Happy Monday everyone! We hope you had a great weekend.

As always we are helping ease you back into the working week with a round-up of last week’s main event industry news, including any interesting stories and insights that can help you improve yourself, your company, or your events.

Enjoy!

EVENT NEWS

Toys ‘R’ Us To Hold Christmas Shopping Events For Families Affected By Autism [Huffington Post]

Here’s a great example of how a company has thought about a segment of its customers, and found a way to cater for their needs. These events allow those that wouldn’t normally be able to enjoy the experience, to finally get a chance to.

There is a great lesson to be learned by event organisers here; what could you do to improve your event to make it more accessible or enjoyable for a select group of people?

Pokémon Go Halloween: can a spooky ‘event’ tempt people back to catch ’em all? [Guardian]

With numbers diminishing, Pokemon Go announced a special ‘Halloween event’, with the intention of getting those that previously played the game, to start playing again. Pay attention here event organisers, as this could spark some ideas of how you can bring back attendees that no longer attend your events.

We look forward to seeing the figures after the ‘event’ finishes tomorrow (1st Nov).

MARKETING

Why You Need to Think About Eye Tracking [Convince and Convert]

This is a very interesting read, not just about eye tracking, but about the way articles are structured and how changing the format of your sentences on a page could help keep a potential customer engaged enough to keep reading.

Cause marketing: Examples from Uber, Starbucks & JetBlue [Econsultancy]

Cause marketing is no new marketing strategy, but there seems to be a reemergence in its popularity. Check out this post to see how some of the big companies are using cause marketing, and maybe pick up an idea or two.

TECHNOLOGY

Abba could leverage virtual reality tech to tour without touring [The Drum]

Here is a band that has stated time and time again they would not reform, and here we see how a piece of technology is helping them ‘get back together’ and tour without reforming. Using VR technology Abba would be able reach a new generation of fans, allowing them to see, hear, and feel Abba in a way previously unimagined.

Google buys crazy eye-tracking VR tech [CNET]

Eyefluence wants to change the way we interact with VR and AR headsets. It uses eye scanning and tracking technology to let you use your eyes as a control method, rather than a control pad or similar. It’s the type of technology that lets you buy things on Amazon with a flick of the iris.

It may be no coincidence that Google has bought into this tech either, as the company is rumoured to be working on a wireless VR headset that works by following your gaze.

PRODUCTIVITY

10 Unusual but Effective Ways to Relax Before An Event [Eventbrite Blog]

You’ve got that big event coming up, it’s constantly on your mind, stopping you from getting that much needed rest you’re so desperate for. Lucky for you we’ve done some research and come up with 10 unusual but effective ways to relax before an event.

AND IN OTHER NEWS…

Burger King trolls McDonald’s with a classic Halloween prank [Mashable]

What better time to install some good ol’ fashioned rivalry than Halloween. A Burger King branch used this occasion to dress up as a McDonald’s restaurant, which of course went viral, and gave Burger King a lot of kudos.