Buzz. It's what every marketing event pro craves and what every marketing event does its very best to generate. Double that for a beta launch preview of a third-in-a-trilogy video game with a huge following. But what happens when the pre-party...

Edward Gala may have spent the entire 13 years of his corporate career at Xerox Corp., but that doesn't mean he has always served the same firm. With the Stamford, Conn.-based company's widely publicized ups and downs — an SEC investigation in...

Festivals bring crowds — and sometimes the more focused the festival, the better. Take onions, tomatoes, garlic or bourbon, mix them into a slew of activities, and you have an event rich with enthusiastic attendees...

Fay Beauchine has come a long way from the day she was told her career options were secretary, teacher or nurse. Now she's the executive vice president of global meetings, incentives and events for Minneapolis-based Carlson Marketing, charged with...

“GRAPE TO MEET YOU!” ...

Members of the media see plenty of new products debut. It takes a new take on press previews to awe an audience that's been there and done that before. Read on to see how interactive environments make events worthwhile for the media...

A first-time event challenges any professional tasked with its design and production. But when the event involves headline entertainment, an attendee count forecast that could be off by 1,000, and guests that rank from just-your-average-high-price...

Lee Rubenstein is moving fast. Named president and chief operating officer of Los Angeles-based TBA Global in January, the communications pro is on the road almost constantly, visiting TBA's offices and clients to broaden branding's horizons. For...

Many companies jump into holding business functions without considering what their competition has done, is doing and will be doing, and the caliber the business functions will take on. It is important that companies don't repeat what others have...

They are costly, time-consuming and easily pirated. Requests for Proposal are a controversial topic among independent planners, as reported in our last issue (“RFPs: Really Feeling Pressure,” June 2007). But there is another side to the story. The...