What to Look for In an Event Company

Hiring the right event company to produce your special event can make the difference between hosting an event that is organized and well received from one that is unprofessional and a dismal failure. A professional event company can prove an invaluable asset in helping to produce a special event such as a conference, trade show, new product launch, workshop or employee training session so that everything goes smoothly and event attendees get the maximum benefit out of the program. There is a checklist of things to consider when hiring the right company to produce or manage your special event.

First, look for a company that has solid experience in producing and organizing the type of event you want to offer. Some companies can handle a wide range of events, while others specialize in producing specific types of events. During an initial meeting with the company, be sure to have a clear outline of your budget, timeframe and needs so that the company will know the parameters of what they have to work with in order to match your needs without exceeding the amount of money and resources you have dedicated to producing the special event.

Ask the company for references and then follow up with these to find out other people's experience in using their services to produce a special event similar to the one you are planning. If you are planning a special event at a remote location rather than on your own home turf, it can be wise to choose an event management company based in that location because they know the local area and how its resources can best suit your event.

Find out whom from the event planning company will be assigned to your account and if there are several staff members who will be involved in coordinating your event. Determine if the company will have one of their member's onsite the day of the event to handle any troubleshooting and to oversee every that every detail of the event goes as planned and as expected. Be wary of companies comprised of only one individual who might easily be overwhelmed handling every detail, as well as companies that use contractors in managing client events because these individuals may not be as reliable as company employees.

Be certain to cover every detail with the event planning company you hire, from food and beverage service to lighting, entertainment, and registration and parking so there will be no unpleasant surprises the day of the event. Get everything in writing when you contract with a company to manage your event so there is no misunderstandings and that all of your expectations are met.

Church Event Management Solutions

Managing the attendees and the church campaigns at the same time becomes too challenging for an event organizer. However, you can now solve your problems with comprehensive Church event management solutions. It automates your entire back-office procedures without any headache.

Now, you can get rid of prolonged paper-based registration process for your faith-based events with innovative Church event management solution. There are various event management solutions that will work for sure success of your church events. They not only increase the number of attendees at your events, but also reduce your workload significantly. The wide range of these solutions simplifies the event registration process by increasing efficiency in fundraising and maximizing the donations through payment gateway online.

Right from member registration to the collection of donation and tithes, Church event management solutions have all covered. Here is a glimpse of a few advantages you can get while availing these services:
Event Registration within Seconds

Online registration now eliminates the hassle of filling up a long registration form manually. Its hassle-free nature helps to attract higher number of target audience. Even if you do not have any technical expertise, you can manage and accomplish the registration process by making the best use of the church event management solution. Unlike traditional paper-based process (where you have to look through heaps of documents to get a single information), it reduces your workload and enables your attendees to collect necessary information about campaigns, trips, fundraisers, and many others by a single click of your mouse.

Online Payment Gateway to Collect Payments and Donations

Online payment management now helps to do away with the pain of waiting for hours in those long queues to make payments and donations. Accepting payments through such online modes is safe and alleviates the concerns of cash handling manually. Apart from processing all major credit cards, PayPal, checks, and purchase orders, such online payment management can offer real-time authorization on acceptance of payments.

Built-in Calendar and Email Tool Ensures Quick and Easy Communication

With built-in calendar, your members can stay abreast of different events organized by your church, such as daily devotional, youth camps, fundraising events, and many others. Now, you do not need to create big posters for publicizing your church events. This tool allows you to make a comprehensive promotion of the events such as congregation and prayers through social networking sites, namely Facebook, Twitter, and others, by a single click of the mouse. The innovative email tool facilitates easy communication with the members and enables you to send RSVPs and email reminders to the users regularly.

Share What's on Your Mind at Private Community

Automated church event management software available today can offer your members the utmost freedom to share their views through private community. Apart from connecting people at far-off places, it allows the event volunteers to keep in touch with the attendees and respond to their queries, when required.

Member Management with Automated Database

Automated database enables proper management of the members and attendees, thus lowering the risk of any mistake. Now you can access your automated database for any information regarding the members and attendees to the faith-based events such as congregation, prayers in synagogues and so on. Apart from tracking the contact information of each member, the database can also provide data about the payments, tithes, and other transactions accomplished by all the members.

So what are you waiting for? Give the competitive Church event management solution a try today.

Corporate Entertainer - Motivate, Educate and Boost Your Employees

Corporate entertainment can play the role of uplifting the working atmosphere to enhance the performance of a company's bottom line to march towards greater success. A typical comedian gives the picture of the usual television performers who give humorous speeches. But corporate entertainers are more specialized compared to normal funny speakers. They offer the cleaner speeches yet at the same time they appear to be hilarious as well. In their talks they would include appropriate facts that blend into the corporate workplace. They usually go for training before becoming potential speakers to give the entertaining approach towards employees to help them in their working productivity.

Corporate entertainers perform in numerous events; conventions, seminars, interactive sessions or motivational talks. Some may organize their entertainment program in the form of a party. As they are specially tailored for corporate entertainment purposes, they should first understand the business world beforehand. Most talented comedians started giving corporate speeches as well. They provide witty and amusing jokes to entertain employees. A successful performer never fails to gain attention of the audiences.

Most of the entertainers will first have an in-depth understanding about your company before they draft out their speeches. This is to ensure they deliver the right goods in relevance to your company's business mission. Their talks are not only designed to entertain and create a stress-free environment for employees, they are meant to motivate as well. Your employees will have the chance to learn about the new strategies in sales or productivity besides being able to enjoy the humor.

Corporate entertainment is a great idea to enhance a company's business, especially during low economical times. This acts as a reminder that despite the hard moments and heavy workload, it is still alright to enjoy themselves. Perhaps with the implementation of such events, a company's business will improve. The act of a corporate organization to carry out these programs will make the employees be more committed into their jobs and feel being appreciated.

What Is Hotdesking?

The new age professionals are fully equipped with the gadgets like laptops, Blackberry and mobile phones. With all the gadgetry they are in a position to setup the office just anywhere. The employees who telecommute are well versed with the problems they face especially in terms of the technology. The employees who work from home are disturbed by many things while they are working, the things like attending to children, domestic chores, or just not willing to work can lead to a big time decrease in the productivity of the employees.

Hotdesking is the answer to all those problems. Hotdesking is the way in which the employees are encouraged to share their workspaces and other office equipment on "as-required" basis. The small business can invest onetime money on the technology and mobile office equipment instead of the traditional office equipment and they can be rest assured about the benefits and the profits. With the advancement of the technology telecommuting is become very easy. The employees can work from home and they can login to the company's secure network within minutes. This setup ensures that there is lot of space created within the office so that the employees can reserve the space according to their need. The concept of Hotdesking is especially suitable for the companies who have their office in geographically dispersed area.

Today there are two ways in which the concept of Hotdesking can be implemented.

Traditional - There can be formal and traditional desks with complete office setup be established and the people who are Hotdesking will come on the designated days and use the office equipment to complete their work. The printers, faxes and other equipments are also provided by the companies.

Informal - In this way of informal Hotdesking, the employees are given an option of using the seats in the office as they are available. There are generally laptops which are issued to the employees and they commute using the wireless telephony.

We now list for you some of the areas which can be considered for revamping if you are planning to implement Hotdesking in your company.

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  The cubicles need to be designed in such a way that any computer can be connected to it.


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  The telephone services to be configured in such a way that, the people who login to that particular computer should be able to use it.


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  Personal or shared storage and filing facilities can be provided.


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  Meeting room is also needs to be created as the people who are using Hotdesking will definitely need the meeting rooms to discuss the plan.


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  A booking system, automated or manual is also needed to be setup. This setup will come in handy for the employees to book the desk and other office equipment as and when they are coming to the office.

It is highly recommended that you conduct a detailed study of your facilities and also consult your employees before you plan to implement the concept of Hotdesking in your company.

Evaluating Social Networking Tools for Events Promotion

A growing debate arose amongst event organizers regarding the usage of social networking tools for event promotions. One school of thought believes in the view that spending time and energy on social networking sites is nothing but wastage of vital man hours. They rely more on traditional age-old methods of advertising which primarily consist of newspapers adverts and telecasting commercials on television and using radio jingles to campaign for the event. However, new age business bees have argued social media has brought about a revolution in the way event promotion used to take place previously. The online strategy is quite fruitful too in diverting web traffic to the event website successfully.

Facebook

Facebook is the most popular social networking website today and will soon have 1 billion registered global users. Facebook allows you the platform to promote your events and company products to millions of people worldwide. It is very easy to use and you can open an account absolutely free! The site lets you search for people related to your industry and potential attendees and customers. You can join groups to network with like-minded professionals and share ideas and suggestions when planning smart marketing strategies for your business. You can 'Like' an event page that looks interesting and informative.

