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How to transform your inauguration in an event

Posted on 25 Luglio 201710 Febbraio 2023 by Fedra

You spent time and money into the opening of an activity, you passed unscathed a jungle of bureaucratic demands, an odyssey of restructuring and supply contracts… And now you arrived at the inauguration day. The real work starts now.

In the first month of life, in fact, a new business forms the basis of his reputation: the choices made at this stage will affect the future of the whole enterprise.

The opening of your activity is not only a necessary step before you start to work seriously, it is a fundamental and irreplaceable element in the promotion of your business.

Here are five ideas to make it memorable.

The rules of good neighbourliness

Make sure that the opening will serve to reinforce the good neighbourly relations with residents and other merchants of your way.

If possible, transform everything into an event with music and drink in the street, but, if your location does not allow it, remember to personally invite other traders in the area and generally make sure that their businesses can benefit from the traffic generated from your inauguration.

Pictures or it did not happen

Invest in a good photographer. Of course, an Instagram filter can do wonders, but it can not compete with a professional photo shoot, which also remains visible long after the event on your website or on your Facebook page.

There’s no sandwiches tray photographed with the smartphone that can compete with a well post-produced photo of your guests enjoying the event with a good glass of white wine.

Special moments streaming

Until recently, the online streaming option was available only in front of substantial budget. Today, thanks to Periscope and other similar platforms, a smartphone connected to internet can provide to a real live session.

Focus on something that really captures the attention of your potential audience, such as music or entertainment gadgets as gifts (see point 4).

All customers are special

But those who are at the opening event are more, so prove it with a small gift to each one.

Put in your budget, among the promotional investments, a number of discount vouchers, gadgets or coupons, to give to your attendees.

This is the best way to capitalize on the enthusiasm of the event and start building a loyal customer base and a good reputation for your business.

The difference between the opening event and the school party…

… It’s all in the buffet. Forget all the garden tables, glasses and plastic bottles and sandwiches tray. Invest instead in a small but high-quality catering, presented with elegance, and in some decoration suited to the spirit of your business.

Tips for a successful event: DURING YOUR EVENT [Infographic]

Posted on 24 Luglio 201724 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

Make the most out of your corporate or client event with this checklist!

Here’s part 2:

Clients Don’t Buy What You Do. They Buy Why You Do It.

Posted on 24 Luglio 201725 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

Do you believe that events are the future? More importantly do your clients understand?

The importance of retaining a human connection externally with customers and clients and internally with staff and stakeholders, cannot be overstated. And successful connection is all about conversation, mutual understanding, and appreciation which all equals, you guessed it: Engagement.

So What Do We Mean By ‘Engagement’?

Engagement is about adding value, building trust, and driving commitment. In doing so, brands and business are able to move their audiences from passive indifference to active participation.

It’s about creating authentic and meaningful interactions between people and the products and services with whom they choose to spend their valuable time. It’s no surprise to learn that the deepest connections between audiences and brands are formed through a process that takes people from watching and thinking, to feeling and doing.

Active participation at a personal level with a brand is key to establishing value and a lasting bond. So we need to get personal, get real, and start an authentic dialogue.

Social Net Worth Over Social Networks

Engagement isn’t just about clicking on ads and responding to sales promotions.

Instead, we need to move away from social networking and focus on being social net worth kings – championing genuine, real connections and relationships with customers over just sticking something before them and asking them to care.

Reclaiming the people from the numbers, figures and follower counts. Because the human element that is missing from social media is experience. Real-life interaction and participation is comparable to none – and is the greatest marketing tool you could ever want or need.

That’s precisely what makes events so important. Events create the emotional energy behind the sale, the human experience element.

And no-one at all, including those in procurement, really choose a logical sales choice. They make emotional ones – buying ideas. People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it, and the only way to truly engage people with that why, is to offer them a direct, human experience of your brand in real life.

Events: Power to the People

Of course, there are still those who might think that the live experience is the soft option. But to do so is to miss the bigger picture. It’s only when we visit a live event that we start to understand what a brand feels like, and how it behaves.

Every touchpoint or element has been designed to represent the brand, allowing for rich, immersive and powerful engagement from start to finish. And it all begins with an understanding of the consumer’s world. Rather than telling audiences that we’re interested in the same things they are, we’re proving it – like I said, people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

Events build emotional energy which is the most important facet of human connection, which therefore creates engagement and ultimately generates sales and ensures growth.

