Holiday Party Favor Ideas

Posted on December 14, 2010 by eventplanningcentral

Party Favor Ideas Include Personalized Ornaments

After a long year, the holidays are a great time to celebrate all your accomplishments with your family, friends, business associates or employees. Some of the best party ideas for your gatherings can come from simple party favor ideas that can be used to make your gatherings memorable while celebrating the people who have brought you cheer all year! Here are some ideas for your next holiday party.

Personalized Holiday Ornament as Party Favors

Once you know how many people are attending your event, you can easily make some personalized holiday ornaments for your guests to take home and hang on their tree. Use a variety of bulbs or specific ornaments to match your decor, corporate colors, or any of your holiday favorites. If you want to make it even more fun, leave brushes and paint on your tables for your guests to personalize their own ornament party favors!

Holiday Cards with a Twist

Holiday cards are a simple and effective way to personalize your gratitude and best wishes for those in your life. Use your own photos and personalize them in programs like Piknic, iPhoto or Illustrator. Write a nice message, and send away! Everyone loves to receive holiday cards with warm wishes, and they’ll be even better received when they come complete with your creative energy!

Secret Santa Gift Ideas

Have your attendees play Secret Santa with a twist. Ask everyone to bring a small wrapped gift that stays reasonable for everyone’s budget. When you’re finished dinner, start drawing names and have your guests pick a gift to open. The next person whose name is drawn has the choice of choosing a new gift or – this is the fun part – grab one of the previously opened gifts from the other guests! This is a sure way to get your guests interacting and having a good time with one another and will make for a memorable party favor.

Whether you’re planning to throw a small gathering or a large corporate mixer, remember that the holidays are a great time to bring joy, cheer, and most important, fun to your special guests as you ring in the New Year!

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Menu Planning for any Party or Event

Posted on December 6, 2010 by eventplanningcentral

Include a Signature Cocktail in Your Menu Plan

They say the secret to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but it could also be said that the secret to a great event is through the stomach. Leave a party, wedding, launch or mixer and what do you usually end up discussing? The food. As disappointing as it may be to have spent endless hours planning the music, decor and lighting, only to have guests rave and rant about exclusively about the food, it’s quite often the norm. So you’ve got one choice: win them through their tummies first.

Food Menus

To pick the perfect food menu, follow some quick and easy pointers:

  • It’s one thing to offer buffalo wings to a Super Bowl themed party but quite another to serve them at a posh tech gadget launch party in Los Angeles. For starters, people in LA don’t eat… just kidding! Guests at an LA party will probably want smaller portions than you would present in Texas, so knowing your crowd is crucial when planning food menus.
  • Stay local and play on favorites and seasonal availability for the market you’re planning for.  Food menu examples include Georgia peach cobblers in Atlanta and meatballs with Saskatoon berry jam in Saskatoon. Is your event green-friendly? If so, your food menu better be as well.
  • Pick your menu to your party style: is your event for PR? If so, do a little background studying PR folks and remember that they tend to prefer new, exciting hors d’oeuvres or trendy retro comfort food like mini Mac and Cheese bowls.  Is your menu for a group of men? If yes, you might need larger portion sizes. Will there be kids at your event? Walk yourself through the guest list you envision and make sure your food menu offers something for everyone.

Something Borrowed, Something New for Every Party Menu

When it comes to planning a party menu you always want to have one tried and true option that will please 90% of your guests. After you’ve determined who your crowd is and walked through your guest list, you can determine if this item is a bite sized hamburger, a sushi roll or whatever item you deem safe for your crowd.

To avoid being labeled as blasé, you also need to offer at least one exciting new food, preferably a few. Ask your caterer about exciting, aesthetically pleasing party menu items like fusion tacos or spring rolls. Of course, simply serving food in new ways – like in martini glasses or even on models – is sure to make a splash with your guests.

When Menu Planning, Stick to Your Theme

Whatever the theme of your event may be, match your food to it. Design your menu the way a chef designs his to match the mood of his restaurant. Design a cocktail or plate around the theme of your party and give it a special call-out name. If it’s in your budget, create serving ware that complements the dish or cocktail’s name – it increases your chance of it hitting its mark. You never know, you could design the next Long Island Ice Tea!