Twitter

This micro-blogging site is a powerful tool to share information and updates of any kind. You can tweet about your upcoming events as well as provide useful online webpage links for the users to click on those to visit the page. Twitter allows anyone to write a message of maximum 140 characters; hence you need to be extra careful to tweet the most important things first. Don't fill up your profile page with unnecessary scraps; rather share your online event registration links or your business website links with fellow Twitter followers. This site helps you get feedback from people in real-time by voting in favor of or against your tweet.

LinkedIn

It is a professional social networking website where you can meet and network with industry experts and specific company executives. LinkedIn increases your event website visibility plus credibility. It lets you establish contacts with like-minded people and in the course of time create new business opportunities and increased event registrations.

Google+

Google+ allows individuals to create "Circles" to allocate contacts into different groups. The chatting feature lets you start a dialogue with anyone -friend or potential prospect, and "Hangouts" facilitate group video chats with a maximum of 10 people joining in a single Hangout session. With Google+, you can initiate discussions with likeminded individuals and in the process begin an interesting conversation with them explaining the reasons for attending your upcoming conference or webinar.

Adopt Best Practices to Market Your Non-Profit Fundraiser

As a non-profit you may have access to a limited budget and resources to fulfill your set goals and missions. However, limited resources don't mean limited opportunities when creating a pre-event and a post-event buzz. Thus, you can make good use of a number of simple yet highly effective strategies to market your non-profit fundraiser to people beyond your territory and time zone.

Consider the Convenience of Your Targeted Audience

Before you finalize a date to host a fundraiser or a charity concert, it's important you look at the convenience of the audience you wish to invite. Imagine you trying to host a morning charity walk on the first Sunday of June. However, you discover that most of your would be guests are busy on that particular date. In that case, planning the event on that specific date will be a sheer wastage of time and money. Try and conduct a pre-event survey to find out the audiences' preferred date and time suitable for them to attend your event.

Act According to Your Set Goals

Be clear on what you and your guest hope to accomplish from an event. You must have legitimate answers to these 2 questions before you organize a fundraising campaign or other similar programs. For example, you should aim to get maximum attendance in your charity show. However, what will the guests gain by coming to your event. You should offer them incentives (such as 'Early Bird' pricing, etc.) to attract more individuals and increase your event ticket sales.

Send Emails and Online Invitations

It is better to send emails and online invitations at least 2 weeks before the event date to enable visitors to adjust their work schedules accordingly. Write a brief email stating the major benefits of attending your show. Ensure you provide the online registration link or online ticketing page link on the bottom of each mail to let interested people quickly click on the link and book their seats.

Use Social Media Websites

Regardless of the fact if you are hosting a single day fundraiser or a multiple day event, it is always good to regularly post about your events on Facebook, Twitter, and such other popular social media web platforms. Your fans and followers will get to see what you have to offer and may share the details with their group of friends and families. In this way, social media websites can help you to market your non-profit functions easily and quickly, expanding your network of followers in minutes.

What it Takes to Work in Event Management Jobs

Event management jobs require you to have many skills. Planning and arranging different events can be a lot harder than you might think. You have to be able to work on your own and meet deadlines. You should also have very good communication skills because when you plan a large event you will be talking to many different people in order to get the event organized before the deadline.

If the event you happen to be planning is a wedding then you will probably spend a good deal of time on the phone with a lot of different people from florist to caterers. When you plan a wedding you may have to deal with these people for quite a while depending on how far away the wedding is scheduled.

You will be the one responsible for making sure the flowers arrive on time and in good condition. You will also be the one responsible for making sure the food ordered from the caterer is at the reception on time and is in fact the right food the couple requested.

It is also important that an event manager know how many people to expect for the event they are planning. It does not matter what type of event it is the planner has to know how many people will be attending so they know how many seats to arrange for, if food is being served they have to know how much food to have prepared. So you see event management jobs are not all fun and games.

There is in deed quite a bit of work involved. At times you may even be responsible for planning several different events at one time. If you are thinking about getting in to this field of work it may be a good idea to try to find work with someone already in the field. This can help you get experience and a good reference for your future employers.

Some people that work in event management are wedding planners, sports event planners, and even business planners. A business planner will plan events for the company they work for from meetings and learning seminars to grand openings events for the company. There is many opportunities in this line of work. However it is probably best to do something you enjoy.

If you prefer to work in a business environment then working for a business planning their events is probably more your speed. Most companies hire from within the company for this job so their are not very many advertisements for this kind of work.

If you like to work with new people and do different things then you may want to plan weddings or fashion shows. Weddings and fashion shows need event planners and this will give you a chance to meet many new people and do a lot of different things. If you want to work planning weddings this could be something you could do as a side job from home or a part time job. You could also work full time from home or rent an office. If you can not afford this you could work for another wedding planner.

Corporate Event Planning 101 - Making Your Trade Show A Huge Success

The key to the success of any corporate event - such as a trade show, a retirement party, a sports outing, or any hospitality event, a sales meeting, or the annual holiday party - is Corporate Event Planning 101. Corporate events vary in size and purpose. Some corporations host corporate events that consist of thousands of invitees, while some organize events for all employees, and some for only select employees. Whatever the occasion, you require proper corporate event planning to make event memorable and a roaring success.

With a variety of people attending these corporate events, their tastes and preferences are bound to be different. Workplaces have a diversity of people, and this makes corporate event planning stressful and difficult. It takes a lot of quality time for excellent corporate event planning, and still many may be disappointed with the results.

The major part of Corporate Event Planning 101 is the appointment of a professional Corporate Event Planner. He/she can plan and produce a great corporate event for you and save you time and money. In fact, due to poor planning, many corporate events have failed to draw clients. Well, you can definitely avoid this.

Planning Your Trade Show

Planning and organizing corporate events, such as a trade show, requires investing a lot of time and money. To make your corporate event a showcase of your products, you need to plan for personalized promotions items, effective banners and unique giveaways. Corporate event planning for business events involves ways to find new prospective customers and clients, reacquaint yourself with old customers, plan a couple of seminars, and network with your peers and your competition.

You will need to plan well in advance. First and foremost, plan and set a budget. Train your representatives who will work for you at the corporate event. Draw a list of people you would like to talk to at the event.

Your prospective customers are your target market. You need to draw them to your event. Announce your participation in the corporate event; make your sales staff personally invite select prospects you would especially like to be present. A personalized invitation to key prospective customers is a great way to ensure success of your strategy.

Plan to follow up the visit by your prospective client with a thank you note, email, or a phone call. Do this immediately after your corporate event.

Get Yourself a Career in Event Planning!

I had by no means deliberate on having a profession in occasion planning, however typically you just fall into one thing since you're good at it. All of my family members have been medical doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and other professionals. Evidently, careers in event planning were not on the menu.

As a matter of truth, I by no means would have considered considering an event planning profession if considered one of my buddies had not requested me to organize her wedding. She was pretty broke at the time, and couldn't afford to rent a professional occasion planner for what was, primarily, a fairly low-profile, down-to-earth event. I used to be fairly nervous about it at first, however she insisted that I would do fine. It seems that she was right. The whole lot just got here together. My ideas for it were pretty good, and I used to be able to put collectively different individuals priorities in a means that nobody had been ready to. Up till I took charge, the bride and groom may never agree on everything anything, however I someway managed to negotiate a truce between the 2 and lower down on the hassle tremendously.

They both thanked me profusely. They had been quite amazed on the job I had done, and advised me that I ought to take into consideration going into careers in event planning. On the time, I assumed they have been just flattering me. However, that spring I get a job with a wedding planning company. At first, the duties I was doing were fairly basic. Help serve food, print out invites - that kind of thing. However, they liked my concepts, and I ended up advancing by means of the ranks fairly quickly. Soon the proprietor came to me and instructed me that I should go to an event planning vocational school. My expertise was too nice, he mentioned, to waste doing menial labor for a marriage catering business. The very best careers in occasion planning, in any case, involve working your own enterprise.

I didn't know it at the time, however you do have to go to school to have careers in event planning. Nevertheless, what was true then is true as we speak - it really does show you how to to advance quicker, and makes it simpler to get jobs, if in case you have some sort of formal coaching which you can level to. There is a lot that goes into organizing occasions that it is a difficult to choose it up all on your own. You can do it, however only with a good variety of trials and errors.

A Corporate Event Equipment Checklist

While planning for corporate events like trade fairs, conventions, and business meetings, a key task is identifying the equipment you require. If you need the newest models, renting computers is certainly a more practical substitute for an expensive purchase, especially if your requirement is a temporary or infrequent one. The fact is that computers and allied equipment rentals for business events are becoming increasingly popular with organizations both big and small as this is seen to be cost effective. However, there are certain aspects to look out for when going in for a computer equipment rental.

