A recent article posted by Event Marketer, Road Blocks , details improvements on the status quo for live marketing tours. The article suggests that traditional, nationwide marketing tours are a thing of the past, giving way to smarter, more targeted tour options. I found this particularly interesting since I am currently on a nationwide marketing tour. The main takeaways are: As diesel prices hover around the $4.50 mark, unnecessary mileage becomes even more costly Maximizing staff, through less travel and more marketing - utilize down time to create more opportunities for connecting with consumers and focus deeper on fewer markets per tour Downsize your vehicles and ship materials/products rather than transporting them yourself These are all great tips for thinking progressively about event marketing tours. I believe in the power of experiential marketing, but our current economic state leaves no room for extraneous promotional spending. That's not to say investing money on market...