Bumping 2Pac, Matisyahu and Sublime from an inflatable stage, a youthful marketing team clad in matching black sunglasses and red shirts on Monday displayed the newest technologies aimed at the college demographic.
The TechKnowOverload tour, which uses the slogan “your life. only cooler.” visited the EMU Amphitheater to promote computer, communication, gaming and music technology for such corporations as Microsoft and Mitsubishi
Digital Electronics America Inc. Booths lining the edge of the amphitheater offered students the opportunity to play with tech goodies ranging from iPod plug-in stereo systems to video games and the latest in laptop computers.
The tour’s Web site says that the TKO tour doesn’t sell anything, but rather puts the products of participating companies directly into the hands of their target consumer base.
Technology representative Mike Rankin, who has worked on the tour for two-and-a-half years, said the tour “shows kids the new gadgets, but lets them play with it.”
Tour manager Jennifer Harrison said the group of 10 technology representatives is on a 15-school West Coast tour this spring. Harrison said the tour gives away a guitar, an Xbox 360, a Sirius Satellite Radio, an mp3 player and several more technologies donated by sponsor companies at every school the tour attends.
“Every sponsor gives us something for every school,” Harrison said.
Luck graced sophomore Sean Hynes as he won a wireless Bluetooth cellphone headset.
“It’s kind of a sweet deal,” Hynes said. “I would try it out if I had the money to buy a new phone, but I’m a poor college kid.”
“The Ultimate Dorm Room thing was pretty cool,” Hynes said.
The Ultimate Dorm Room, Harrison said, gives students the opportunity to win items valued at up to $10,000. Prizes include a big screen television, headphones, an Xbox 360, an mp3 player and a Gibson SG Standard guitar. Harrison said the tour chooses a winner from all the schools the tour visits, with roughly 300 entrants at each school.
One of the booths showcased a variety of Gibson guitars, allowing students to play using miniature amplifiers with a diverse array of effects.
Student guitarist Daniel Meyers said, “It was really cool. They play well.”
Meyers said he appreciated that the tour allowed him to sample products that he would often not be allowed to try in a store.
“I think it’s really cool that they let us touch the stuff,” Meyers said.
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