Checklist prior to the event

• Consult event organizers about the number of participants anticipated at the event. Ensure you have placed a rental order for enough computers, as well as a few extra for attendees who register at the last-minute.


• Discuss the kind of computers required with those who will be doing the presentations. For example, what is the operating system required? Must custom software be loaded in the machines prior to the event? What is the display size which would be ideal for participants or the audience? Is hardware such as a modem, WiFi access, USB ports and so forth required? Is enhanced graphic capability required for presenting video?


• In case you require customized software applications but the rental company is unable to supply it, ask for a test computer beforehand so that your staff can install it on a trial run. When the number of units rented is small, you could ask for an early delivery at the venue so that the software could be loaded ahead of the event.


• Synchronize arrangements and give enough notice to the computer rental firm so that they can provide the items in good time for easy set up at the venue.


• While renting computers, determine what kind of insurance is available short term to cover theft, damage and loss. Discuss the security aspects at the venue with the event manager. Will they do the needful or must you make separate arrangements?

Checklist for receiving the equipment

• Match each item delivered to the packing note. Be sure not to sign for an item you have not received.


• Before the event begins, boot and run the computers to check if they are operating properly and are according to the specifications you requested.

Checklist during the event

• Ask the computer rental firm if they can give you reserve computers in case any of the main ones fail. It may also be prudent to check if they can provide additional machines at short notice.


• Arrange to have a technician standing by at the event. The person could be either from your organization or from the rental firm and should be prepared to tackle any technical hitches. Also maintain a record of the rental firm's phone support number just in case you require help at a pinch.

While renting computers is now a simple affair, be sure that your personnel use the rented machines carefully though it is the rental firm that bears the responsibility for maintenance and repairs.

It is wise to bear these aspects in mind while renting computers for any corporate event. Above all, remember to rent equipment only from an experienced and reputable computer rental company that provides excellent quality technical support.

Why You Should Take Help of Church Event Management Solutions

Churches and other faith-based organizations can streamline their operations, increase donations, and bring in greater program participation by using the church event management solution. The online church event? management software helps to create, customize, and publish one or more registration pages, offer easy and secure collection of payments and donations, and bring in greater interactivity and harmony among members and communities.

All through the year, churches keep on organizing different kinds of occasions; these range from fundraising programs to youth camps and religious trips. Managing events, especially the large and complex ones, is not an easy task. The web-based church management services offer ready-made solutions to practically every aspect of event supervision. From the incident set-up and registration to informing members about daily devotionals and missions, the web-based event management software does it all.

You can provide regular updates to your attendees about various church activities by using the church software. Information about your religious missions, trips, and so on can also be enlisted for online membership viewing. The built-in online church calendar can also be used to notify members about the current and upcoming church happenings.

Online event management solutions can be used to send email notifications to people informing them about the various church occasions and fundraisers. Integrated emails about day-to-day activities of the church help to build community awareness and increase interaction among church members over time. You can also send RSVPs and invitations to all your members and new contacts about the upcoming youth camps, fundraising programs, and more. The online church event management services can also be used to share and publicize church activities and events on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Web-based church management software eliminates the need for cash handling and excessive administrative costs. Real-time authorization and processing for all major credit cards, PayPal, Purchase Orders, and checks are possible if churches start using online church event management solution.

Apart from offering instant online registration to events, the church event management solutions can also help in:
• tracking the member's contact information and address details
• view their payments transactions
• efficiently manage collections of dues, donations and more

Thus, the online church administrative software helps to lower managerial costs and facilitates smooth operations for churches, religious organizations and other faith-based organizations. The software can be used to simplify online registrations and payments for different kinds of church activities, fundraisers, and other related functions.

Balloon Decorating Ideas For Corporate Events

Corporate events and other special occasions using branded balloons and themed props have become a big part of successful parties. Balloons and event props are products that can be effectively used for enhancing the atmosphere of a party. Arranging the balloons in an appealing manner is an art in itself, which is best done by professional balloon decorators. Some of the balloon decorating ideas that we mention here, will go a long way in helping you to attain the wow factor at your next event or wedding reception.

On a special occasion, event decoration can include printed balloons (ideal for corporate branding) filled with helium gas - ideal for advertising your logo at an event. You can also use the balloon decorating idea of flying a helium filled blimp or blimps on the top of your building so that visitors can locate your premises even from a distance. One of the best advantages of using helium balloon is that they will remain in their original shape for a longer period of time. They can also fly high for a long time unperturbed by strong winds and hot sun.

Another important balloon decorating idea that you can follow is to produce the balloons in bunches or clusters so that they will make a very table center or floor cluster arrangement. Exploding balloons, used at themed events can make a very exciting party, but you will need to have balloon decorations in Surrey or London installed by professionals. It will be an excellent idea if you tie the colored ribbons or strings on to the balloons, which will make it more attractive for the event or wedding.

The best option to find out more balloon decorating ideas is to do a browse in the search engines, where you can achieve lot of brilliant ideas for decorating your marquee or hotel suite with balloons and / balloon drops or themed decorations. There are lot of companies that offer balloon decorating services and event products and it is easy to find them in your locality by doing a search on the Internet. The professional balloon decorators or balloon suppliers will be having a lot of unique balloon event decorating ideas which can easily transform any themed events, Christmas or New years Eve party.

Event Management Courses

Before being accepted for a position, event companies prefer individuals to possess extensive knowledge and some experience in the events planning field. These skills and knowledge can be attained from event management courses, where applicants are trained in event planning festivals, corporate events, music events and fundraising to name just a few areas.

The training provide in these courses is based on many years of experience, and gives you the tools you need to get a head start. As with hotel management course applications, applicants get 'sifted' and sorted, and generally the people who have the most creative minds will be accepted.

Events management courses are designed to give participants the opportunity to develop the necessary and practical skills, which are taught by instructors who have been in public relations and the event industry for a long time. The skills you will learn in these courses are the skills which are fundamental to working in the industry.

The events industry, just like an other industry, has specific requirements of individuals and companies who work within this field. This is why taking a course like this, where you will learn all about public relations, project management, online PR and even wedding planning, is essential to your success.

If you like a challenge and can think on your feet to quickly organize situations, a career in any of the following areas will be both rewarding and satisfying:

• Project management


• Public relations


• Fashion shows


• Fundraising events


• Graduations


• Corporate events

These are billion dollar, global industries offering challenging and exciting careers for the right people. You never know which celebrities you are going to bump into at big events, which makes working in events a real eye opener for people working a nine to five job!

Online event management courses are also widely available. All you need is a PC or laptop (with internet access). These online training programs, although not providing you with experience, do teach you highly relevant information about the events industry, which would be favored by an interviewer.

The advantage of an online course is that you can complete it to suit your own time table, and if you travel around, you can study anywhere you choose.

If you have a genuine skill in organization and love everything about parties and socializing, a career in event management would create a huge change in your lifestyle, but when you think that your work would be what you love doing most, you are guaranteed of a happy future in a global industry.

Who do you think will be employed first, a person with little knowledge about event planning and hospitality, or someone who has learned from reputable instructors of an event management courses? This is why if you are serious about a career where you plan music festivals, corporate events and fundraisers, you'll take the time to learn and gain experience first.

10 Corporate Event Planning Tips You Can Use

If you're arranging a corporate event on behalf of your company, then you might already know what you need to do. Alternatively you might want some corporate event planning advice. Here's what you need to consider.

1. You'll need to establish why you're planning the corporate party. Is for a product launch, to try and attract new business or to thank your staff for their hard work?

2. Once you know why the event is being held, you'll to establish what sort of corporate event it will be. Does it need to be formal? Do you need to send out invitations? Do you need to stress a dress code? Will you need to send out invitations?

3. You'll also want to make sure that the party theme and ideas are appropriate for your target audience. A party aimed for staff will be different from a new product launch, or a formal event where board members will attend.

4. The venue you choose will also need to be suitable, and able to meet your requirements. You might have to stick to a certain date, or finding the right venue might be more important.

5. You'll also need to know whether you'll have additional facilities such as a PA system, lights, internet access or a large TV screen. If you're launching a new product, then you'll want everyone to be able to see.

6. The food you organise will be important too. Perhaps you'll want a formal sit down meal with several courses, or you might want to have a finger buffet so that people will be more inclined to talk to each other.

7. As well as the food, you might want to make sure that there is some entertainment for after your meal. Depending on the venue, you might be able to choose from lots of different type of entertainment, and really impress your guests.

8. You'll want to make sure that there is accommodation available, so you might also want to book some hotel rooms for everyone who wants one.