Online, no real thought or effort has to go into communicating any more, and it’s the same with the way brands operate online. With an increase in the ease of communication, there’s a decrease in what it actually means – making the individual feel important.

In Conclusion

Humans are emotional beings and so the key to growth is generating an ethos and culture that is emotionally-driven that it allows consumers to become invested in why we do what we do. And that’s something that cannot be imitated, achieved only from real face-to-face human interaction.

And what better way to connect with people than a bit of a party, right? That’s why events will always be integral to the success of businesses, brands, and retaining the loyalty of those who believe in them.

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How wellness influences your business [Infographic]

Posted on 21 Luglio 201721 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

There are many ways to be at your best for an event.

If you can’t fix a gym session in your weekly schedule, here there are some tips you could use everyday.

In conclusion

The benefits of brief bouts of exercise during the workday go beyond physical fitness: you are improving your ability to absorb and retain information.

If you follow this few tips, your performances at work will get better.

How to Maximize Your Meeting Productivity with Food

Posted on 20 Luglio 201720 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

In general, here are the main food types to include in your plans when you want to have a productive day:

Fresh fruits

Fresh vegetables

Healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, grass-fed butter, almond butter, walnuts, macadamia nuts, etc.)

Proteins

Foods to Think Twice About Incorporating into Your Meetings

There are some things you should generally try to avoid when eating to have a productive day at work, including:

Gluten (like breads and pastas)
Fake sugars and excess sugar
Donuts, muffins, pastries, etc.

The Best Breakfast Foods for a Powerful Corporate Meeting

Eggs are great for building up your brain power. Incorporating grains is also good for longer bursts of energy, so oatmeal would also be a nice, energetic choice.

The Best Lunch Foods for a Powerful Corporate Meeting

Serve plenty of healthy proteins—chicken being one of the best. If you have vegetarians to serve as well, beans are a great substitute for meat-based protein.

Also always serve salad and vegetables and incorporate healthy fats somewhere in your meal—remember, those can include avocado, olive oil, many types of nuts (almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts…) and a ton more.

The Best All-Day Meeting Snacks and Foods

When you have long days full of meetings, conferences and workshops, getting a really healthy, powerful meal is important. However, what you serve as snacks in between meals is just as crucial to maintaining the energy required for a productive day.

Some snacks for your next meeting could be:

Almonds
Vegetable plates
Hummus
Fruit trays
Dark chocolate

These are packed with good energy to boost brain power.

Other Tips for Productive Meetings

Eating the right food plays a vital part in determining how you will feel each day. There are other factors, though, that are important to consider when planning for such a long day of meetings and conferences.

Consider the environment. Dark conferences rooms and areas with no natural light will suck energy out of a room and don’t allow for optimal productivity. If you simply have to use a space that is poorly lit, do what you can to lighten it up, such as displaying golden flowers, adding light-colored décor and linens, providing a clean and elegant food table setup, etc. The little touches will make the biggest differences.
Take breaks. At the very least, you group needs to take a break every 90-120 minutes. 10 minutes is an optimal amount of break time.
Do something with music. Especially during your breaks, you will find that the music will uplift and reenergize the meeting attendees. Even just half a song will be enough to stir the room.

How to be productive using the Pomodoro Technique [infographic]

Posted on 18 Luglio 201718 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

For many people, time is an enemy. We race against the clock to finish assignments and meet deadlines.

The Pomodoro Technique teaches you to work with time, instead of struggling against it.

A revolutionary time management system, it is at once deceptively simple to learn and life-changing to use.

Here is what makes it so unique:

www.pomodorotechnique.com

How to be a PERFECT Event Planner!

Posted on 17 Luglio 201717 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

Stay Flexible

As any good event planner knows, there’s never an event where everything goes 100% smoothly. And, if it seems like it does, that’s a great feeling for the planner, but secretly they may know a few areas that are in need of improvement. To ensure success in this area, try being more adaptable to ideas and new situations that come up. If in the past you were more in control of what happened in every single detail of an event, try to loosen up a bit and actually listen to feedback and suggestions. There may be a few golden nuggets in that feedback that could improve your events, and even your planning skills! It’s important to stay open-minded as an event planner – you never know when a disaster can strike, and you may need a plan B or C lined up that you couldn’t think of yourself!

