eBay Live! Turns Five
It might seem like a paradox that one of the world's premier Internet innovators dedicates extraordinary care to bringing its community together every year in the most old-fashioned medium around: face-to-face.
But for eBay, which has revolutionized our ability to buy, sell and become entrepreneurs (and millionaires) online, its annual eBay Live! conference is an irreplaceable platform to educate, motivate and inspire thousands of eBay community members. Since the first eBay Live! in 2002, a growing number of eBay buyers and sellers have flocked to the event. Thousands of virtual community members come every year, hungry for the opportunity to meet eBay executives, employees and other members, eager to swap stories from the field while learning new ways to grow their eBay business and full of passion for the eBay brand.
If you want to get a whiff of the excitement eBay Live! generates, just check out the eBay Live! 2007 event blog.
Jack Morton Worldwide worked with eBay to create this year's eBay Live!, held June 14 to June 16 in Boston, the first time the conference was handled by a single agency in the event's five-year history. (Signaling eBay's commitment to optimizing its experiential marketing program, Jack Morton became its exclusive event partner earlier this year.)
As eBay's event partner, Jack Morton's responsibilities—beyond ensuring that the large and complex event went off without a hitch—included eBay Live! messaging and content, sponsorship and exhibitor sales, over 100 education sessions, event design and management including on-site exhibits and retail, entertainment, guest speakers, registration and logistics. Jack Morton also helped roll out six advancement levels for seminars, activities, computer lab sessions and roundtables, so that everyone from long-time sellers to newbies found the information to fit their needs.
To complement the smaller, more focused workshops, eBay scheduled several opportunities for PowerSellers to come together in their PowerSellers Lounge. Each morning, they woke up for "power breakfasts" where they could network with other PowerSellers, eBay employees and executives. All attendees were welcome to hear speakers such as keynote eBay CEO Meg Whitman and guests Suze Orman, Andy Sernovitz, Seth Godin and John Gardner. And on day three, everyone took part in the Town Hall meeting.
eBay Live! is a prime example of how an online brand can leverage the power of an in-person experience to enhance a virtual community. Check it out for yourself: the next eBay Live! is set for 19-21 June 2008 in Chicago.
JACK360° ©2008, Jack Morton Worldwide
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