9. You'll need to make sure that guests are aware of whether you're providing transport to the corporate event or not. If you're not providing transport, you can still make sure that everyone has the phone number for a local taxi company, so that they can get back home, or to their hotel safely.

10. Even though you might have a budget for your corporate event, you can't organise your venue, food, entertainment, transport and accommodation on cost alone. As well as providing the facilities that guests need, you'll need to ensure that your guests, whether they are clients or colleagues, have a good time. By economising you might change the opinion of your clients, but by being too indulgent your clients might think that you charge too much.

Now you know more about what you need to think about, you'll soon be an expert at corporate event planning.

Toilet Rental for a Construction Site or a Party

Operational bathroom facilities are a requirement of any home or building's indoor structure and are expected with any outdoor event. Yet, when a home or office building is undergoing renovation the plumbing may need to be shut down and/or the facilities removed so that the bathroom can be updated. Or, the facilities are non-existent in a home or office that is being built from the ground up. There are also moments when a family or party is having an outdoor event but there are no nearby facilities so the event planners have to lease their own. In order to ensure everyone's comfort, an ample amount of facilities have to be provided according to the number of workers or guest who need them. And they have to be placed a safe distance from other structures and disposed of properly.

Toilet rental is predominately used at a variety of construction sites before the plumbing has been turned on, installed or reinstalled. There are three main types of toilets for whatever purpose it is being used. There are regular portable toilets, handicap access toilets and special event toilets to choose from. The portable toilets come in different models that can be basic for any temporary construction site or deluxe for more graceful event. The handicap units are wheelchair accessible so whether you know you will need one or not it is a good idea to be compliant and make sure that there will be at least one available for your guests. And the special events units can be accompanied by sinks, soap and paper towel dispensers for a more comfortable experience for your guests.

Toilet rental units are portable toilets that are dropped off and picked up by sanitation companies specializing in providing single units all the way up to more comfortable toilet trailer options for a variety of construction oriented, event services or location required jobs like that. These are aspects of sanitation equipment and services that require timely placement of effective inventory and timely removal. They can be rented with portable sinks or as toilet rental trailers that have multiple units inside of each one. Each room is a full service bathroom including the flushable toilet or urinal, toilet paper holders with backup, working sink, soap dispenser, paper towels and small mirror for each users comfort. Toilet rental doesn't have to be this gross idea that comes with the past of a few ignored units at massive events for thousands of people. The number of units, their timely removal and replacement throughout the construction project or event is dependent upon the event organizer, contractor or homeowner for the event and the number of people that will be using it.

Event Logistics - 5 Tips To Avoiding The Logistics Nightmare!

During the planning process for any event, there are many essential things that you have to look into. You must consider all possibilities of anything and everything going wrong and be prepared to face any disruption. You must be able to handle the situation and make sure that the event goes on successfully without any hitches if a situation arises.

1. The foremost thing to ensure is that the whole event is kept completely on track. Many things can and will go wrong when a huge event is being planned. You surely don?t want any discouragement when you are planning an amazing event with a lot of hard work. You obviously want the event to go without a hitch so that you do not end up facing any frustration due to any disruption. Patience is essential and stay motivated such that you get the exact output you require for your event.

2. Ensure that the day your event is going to be held is free and that no other event will happen on that day. You will want to keep free dates so that your event does not interfere with other big events, as you will want all the crowd at your place. Check the available dates first to ensure no clashes occur, before you start planning the party. Once the date is set, everything else can be booked and organized to ensure that everyone comes.

3. Keep everything organized properly. Ensure that everything is right on track so that you can be focused on the things that you need to do. Make sure that you can keep everything running like clockwork. You can do this only if you stay completely focused on the job at hand. Make sure that you are able to keep accurate records of all that you are doing. This will help you recall everything easily at a later stage. Ensure that you get all the receipts for all that you purchase for the event. This will also help you keep track of whether you get everything at the right time.

4. Stay aware and focused at all times. Unexpected events can happen at any time. You will want to keep yourself aware of any issue that could flare up at any moment. It will be much easier if you prepare yourself for something that could happen to solve it in a much quicker and smoother fashion. You will realize that when you handle things ahead of time, you will be much better prepared to handle any events that may occur later. You need to ensure that your back up plans are ready and flawless for this very reason.

5. Creating the best possible event will surely not happen by itself. You will have to be completely motivated and stick to your schedules. Stay on the correct path and you will surely have the best event to be ever planned. You will also feel much more at ease and get everything done easily. You have to be ready for anything and work quickly to make sure everything moves perfectly. Stay committed to the cause and you will surely reap the benefits by having a successful event.

The above are some of the best possible solutions to creating a successful event. You will have an amazing event experience when you have everything completely prepared and planned to a schedule. You will be able to have maximum fun and excitement yet, have a huge event organized and conducted if you follow these practices.

How to Organize Conferences Within a Budget?

Companies organize conferences and meetings to interact with new customers, discuss plans and proposals, and resolve critical issues. Companies also host a number of seminars and corporate events to talk about their products and services and strengthen relationships with existing clients. Conferences are important for the growth of a company. However, looking at the present rough economical scenario, many organizations are finding it difficult to arrange these large-scale events within limited budgets.

The budget usually seems to surpass expenditure due to the various administrative tasks involved in event planning and execution phases. You have to decide everything from choosing the venue, inviting guests to the kind of food to be served during the conference. Then you have to allocate funds to implement such works. Now, the question is how you can reduce your spending on organizing a conference and similar such events.

With the passage of time, event management software's have being introduced in the market to make the management process smooth and hassle free. Such software's help in reducing manual tasks and makes conference planning much easier.

Starting with the registration process, event planners can use the integrated registration solution to create registration forms online. It takes only a few minutes to publish the forms via this software as well as edit the forms. Add your company logo or graphics as needed to meet your business goals. The major benefit of online registration software is generating forms to be quickly filled up and submitted online. So, there is really no need to spend money on office accessories such as: paper, pen, pencil, files, and folders, etc.

The payment collection process can also be made transparent and easier by using an online payment system. It allows you to accept payments via secured online payment gateway platforms besides allowing individuals to pay directly via their credit cards and PayPal. Conference organizers may additionally have the option to use their professional merchant accounts to let the registrants deposit funds there.

Planning an event also includes inviting guests. Emails have become very popular these days because of their convenient usage procedure and quick delivery. You can create multiple new emails simultaneously and send a single email to many people marking a copy to you. Emails can reach a person faster (in seconds) than a hardcopy letter via postal service or courier that takes hours and days to get delivered successfully. Event planners can save on a considerable portion of the allocated capital otherwise required to be invested in buying paper and pay for postage stamps.

Event promotion can also be smoothened and made cost-effective via online event promotion applications. They allow you to market products, services or events on a variety of social networking web platforms - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. It just takes a few minutes to create a profile page in any of these sites and post your events-related content, photos, and videos to let millions of users view it and develop an interest to attend your program. No installation or downloading charges are required to use any of these social media sites.

Corporate Event Planning - Reasons to Hire Organizers

Organizing a corporate event involves a lot more effort than simple booking of a venue. You need to appoint a speaker and sending out the invitations. The arrangement requires hundreds of small odd jobs, which need to take care of to have a successful corporate event. And the worst part is that you need to do all these on time and within strict budget.

Research the venues to preparing special diets and many other finer details are attended by the corporate organizers. They are professionals who help in preparing meeting to conferences to events abroad. They are aware of the pitfalls and know what to avoid and how to make successful event.

The corporate organizers are a blessing as far as organizing successful ones. From the job of finding a suitable venue to designing the invites to making sure that tea and coffee is distributed smoothly to supervising that everything falls into place. Organizing events require quite some time and can be quite stressful, so instead of taking the responsibility on your shoulders hire a professional to save yourself some time and headache.

The benefits of hiring specialized conference organizers are much beyond you can imagine. Putting a professional in charge will give you complete peace of mind and your event will be total success. A successful one can do wonders for the company's reputation and the professional corporate organizers can attend to the smallest detail. The varied number of services is offered by the organizers who handle to every little aspect of the special day. Sometimes the organizers themselves offer venues, which mean that everything else is nicely organized. Since the professionals know everything about hosting a successful event possible.

By hiring the services of a professional you get enough time to concentrate and continue to work on the core business activities that are involved in your work. You even get the peace of mind on the day and relax. The corporate event organizers also organize other events like the Christmas parties, holidays with equal professionalism. They are aware of the best venues in the city and have excellent unique ideas for the programs. In addition, the best part is they will not rest until they have organized a complete unique and a tailor made event that caters to your needs of your business. A successful upshot is capable of doing wonders to the reputation of your company and can result in greater revenue. This will further result in a more motivated workforce and several other benefits for years to come.