Shine

Another area to be successful is to step up your creativity. Most event planners are creative by nature, but deep down we tend to hit a wall from time to time, and need boosts of inspiration to get us back on track! Remember to stay on top of trends, review other events in the industry, listen to attendees and vendors, and then see what worked for you in the past. If you were successful with networking outings, maybe tweak those to become an online meet-up, or smaller in-person meet-ups. Take the feedback given to you after each event, and see in what areas people may want more. This could be anything from different giveaways, session names, event themes, or even taking the food up a notch!

Be Nice

There’s one quality in a successful event planner that everyone notices right away – that’s customer service. Nice event planners are the most successful, and the most popular. Taking that extra step, and going that extra mile for not only event attendees, but also your extended staff, vendors you work with, and speakers is a nice touch. If you think you have slacked in this area, come up with ways to collaborate and check-in more with these folks.

Remember, everyone talks to each other, so the last thing you want as an event planner are clients who were not happy with the way things were handled for them. Always listen, communicate, and have answers in your back pocket to provide.

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Tips on working with an event photographer

Posted on 18 Gennaio 201718 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

An investment in great photos just keeps on giving.

Photography that successfully tells the story—and captures the emotions of an event—pays dividends for years on end, in everything from printed collateral to social media to future promotions and presentations.

But good images come from more than just a photographer’s artistic eye, technical skill, and instinct for human behavior. Good images require preparation as well.

These eight tips will help you get the best results from your event photographer.

Find the right fit

After you’ve studied a photographer’s portfolio and like the style, it’s time to see if you “mesh.” Even the most casual conversation can give you a feel for whether he or she can become a good, if temporary, extension of your team.

There is real value in hiring someone you and your attendees will feel comfortable with— and the results will show in the end product.

A good event photographer needs to be a good listener, assertive enough to ask good questions and seek out great moments, friendly enough to coax genuine smiles, and calm and confident enough to be a positive force in a group of people.

Spell out your needs

Every event is unique, and stating your specific needs up front will yield the best results. Discuss the intent and purpose of the images. Photographers, being visual animals, often like to imagine the “story” of your event, how it unfolds in print, a Facebook gallery, or a YouTube video of still images. A good photographer can discuss all the options and their requisite needs.

If the primary use will be Web and video, the photographer will want to shoot mostly horizontal content. But if your particular print materials require lots of vertical images, let him or her know. Are there specific shots you really need? Want? Want to avoid? Make a list.

Plan ahead for overlap

You can’t expect your photographer to be in two places at once. If you need a press wall or head shots at the same time you need coverage of a breakout session, tell the photographer well ahead of time. He or she can likely bring in help for those few hours.

Relying on your chosen photographer to assemble the team will yield better results than if you bring in an unknown quantity. After all, this person must be willing to work in concert with the lead photographer, and to take direction on where to be, when to be there, and what to shoot.

With the exception of using a videographer or second shooter for overlapping events, stick to one lead photographer. Dueling photographers scrapping it out for prime position at key moments won’t produce good results.

Show your support

Once onsite, give the photographer a walk-through of the event locations, following the agenda. Point out any changes to the agenda and offer an initial (even if brief) introduction to the CEO, VIPs, and speakers. It will give the photographer a sense of their personalities, body languages, and gestures.

In fact, an introduction promotes a more comfortable shooting experience for both sides. Onstage, for instance, the speaker will see the photographer not as some stranger buzzing about with a camera, but as a friendly face and part of the team.

The 3 New Rules of Event Technology

Posted on 16 Gennaio 201718 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

During the first era of event tech innovation – the late 1990s and early 2000s – the events industry saw massive improvements in specialized, computer-based software for event management/planning and hotel/venue management. During this era, we also saw the first online event software applications for things like event registration/ticketing and event marketing.

So what makes this new era in event technology innovation so different? And why should you care?

Here are 5 critical things you should to keep in mind as you evaluate event tech tools.

