Sell More Event Tickets - Use the Online Ticketing Software

Majority of event organizers are resorting to online ticketing software to boost up their sales. The increasing cost of printing and distributing event permits are forcing the organizing companies to embrace this new online technology. This web-based software enables registrants to purchase vouchers easily without visiting the different outlets.

Let's find out the various advantages of selling permits online.

Increase Sales

With this web-based software, you can increase your sales by leaps and bounds. How is it possible? Well, the interested parties will no longer have to wait in long lines to buy them. Instead, they can easily access the event organizer's website to book their seats. This software allows you to sell tickets easily and reach out to maximum potential buyers.

24x7 Online Purchases

The solution enables you to purchase vouchers 365 days a year. There is no time limit to book them online.

Select Your Seat, Date, and Time

Just log in to the site and buy tickets as per your convenience. It means you can select your seat, the date to attend the conference or festival, and of course, the time of attending it.

Suitable Payment Options

You can purchase your favorite festival's passes via all major credit cards and PayPal. This online system lets event organizers accept all kinds of credit cards and wire transfers.

Flexible Delivery Method

After you buy the entry passes, the same automatically gets delivered to your mailbox. You will also get options to take print outs of the same.

Offers Greater Chances of Promotion

You can market your events more effectively once you start using the Cloud-based ticketing software. You will get a chance to add your company logo on your personal website as well as upload post-event photos for easy viewing by your probable buyers. Apart from online advertisements, organizers can offer discounts and special pricing on specific/all event passes.

Simplify the Process
The whole process of selling tickets and collecting payments becomes easier with the use of this web-based solution.

Save Administrative Cost

You no longer have to rent staff for selling tickets. The software will do the work for you.

Generate Sale Report

You can instantly create and publish a range of reports using this software. The ticket sales report will help you track the percentage of sales as well as calculate the revenue earned after every event.

Thus, this Cloud-based software helps in selling more event coupons within a stipulated period. It is a flexible method to sell, promote, and manage your functions to a larger audience.

Event Management Tip - Exhibition Handouts and Giveaways - Make Them Work For You

Event managers know that an important part of any event is to make sure that your guests remember you but just how memorable are trade show giveaways? Everyone who has either worked an exhibition stand or even attended a major trade show will know that many visitors are there just for a day out and to collect freebies. What sort of use is that for your budget - particularly with the current economic forecasts seeing advertising budgets being cut left and right?

When these visitors get back to the office with a sponsored plastic carrier bag full of pens, mouse mats, mugs and so on, what happens to them? They struggle to even give them away so what was the point of that? And do you think that they remember which stand was handing out free sweets?

So what is the best way to spend your marketing budget on handouts? One well used option is to make handouts and giveaways available only in return for the freebie collector's business card. That's really good thinking - if you want this person on your mailing list for the next few years so that you can continue to throw away good money.

The real trick is to use an interactive product which will break the ice in order to keep a visitor on your stand long enough to strike up a conversation and to establish whether or not the visitor is a real sales prospect. A good example of such a product is the Jumpinjax which is a neat little pack which measures 160 x 80 x 6mm - easy enough to hold and hand out at exhibitions. The visitor will ask, "What is it?" so you just offer the invitation to open the pack to find out.

The Jumpinjax is a small promotional pack with a big surprise. Inside are four cardboard cubes which are powered by rubber bands and these cubes are coiled ready to spring out of the box as soon as someone slides out the tray from the sleeve. The product is a new variation on the more familiar Springbox pack except that these cubes come out one by one in a sort of rat-a-tat-tat fashion rather than all jumping out at once.

As soon as the sleeve is opened the cubes spring out and give the visitor a surprise that wasn't expected. This creates quite a bit of laughter and as the visitor bends down to pick up the cubes, which have by now been dropped on the floor, you have the opportunity to join in as the ice is already broken. Right from that moment you will know whether or not your visitor is a potential prospect and the promotional handout has done its job.

What's more, if the visitor wants to keep the Jumpinjax to take back to the office you can rest assured that it will be passed around the office, reloaded and tried time and time again on other colleagues. It will definitely not be forgotten.

Of course, there are other similar products on the market other than the Jumpinjax and the Springbox but the theory remains the same - if you're going to have a handout at the stand, then make sure that it is made to work for you. You will have spent thousands on the stand, accommodation and expenses so don't waste all that money and be sure that you make the most of your opportunity.

How to Have a Fun Company Picnic

Company picnics can provide a great opportunity for bonding, team building and camaraderie among office employees. If done right it can be an occasion where the employees of the company have the chance to intermingle and interact in a different way so that when they come back to work they will know each other better and will have a stronger relationship.  Here's how to have a fun company picnic.

