bluechip industry bulletin

In this week's selection, experience becomes both a stage and a measuring tool. On tour, Torani turned an old telephone handset into a flavour survey, ZippyPaws asked six questions at its trade show stand before handing out a toy, and a veterinary show gathered career data from twelve thousand attendees through AI-generated pet portraits. Skift points to the other side of the coin: attendees who discover an event through a chatbot and build their schedule with artificial intelligence arrive in the room with digital habits. Locally, the Felis Awards shortlists have been announced; the winners will be revealed as part of Brand Week Istanbul.

this week's highlight

BIZBASH

A Night Market Bringing Myeongdong to SoHo

For "KPop Demon Hunters", Netflix and Walmart set up a night market called "HUNTR/X Night Market" at 45Grand in SoHo on 10–11 October. Tanya Isler, Netflix's director of consumer products, says the concept was inspired by the lively markets of Seoul's Myeongdong district; the stall format made it easier to gather different partner products and photo moments on a single stage. Mattel's bag charm workshop, Colgate's neon photo booth and Nongshim's noodle stall with film-exclusive packaging sit side by side; the space also has a prize arcade, a plush wall and posing lessons. CNC Agency produced it. A well-built partnership bringing a licensed property's retail shelf and fan experience together in one venue.

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industry & brand activation

BIZBASH

Building a Curriculum Instead of Handing Out Samples

SheaMoisture took its "Sheaversity on the Yard" tour, run with Walmart, to five historically Black college campuses. Rather than sampling, the programme is built like a curriculum: four learning tracks — Scalp Studies, Moisture 101, Art of Definition and Science of Strength — combined with one-to-one consultations with celebrity hairstylist Justin Revenge. The branded mobile unit houses a styling suite, a product library and a marketplace featuring local entrepreneurs; a council of twenty-five students steers the programme from the inside. Experiential marketing director Brianna Wright defines success in a single sentence: when students become the advocates and storytellers of the experience.

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EVENT MARKETER

Hiding the Survey Inside the Experience

Event Marketer gathers five projects that turn data collection into part of the show. On tour, Torani set up a nostalgic telephone handset and visitors reported their favourite flavour "on the line"; at SuperZoo, ZippyPaws placed a six-question survey before handing out a plush burger; at Groceryshop, people waiting in the boba queue gave event feedback with a single tap. A veterinary show, meanwhile, produced twelve thousand AI-generated pet portraits and reached more than twenty-five thousand attendees.

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BIZBASH

Twelve Halloween Projects

BizBash has gathered the twelve best-designed horror projects of the season. After a three-year break, Warner Bros. and Fever rebuilt "Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience" in a 960-acre state park in New York; visitors entering on timed tickets try a Patronus with their wand along the trail. Disney+ and Hulu, produced by Mirrored Media, turned the Los Angeles Equestrian Center into a festival shifting from day to night: a creature's hand either scares or treats the guest reaching into a Mars-branded cauldron, and the moment is captured on the spot; more than thirteen hundred people took part in the two experiences. HI-CHEW, with Lime Media, turned a twenty-two-metre bus into a travelling haunted house touring five cities. The nineties video rental store opened in Manhattan by Angry Orchard and Scream for the film's thirtieth anniversary is also on the list.

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creative technology & what's next

SKIFT MEETINGS

Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Both Demand and Expectations

The paradox the piece puts forward is this: artificial intelligence may increase demand for events by growing people's need for face-to-face contact, but attendees prepared with that same artificial intelligence arrive in the room with digital habits, and real connection becomes harder. Michael Massari, sales director at Caesars Entertainment, says artificial intelligence will make in-person gatherings even more important. According to Freeman research, 20 per cent of prospective attendees discover events through artificial intelligence, and 53 per cent of them change their session choices based on the model's recommendation. BambooHR data shows the average employee spends around 87 minutes a day talking to artificial intelligence. Sociologist Sherry Turkle's warning is sharper: people are starting to be disappointed by humans who don't behave like chatbots.

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strategy & ideas

SKIFT MEETINGS

Budgets Grow, Programmes Shrink

According to American Express Global Business Travel's 2027 meetings and events forecast, 91 per cent of respondents expect total spend to rise; the same share say cost per attendee will increase at product launches. The increase mostly covers rising costs rather than more lavish events: 35 per cent are changing destination, and 33 per cent are reducing attendee numbers or moving to a smaller venue. The share changing destination because of geopolitical instability is 39 per cent. Amex GBT's Tammy Morgan says they are researching second-tier cities more than before and puts the real question on the table: how do you build programmes that can change course? Risk management is practised by 79 per cent, but only 25 per cent have written it into formal policy.

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EVENT INDUSTRY NEWS

An Agency's Growth Line over Twenty Years

Founded in 2006 as In2Events, asembl. marks its twentieth year by recounting its turning points: specialising in technology events after the 2008 crisis and the Icelandic ash cloud, turning post-Brexit cross-border logistics capability into LogisKIT, and the 2020 decision to merge its agency brands rather than shrink. Today it has 37,000 square metres of warehouse space, more than forty full-time staff, 650 projects a year and work in over twenty countries; average revenue growth over five years is 22 per cent. Founder Gavin Farley's summary is clear: twenty years have not changed the fact that this is a business of human experience.

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local agenda

MEDIACAT

Felis Shortlists Announced

In the twenty-first year of the Felis Awards, category shortlists are being published in turn; the Integrated, Film, Media and Digital & Mobile lists were announced on 23 October. Integrated Felis judges campaigns using at least three of outdoor, print, digital, television, radio and cinema together; the category was reviewed by a 22-member jury chaired by Berkant Avcı, founder of Hunt: Independent Strategy House. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Haliç Congress Centre as part of Brand Week Istanbul. A good starting point for anyone wanting to see the year's creative work in Türkiye in a single list.

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tourism & MICE

TURİZM GÜNLÜĞÜ

A Calendar of Sixteen Fairs in Fourteen Countries

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and TGA have announced the trade fair calendar Türkiye will attend in 2027: sixteen international fairs in fourteen countries. The calendar opens with FITUR in Madrid on 20–24 January, continues with ITB Berlin in March and, on the MICE side, covers IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX America and IBTM World on 16–18 November. Applications are taken through fuar.tga.gov.tr; tour operators, agencies, accommodation businesses and airlines are named as priority participants. One important detail: applying does not guarantee a stand or table allocation, and companies that leave their allocated stand empty or leave the fair early cannot take part in the next one.

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TURİZM GÜNLÜĞÜ

An Award for a EuroLeague Game Moved to Antalya

The project in which Anadolu Efes and Corendon took a EuroLeague game to Antalya for the first time won in the Event Management category at TÜHİD's 24th Golden Compass Türkiye Public Relations Awards. For the game in which Anadolu Efes hosted Bayern Munich, the venue was brought up to EuroLeague standards over roughly six months of preparation. Tickets sold out within twenty hours of going on sale, more than ten thousand spectators watched the game and social media reach passed 29 million; fan events and a 3x3 tournament spread the occasion across the city.

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