Simplicity and easy-of-use

Big benefits – Shorter learning curves; faster adaption of technology by all team members
Potential drawbacks – None, really

Now, event pros simply don’t have time to read manuals and spend hours and hours in training sessions to learn how to use software applications. We are used to the ease and simplicity of smartphone apps. We are accustomed to user interfaces that are intuitive and self-explanatory (thanks to Apple). And we want to put new event technologies into practice immediately so we can start seeing the benefits now.

(Almost) everything is online

Big benefits – Automatic software updates; no software installation or maintenance on your computer/server; automated data backups
Potential drawbacks – Limited or no access to data if you aren’t connected to the Internet

With online software you may not be able to access your data if you aren’t connected to the Internet; however, high-speed access is better and more ubiquitous than ever. And, yes, if your data is in the cloud, there is always the possibility of it being compromised by a hacking attack.

But you have the same risk with your data installed on your Internet-connected computer. So all these things pretty much cancel each other out.

Data and software access across all devices

Big benefits – Anywhere, anytime data access; data portability
Potential drawbacks – Screen size limitations on smartphones; limited functionality for certain applications

10 years ago, smart phones were still glamorized cell phones. 5 years ago, smart phones and tablets gave us cool apps and games plus mostly reliable on-the-go Internet. Today, smart phones and tablets give us anytime access to lots of data wherever we are.

Event software companies are taking two paths when it comes to making their applications and data available on tablets and smartphones:

Native app versions of their software for Apple and Android devices; or
Mobile Web browser versions of their software that you can access through the Web browser on your smartphone/tablet.

And both options are viable because of the advances in mobile Web browsers to load and display data.

What trends are you seeing in event technology and event management software? Provide your feedback in the comments below.

How to prepare for these 4 common speaker hiccups

Posted on 13 Gennaio 201718 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

No matter how ready you think you are, rest assured at your next meeting or conference, there will be a few blips along the way. Here are four common speaker-related challenges that can pop up just when you think it’s smooth sailing—and here’s how to be ready for them:

The presentation pitfall

Yes, sometimes, laptops fail, and it is a heart-stopping moment for all, particularly the A/V guy. Obviously rehearsals help curtail problems, but when speakers are especially high-level, often they can’t spare the time. For those guests, it’s best to have their presentations loaded onto two laptops (at least), cued up and ready to go in the A/V booth so an almost seamless switch can be made should a major issue arise.

The see-you-later speaker

You’ve allotted 45 minutes for the conference’s opening speaker to share her wisdom. Unexpectedly, she wraps her speech up in 20 (including Q & A) and is off to her next command performance. Great for her schedule, but not so great for yours. How to manage a workaround?

To start, expect big names, especially those who are speaking gratis, to be on the brief side. Not ideal, but it does happen more than we’d like to admit, so don’t be taken by surprise.

When building the conference schedule, try putting in a coffee break immediately following the opening speaker so whether they go long or short, it won’t mess up the rest of the day’s schedule. Also let your banquet manager know they may need to be flexible on the break’s start time, should the opening session let out earlier than planned.

The forgetful speaker

It always amusing to see what speakers will forget to bring along for their conference sessions—things like laptops, handouts, their actual presentations (!) and any number of items directly related to why they’ve been invited to speak in the first place.

How to prepare? Start by remaining calm, especially when the speaker is on the verge of a meltdown, and:

Have extra, backup laptops on-site and immediately available, preferably PC and Mac
Make sure you’ve boosted the storage capacity of your Dropbox account so you can quickly deal with large file shares (PowerPoint presentations can be enormous, you know).
Spare thumb drives to swap files when Wi-Fi is dicey
Fast access to a printer for the handouts the assistant forgot to send, FedEx didn’t deliver, or their dog ate. Ideally, a printer in the conference workroom is best, particularly when the hotel’s business center is an eight-ballroom sprint away.

The clumsy keynote

A dollop of marinara sauce or cup of coffee spilled on the speaker’s white shirt moments before taking the stage is the stuff of nightmares – and they happen all the time.

Here are the basics of how to get a stain out, or at least tamp it down ‘til they can get to the dry cleaners:

Blot, don’t scrub – scrubbing damages fabric fibers and drives the stain further in
Put hot water on grease stains – to help dissolve it
Put cold water on a wet stain – or any spot that contains water (like fruit juice)
Lighten up on club soda – no need to hose guests down with club soda – it’s not a miracle cure – water is almost as effective, so no need to break out the Perrier.