Just like any other event it is paramount to keep in mind the tastes and likes of the people attending a company picnic to make such a group event successful. Ideas on company picnics range from the traditional to the all out extravagant and even theme picnics.  People usually tend to enjoy all of these equally. But it is vital to decide the kind of picnic that would suit your organization, the activities, entertainment, food, beverage and the budget requirements before organizing a fun company picnic.

The first thing you need to consider is your budget.  You should not start the picnic planning project until you know exactly how much you have to spend.

Next you need to decide where the picnic will take place.  If there is room, will it be on the company property or will it be at an off site venue.  An off site venue can often be more fun.

For an off site venue for a company picnic you should keep in mind that most venues need to be booked in advance and some of these come at a high premium during the peak season. Some picnic sites may also require transportation to the site besides meticulous planning on the arrangement of food and entertainment.

Additionally, for family picnics that are usually held in the weekends employees require prior notice so that they can fit the picnic into their weekend plans and activities.

After deciding on the location and the venue, other decisions will need to be made on the theme and food items and fun activities.  These will require the proper planning and imagination to make a company picnic a fun filled experience for the employees and their family members.

While considering the items to incorporate in the list of activities you need to keep in mind that it must be simple and have something to offer to all age groups.  Simple fun activities such as dunking booth games, tossing balloons and snow cones are some of the popular activities that many people of all ages enjoy.

Slightly older people tend to enjoy activities like karaoke or a magician or simply sitting around under the resting tents chatting and watching other younger people at play.  The young prefer something like face painting or games which requires a bit of running around and prefer shooting baskets games such as pop a shot. Field games such as the children's three legged race or playing with water balloons are fun activities that are sure to bring out those smiles and cheer among the employees and their family members. You may even want to consider renting an inflatable bounce house for the younger kids.

There are numerous event management companies  operating throughout the country that specialize in organizing and planning unique company picnics to fit any budget needs. This is something you might want to consider if your budget allows.  These companies appoint a fleet  of highly skilled professionals, planners and event organizers with specific expertise and experience to plan out a fun company picnic that can be customized to your company's needs and requirements.

Fashion Goddess Rules - Appropriate Evening Dresses For Corporate Events

Some of the most common questions I get all seem to fall into one category: "What are the guidelines regarding appropriate evening dresses for corporate events?" Fashion Goddess Rule #47 is: Corporate event gowns shall be neither too risqu矇 nor too cabaret.

Too Risqu矇 - Front

You have a great bosom and you don't see a problem with showing it off. That's fair. But when you're attending a corporate event, you want positive feedback, not people gawking at your rack.

It is possible to give the suggestion of voluptuousness without full disclosure. If you're a fan of evening dresses, is an excellent example. It's a Grecian style gown with a low-cut neckline. Not too low but just low enough to intrigue.

Too Risqu矇 - Back

You could be mistaken for Jennifer Lopez from behind. I'm jealous! But when you're attending a corporate event, you want to stimulate with your mind, not your behind. It's okay to wear a form-fitting gown as long as the outline of your physique is left up to the imagination.

If you own any, or have your eye on any designer evening dresses, you're in luck. This dress has a way of fashioning a loose fitting gown out of clingy material. So as you walk, there is a hint of a curve here and a hint of a curve there.

Too Risqu矇 - Bottom

You have spectacular legs, why cover them up? Okay. But when you're attending a corporate event you want to network with your eyes not your thighs.

If you can bend over to retrieve a dropped business card without showing all of your business, you're golden. If you can cross your legs without your co-worker's eyes crossing from shock, AOK.

A lot of evening gowns manage to marry mini lengths with maximum sophistication. Case in point, this falls about six inches above the knee in a smart ensemble of black stain ribbons.

Too Cabaret - Best Color Choices

By too cabaret, I mean too dramatic, theatrical, showy, etc. This rules out flamboyant colors like red, yellow, orange, and also loud prints and patterns. Stick to neutral colors like mauve, beige and ivory. And black is always safe.

One exception, if you work in an arts-oriented industry, you can get away with an artistic print. For example, if you are a curator at a museum or are an art gallery owner, you may like these amazing evening dresses. Specifically, it reminds me of an abstract Picasso painting.

Too Cabaret - The Right Embellishments

I am often asked how to go about buying an evening dress online when you can barely see the details. You must utilize the zoom function on the product pages. This is especially important when shopping for corporate events. Zoom in and weed out anything with overtly flashy details.

If you're looking at designer evening dresses, the slip dress will be ideal. If you're browsing couture evening dresses, some have a teaspoon of sparkle.

Too Cabaret - How Much Skin?

