is a retail operation:
This application allowed the manufacturer to sell high-margin accessories while showcasing their latest product offerings.
Here's another variation of the same type of transport. This time, the side opens up to reveal the full-size business jet fuselage. This display was used to presell a new business jet that was being developed and built. Incredibly effective, highly targeted and amazing ROI.
Now we have an idea of what is possible with custom transports. As we said up front, if you can imagine it you can have it. And just to prove our point, we'll leave you with a custom transport built in Australia that turns into...well you just have to see it to believe it. Brilliant. Expect to see the same concept soon here in the states.
Incredible perspective views of custom transports by Derrick Johnson
Sweet Australian Mobile Pub by Truckmania
All other cool photos by Promotional Management Group
Posted by Todd Buckton on Fri, Jan 15, 2010
Straight Frame 53' Transport
One of the best things about mobile event marketing is the amazing number of variables available. There are so many different types of transports it's difficult to keep track of them all. But you've come to the right place here at RoadBlog, because during this series, we'll tell you about all kinds of transports and all of the variations therein. And then we'll get into customization. When we're done, you'll be better prepared to Drive Your Brand Experience. You'll see that your imagination is the only limit to what can be done with a mobile tour. So let's get started.
The most common transport for mobile tours is the 53' transport. It is also the most common transport you see on the highways and byways of America. The Coke truck above is a typical 53' transport. It's called a straight frame because it's a straight box. Notice on the Coke photo how the box is above the wheels and straight. A typical straight frame transport is 53' long, 8.5' wide and 8' high, giving you around 450 square feet of floor space and about 3600 cubic feet of display space. Keep those numbers in mind, because it just gets bigger and better.
Single Drop 53' Transport
After the straight frame comes a single drop. We included a photo of a flatbed transport here because it more easily shows how the transport drops down below the level of the wheels allowing for a taller load. What that drop means for a custom transport is more cubic footage inside the display, and a taller ceiling height for your display and your prospects making for a more comfortable experience.
Double Drop 53' Transport
Now things start to get interesting for Driving The Brand Experience. Here is a double drop 53' transport. Notice how far the floor drops down compared to the single drop. And then compare it to the Coke truck at the top. Now imagine how we can start to create some excitement with a transport this size. The double drop transport without further modification is as big as it gets. But that further modification is exactly what we'll talk about in our next chapter of Which Mobile Tour Transport is Right for You?
Straight Frame Photo via Flickr by Rick
Single Drop Photo via Flickr by alltheengineer
Double Drop Photo by our friends at Featherlite
Posted by Todd Buckton on Mon, Nov 23, 2009
Here at RoadBlog we think the best thing about traveling on the road is finding little out of the way places with incredible food. You can learn so much about a place by eating where the locals eat. A bowl of chili is completely different in Oregon than it is in Cincinnati. For that matter so is a grilled cheese. National chain restaurants are fine if everything else is closed. But you're shortchanging yourself if you don't see what America has to offer in local food. With that in mind, here's the top 5 places RoadBlog looks for guidance before (and while) hitting the road:
1. Roadfood is the online extension of Jane and Michael Stern's remarkable run as print columnists primarily for the now-defunct Gourmet magazine. The food stays true to the region and typically is diner-style, hamburgers, hot dogs and breakfast joints. The reviews are inspired, fair and almost always spot on.
2. Chowhound was a nice, homegrown national food web guide of all types of cuisines, from fast and simple to fancy to incredible. They also specialized in local ingredients or packaged foods. So if you've never been to Philadelphia, Chowhound would give you the best place to get a Philly steak, or Sushi or what the locals eat for packaged lunchtime treats (the astounding, sublime Tastykake). It was a nice little website with a clunky interface. In 2006 they were bought by CNET and got all fancified. The interface got better and the ads have managed to keep out of the way of the content. Still a great site and a great source of info.
3. Ask a local. Follow your nose. Get into town and ask somebody at the gas station. Or stop into the hardware store and see what everybody does for lunch. You'll probably meet a character who will tell you a story or two and then turn you on to something incredible. RoadBlog has found lots of great food this way, but it's not foolproof. A particularly foul fish taco in Oceanside, CA recommended by a guy who looked like Gabby Hayes made us realize we should have stuck with Rubio's. Locals are also a great way to find great food on the web:
4. Local city websites with incredible content are springing up all over the country. For example, if you ever find yourself in the Chicagoland area, just check out LTH Forum. This outstanding site was started by a bunch of local foodies who were at a restaurant in Chinatown called Three Happiness. Great dim sum, open late, no pretensions, just good food. It has 8 tables, hence the "little", and Little Three Happiness Forum was born. But LTH Forum is not just Chinese. The LTH Forum foodies have turned over every culinary stone in the city to find the best gyros, tacos, pizza, late night Mexican, Ethiopian, you name it. It's a great compendium of food in a city with an eye-popping array of amazing foods.