Courtney Lochner is a Senior Account Manager with Marketing Werks and plans internationally acclaimed events for LEGO Systems, Inc., Verizon, Sony, RIM and more; she is based out of Chicago, IL

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Creating Warmth for any Holiday Party This Season

Posted on November 25, 2010 by eventplanningcentral

Plan a Warm and Inviting Holiday Party

The holiday season always brings an enormous amount of festivities into our lives no matter which area of the world we live in. We are responsible for dinners, presents, fundraisers and of course, holiday parties. This year, as you get ready to plan for your big holiday party, take a look at these tips for creating a warm, inviting event.

Holiday Party Venue

Whether you’re holding a holiday party at home or in a five star establishment, your event’s success will depend on the logistics of that venue. Both small and large scale events need the same careful planning in order to deliver a warm and cozy feeling for your guests. Be sure you factor in every detail that your event will need to accommodate, from kitchen facilities to ample seating.

Holiday Decorations

Holiday decorations are crucial for the warmth of your holiday party. Holiday decoration should be unique to your event. That could mean creating handmade decorations or place settings for the dinner table. For a larger event, you may want to hire a professional decorator who can create the Winter Wonderland you are looking for. How you create the right holiday ambiance depends entirely on the resources on hand.

Holiday Party Menu

One of the most important elements of a great holiday party is the food and beverages. A holiday party menu will often include comfort foods. For a sit down meal, turkey is often a must have, and side dishes should be complimentary to your main. If it’s a cocktail party you’re throwing, tailor your holiday party menu to include ingredients that are in season like cranberries, apples, squash and chestnuts.

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Secrets to a Successful Client Relationship

Posted on November 17, 2010 by eventplanningcentral

The ever-elusive client: the word conjures images of horror, delight, fear, nervousness and all sorts of other adjectives depending on with whom you’re speaking. The reason being, that clients do range from all levels of likability just like any other person. The simple matter is that some clients will be a nightmare to work with while others will be come trusted friends and confidants.

Client Relationships

The secret to successful client relationships is patience. This is a tough one with event planning professionals because in our world, everything was due five minutes ago (and at times, five days or even weeks ago)! But despite the fast pace, patience is a virtue you absolutely need to possess.

Keeping the Client Happy

Here are three tips to keep composure and remain patient:

  1. Master the art of listening: don’t speak until your client has finished speaking – embrace the silence to ensure he or she has finished with his/her question or statement and digest the words before responding. Always take notes when discussing business with the client.
  2. Send recaps: it may seem silly to have to send call notes for a quick five minute call but at the end of a busy week, this is the only way both you and your client will be able to remember that last minute decision you made on the phone. Keeping a paper trail also keeps you safe so that you can reference back to discussions by documenting them in an email using phrases like “as discussed” or by keeping all notes logged in “call notes/meeting notes” and sending the notes to all parties involved.
  3. Personify your client – even if he/she seems like a monster! At the end of the day you have to assume (as hard as it is sometimes with your own busy schedule) that your client is ten times busier than you are and that he/she is receiving enormous pressure from above (not that you aren’t!). Make this thought your mantra and you’ll immediately become more patient to your clients’ requests and be more forgiving during quips and snaps they may shoot your way.

At the end of the day, no matter what kind of photographic memory you have, notes will save your life – and so will a little compassion.

Courtney Lochner is a Senior Account Manager with Marketing Werks and plans internationally acclaimed events for LEGO Systems, Inc., Verizon, Sony, RIM and more; she is based out of Chicago, IL

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Cultivating an Event Sponsorship

Posted on November 8, 2010 by eventplanningcentral

Organizing Event Sponsorships

Just as in the celeb world, the world of events is also built on strategic piggy-backing and partnerships to achieve a more powerful result. Purposefully thought out cross promotions from sponsorships or partnerships can be highly effective in raising the level of productivity, business and recognition of an event.

Sponsorship Proposal

In order to gain support from the public, organizations creating special events or fundraisers often seek sponsorship, monetary or in-kind, in order to both raise the effectiveness and the economics of the event. When participating in cross promotions of any kind – joint ventures, partnerships, or sponsorships – a properly written sponsorship proposal is essential. Details about the execution of promotion are very important and must be adhered to. If you misrepresent one or more of your sponsors or partners, your reputation will suffer and you will lose the interest of the sponsor for future events.

