Author archive for Beth Kormanik
How Hospitality Workers are Creatively Filling Event Roles Amid the Labor Shortage
Signing bonuses, valet parking, all-time high wages and greater flexibility on scheduling. These are just some of the enticements for hospitality and other service workers in a labor market where demand is exceeding supply. At a time when many marketers begin returning to in-person events and venues start to reopen, they’re being confronted with a...
No Spectators: How Four Brands Altered Their Game Plans for the Tokyo Olympics
Brands seeking to activate at the Summer Olympic Games seemed to encounter more hurdles than a 100-meter race. First, organizers delayed the games by a year in deference to the COVID-19 pandemic (yet kept the name Tokyo 2020). Then they announced a ban on nearly all spectators. The result was a literal buzz kill. Longstanding...
Stunts: FX Deploys ‘Dave Drops’ to Surprise and Delight Fans of its Hit Comedy
The goal for promoting season two of the FX comedy “Dave” was to bring Dave directly to the fans. What the fans didn’t know, however, was that Dave would come to them standing atop a 50-foot drone or on a video screen that popped up from a furry anteater on wheels. The “Dave Drops” stunt...
How Major Fall Conferences are Betting on the Return of In-person Attendance
This fall, major user conferences, trade shows, music festivals and other gatherings are banking on attendees being ready to return to in-person events. For some, it’s a return to business as usual, with the events looking and feeling as they did in fall 2019. Others—like Salesforce—see it as an opportunity to reset and come back...