Event Marketing & CGM, Part 1

If the basis for blogging is about connecting consumers to one another then why not try and reach out to them at events, a place where they actually come together. Large-scale events like concerts and sporting events are littered with corporate sponsors that seek to engage consumers. In addition to all of the normal title sponsor duties, why not create an area where bloggers can connect, engage, sleep, eat, drink, scream out the window, and, of course, blog in a Wi-Fi-on-steroids environment.

It seems that the idea is already starting to take root with major corporate sponsors. Coca-Cola has ventured into this area during at least one major global event: The Torino Olympics

During the Winter Olympics in February, Coke initiated a student-led blog network entitled, "Torino Conversations." It was intended to create a broader scope of global story telling around the Olympics.

Results were sufficiently encouraging. With built-in partnerships with several European agencies, the site netted over 100 in-bound links, received nearly 100,000 page views a day, and snagged impressive shelf results on search engines.

Clearly, event related CGM is a growing niche of the blogosphere. Smart companies are already leveraging blogs at events while preparing for the inevitable transition to video. Tell you what, more on that next week.