Remember that vibrant festival experience from days long ago? Great music, delicious food, colourful entertainment, being outdoors with a crowd taking in the brilliant sunshine. Festivals are ever-popular, and even more so now that we are back from years of “no gathering land.” We all miss getting together to enjoy a shared experience – it is an essential part of being human. Large corporations and small businesses alike love to align with successful festivals especially if they know your…
From river cruises to spa retreats, and world-renowned festivals to unparalleled culinary experiences, Québec City has no shortage of experiences for visitors to explore. Now, thanks to a new promotion between Québec City Business Destination and its members, meeting and event planners have the opportunity to add an exclusive VIP experience to their program. “We wanted to share the very best of Québec City with meeting planners and their attendees,” explains Ann Cantin, Director of Communication and Marketing for Québec…
Experienced meeting professionals know to check the calendar very carefully when choosing event dates. Statutory and religious holidays are simple – we need to just avoid them altogether! Examples of some dates that are completely off limits: Christmas, Easter, Yom Kippur and Passover. One of the religious holidays that causes some confusion among event planners is Ramadan. Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide, it falls in May/June and it lasts for about a month. The timing is different every year.…
Reinventing sponsorships using creativity and customization When it comes to sponsorship, the competition is real – and tough. In order to survive it, we need to rethink what potential sponsors are looking for. Thirty years ago, it was a logo on a poster and a program, and a thank you after the event. But that’s no longer the case. Today corporations don’t care about logo exposure on your materials and websites. It has become such a given – logo placement,…
In the events and hospitality industry, dealing with clients on a regular basis is part of the job. Whether you are a planner, hotelier or supplier, your goal is to make clients happy and do your best to meet their demands. At times, however, the demands become excessive and difficult to manage. This is where it becomes important to maintain a positive client relationship (even if it seems impossible at times), and do your best to keep the client happy…
When designing any special event, there is a very important question that I keep constantly in my mind: Why? Everything I do and all elements must answer ‘the why’. For example, I spend my client’s money as if it were mine. If I would not spend the funds on something myself, then why would I expect the client to spend the funds? Case in point: I produced an incentive program for a client’s President’s Club. The budget was not limited.…
Young professional events can be super tricky to plan, because of the wide range of individuals attending (often anywhere from 21 to 35), varying from junior, to mid, to sometimes even senior-level professionals. Considering that you’re probably marketing to both Baby Boomers and Generation X (if they’re controlling the budget for professional development and other events for their staff), and Generations Y and Z (yes, the first-born of this group are now 22!), it can be very challenging to make…
In 1967, the iconic New Yorkers Simon and Garfunkel released a song “At The Zoo” in which they sang “It’s all happening at the zoo.” It is perhaps a little late, but I am happy to report that it is true for the Bronx Zoo in New York. I confess that for many years I did not know that there was a Bronx Zoo. Whenever I heard the Bronx Zoo mentioned, it was in reference to Yankee Stadium. It was…
If you’re planning a corporate meeting or special event for your company, your choice of professional keynote speaker to kick off the itinerary can be every bit as important as the venue, theme and timing for the occasion. While not every conference may call for the services of these individuals, who typically take the form of subject matter experts, thought leaders or bestselling authors, many promise to enhance team-building exercises, training programs and executive summits. Typically, motivational speaking presenters are…
From where does creativity come? Let me just say, I dislike the phrase ‘thinking outside of the box.’ It means nothing. The sky is the limit. After having produced events with budgets ranging from small to large, I feel qualified to say that your creativity is only limited by your imagination. So, where do you start? Ask the right questions to discover your client’s vision, if they have one. Move on to the objectives, format for the program and demographics…