5. Check out the local newspaper websites. RoadBlog keeps track of lots of news pertaining to healthcare, aviation, experiential and mobile event marketing on Google Reader. But nestled in amongst the news of the business is the news of the food. Just for good reading subscribe to the food blog of the Houston Press called "Eating Our Words". Houston, TX has a huge food vocabulary and the writers for this paper have their fingers firmly on the pulse of it. Streetside BBQ, Indian, recipes for pecan pie when the pecans are in season, you eat it and they cover it. I can't wait to get back to Houston. I know right where I'll go for Vietnamese.
So there you have it. Wherever you go on the road there's somebody ready to help you find that indigenous treat that's worth going out of the way for. Bon Appetit from RoadBlog.
Posted by Todd Buckton on Fri, Nov 13, 2009
"I'm one of Dale's biggest fans." - Willie Nelson
And when Willie speaks, especially about country music, you better listen.
Today's entry is for the greatest friend a truck drivin' man has: Dale Watson. Dale plays a brand of country he calls "Ameripolitan", others call it "Alt Country", but when you see him play live or listen to his albums, you'll know what he really is: A country western star with a trucker's soul.
The greatest thing about the business I'm in is the people who get the experiences our clients need from one place to another: truckers. The world I live in is healthcare and aviation and motorsports marketing. When it's time to put the marketing on the road you enter a whole 'nother world; one that nobody has ever sung about better than Dale Watson. Well, maybe Red Sovine, but's that's a bit of an acquired taste.
Dale's first truckin' album, cut in 1998, was appropriately titled "The Truckin' Sessions", and it's been a truck stop favorite ever since. Here's a video of the opening song from the album:
The next Dale Watson truckin' album released this year was amazingly titled "The Truckin' Sessions Volume 2", and you can see Dale spent lots more time and energy on the music than on the design of the cover.
Dale has recorded 18 albums and is a regular at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. And while his albums are great, to really experience Dale you have to see him live. It is an experience you will not soon forget. He spends lots of time in Texas, mostly Austin, but you'll find him touring all over the USA. You can find his current schedule on his website. And unlike the long haul trucker, Dale regularly makes the trek to the UK and the Netherlands where he has attained superstar status.
So to get a flavor of a true truckin' experience, see Dale Watson soon or buy his albums now. You'll soon be wishin folks "good luck and good truckin' tonight".
Swell Dale Watson photo by larrytee
Posted by Todd Buckton on Wed, Nov 04, 2009
Here's the top five picks for this week:
1. Max Lenderman commented on a Business Week article about the blur between above and below the line ad spending. Read his blog here. Max is a senior CD for GMR in Chicago and has a great pair of lenses with which to see the world of experiential.
I have not read his latest book, but I can tell you without reservation his previous book "Experience the Message" is worth a buy. Check it out. Both photos from his blog.
2. Who is Jeff Eggen? Once again this week, Ford is getting lots of press on the great experiential promos they're doing to sell cars. I wrote about Ford's Football Sunday Taurus promo here. This time it's a social networking car rally in the new Ford Fusion. Read about it in Wired here. These promos are getting lots of ink for Jeff Eggen, the Ford Experiential Marketing Manager. So either he's got a great in with the Ford PR machine, or his work is selling cars. I'll bet it's the latter. Logo from Ford.
3. Ian McGonnigal works for George P. Johnson and has an excellent blog that I recently started following. His entry this week about the importance of blogging and the entire blogosphere is certainly worth taking the time. Not only for promotion about your firm, but more importantly, how to use social media to effectively promote events. Great reading. Image from his blog.
4. I'm passionate about ROI and ExpM, a new measurement firm opened this week to provide just that. Whether you're an advertiser or an agency wanting more reliable means to determine effectiveness of a promotion this may be an answer. I spent quite a bit of time perusing their website; it's definitely worth a look. I'm going to try and use it in an upcoming tour. Logo from their site.
5. The last item is not necessarily experiential but it is useful; Seth Godin's blog. I find something of value every time I visit. I'll leave you with one that was particularly good this week: "Big ideas are little ideas that no one killed too soon."
Photo from Seth's blog.
Posted by Todd Buckton on Wed, Nov 04, 2009
Here's a great new resource I stumbled across recently for experiential marketers. It's great for folks on this side of the pond as it gives a different perspective on what's going on in the rest of the world.
For example, who knew famous automaker Ferrari was building an amusement park in Abu Dhabi that's set to open next year? A track is also being built at the park to run the inaugural F1 Grand Prix race. Not everything is happening in Peoria...
I found some good prospecting ideas as well by looking beyond the sea to see what our neighbors are doing.
Cool Ferrari F1 pit photo by chrissatchwell