Corporate events and conferences are best left to professionals. They usually have lot of hidden tasks which needs to be completed and numerous pitfalls. It is advisable that taking a risk will not be worth. The long lasting ones, which continue for days also require business accommodation and no one other than a professional can handle that with an expert touch.

Wedding Planner Jobs Are in High Demand

How To Save Money - Even If It's Your Own Wedding

Wedding jobs are in demand if you are you good with people and enjoy planning and organizing. Do you prefer not to be stuck in an office working 9 - 5? If so there are wedding jobs available and becoming a wedding planner may be an option for you to consider. Even if you've never thought about this as a career option before, you might consider these data before you discard the idea:

UK Wedding Statistics

• There were 270,000 weddings in the UK in 2007, a fall of 2.7 per cent since 2006
  


• The average overall cost of getting married is £22,858 (up from £21,901 in 2007)
  


• So... about £6 BILLION is spent on weddings every year in the U.K.

USA Wedding Statistics

• There are about 2.5 million weddings every year in the United States.
  


• The average budget for a wedding is now estimated to be $28,000+.
  


• So... about $40 BILLION is spent on weddings every year in the U.S.

The Market For Wedding Jobs

This sounds to me like a whopping market for wedding jobs! You could be part of it if you enjoy planning and organizing.

Because planning a wedding can be a complex and time-consuming process and the end result is often expensive, more couples are turning to help from wedding planners to ensure everything is covered and to get the best value. Wedding jobs, or specifically wedding coordinator jobs are mostly about helping people to realize and achieve their dream wedding event by taking the workload off the couple and removing many of their stresses.

Even if you haven't done this before, the whole process can be broken down into smaller segments so that the expense and performance elements of each can be more easily controlled. Before you start planning your clients' weddings, spend some time understanding what will be necessary to create each element of their event, and start taking notes about their preferences.

There are plenty of suitable wedding jobs you can create for yourself in your own area with a little imagination and some determination.

Start a Home Business As an Event Planner For Love and Money

If you love people, parties, and planning, why not start a home business as an event planner. Everyone is throwing events today and there are not enough planners to go around. Plus that, you can have fun and make money.

According to the International Special Events Society (ISES), the event planning business has annual sales of about USD$500 billion. Dr. Jose Goldblatt, founder of ISES, says that profit margins are 30% to 40% and they continue to rise. There is room for your endeavor.

An event is a one-time occasion that is put on for a specific reason. The three most common reasons for an event are weddings, fund raisers, and cocktail parties.

People also hold events for graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, debutant coming-out parties, and baby showers.

Companies and institutions often hold events. They include political rallies, fundraisers, in-house parties, team homecomings, award ceremonies, product launches, fashion shows, and reunions.

Full time event planners can make $80,000 to $120,000 a year. The start up costs can be as low as $2500 including insurance.

Recommended skills and training for an event planner include classes and certification. Particularly valuable are classes in sales and management as well as accounting.

To help you make money fast, it is important to become certified. As a Certified Special Events Planner, or CSEP, you have the benefits of education, networking, and a list of jobs available. The same is true if you become a Certified Meeting Planner, or CMP.

Consider membership in The Event Planners Association. They offer insurance, legal assistance, marketing help, and job search services. They also have a forum, marketing tools, and networking resources.

Other organizations to join are the International Special Events Society (ISES), the Chamber of Commerce, and the Better Business Bureau.

As an event planner, you have to actively market yourself to find new clients. Set up a Web site. Do some direct marketing. Spot ads on the radio, an ad in the Yellow Pages, and word of mouth all help drive business.

An event planner's work is to make sure an event goes off as planned. After conferring with the host, the planner chooses the venue, sends out invitations and publicity, arranges for food, music, entertainment, decorations, flowers, and guest accommodations. The planner is in charge of all personnel, vendors, caterers, photographers, wait staff, security staff, and clean up.

Here are a few helpful tips from experienced event planners:

1. Work with an established event planner before starting out on your own.


2. Know the goals of the host and make them your own.


3. Stay within budget.


4. Make a written agreement with the host.


5. Send a gift and thank-you letter to the host after the event.

Becoming an event planner is a great way to make money - but it also takes being a cool-headed organizer. Event planners are in demand so this is the perfect time to start a home business as an event planner. You can make hundreds of new friends and a lot of money while you have fun.

What Your Own Nightclub Needs: From Entertainment Planning to DJ Training

Maybe you've dreamed about having the hottest nightspot in town, or maybe you fell in love with the idea of a relaxing place for after work music with friends. A nightclub needs the sort of skills ranging from things taught in sound engineer school to event management school, so it helps if you have a background in entertainment and hospitality or bars and restaurants.

The first thing you will need to do is scout a location and learn your city's zoning and liquor laws. Fire codes put a necessary cap on the number of guests you can fit at any given time, while the presence of competitors can be a good or bad thing. On the one hand, nightclubs may be found clustered together because it's the part of town that residents of a city flock to for fun, on the other hand too much market saturation dilutes your profits.

Be sure to hire reliable staff, from the bartenders to the security at the door. These people will be key to keeping your liquor licence, because you'll need them to comply with provincial regulations. Your club will also need people to keep it clean, either a day time janitor or a maid service for hire, and someone to set the mood with lighting and decorations. Maybe you will do this all yourself or maybe you will want to hire a professional. For lighting, especially with the role computers play in making it much easier, sometimes DJ training includes these skills as well, but keep in mind that more skill costs more money.

If you host a lot of parties and product launches and you're more interested in other sides of the business than the logistics, look to securing a graduate from an event management school. Clients will appreciate having someone who can handle all the details for them in house. This person might double as your manager. Eventually, even if you intend to do most of this work yourself, you'll need to delegate to staff members, especially as your business grows.

When it comes to music, you'll be the person who'll decide if you want live acts or just recordings, though a dance club will at least usually employ a DJ for all night tune spinning. Consult with a graduate of a sound engineer school regarding the acoustics of your venue and avoid places and equipment set ups that will bathe your customers in dissonance. Live acts mean constantly bringing in new bands, and pricing is very variable, from celebrities who require immense amounts of money for a single set, to unknowns satisfied to make up just the cost of performing.

Lastly, if your background hasn't given you much management experience in any of these fields, consider some classes for yourself. Better to spend the time and money now, than lose it by biting off more than you can chew.

Market Research Tips For Event Planners

You don't need much to start an event planning business, and this means that event planners are a dime a dozen in a crowded city. Competition is fierce and you have to offer something unique lest the bigger, more established groups of event planners gobble you up.

Starting a party planning business is exciting to say the least, but a bit of reality check is needed every once in a while. One way of making sure you're not just building castles in the air is to make sure there is a market for your party planning business. Specialization is an option for event planners who want to corner a certain target market. For example, you could focus on the debutants and plan your business model around this group of people. However, if you feel that girls and parents won't readily spend on debutant balls, you can choose to target the bachelorettes who are more likely to shell out cash for a memorable hen party.

Event planners should engage in market research to....

1. Gauge the acceptability of your service or product
2. Isolate the specific needs of your target market
3. Estimate the scope of your target market
4. Decide on the best strategy to adopt
5. Identify your biggest competitors, and
6. Find a way to make your service more unique

You can delineate your target market according to their demographics (age, gender, income, religion, education etc.), geographical location (urban or suburban area) and psychographic traits (lifestyle, personalities and values). Remember that there is always that untapped market that your competitors are ignoring. Finding out where these people hang out and what their main concerns are will enable you to corner the market more effectively.

It's safe to assume that event planners are among the shrewdest among all the business people in a locality. They can sniff opportunity from a mile away and will always find ways to pitch their services to prospects. They have to be aggressive because the event planning business is highly dependent on trends and market demands (e.g "Jeez girl, didn't you know that carnation corsages are now considered tacky?"). You must also undergo a thorough self-analysis to determine your best selling position. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself.

1. Do you have enough passion for the business to outlast your competition?
2. Can you afford to give out generous discounts to new prospects who can promote you well in the long run (i.e. well-connected individuals, socialites etc.)?
3. Do you have loyal employees to cover your back just in case you need to work on simultaneous projects?
4. What's unique about your service?
5. Do you have enough suppliers to support your growing business? and
6. Do you have a plan B?

Now, you are probably asking...what is a plan B for event planners? No, it's definitely not "quitting". The main purpose of a plan B is for you to keep your business going and earning even when your major plans are going to the dumpster. One good plan B is to go back to your roots. Before you became a jack of all trades, you specialized in one aspect of party planning (catering, restaurant, public relations, advertising, crafts, interior design, venue reservation etc.). If business is slow or if your competition is too big for you to handle, the best thing to do is to regroup, re-organize and go back to the drawing board.

Event Management Software Tools to Manage and Plan Events

A recent survey conducted by a leading provider of event management software asked UK based event managers what was their preferred tool for managing and planning their events. The most common tool by far was event management software with 67% of the votes. Coming second and third were spreadsheets and 'other' respectively.