Event Sponsorship

It is important to keep your sponsor or partner satisfied throughout the event process, as their satisfaction will directly affect the success of your event. Will an event sponsorship can help take your event to the next level, it also has the ability to go sour.  If fail to accurately promote who is supporting or executing your event, the relationship and trust will break down and will cause unwanted stress or resentment, both damaging to your event and to your business. One extremely effective strategy for overcoming misleading or ill-represented details of any event sponsorship is to provide all your sponsors and partners with all promotional materials before they go to print. A second eye often eliminates forgotten information or spelling mistakes!

Event Promotion

Lastly, your partners and sponsors are surely supporting your event or cause because of a close and personal affiliation with what you are doing. They have some connection to your business and want to see you succeed in with your event. A detailed and well cross-promoted event will ensure that you receive recognition from your own network, but also from all of the networks belonging to your sponsors and partners. People, causes, and awareness are greater in numbers. Being loyal to all of those involved will ensure repeat and new sponsorships and partnerships from all sorts of group or individual supporters and networks. In turn, you will build a solid relationship with many of your supporters and thus, will grow your business in the process.

Event Sponsors

If all else fails and you are wondering about cross promotions and your responsibility as an event organizer, ask yourself one question: If I was the sponsor, what would I expect from my client?  If you are loyal, strategic and honest, one day, you will act as a sponsor by helping others achieve their goals through special events. After all, what goes around comes around!

Monika Anna Blichar holds a BA in French and English from the University of Victoria. She also studied art at Camosun College where she learnt various techniques and strategies in creating contemporary pieces. Monika continues to pursue creative projects and is exploring various professional opportunities in the arts, including event coordination. Art has played a significant part in Monika’s life and continues to be an outlet for her free-flowing imagination. Monika currently lives and works in Vancouver, BC, working on numerous art-related events around the city.

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Goal Planning for a Successful Event

Posted on October 26, 2010 by eventplanningcentral

Have a Checklist When Event Planning

When approached by a client to plan an event, the brain often reacts quickly by going straight to the “fun” stages of the planning process – the creative steps involved with making it an unforgettable success. But if the most pivotal and important aspects of the process – setting particular goals for the event – are overlooked, an event could be considered a failure.

For example, if the focus of an event is supposed to be placed on fundraising for a non-profit organization, but is instead placed on decorations and lighting, the client is not likely to be happy.

Some questions to ask when initially sitting down with a potential client include:

“What does the company / individual hope to achieve by having this event?”
Money, recognition, or guest enjoyment are potential answers and all have to be kept track of when determining the type and organization of the event. Taking a course in Event Staging can be a helpful building block to creating a “wow” factor while Event Administration can explore budgets and financial controls if fundraising should be the ultimate goal.

“Has a similar event been held in the past?”
If yes, was it a success?  If the answer is no, one of the event goals could be starting from scratch and ensuring this one will generate a better response.  Event Coordination is a course that explores all facets of the planning process and will ensure that the event is pulled off without a hitch.

The answers to these questions will help point the planner in the right direction and will make any decision making and planning priorities clear, to the event planner as well as to the client.

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Public Relations – So What?

Posted on October 21, 2010 by eventplanningcentral

Follow These Basic PR Rules

Think you can host an event without public relations? Think again!

Good PR is a central component of any event. Quite simply, PR professionals create and maintain their careers on the development, creation, activation, success, failure and aftermath of an event. While it’s true that PR agencies can be at the mercy of journalists, at the end of the day, your PR friends always know where to eat, where to be, what to buy and what to wear.

So take it from industry experts: the PR component of your event shouldn’t be overlooked.

Follow the Basic PR Principles

According to Krissy Zotaley, Senior PR Manager at Dig Communications, the standard principles of PR still apply.

Make it media-worthy. Zotaley reminds us that the event must be media-worthy to get any attention in today’s crowded consumer space. “Make sure the event is timely (ties into current events, trends or seasons), localized (has a twist that is specific to the market) and unique,” she says.  “If budget allows, having a spokesperson on site or partnering with a local non-profit to tie in a cause-marketing angle will increase the mediability of your event.”

Location. Location is a key factor. “Research the market – in some cities the local media outlets are ‘downtown’ while in other markets the stations are located miles away in suburban areas,” Zotaley advises. “Set yourself up for success by hosting your event where it is easily accessible for media to come on-site.”

