Attendance and Spirits Down at Vegas Gathering: The International Council of Shopping Centers’ Global Retail Real Estate Convention returned to Las Vegas last week for its annual three-day run, only this year attendance was down a whopping 50 percent, a far cry from the record-breaking crowd of 50,000 last year. Booths were empty, temperatures were sweltering, and spirits of those who did make it out suffered due to the lack of parties. One broker interviewed even said he could hear the buzzing of fluorescent lights on the still convention center floor. [NYO]
Burberry Kicks Off U.S. Push With Party: British clothier Burberry officially launches its New York headquarters tomorrow with a marketing push that includes the lighting of a 50-foot-long Burberry logo on its new Madison Avenue office and a celebrity-filled party for 300 at the neighboring Palace Hotel. Burberry hopes the stunts, new office, and plans for expanded retail presence will help it crack the North American market. [WWD]
Tinker Can Help With Twitter: Tinker, a new Twitter aggregate aimed at marketers and event professionals, is getting play for its ability to sift through the din of Twitter posts and compile them in one place. By creating an “event” that follows any conference, brand, name, or phrase, users can track the conversation around any topic of interested. Tech critics are praising it as PR-friendly way for companies to play with social media marketing. [Practical eCommerce]
Speakers Agency Aims to Increase Clients' R.O.I.: To keep meeting planners interested in hiring speakers to appear at their events, Nashville-based the Speakers Group has introduced a way to help potential clients guarantee a return on investment. All of the speakers on the company’s roster are now required to do pre-event research on the client and audience, deliver a customized (i.e. non-recycled) presentation, and offer multiple ways to deliver content after the event. [Successful Meetings]
Unemployment Boosts Monster.com Events: The recession has certainly been a boom to one type of event: job fairs. Monster.com’s current traveling career fair, Keep America Working, will hit 140 stops across the United States during 2009. A trial run of the event hit Boston earlier this year, and saw 852 employers greeted with a line of more than 28,000 job applicants. [Business Wire]
