Zvents’ network of partners continues to grow at an exponential rate and we can barely keep up with all of the excitement!

We’re now powering several NBC local television stations, which include:

• NBC Connecticut
• NBC Dallas-Fort Worth
• NBC Los Angeles
• NBC New York
• NBC Philadelphia
• NBC San Diego
• NBC San Francisco Bay Area
• NBC Washington D.C.

In a recent article published by MediaPost, John Wallace, president of NBC Local Media, explains:

“These sites are a departure from what we’ve done in the past and the next step in our mission to provide truly relevant local content to consumers on the media platform of their choice.”

We are proud that NBC has selected Zvents to provide the local search experience for events, promotions, and things to do in NBC’s key metro areas across the U.S. Now, advertisers can reach consumers at an even greater local-level, given these highly targeted and dynamic marketing channels.

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As event marketing professionals, you’ve got to keep things fresh with new ideas or else you’ll fall behind. It’s your role to stay up-to-date with the industry standards! That’s why we’ve put together a list of 2009 conferences and exhibitions for trade show and event marketers. With all of the other things you need to plan ahead for, make sure to mark your calendar and save room in your budget. Before registering, you may want to consider the top 5 reasons why you should make an effort to attend:

1. Stay informed on the latest and greatest - Learn from your peers and the top leaders in the event marketing industry.

2. Make sure to network - Build your inside connections while attending conference seminars, mixers, and parties (sure, you’ll learn some interesting stuff while sitting in those sessions, but personally engaging in conversation with conference attendees is a huge benefit).

3. Pitch speaking opportunities - Your business can gain excellent visibility as a guest speaker (plus, you’ll be well-respected as a thought-leader), so encourage your executives to get on the speaker list.

4. Get noticed in the Expo Hall - Exhibit your products and evangelize what you do!

5. Drum up new business & maintain client relationships

*Special Note: Make one-on-one contacts with industry media - Conference organizers often provide a pre-registered press list upon request. This presents a great opportunity to meet reporters in person rather than pursuing them blindly with an email or phone call!

Here are some of the upcoming events listed in chronological order:

The Special Event 2009 will be held from January 28 - 30, 2009 at the San Diego Convention Center. This event is for any professional who produces events (weddings, parties, corporate events, and celebrations). There will be over 300+ vendors on the showroom floor. We attended last year’s conference in Atlanta, GA and were surprised by the huge extravaganza of entertainers, caterers, decorators…acrobats, balloons, and color galore!

2009 Event Solutions and Catersource Conference & Tradeshow will be held at the Las Vegas Hilton and Convention Center from February 22 - 26, 2009. This event will host more than 7,000 attendees and 1,000 tradeshow booths, this is the biggest show in the events and catering industry. Educational workshops/seminars with a wide variety of key learning sessions are available. You can now register here.

Exhibitor 2009 will be held from March 23-25, 2009 at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. The event, which is hailed as being a “world conference and exhibition for trade show and corporate event marketers,” is produced by Exhibitor Media Group. 6,000 attendees and 300 exhibitors are expected to be there.

ISES Eventworld 2009 will be held from August 6 - 8, 2009 at the San Francisco Marriott Hotel in San Francisco, CA. 500+ attendees and more info will be provided as the date gets closer.

If you’re aware of any additional event marketing conferences that aren’t listed, please feel free to leave a “comment” and we’ll be sure to include it!

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Online Market World is the leading summit for online sellers, merchants, and marketers and innovative minds who want to understand how to better leverage the internet to market products.  For those of you selling online, from products to tickets, the show is an opportunity to hear how to capitalize on the ongoing list of online markets including Amazon, Google, MSN, Facebook, and Shopping.com with multi-channel sales and service strategies.

Taking place at Moscone Center West October 1-3, Online Market World brings together industry notables including:

• Marsha Collier
• Tony Hsieh
• John Squire
• Matt Franklin

Keynote speaker Kathy Ireland, now CEO & Chief Designers of Kathy Ireland Worldwide, will share her thoughts on growing a brand in these times of media change.  We’re also excited to learn the secrets of effective blogging with Karen O’Brien, a “tightwad’s” opportunity to usability test (a key component of designing your site) with Jack Aaronson, and, led by Digital Axle’s Bruce Carlisle, how to navigate the online advertising maze!

Register now to attend this exceptional event or find other great resources and benefits at onlinemarketworld.com

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We’ve come across a fun study from Alloy Marketing revealing that the college class of 2112 is increasingly, well, green.  In more ways than one.  According to Allow, the 2112 class, now the largest in history with 13.6 million college students (18-30), has at its disposal a record $237 billion in consumer spending.   What’s fun about the dollars and cents you might ask?  Well, it seems an overwhelming proportion of those budgets are socially conscience, with a growing 41% (net) of respondents preferring socially responsible brands and opportunities.

Still missing the fun?  Perhaps ‘excitement’ is a better word; I don’t mean to imply we’re personally excited by the data, rather, that as college students settle into classes and prepare for the new school year, we’re pleased to have mtvU bringing local events and promotions to those college students with Zvents.  mtvU, which owns and operates the College Media Network, the largest interactive network of online college newspapers in the US (itself owned by MTV Networks and Viacom), has joined the Zvents network, adding 25 college Campus Daily Guides to the network of sites through which your events and local businesses can be promoted with a single listing.  The partnership makes it easy for students to discover what’s going on, where to go, and where to spend those disposable dollars around campus, connecting local and national merchants with those college consumers.