Spreadsheets are a tried and tested way of managing events - they can track budgets, monitor resources and can be an effective way of creating and managing lists. The main benefit of spreadsheets as an event management tool is the low cost associated with them. The majority of event managers have access to spreadsheets and they are a widely accepted document format.

However, there are a high number of drawbacks if event managers decide to use spreadsheets as their main event management tool. Common issues include:

Poor efficiency: Using spreadsheets is not a very efficient method of managing all the aspects of an event. It is likely that event managers will be using many different spreadsheets, all with dozens of tabs, holding a huge amount of data. Managing all this data within spreadsheets can be confusing to an outsider, and time consuming for all users.

Lost data: Spreadsheets are only as safe as the server/system they sit on. If they are kept on a computer hard drive, there is a risk that all the data will be lost if anything happens to that computer or laptop. Spreadsheets are also prone to freezing/stalling and unless the event manager is accustomed to saving on a regular basis, there is a high risk that data and work will be lost.

Trouble keeping data up to date: Many events have multiple event managers, all using the same spreadsheets to organise and plan various areas. Problems arise when managers update spreadsheets without informing the other event mangers that the spreadsheet has changed. If event managers take a copy of the master spreadsheet and work on that, the master soon becomes out of date. There are also issues when more than one event manger needs to access the spreadsheet at the same time. Only one editable copy can be opened, causing the others to be 'read only' - removing the ability to make updates.

Hard to create reports to measure success: A key part of event management is the ability to analyse event success. It is vital to have the ability to understand what makes a particular event successful and what needs to be measured in order to analyse event performance. Using spreadsheets makes this a difficult task. Although creating graphs and charts can be easy on spreadsheets, the amalgamation and sorting of the data can be an extremely complicated and time consuming task. It is quite often the case that when using spreadsheets, the activity of measuring event performance is forgotten or dismissed.

Lack of management information: Similarly to the difficulty in creating reports to analyse performance, there is also a lack of management information overall. For companies organising many events a year it's important to be able to have a clear picture of these events as a whole; understanding delegate numbers, budgets and other KPI's across all events can help shape event strategy in the future.

These issues create too many problems for organisations with many events to plan. For this reason, numerous event managers are now turning towards professional event management software to help manage their events. These software solutions have been designed specifically for the event management industry and contain a range of comprehensive, yet easy-to-use features. Common features include:

繚 Website Integration: Seemless integration with your website gives delegates a smoother, safer journey and ensures you stay within your corporate brand guidelines

繚 Online Registration: Creating fully customisable online booking forms on your own website, capturing the most relevant information from your delegates

繚 Online Payment Processing: Allow your delegates to pay online in a safe, secure environment

繚 Invitation Management: Make sure you are targeting the right prospect delegates with an integrated invitation management tool

繚 Email Marketing: Powerful, integrated and fully functional email marketing tool to send highly targeted email campaigns to delegates and prospects

繚 Badge Production: Save time by producing personalised badges quickly and effectively

繚 Resource Management: Simply manage all your resources though a comprehensive calendar

繚 Integrated Reporting and Analysis: Ensure you can determine the true ROI of your events though a powerful reporting and analysis suite - quickly and simply drill down to the event data in a matter of seconds

繚 Event Survey: Create integrated, customisable and automated surveys for effective feedback management.

Event management software tools also have the benefit of multiple deployment methods. Many companies choose options such as Software as a Service (SaaS) or hosting to keep costs and internal IT involvement down. Alternatively companies can still purchase the systems outright, but still gain the benefits on long term, ongoing support.

Characteristics of Good Event Organizers

Marketing is integral to the success of every business; ignoring this function may be damaging. Consumers need to be aware of products and services your company offers. After all, this is the only way you can generate revenue needed to keep your enterprise going. One of the most effective ways of marketing a product or service is through an event. Promotional functions are the best way to get the ball rolling, so to speak. It is a great way of introducing what you have to offer to consumers and the press. Hire professional event organizers to ensure the success of the affair.

Why outsource the job?

Outsource these activities because they are non-core functions. Professional event organizers have the expertise to do the job more efficiently. Hiring them will also be a more cost-effective solution. Engaging your personnel in something they do not specialize in will be counterproductive. Hire experts and have your staff concentrate on tasks that are more vital.

Keep in mind that hiring an agency offering such services does not guarantee success. Delegate the job to qualified firms or individuals. Here are some qualities you should look for.

Experience

This is the best way to gauge how reliable a firm or freelance organizer's services are. Trusting the assignment with rookies in the industry might not be the best idea. The lack of experience may lead to the affair becoming a flop. Avoid this by working with someone who has extensive experience in the business. This does not necessarily mean you should shun those upcoming agencies or freelancers. Ask for portfolios if possible.

Creativity and Flexibility

Successful events are those that do not stick strictly to the book. Going by the books is a surefire way of boring your guests. Look for events planners who think outside the box. This will be especially useful if you are launching an innovative product or campaign. Seek those who conduct extensive research and analysis while they conceptualize the affair.

Avoid firms that have standard practices and are not flexible. This undertaking calls for a lot of involvement on your part. You should be the one leading the conversation and not the other way around. They should help fulfill the goals you set using their expertise.

Commitment

A dedicated team is another important component of your event's success. The people on your team must have a passion for event planning. Lacking this characteristic will only lead to a complete mess. See to it the firm you hire is up for the job. They should not be overwhelmed with the assignment and should have the focus to see it through.

The two most important steps in the process are conceptualization and execution. Events planners know that success is the result of careful planning. Sit down with them to figure out the goals of the function. Conduct exhaustive brainstorming sessions whether you are planning a brand launch or participating in a trade show or convention.

Event organizers who engage in the right pre-function activities will give you confidence that everything will go right on the day itself. Remember that a successful event will go a long way. It will introduce your brand and services, and will encourage customer recall for the long run.

Event Management Across the Corporate World

Event management is an age old concept in the corporate world but its success has been recently visible in the last ten to fifteen years. Earlier though it was part of the business world many companies and organizations used to ignore its significance. As businesses across the globe are rejuvenating in all its form the acceptance of event management has tremendously increased. Infact it has become extremely viable when it comes to organizing an event for any big corporate firm.

Earlier firms and organizations used to conduct events managed by their own team of professionals who may or may not have any experience or hint about organizing an event. Apart from that it is a very stressful and time-consuming activity that actually cuts down effective work time of the involved employees as well as their performance to a certain extent. But now it has become much easier for firms to conduct events through event management companies.

Event management companies have a team of professionals whose expertise in the field is commendable and are known for their genuine, reliable, and remarkable efforts. The team of experts has their own contacts with the decorators, caterers, and other professional individuals or organizations required for organizing an event. Be it in a ten year celebration of company's existence in the corporate world or an accomplished milestone, these companies are masters in transforming success and celebrations to cherished memories. Whether a gathering of 500 people or of 5000 people, no stone is left unturned to conduct a memorable event. These companies organize a range of events for various firms and organizations depending on their needs and strategies.

During the course of an event, event management companies also take care of various other issues like award ceremonies, product launch, introduction of services, announcement of new business ventures, and conferences. This leaves the owner of any business firm completely free from the pressure of organizing and managing an event.

Now the question arises why corporate companies feel the need to conduct events? Why has it become a significant part of the corporate world? The simple answer to these questions is 'Corporate Tussle'.

These days' businesses across the globe are facing tough competition with each firm running hard to touch the sky. With this it becomes important for companies to stay in limelight through retention of customers, increased revenue generation, strong goodwill, and increased credibility. All this is possible through making people think about the company every now and then. And the best way to do so is by organizing events at regular intervals. This will strengthen the customer base and will always keep the company's name on the hearts and minds of customers as well as associates. These are very much imperative in nature as it leaves a very long-lasting impression on the audience. These events eventually become strategic tools for reliable and effective corporate communication.

Five Simple Ways to Stay Stress-Free When Organizing Holiday Parties

Holiday parties are the ultimate stress-busters, if you are one of the invitees; but what if you are hosting a couple of them yourself in the coming holiday season? Be it a small informal gathering with friends and family at your own place or a big official event on New Years' eve, organizing a party takes a lot of time and planning if you want to really make it a stand out experience. The entire process is quite stressful too. However, if you avail of the comprehensive holiday party event registration software, much of your workload is reduced.

How?

Opt for the holiday event registration software to know how the solution can make your party management procedures absolutely stress-free in five simple steps:

1. The software helps you to create online event registration forms using its pre-built form templates and upload them online to be accessed by your guests 24/7 from every part of the world.

