A few days ago I attended Gotham Gets Green, a marketing event highlighting sustainability and green efforts throughout the outdoor and snowsports industries. The event was beautifully executed by the veterans at Rendezvous Event Management and hosted high atop the Empire Hotel in midtown Manhattan. 

In a nutshell, over 70 journalists and media outlets throughout New York City RSVP'd to come check out the latest and greatest in eco-friendly products and initiatives from Teton Gravity Research and Grand Targhee Resort to Sole Sandals, Regen Living, Klean Kanteen, ReusableBags, Polartec and The North Face. Each company shared their own unique solutions from recycled fleeces and sandals made from cork, to short movies about climate change and leading ski resorts' thoughts on the importance of environmental stewardship.

As for myself, I was there with client Teton Gravity Research (TGR) and a recent short film they produced called "Generations." The short 15-min film discusses the consequences of a warming environment from the perspective of those who celebrate winter (namely skiers & snowboarders). Playing on a large screen television throughout the day and handing out free DVD's of the movie, TGR and their non-profit partner, POW (Protect Our Winters), found an authentic and personalized platform on which to share their story and brand ideals with a much larger and mainstream audience.

I say this, because measuring ROI on events is often a tricky endeavor... for the all the effort, planning, travel and participation expense that goes into a few-hour event that (unlike advertising) can't guarantee product placement. The view must be a long one, that seeks to build meaningful brand awareness and engagement over time, rather than expect immediate ROI. For many of these magazines, they won't start thinking about fall/winter placements for several months, and run the risk that our news, by then, will be old.

However, like most things in life, it is the relationships and personalized touch that event ROI should ultimately be judged. For each journalist that walked away with a memorable first impression from these brands, future opportunities will inevitably present themselves. And in the short term, online editors and bloggers are definitely making my job of explaining the benefits of events easier...

Online Placements Already Received:
(within the last four days)

Gadling.com (AOL blog — 620k/month)

The Alternative Consumer (blog — 30k/month)

BNet.com (website — 633k/month)

The Daily Green (website — 350k/month)