I am a fan of splits in dresses. And a well thought out see-through panel can be quite captivating. But these are not appropriate for corporate events.

No exceptions. No back or side splits and no heart-shaped cut-out over your belly - not if you want to keep your job and/or be respected. Both designer evening dresses and couture evening dresses focus on feminine lines without actually revealing them.

Event Planning Course - Advantages Of Event Planning Course

Event planning is increasing its popularity because every now and then different kinds of events take place and people want a class with perfection in their functions and for this, they seek professional event planners. So if you want to step into this field you should consider doing an event planning course to have success in your field. There are many advantages in doing such courses.

You can take admission in any good institution or go through online certification as it has become easy to get education in this profession; only you need to have an aptitude and interest. Event planning course will help you to boost your talent and bring more chances of success for you in the future. You can do an event planning course even if you are already in this profession; by this you can heighten your running profession by learning new things.

It is true that there is no certain degree needed to start the profession and you don't need to acquire a college degree for these fields but still there are many institutions that offer event management and planning diplomas and courses. But the question is why there are such courses when you do not need a degree in this field. Here you will get to know what the importance of these courses is.

If you start your profession through having an event management and planning course, you can groom your work and enhance your inner talent by their training. Such institutions teach you how to manage an event from every angle which common people might not think about. These courses tell you how to handle budget, time, place food and music arrangements.

There are many event planning companies who seek for talented and skillful staff; you can get job easily by having a certificate of event planning course. These event organizing courses give you a confidence to do work and experiments.

You can learn how to deal with clients; how to understand one's mind and choice so you can plan their event according to that. You can learn to make contacts with different dealers to arrange a perfect event in a reasonable budget.

There are plenty of professional event planners who are providing people with good services and much more experienced so undoubtedly there is a hell lot of competition in the market. So to prove your identity and have some professional skills you need to do event planning course. If you are certified by any authentic institution, you will have more chances to make your place in the market and flourish in your business.

Corporate Communication Strategy

An effective corporate communication strategy comprises of internal and external communication, establishing good lines of communication between management, employees, suppliers, stakeholders, investors, customers and many other communication groups. The three variables in an effective corporate communications strategy include defining the organisation's overall strategy for communication, analysing the relevant constituencies, and delivering messages appropriately.

Internal Communication

Internal communications is a function responsible for the effective communication of information or a message within an organisation. The key elements of an effective internal communications strategy include;

• Employee communication -
A process of passing a message to an employee and receiving a message from the employee (This could be via print, electronic, visual, verbal etc. Communication channels)

• Internal events -
Corporate events held for employees such as training seminars etc.

• Internal communication Channels -
E.g. Emails, intranet and Employee handbook

Top managers use internal communication to improve morale between management and employees, to inform employees of internal changes, to increase employee understanding and to change employee behaviour.

External Communication

External communications is the exchange of information and messages between an organisation and an audience outside its formal structure. The key elements of an effective external communications strategy include;

• Corporate brand management-
The management of the organisation as a brand; Corporate Identity

• E-communications
Online methods such as company website, email, Social Media

• Media Management -
Management of media such as press using Public Relations as a method of maintaining public image (press releases, press kits and social media)

• External events -
E.g. Community events hosted by the organisation, Sponsorship of events, conferences etc.

• Marketing management -
Management of communication via marketing channel such as advertising and direct mail

Theory

The Communication Theory indicates various elements - Essentially, when the sender or corporate organisation wants to put a message across to a defined audience, the sender will initially 'encode' the core message in an appropriate manner to apply to this particular audience. The message itself should be what the sender / organisation wants to transmit to an audience. There are many different channels to announce a message such as corporate events, e-communication, Public Relations and many more. A message will be 'decoded' in numerous ways depending on the individual receiver. This should be taken into consideration when 'encoding' a clear, concise and targeted message. Feedback will take on the form of many different responses depending on the message and the receiver; such responses include anything from a general awareness to a physical action. Noise reflects any activity which may influence or distort the communication process.

Conclusion

Communication strategies should be revised regularly. It is also important to measure the success of internal and external communication strategies, ensuring the 'message' is correct and the appropriate lines of communication have been established between management, employees, suppliers, stakeholders, investors, and customers. By doing so, effective communication can be easily achieved and managed.

How to Plan a Great Event on a Low Budget

Grand events, sounds interesting! Event planning includes establishing dates and exchange dates, budgeting, selecting and reserving the affair site, acquiring permissions, and coordinating haulage and parking. The high budget events are considered to be great and grand. Even if it is boring, people still call it a big success. Normally a grand events demands loads of money and resources, but if you manage properly and think a bit wisely than you can also get the same effect in a much lower budget.

