evm_september-2023 - 3

CHECKING IN
®
FALL 2023
VOL. 22 * ISSUE 3
EDITORIAL & BUSINESS
Group Editor & Publisher Jessica Heasley: jheasley@accessintel.com
Head of Content Rachel Boucher: rboucher@accessintel.com
Managing Editor Juanita Chavarro Arias: jchavarro@accessintel.com
Senior Editor, Digital Content Kait Shea: kshea@accessintel.com
Editor-at-Large Kaylee Hultgren: khultgren@accessintel.com
Senior Event Content Manager Shannon Given: sgiven@accessintel.com
LET'S BE REAL
My six-year-old often responds to stories or facts with, " Is that
real? " It's a colloquialism, his way of acknowledging what he's
taking in about the physical world around him. But one day,
when he's fully entrenched in the digital world, he'll be asking
himself that question every day.
L'Oréal Paris became one of the latest brands to post " reality bending " digital spots on social
media in September. The team leveraged CGI to make it look like a real vintage Citroën was
traversing the streets of Paris, dragging a larger-than-life lipstick wand and painting a bold red line
to promote the Infallible Matte Resistance product.
It followed a Maybelline CGI-powered social spot in July featuring giant mascara wands that
appeared to " brush " lashes attached to buses and subway trains in London and New York as they
whizzed by. According to Digital Taxi, one commenter proclaimed: " It's really good CGI, but I'm a
little sad that means I don't get to see a train putting mascara on in person! " Touché.
The advertising world is flexing some serious creative muscle, but ultimately, it falls flat. You,
dear readers, are in the business of real. And that's why we take the opportunity every year to find
and recognize the producers and builders of real, memory-making, loyalty-building, revenuegenerating
experiences. Flip to pg. 81 for the 2023 IT List: the top 100 event agencies, and pg. 119
for the Fab 50: the top fabricators.
Barbie's real-world existential crisis took the summer by storm, but we were fixated on the
" over-the-top " inclusive premiere experience that ignited the pink explosion and global conversation.
Check out our cover story and interview with Wendy Robino, svp-marketing events and
regional publicity at Warner Bros., on pg. 32.
The b-to-b event world has been through a great evolution, and this year is focused more
than ever on real connections: In the case of IBM Think (pg. 30), peer-to-peer learning; and for big
industry shows and their exhibitors, like Outdoor Retailer, consumer connections (pg. 24).
The season's festival properties enjoyed some real returns, as ticket sales were up, and, in the
case of Live Nation, nearly 90 percent of sponsorships secured for 2023. We break down 27 of the
best ideas we saw this summer on pg. 16.
And speaking of festivals, you may have read that the decade's biggest dumpster fire, Fyre
Festival, is back in the news as organizer and convicted felon
Billy McFarland announced Fyre Festival II in the Caribbean
slated for 2024. The first round of tickets sold out, and he says
there are plans for " pop-ups and events across the world. " Now,
it's my turn: Is that real?
Enjoy the issue.
National Sales Director Alex Chung: achung@accessintel.com
203-899-8463
Sr. Production Manager Joann M. Fato: jfato@accessintel.com
Sr. Graphic Designer TJ Sydnor: tsydnor@accessintel.com
MARKETING & MEDIA GROUP
Divisional President Kerry Smith: ksmith@accessintel.com
Senior Vice President Dan Hanover: dhanover@accessintel.com
Marketing Director Lynne Schreur: lschreur@accessintel.com
Marketing Manager Emily Makadok: emakadok@accessintel.com
Operations Director Sarah Yeomans: syeomans@accessintel.com
Fulfillment Manager George Severine: gseverine@accessintel.com
ACCESS INTELLIGENCE
Chief Executive Officer Heather Farley
Chief Financial Officer John Sutton
Chief People Officer Macy L. Fecto
Senior Vice President-Event Operations Lori Jenks
Vice President-Production, Digital Media & Design Michael Kraus
Vice President-Finance Tina Garrity
Vice President, Corporate Controller Daniel J. Meyer
accessintel.com
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761 Main Avenue, 2nd Floor
Norwalk, CT 06851
Phone: 203-854-6730
Event Marketer [ISSN 1930-2266] is published 4 times a year in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter for marketers,
agencies and manufacturers involved in the event, sponsorship, mobile, trade show, production and field-marketing
arenas by Access Intelligence, 9211 Corporate Blvd., 4th Floor, Rockville, MD 20850-3245. Copyright 2023. All
rights reserved.
Subscriptions: www.eventmarketer.com/subscribe/. Content may not be reproduced without consent. Periodicals
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REPRINTS: To purchase reprints, e-prints or plaques, or to license content from this magazine, please contact
Wright's Media at 877-652-5295 or via email at accessintel@wrightsmedia.com.
LIST SALES: MeritDirect, contact Danielle Zaborski, 914-368-1090
Rachel Boucher
Head of Content
rboucher@accessintel.com
Our Agency Forum for agency leaders returns on
Nov. 2. Nearly two dozen speakers, from business
experts to clients to people officers and industry peers,
will take the stage as part of this interactive program.
Request your invitation:
eventmarketer.com/event/agency-forum-2023.
eventmarketer.com
Check out the latest episode of Event Peeps,
our podcast for creators of the brand experience,
featuring Jessica Blake, senior director-global
strategic events at Confluent. Episodes
are available on most podcast apps and
eventmarketer.com/event-peeps-podcast.
Look out for details on our LinkedIn Live
celebration of the 2023 Experience Design
& Technology Awards winners. We tapped
judges from AT&T, Google, Kohler, P&G and
more to review work across exhibits, tech,
fabrication and overall design.
FALL 2023 EVENT MARKETER
3

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