Coincidentally, Alloy Marketing specializes in marketing to college students through events, targeted placements, and specialized research.  The similarity between the study and our partnership was too great to ignore so we took a moment to find a few local businesses promoting socially conscience events to college students:

• Budding, Tempe, AZ ASU k-12 teachers can visit EarthFest Educator’s Night at the Phoenix Zoo
• Ann Arbor U of M students can catch a nearby Solar Presentation as a part of an environmental lecture series
• The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology hosts countless special events regarding the community and world in which we live
• We’ve even discovered commercial success with students’ most socially responsible apparel brand hosting runs at NikeWomen near Northwestern

Local merchants and event marketers can submit listings to the network from any Campus Daily Guide, benefiting from highly targeted, relevant marketing to this appealing demographic.

By the end of the year, mtvU will launch 50 campuses. For the initial phase, 25 universities across the country have joined the network:

• Ohio State University
• Arizona State University Main
• University of Maryland College Park
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Central Florida
• University of South Florida
• University of Washington
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
• Florida State University
• University of Arizona
• University of Cincinnati Main Campus
• University of Houston
• North Carolina State University
• University of Colorado at Boulder
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• University of South Carolina
• Columbia University of Pittsburgh
• University of Kentucky
• University of New Mexico Main Campus
• George Washington University
• Northeastern University
• University of Nebraska – Lincoln
• University of Pennsylvania
• Northwestern University
• Emory University

To advertise on the Campus Daily Guides, contact mtvU directly or simply add an event!

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Event Solutions magazine, a monthly trade publication covering the events, meetings and incentives industry, produces the annual Event Solutions Conference & Tradeshow. Through both the magazine and trade show, Event Publishing, LLC provides resources for everyone in the events industry and is best known for providing professional certificates for event planners and producers while delivering primary research to quantify and identify breaking trends in the industry.

Zvents was featured today, online, sharing how event marketers can reach the most of their target audience through Zvents’ local search and advertising network of hundreds of web and mobile partners.

Online marketing has become one of the best ways to promote an event and attract the right audience. Consumers are constantly searching the Internet for their specific interests, and as an event marketer, your goal is to compel attendees to get to your event.

Be sure to grab a subscription to Event Solutions after catching up on Zvents

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Hey L.A. Event Planners!

Zvents is exhibiting on June 5th at the L.A. Event Style Expo, and we’d love to meet you there! Get a free pass to the show (a $60 value!) when you register and use the promotional code PPLA. This special one-day event takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Stop by the Zvents Booth (#530) and Mention this Blog Post and get a Free T-Shirt!

Show admission includes these special events:

10:15 - 11 a.m.
Keynote Presentation by Lynda Resnick
The marketing mind behind brands like POM Wonderful and FIJI Water, Lynda Resnick knows how to integrate events into successful branding campaigns. Matching the right events with the right customers is key to her success. During this keynote presentation, discover the strategies she employed at high-profile events such as the Academy, Golden Globe, and Emmy awards to ultimately make her brands household names. She’ll offer keen insights into today’s competitive marketplace and share tips for the ultimate event business success.

3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Behind the Scenes at the GRAMMY Awards: What it Takes to Make Mega Events
In this session, Erick Weiss will moderate a discussion with top event producers from a cross section of industries: Branden Chapman, VP with the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Len Iannelli, VP with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, David Finch, CMP from Amgen and Judi Froehlich-Pascoe with Americas, BCD Meetings & Incentives and the eWomenNetwork. The discussion will focus on the commonalities and differences between the various industries and what it takes, behind the scenes, to produce world class mega events.

Panelists:
Erick Weiss, President - Honeysweet Productions
Branden Chapman, Vice President, Production & Process Management - The Recording Academy
Len Iannelli, VP of Special Events, Marketing - 20th Century Fox Film Corp.
David Wellington Finch, CMP, Sourcing & Compliance Manager, Meetings & Conventions - Amgen
Judi Froehlich- Pascoe, Director of Business Development, Americas BCD Meetings & Incentives Managing Director - LA eWomenNetwork

BizBash LA Event Style Awards 2008
4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
See the events that dazzled! Celebrate the year’s best events at the BizBash Event Style Awards 2008. Glimpse best practices and get new ideas when more than 15 event categories are honored for outstanding industry contributions.

Interested in the full conference program? Visit the BizBash site for more information about the day’s educational sessions, and use discount code PPCONF for a special rate!

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Ethan Stock, Zvents CEO and Founder, was recently captured at The Kelsey Group’s “Drilling Down On Local ‘08: Marketplaces” Conference. In his presentation, Ethan discusses Zvents’ business model and how time-based promotions are an essential online marketing tool for all local merchants to get consumers in through their doors.

With the overwhelming and startling growth of local advertising revenue, Ethan Stock explores how Zvents is leading the evolution of local search - showing its impact on the advertising industry and what trends to expect in the future.

Check out the video below!

Online Videos by Veoh.com

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