Use Social Media. The media landscape now includes blogs, Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare and more. According to Zotaley, PR pros need to give social media users an incentive to write about events and let us know about it! “Prizes for posting blogs, pictures to Facebook, @ replies on Twitter, tips or check-ins on FourSquare will help spread the word of the event on a grassroots level.”

Hire the right cameraman. Zotaley has a great tip for hiring a local cameraman or photographer: contact the local AP bureau or media outlets for a list of freelancers because they may be able to get photos and b-roll “into the right hands.”

Remember post-event opportunities, too. Always conduct a follow-up round of pitching to media and include photos and event highlights. “Make the package as complete as possible with quotes and contact information of local people who were involved,” Zolatey says. “If there was local spokesperson or organization involved, use those as key media hooks for post-event pitching.”

Promotion Schedule

Don’t forget to give yourself enough time to promote your event, as well.

“I always tell people to make sure they promote their events two weeks before, during the event and after the event,” says Andrea Gillespie, Senior PR Manager at Business Wire. “Two weeks out to draw media and attendees, during by having a live webcast or twitter hash tag dedicated to the event. After is also a time to do a press release announcing what the event accomplished and sharing photo galleries. This is especially important with charity functions as people may donate post event.”

PR is the “it” component of event planning. So, unless you’ve mastered this art form, start networking to make some PR friends because your event depends on it!

Courtney Lochner is a Senior Account Manager with Marketing Werks and plans internationally acclaimed events for LEGO Systems, Inc., Verizon, Sony, RIM and more; she is based out of Chicago, IL

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Troubleshooting Event Delays or Emergencies

Posted on October 19, 2010 by eventplanningcentral

Your caterer double booked himself, a vendor is suddenly unable to participate, your volunteers are missing and a key note speaker has canceled his appearance. All the while, you’re in a mad dash to sort out the pieces and produce an event that appears flawless to your audience. Sound familiar?

As event coordinators know, many things can go wrong with any event and it shouldn’t be expected that every detail will go as planned no matter how hard you work. Here are a few tips to help deal with pesky event delays and prevent a total meltdown.

Keep Your Focus

Stay focused when faced with disruptions. People will always show up late. Some will have bad attitudes, accidents or family emergencies and you’ll be the one left with figuring out how to cope. In times like this, your public relations skills matter. You are the person in charge. By keeping your focus, you prevent instability, uncertainty and doubt from trickling down to your participants and, most importantly, your guests as well.

Delegate

When you’re faced with any type of delay or emergency, remember to use your lifelines. Identify your most reliable employees, interns or volunteers. Choose the friends, family members or business associates you can you count on to help find a solution. As the event coordinator, you brought these people together to achieve a common goal. Delegating will allow them to help you carry out a successful event. All you need to do is ask.

Stay Positive No Matter What

Most importantly, always stay positive. A positive attitude will help you achieve your goals and motivate and inspire others to embrace your cause or vision. Whether you are fundraising or simply celebrating a life moment, maintaining a positive attitude in spite of glitches will help you gain the respect of others. No matter how tough situations may appear, a positive attitude will go far. Plus, people always remember smiles over frowns.

When you’re faced with troubling event delays or emergencies, don’t panic. Instead, stay focused, delegate to your lifelines and stay positive. These tips will help you solve the puzzle, created a community and pull off a great event.

Monika Anna Blichar holds a BA in French and English from the University of Victoria. She also studied art at Camosun College where she learnt various techniques and strategies in creating contemporary pieces. Monika continues to pursue creative projects and is exploring various professional opportunities in the arts, including event coordination. Art has played a significant part in Monika’s life and continues to be an outlet for her free-flowing imagination. Monika currently lives and works in Vancouver, BC, working on numerous art-related events around the city.

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Planning Red Carpet Events

Posted on October 14, 2010 by eventplanningcentral

Glamour Magazine Red Carpet Event

 

Nothing makes an event more glamorous than a red carpet: it doesn’t matter who you are, walking down that crimson walkway will add a little bounce to your step! So naturally adding a red carpet to an event automatically heightens its sense of glam, importance and PR interest.

Check out these essentials for getting started with revered red carpet events:

The Red Carpet

Step and Repeat: The step and repeat is, in layman’s terms, the red carpet itself. The step and repeat really speaks for itself – this is where celebs, noteworthy guests and anyone walking the red carpet stop, pose, twirl and chat with media and photographers. The step and repeat is often a great chance to incorporate a sponsor. If you, your client or your sponsor wants ultimate exposure, this is where you will want to heavily brand as the background will thus showcase your logos perfectly.

