B-to-C Events

Intel wants consumers to know that it’s more than just a chipmaker. So to demonstrate its breadth of innovations to the public, in May it launched a six-month global tour to give consumers the opportunity to experience and interact its technology through Intel-based devices. The tour kicked off in New York City and hit Chicago, Tokyo, Beijing and London in June and July. It will make stops in Sao Paulo and Moscow before wrapping up in Sydney in October.

Pilot Pen has launched a mobile tour to get its new FriXion (pronounced like “friction”) Clicker, a gel ink pen that erases without leaving smudges, into the hands of consumers. The tour, called “On the Road to Mistake-Free Writing,” launched on July 9 and will travel to 100 Walmarts and Office Depot stores across the U.S. until Oct. 1.

Earlier this week, Event Marketer editors escaped the oppressive heat of the city and joined families and fans in the Javits Center for an afternoon at MLB FanFest, Major League Baseball’s sponsored fan event that runs adjacent to the annual All-Star Game. We’ll bring you the full report in our August issue, but as a sneak peek, we bring you a snapshot of the Chevrolet activation.

Celebrity Cruises for the first time steered its way into experiential marketing on June 10 and 11, giving consumers a taste of the luxury brand’s iconic, top-deck Lawn Club on its five Solstice-class ships in Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall. The event supported a two-day promotional sale as part of a larger national campaign to increase brand awareness in premium markets, like New York City.

Television network History is ready to burn and pillage the throngs of pop culture fans at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con to launch the brand’s promotions for its second season of Vikings, which will premiere in Spring 2014. The network will host a panel discussion about the show and meet-and-greets with the stars, but the key events will be outside the convention center at the All Hail Vikings Interactive Experience.