2. It enables you to collect party registration fees via a number of online and offline payment means. You can even track every transaction in real-time using the online payment management solution that comes with this application. Hence, requests for party contributions do not have to be made by the organizer personally.

3. It sends out bulk email invitations, reminders, and notifications using the automated event mail and listing management tools. So, you are able to save a large amount of money that would have been otherwise spent on posting paper invitation cards.

4. You do not have to worry about promoting your holiday parties. The software provides a Social Media Connector. You just need to purchase it by paying a minimal amount and you can easily connect to social media sites to reach out to a wider target audience.

5. When your parties are full and absolutely packed to capacity, this software lets you provide a number of wait listing options to your guests. This enables you to accommodate at least a few of your guests from the waitlists in case of last minute cancellations. In this way, you make your guests happy and your events become a roaring success with enhanced participation.

The software provides the latest mobile applications by using which you can send updates of your holiday parties to all your registered guests. You can even set online calendars with the software to add a further zing to your promotional activities.

Ever thought of building a private community network with all your office colleagues and business partners? If you are to host a series of holiday parties shortly, then coming up with such a community can be a great idea. You create regular discussion forums and encourage your members to participate in them, and whenever there is a party or event you can instantly notify your members about it through this platform. This way, your parties get instant publicity, which in turn, is reflected in your registration records. To manage the community properly and collect dues and renewals in time you can also avail of the software's member management solution.

Asian Weddings - Planning the Sanji

Sanji, translated means an opportunity for the bride's and groom's families to be further acquainted over an evening of dance, music and fun. It is more prevalent in Indian weddings and originates mainly as a Gujrati tradition. Sanji runs through the whole evening and possibly into the night. Your planning mainly depends on the venue you choose according to the number of invitees and proceedings of the sanji.

For planning a Sanji you should have the following things in mind:

• Venue - You will need to confirm the number of guests from your fianc矇s side and choose a venue large enough to accommodate guests and the proceedings.

• Parking facilities in the venue - It is important that you ensure adequate parking space for your guests within the hired premises.

• Decorations - This primarily depends on the theme of the Sanji. You may also go for a traditional d矇cor. Some ideas for a Sanji d矇cor can include a Gujrati village theme with rural backdrops, floor cushions with embroidered mirror work. Fresh flowers and indoor fireworks are also prevalent.

• Seating - You need to make sure that the elderly, although in a song and dance place, get to feel comfortable. They may not be as energetic as the young guests and may need to rest frequently. Placing chairs around the perimeter of the event hall is a convenient way to arrange for it.

• Provision of sound systems - You should ensure the facilities being provided for the proceedings and check if they are a part of the in-house facility of the venue. In case you are hiring a DJ, you should make sure if he charges separately for his equipments and sound.

• Catering - You should make sure that the venue you are hiring allows outside catering if you are not satisfied with the in-house services. You will also need to tell the caterers to stick to a vegetarian spread as Sanji is an event of religious significance. Lots of drinks are advisable as guests may feel thirsty considering they will dance their hearts out.

• Meals - You should also check if the venue has arrangements for in house catering and ask for extra charges. Some of the venues may also provide for in-house kitchen services with re-heating facilities. Usually it is a number of meals instead of one that is arranged for as a Sanji is expected carries on into late nights.

• Music and Entertainment - In case you are going for the entertainment being conducted by a professional, hiring someone through personal recommendations make it easier. In cases of in-house entertainment provision, you will want to check the quality of their performance. The DJ must be familiar with the essence of the Sanji mainly for the track selection.

• Local laws and rules - Especially if you are planning an open air Sanji, you must ensure that the proceedings conform to local laws and rules as some residential areas may not allow events at late hours.

8 Objectives of Experiential Marketing Campaigns For Brand Experiences

Experiential marketing is evolving and maturing. Some experiential marketing campaigns are more successful than others. That's why it is important that best practices are clarified. And industry generated benchmarks for success are vital.

I have created experiences to help our clients meet their customers' needs for involvement - and at the same time accomplish marketing objectives for improved brand awareness, attitude, and usage. These programs have successfully engaged participants to achieve faster and more memorable results.

You can design experiences that include convention programs, sales meetings, and corporate events to move your brand forward...fast.

Research has revealed these top eight objectives of experiential marketing campaigns:

1. Build Relationships
2. Produce Interaction
3. Verify Target Audiences
4. Increase Awareness
5. Increase Relevance
6. Increase Loyalty
7. Increase Trial
8. Create Memories

All eight of these goals can become the basis for creating an event measurement dashboard. This will provide a specific and robust ROI system. These metrics are then used to plan future events to develop professional competencies for event marketers.

Here's a look at the metrics that used to be considered good enough, contrasted with the new standards in an event measurement dashboard:

Typical old ways of measuring event success - Company execs were happy - Attendees said it was well-received - It came in under budget

Examples of new standards in event measurement
- "return on objectives"
- # meetings with target customers
- # booth visits from A-level prospects
- # leads reporting intent to trial

The sources of event metrics can be varied, and include convention leads analysis, badge scans, in-booth surveys, post-show surveys, sales conversion analysis, field lead tracking, press coverage, customer meetings, and sales meetings.

At Stinson, we like to start with the end in mind. That means working with you to determine the metrics of an event at the beginning of the creative process.

In my experience, if you are successful in reaching these objectives, you can expect improved outcomes in terms of sales. This is true because the powerful impact of engagement is increasing interest and loyalty - by building trust and increasing product desire.

Fun Team Building Event

Casino parties add exciting fun for all kinds of corporate events.

Create a Casino Night that your employees and/or customers will enjoy and remember for months to come. Every corporate event is an opportunity to build a stronger and more connected team.

What is a Casino Party?
A casino night is a great way to have a company holiday party or corporate event. Casino tables straight from Las Vegas and real casino weight chips by the best casino companies. They set up the event to look like a Las Vegas Casino.

When your guests arrive they are greeted by dealers who are friendly, and fun! Each of your guests will be handed a "funny money" voucher that they are invited to cash in for casino chips. The chips can be used at your favorite casino game table or you can go back and forth between tables. You don't have to be an experienced casino player to have fun. Professional staff will explain everything and entertain you in the process! Unlike casino gambling in Vegas, the house doesn't always win at our casino nights, you do!

Why a Casino Party?
Casino nights for any holiday or company party produce team building in a fun and exciting atmosphere. It is the great answer to the age old question every boss or human resources person has. "Okay so we take the crew out to dinner, now what?" Your guests can enjoy a private dinner at a reception hall or hotel/resort where casino tables and dealers are already in place and ready to go.

During the event, employees can sit together, cheer each other on, and laugh with their boss. While Las Vegas and other casinos are designed to take the player's real money, our events are designed to make people feel like winners! No one loses any money and the team building camaraderie is huge!

Affordability - Casino Night Events are competitively priced with many other types of entertainment. If you think you can't afford a casino night, please check with a local, reputable casino entertainment company.

Fun - Dealers make the difference. Dealers are first and foremost there to entertain your guest. They are always dressed up and super friendly. They love people and will be there to make your casino night event enjoyable for everyone.

Team Building Atmosphere -Dealers are trained entertainers as well as casino party dealers. They will be there to work as a unit to help your company enjoy your event. Share our magic and excitement of "vegas" casino at your next corporate event.

An Alternative to Full Event Planning Food Catering Service

Although the current economy has cut into many things people consider luxuries, it is still possible to hire a food catering service for your event without going broke. More and more restaurants have added catering as a service offered, perhaps due in part to the slowing economy. While your budget may not allow for a full event planning service, the selections of food types available offer options that may turn your event into an even more memorable affair. From casual to formal there is a restaurant now offering their fare for catered events. Some will even provide service personnel to set up and/or serve your guests. With other restaurants, you may need to pick up and put the food out yourself. This works particularly well if it is self serve such as a buffet meal.

The choice of a menu will depend largely on the type of event you are planning. For example, for a sports event you would choose something more casual, such as a buffet of heartier type foods. For a wedding reception, you might lean towards more delicate finger foods. Today, it is possible to find somewhere to order any type of food you might want. Even donuts, pastries and coffee of good quality are available from a specific convenience store chain in North America.

As people become more accustomed to the do it yourself methods in life, they will find more creative and resourceful ways to carry out activities they would normally have hired someone to do for them. It only makes sense that food catering would be one of the areas. Although it is not impossible to actually do it all yourself, planning, cooking and serving, it is not a recommended solution if you are a key player, so to speak, in the event. Pulling off any gathering, especially one that includes dining can be very stressful to say the least. By purchasing the food from a restaurant or food catering service, it takes the brunt of the responsibilities away and will still save you money and time.

To find a viable and delicious option for a company offering food catering services, check out establishments in the area of the venue you're using for the event. The Internet is always a good source of information for planning, including choosing a business to hire for your event planning. Simply go to Google and do a search or browse through your local directory like Yellow Pages.