Red Carpet Pictures

Lighting: Depending on the type of event you’re planning (outdoor vs. indoor), work with your photographers to make sure the lighting for your red carpet event will suit media and photography needs.

Onsite Photo Printing: Indulge your guests and play to their egos by having onsite photo printing. All guests love to have immediate satisfaction of seeing (and bringing home with them) a snapshot of them on the red carpet. This is a great opportunity to brand too as the printing paper can be used to showcase a logo or slogan. Check out sites like 5 Minute Photo (http://www.5minutephoto.com/) or look into local vendors who offer this capability. At the Verizon sponsored Chris Cornell concert, we offered all guests a free takeaway photo of them on the red carpet (with branded step and repeat in the background of course).

Media Event

Social Media: Spread the word of your event immediately by offering social media stations near your red carpet like laptops and phones. In addition, have some of your staff fulfill live posting with images and captions from the event.

Media: In order to make your red carpet event complete, you can’t forget to invite all the media you can. Make sure to send out press releases advertizing the red carpet entrance times to ensure heavy media two weeks prior to the event if not more when possible. Sure, Lindsay Lohan may not like the paparazzi, but your event can’t do without it!

Red Carpet Theme

Themed Cocktail: Nothing is better post red carpet swagger than a cocktail! Let guests celebrate their entrance to your event in style by having servers offering themed cocktails immediately upon entrance. Design the cocktail around the red carpet theme of your events using its colors and ideology. For example, at the BlackBerry Storm launch, we served up Stormtinis with BlackBerry liqueur.

Courtney Lochner is a Senior Account Manager with Marketing Werks and plans internationally acclaimed events for LEGO Systems, Inc., Verizon, Sony, RIM and more; she is based out of Chicago, IL.

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Making Events Happen!

Posted on September 28, 2010 by eventplanningcentral

There are a million things to consider when planning for any event. As the coordinator of many projects, including the One World Art Show and Fundraiser at Vancouver’s Science World, I have a few tips on creating a memorable experience for both participants and guests.

What Kind of Event Are You Creating?

One World’s goals were determined early in the initial stages of planning: Art and International Aid. With a clear vision in mind, the purpose was obvious and concise which made proceeding with artists, coordinators, promoters, and sponsors trouble-free and efficient. Your participants and guests want to know exactly what kind of event you are planning and why you are doing it in the most straightforward way possible.

Choose Your Target Market

With any successful event, your target demographic will be chosen by whom and what you decide to include in your event. For example, when you include artists, what type of artist will you include? Photographers, painters, sculptors, writers, dancers, or musicians? Your audience will depend largely on which vendors, participants, or performers you solicit. It’s important to know what your target market is in order to merge the two together with a bang and create a successful and entertaining event.

Be a Leader

Whether you’re coordinating a small or large concert, exhibition, art show or fundraiser, you’ll be professionally challenged in all aspects. You’ll be required to make quick decisions and swift deals while leading with confidence, compassion and clarity. In order to be an effective leader, possessing the ability to communicate to your team and participants what needs to be done and when is crucial to your event success. You are the event coordinator and in charge, yes, but as the old adage goes, there is no I in team. Your team members are your lifeline so choose wisely and be compassionate with each person’s abilities and capabilities.

Have Fun and Be Positive

In today’s market, specifically in a time after a recession and financial fear, everyone is looking for ways to participate in positive happenings on both small and large scales. As the event coordinator, you’re the face of your event, so it’s up to you to create a positive vibe among all who are involved and maintain a happy atmosphere. Positive attitudes will attract positive attitudes; negative attitudes will attract negative ones. The ability to maintain positive in the face of diversity and stress will also consequently determine your present and your future success.

Whether it is a family BBQ, a fundraiser or a five star event, why not make each one spectacular? We never quite know what could emerge of our own creative efforts unless we pick up that pencil and start writing out the plans.

Monika Anna Blichar holds a BA in French and English from the University of Victoria. She also studied art at Camosun College where she learnt various techniques and strategies in creating contemporary pieces. Monika continues to pursue creative projects and is exploring various professional opportunities in the arts, including event coordination. Art has played a significant part in Monika’s life and continues to be an outlet for her free-flowing imagination. Monika currently lives and works in Vancouver, BC, working on numerous art-related events around the city.

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