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The winds of change are in the air, but the Sundance Film Festival is once again taking place in Park City and Salt Lake City, UT, bringing together the movers and shakers of the filmmaking ecosystem, and a selection of sponsors, for 11 days of storytelling and community engagement. While Sundance 2025 (Jan. 23 to Feb. 2) could mark the end of an era—after a four-decade run in Utah, the Sundance Institute is considering relocating the event after the 2026 edition—the festival’s mainstays are going...

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover pizza rentals, AI judges and Zen carriages.   COMMUTERS TAKE A MOMENT OF PAUSE INSIDE AUDIBLE’S ZEN CARRIAGE If you ask us, “Zen Commute” sounds like an oxymoron, but for a new campaign of the same name promoting the power of audio storytelling, Audible turned the concept into reality. The brand planted a “Zen carriage” train installation at London’s King’s Cross Station on Jan. 20 and for the next five...

Welcome to the latest event marketing industry news digest, featuring updates on new hires, promotions, acquisitions, and launches. Submit your news here. Trends American Express Global Business Travel, a software and services company for travel and expense, has launched integrated emissions-based carbon pricing. Customers can pick a carbon calculation methodology to apply a carbon fee to their air travel. These fees can be visible to business travelers as they shop and can appear on their invoices,...

Many pop culture moments marked 2024, from Brat summer, to Moo Deng the pigmy hippo, to the Willy Wonka fiasco in Glasgow, to the “Glicked” phenomenon, to the viral break dancer from the Paris Games. But industry pros made an impact, too, activating experiences that challenged perceptions, pushed boundaries, drove loyalty and delivered joy. Following is a look at the experiential campaigns that caught your eye over the last 12 months—Event Marketer’s top 10 most-read stories of 2024.   Brands Bring...

Plays have been called, flags have been thrown and victories have been clinched throughout this pro and college football season, and amid all the action, brands have been looking to score points with the fans. From “sailgates” to luxury bathroom trailers to germ zones, here’s how sponsors played the field.   ALTEC LANSING The industry is progressively making concerted efforts to support neurodiverse attendees through event touchpoints like tranquility lounges and sensory kits. While these elements...

Greg Wamsley, Mosaic North America, and Alyson Walker, Wasserman The Event Peeps Podcast returns with part two of our look back on one of the year’s biggest events, the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In this episode, we’re going inside Canada Olympic House, one of 30-plus hospitality houses organized by National Olympic Committees that popped up in the city to support athletes, their families and friends, brand partners, sponsors and fans. Greg Wamsley, vp-operations and sustainability...

The holidays are upon us, and once again, the industry is rising to the occasion to deliver a range of events and activations that are illuminating the season alongside their products and services. Per usual, we’ll bypass coverage of the city tree-lighting ceremonies, corporate galas and virtual gift shops in favor of hands-on brand experiences aimed at deepening engagement and spreading joy. ’Tis the season.   FAMILIES GO WINDOW SHOPPING FOR AMAZON GOODIES Not many retailers ship physical gift guides...

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover Krampus Bars, Squid Gamification and “Garriages.”   THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS AT THIS KRAMPUS BAR POP-UP For the unacquainted, Krampus is a demonic character derived from Central European folklore that serves as St. Nicholas’ counterpart and physically punishes children who misbehave at Christmastime (and you thought the threat of coal in your stocking was bad). It’s a legend featured in Prime Video’s...

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover $0 Days, cosmic luggage and AI Journey Accelerators.   DONUT UNDERESTIMATE BRAND PARTNERSHIPS Freebies abounded on Nov. 19 during the first-ever “$0 Day” as Grubhub celebrated its Delivery’s Other Half campaign, which offers Amazon Prime Members $0 Grubhub delivery fees. Hosted at Chicago’s Pioneer Park, along the Magnificent Mile, consumers who stopped by the footprint encountered a 12-foot-tall, co-branded...

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” has been on the air since 1999, but until recently, fans have mostly experienced a “one-way” relationship with the show. For the 25th anniversary of “SVU” this year, NBC flipped the script and leaned into events to give back to the fandom and provide new avenues for connecting with the legacy IP. In March, the network transformed New York City’s Rockefeller Center into “Olivia Benson Plaza” for two days, paying homage to the iconic character portrayed by Mariska...