Progressives first foray into the event marketing world met with success in all three of its target markets (New York, Miami and LA) as the company held auditions for a walk on role in the next progressive ad-spot.

Guests of the experience were invited to play Flo (The face of progressive) inspired games and lounge in relaxed progressive themed spaces, before auditioning with the commercial star herself.

EventPro Strategies provided Brand Ambassadors to convey Progressives ideals, direct auditioners and ensure that everyone enjoyed themselves fully.

To learn more about the event, click here.

After an incredible 2009, in which EPS innovated more than ever before, placed more talent in more cities than any year prior and as always, EPS worked with over 130 truly stellar clients.

To become the world dominating leader in our event staffing, EventPro Strategies used the last part of 2009 to hire a rockstar leadership team to help us grow further and faster through 2010 and onward. With the leadership at EventPro Strategies and every other superstar team member we have on board, EPS expects to meet and exceed each of our goals and drive the company to unprecedented success!

EventPro Strategies vision for growth means not only growing our already huge existing Talent pool but reaching out, engaging and showing our appreciation to our field talent in bigger ways than ever before. For our Clients, this means providing them with an ever increasing, high quality Talent pool, ROI measurement, exceptional project management and even more added value, so that they can continue to execute and measure their events flawlessly with EventPro Strategies.

Moving into 2010 means not only seeing EPS reach out to our Clients and Talent more than ever before, but seeing EPS in more and more places globally. With the New Year comes further growth in Canada (Through EventPro Strategies [Canada] Inc.) and several other international markets, allowing global brands to reach global consumers all while working with a name they know they can trust in the Experiential Marketing field – EventPro Strategies.

EventPro Strategies (EPS), celebrated its’ 10 year anniversary as the leader in experiential marketing staffing and execution throughout the US & Canada on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

The EventPro Strategies Team would like to take this opportunity to say “THANK-YOU”, to you, our Client’s and Field Managers / Talent / Brand Ambassadors, who continue to push us to the next level! EPS is inspired by the creativity and innovation of our Clients, as well as the outstanding energy of our Talent, and we feel privileged to partner with such an extraordinary and talented group of people year after year, executing exceptional events together.

EventPro Strategies is consistently on the cutting edge of the experiential marketing staffing industry, providing our Client’s and Talent with the newest & most innovative technology solutions, value, and premium services that you have come to expect from EPS! We couldn’t do it without you!

“Thank you for an amazing 10 years! We look forward to many more years of partnership, innovation, success, and to continuing to do what hasn’t been done before !“ – Jessica Browder Stackpoole, Founder & CEO

By Roger Yu, USA TODAY

PHOTO: Passenger Emmaline Allwood learns about Aircell's in-flight broadband service Gogo from Jared Karns in JFK Airport's American Airlines terminal.

Monday, Virgin America plans to become the latest airline to offer in-flight Wi-Fi Internet, a service with a problematic past that still promises far-ranging flexibility in entertainment.

The San Francisco-based carrier has scheduled the service for one Airbus A320 aircraft, joining American Airlines as the only carriers in the world to offer full Internet access.

Dubbed Gogo, the service lets passengers browse the Web, use e-mail and instant messaging, download video and connect to secure networks through three wireless access points on the plane. Voice calls over the Internet are not allowed. The cost is $9.95 to $12.95 a flight, depending on route length.

If Virgin America's test flight is deemed successful after about a week of flying, the airline will expand the service to 24 other planes in its fleet by mid-2009.

With two carriers offering the service commercially, in-flight Internet is making a serious comeback after a two-year period of dormancy.

The previous generation of in-flight Wi-Fi, operated by Connexion by Boeing, was shut off at the end of 2006. Its satellite-based system proved to be too expensive for domestic carriers, and Connexion couldn't find enough passenger demand for the $30-a-flight service.

Still, customers and airlines' interest in affordable in-flight Wi-Fi persisted, leading to several technology companies vying for the business. Working with its entertainment subsidiary, LiveTV, JetBlue introduced a text message/e-mail service last year on one aircraft as a trial.

In June, Chicago-based Aircell began offering its Gogo Internet service on 15 of American Airlines' Boeing 767 aircraft. LiveTV and Aircell rely on existing cell towers to beam transmissions. While this "air-to-ground" technology is less expensive for airlines to install, it limits access to flying over land.

"The speed was comparable to my home DSL," says frequent traveler David Ralph, music director of Webster Hall in New York who recently tried American's Internet.

"You can put a little instant-messaging icon that says you're (flying). My friend in Belgrade got back to me and thought it was amazing. It's definitely a step in the right direction."

Among other carriers that have revealed their Wi-Fi plans:

•Air Canada says it will offer Gogo starting in spring on several Airbus A319s that fly to the USA, with plans to expand it to the rest of the fleet later. Aircell plans to build cell towers in Canada so that Canadian airlines will be able to provide Wi-Fi on domestic flights.

•Alaska Airlines plans to test a satellite-based system on a Boeing 737 plane in 2009. Operated by California-based Row 44, the carrier plans to expand it to the rest of its fleet if the test is successful. The airline prefers a satellite system because many of its flights fly over water.

•Southwest Airlines has also signed with Row 44 and will test it in four aircraft early next year, spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger says.

•Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton says Delta will introduce GoGo in two aircraft by the end of the year. The airline expects to have more than 330 aircraft complete by summer 2009. It plans to extend it to its Northwest subsidiary, as well.

•Continental Airlines plans to introduce an e-mail and instant-messaging service operated by LiveTV in the summer.

US Airways and United say they're evaluating various vendors and didn't reveal more details.