The Tax Implications of Corporate Team Building Days

Having worked closely with a number of clients who are trying to organise events on tight budgets we decided to look at the tax implications of running corporate team building events and see whether there are any tax benefits or dangers we should look out for.

It appears that during the 2009 / 2010 tax year the tax rules are going to stay the same and the following sections of HMRC Help Sheet 207 2009 testify to the Tax Exemptions of team building events.

Source: HS207 2009-2010 Non Taxable Payments or Benefits for Employees - A Govt Help-sheet available from the HM Revenues & Customs website.

i. Employer-funded or employer-reimbursed training

This exemption covers the costs to your employer of work related training throughout the entire spectrum of practical or theoretical skills and competences you are reasonably likely to require for your current or likely future jobs and tasks with your existing employer.

The Tax Exemption Includes:

• Employee development schemes


• Activities intended to develop skills you need in leadership and teamwork


• Training which is provided by a third party rather than your employer

The many ways in which training course and events can be delivered are covered including full-time and part-time training, internal training courses run by your employer, courses which are run externally or by a third party, and courses which comprise any combination of these.

ii. Christmas or other Annual Party

Also exempt are annual events, parties or functions of a similar nature, such as a Christmas dinner and a summer party, which are open to staff generally and which cost no more than 瞿150 a head in total to provide.

Printed Polo Shirts for Corporate Fundraisers

One of the most ingenious ways that businesses can create publicity for themselves is by offering corporate sponsorships through fundraisers to charitable institutions. This kind of sponsorship works in two ways. The charitable organization will find assistance in the funding of their event and the company will get low-cost publicity through the sponsorship of the event. Companies are motivated to sponsor charities because of the benefits associated with the marketing end of things.

It is no surprise then that printed shirts can propitiously be used for corporate fundraisers. Printed shirts are one of the most popular and successful promotional attires that can be used in fundraisers today. Everyone loves polo shirts because they can proudly be worn in support of whatever cause the funds are being raised for and because they are one of the easiest items to sell in support for a cause. Printed polo shirts can also retain for a cost and the money raised through their sales can be used as a corporate fundraiser in support for a worth cause.

Any company can form a corporate partnership with any charitable organization whereby polo shirts are printed and sold as a fundraiser for a good cause. The shirts can have the logos and messages of both the charitable organization and the corporate sponsors thus helping to raise money for the organization while also bringing exposure to the company. Fundraisers can even be organized through corporate fun events where the polo shirts with the logo of both the company and the charitable organization are worn. The shirts can be sold during such events with the proceeds going to the charity and the company getting lots of visibility.

The good thing with fundraisers is that they give a company an opportunity to build a brand image and make connections with people from all walks of life. When someone comes for the fundraiser and buys a polo shirt that is printed and branded with both the company and the charity, they walk away with a walking billboard that creates lots of publicity for the company. Many people are also very conscious of any company's efforts to assist charitable organizations for a worth cause and this will stand in good stead with the company's customers and prospects.

Because apparel such as printed shirts are quite easily very useful for fundraising at events and also have the added value of promoting the company's brand, many companies are willing to take advantage of the extra benefit by teaming up with the charities that they sponsor. Any apparel including printed polo shirts will last long and the company that sponsors the charity will have their brand connected with the charity for a long time to come. This will give the company lots of goodwill in the eyes of their customers and their prospects and their brand will stay in the mind of these people for quite a long time.

While the sponsoring company will derive lots of satisfaction from the idea of supporting a worthy charitable institution, they will also be guaranteed that their brand will have a more increased value in the eyes and minds of the public. Fundraising efforts for charitable organization have a lasting effect on not only the company that sponsors charities but also on their employees as well because such activities boost company pride and help in employee satisfaction levels. By giving through printed polo shirts, a company get's back much more and in a very different way.

Managing a Fund Raising Event

Fund raising events not only bring in funds for your organization, but also raise awareness about your noble cause. However, managing a fund raising event requires significant energy and effort. Organizing these events needs correct planning, promotion and management. Here are few tips which will help you in effective management of fund raising events.

Establishing guiding principles and goals
Before starting a fund raising event, you need to be clear about the goals you need to achieve through the event. You need to know how much money is needed to fulfill the goal. Apart from this, you also need to be clear with your plan, course of action and scope of the fund raising event. Create a project plan with clearly defined goals; roles and responsibilities of each participant.

Choosing the right event
An appropriate event should be selected keeping the cause in mind. Some popular events include auctions, dinners, raffles, athletic events, arts and crafts exhibition, cheer leading contest, ball room dance contest, 5K run or walk and fashion shows. Also check how you will make money from these events - through sale of tickets, sponsors, sale of items, auctions, door prizes, etc. This will help you in designing your strategy in a better way.

Selecting event volunteers
It is very difficult to organize the whole event by yourself. Taking the help of volunteers makes the task much easier. Ask the members of your organization to participate. You can also get volunteers from the local community by contacting them, describing the purpose of the event and the ways in which they can help. Assign roles to volunteers such as treasurer, organizer, manager, etc. based on their strengths. Encourage participants to set and achieve personal as well as team goals.

Planning, budgeting and advertising
Fund raising events need proper planning and execution. Prepare a planning work sheet and instruct every volunteer to execute it properly. For budgeting needs, you can make sponsors as partners. Manage the money carefully that you receive from these sponsors. Allow them to bear the costs of hiring the venue, marketing costs, refreshments, etc.

You should market your event in such a way that your cause is highlighted. Make use of fliers, announcements at community gatherings, posters at local shops, internet, custom imprinted glow sticks, press releases, etc. to promote your event. Proper planning and promotion enhances awareness about the fund raising event and its cause.

Takeaways - cheap but attractive products
It is always good to offer takeaways at the fund raising events. They convey 'thanks' to the participants and donors for making the event successful; hence don't overlook them. Keep aside little amount of money to buy cheap but attractive takeaways, like glow products. You can offer various glow products such as, glow sticks, glow wrist bands and bracelets as takeaways at the event.

A well planned fund raising event has a very good chance of making donors open their purses. However, you need to be flexible, as things may not go as the way you planned. Be prepared for the unexpected also.

Top 5 Tips to Promote Your Events With Pinterest

Amongst the clutter and craziness of the social media explosion, Pinterest has experienced exponential growth over the past few years. With Pinterest, you can "pin" your favorite things onto separate "boards", which is a productive strategy for large-scale promotions. The visual appeal of Pinterest coupled with its collaborative nature presents an interactive platform that event organizers may utilize to initiate brand communication for events.

With possibilities galore, this massive social media forum has now become a steadfast platform to create and maintain a relationship with the audience. Here, we have shared key tips to help use Pinterest for your event's success.

1. Create an account of your brand and event

While promoting your event through Pinterest, keep the company's brand image in mind. You need to separate your personal Pinterest account from your company account. Making your company a brand in its own right is definitely easy with a stimulating platform like this. Present the dynamics of your brand to its prospective customers and create a personality that will resonate with the users. For your upcoming event, you can create a separate board with a corporate theme that matches your company or brand. It helps to attract people and get themselves engaged in discussions on the event. Thus, you access a convenient way to make your event popular long before the actual occasion takes place.

2. Maintain relevance in your Pinterest activity

By just merely being active on Pinterest will not reap the fruits of success, unless your activities do not comply with the mission and vision of your event. Post, like, and repin things which are in line with your event or your company's operation, products and services.

For example, if your upcoming event is a concert or a rock-music gig, you have to post pictures related to the artist, music genres or the venue of the show. Simultaneously create boards, which are appropriately relevant with the event or your company's brand.

3. Research about the target audience

It is true that the majority of social media users belong to the age group of 18 to 30 years. Many a times, they are not the target audience of your event, unless it's a rock-music show or a similar kind of concert. Thus, identifying your target demographics is crucial. Once you know who is talking about you and wants to attend your event, it would be easier for you to determine the kind of posts that will attract them. In other words, you must know how to cater to your audience and their diverse behaviors.

4. Create pins that your followers will share

Pinterestis all about creating a buzz in a virtual world. Moreover, it is visual and collaborative by nature. Thus, when you are promoting your event through this platform, make sure that your actions speak for themselves. You need to create colorful photos and posts, so that people find them interesting enough to share. Thus, you can get your event promoted in a fun and interactive way.

5. Attract followers with catchy phrases

Pinterest is not only about images; catchy tags and interesting titles have a lot to do with it. You will be more likely to draw followers if you use clever, witty and short phrases along with the picture you pin.

Thousands of users are using Pinterest as a promotional platform. Thus, it is extremely difficult for you to stand out amongst the millions of other boards unless you are offering something unique.