A lot of hotels in New York offer great services and facilities in low budget. They lend there terrace or lawn during off time to host a huge event in low cost. Some of such hotels are:

Dune: This is one of the most reputed and well-known hotels in NYC. This hotel hosts a lot of huge and grand events every month, but if you want to organize an event in the same hotel, you too can get the opportunity in a very low budget. You get very high discounts during the time when this night club remains closed.

Pink Elephant: This night club has a very beautiful décor and great atmosphere. It is among the best night clubs in New York. This place organizes events on large scale as well as on the small scale too. It offers all modern amenities and services. People, who have a low budget for an event, can plan it here. Normally this club remains closed during the day time. During the closing hours, this night club hosts events on discounted rates.

Suzie Wongs: This night club remains active through out the night. It has brilliant music instruments and an event lawn. It hosts grand events during the day at a low budget as compared to the events hosted at night. This night club remains closed during 5-11 pm. This time can be perfect to host an event with great services at low budget.

The events can be grand if you plan it wisely. A lot of night clubs in NYC offer the best services and facilities at a low budget without any compromise making it a memorable event.

Plan Before Negotiating Events

Many organizations hold numerous events, for any number of reasons. Sometimes, these events are held as member benefits, while at other times the intent is fundraising. At still other times, the event may be educational or training in nature, and often an event may serve multiple purposes, or entirely different purposes from what I just listed. Sometimes events are for small groups, while other events may be massive. Events also vary significantly in their budgets, etc. For more than three decades, I have been professionally arranging, organizing, coordinating, and/ or consulting regarding events. I have been involved with events for as little as about twenty five attendees, and as large as several thousand. What I have come to realize is that any chance of success is always dramatically impacted by the quality and nature of the negotiations.

1. Before negotiating, organizations need to know what they want, what they need, and what they can afford. They must examine their goals for the event, and their priorities. What are they happy with from prior events and what are they less than thrilled with? If this is an annual or periodically repeated event, such as a conference, convention, fundraiser, etc., has their attendance and their results been improving, stable, or have they seen diminishing returns? If their success rate has been decreasing, to what do they attribute this? Everyone involved with planning and organizing this event must be on the same page in terms of their vision for the goals and purpose of this event.

2. Great events have themes that attract people to take notice, and feel welcome. The theme of the event must be incorporated into all pre- marketing for the event, as well as carried over into the event itself. This may include decorations, colors, foods served, etc.

3. What is the budget for the event? Creating a budget should serve as a method of prioritizing and organizing activities, programs, and concepts. Projected revenues should always be done on a conservative basis, and must include any fees charged for attending, subsidies, advertising, sponsors, etc. Expenses should be looked at from a worst case scenario, because it is always better to err on the size of caution when creating a budget. This helps to determine what needs to be negotiated, what is the greatest priority, and what are the options.

4. What's needed to make this a great event, and what needs to be negotiated? Which items have the highest priorities and are thus determining the game maker versus game breaker approach to effective negotiating. A negotiator must fully understand in which areas there is more flexibility, and which there are less.

5. Professional negotiating includes all aspects. No area should be left without negotiating! If this event is being held at a hotel, and guest rooms are needed, planners must understand the price level that is needed to attract attendees, and further avoid deterring attendance by being too highly priced. If this is a multi- day event, planners must take into consideration any complimentary or subsidized rooms that need to be provided, as well as the costs of meeting rooms, etc. Far too many organizations overlook items such as audio- visual costs, only to be shocked when they realize how high these costs may be. Like everything else, audio- visual is also negotiable. Negotiators must address the costs of food and beverage, and know how to work with banquet/ catering departments to come to a mutually agreeable solution that works for both sides.

The most important message I am trying to send is that planning is vital to successful negotiations. Negotiators must be armed with as much pertinent information as possible before commencing negotiations, so as to be as well prepared as possible. It is vital to remember that it is always easier to negotiate before a contract is signed, than it is after one is signed, and far more advantageous to pre- negotiate as many items as possible. Organizations should either fully explore their needs, or utilize the services of a professional event negotiator, so as to put themselves in the best possible position for success.

The Top Benefits of Employing Online Ticketing System

The internet era has drastically changed the way of marketing and selling products and services, particularly the simple and minute information based products and services, which are hardly seen before purchasing. As a result, the online market is expanding on an increasing rate which has also influenced the event industry, significantly.

Most people these days are opting for online tickets for any event, function, concerts or shows, by visiting the event organizer's website. Being an event organizer, if you want to allow your potential attendees to buy tickets online, you can anticipate an increased ticket sale, more attendees, higher ROI, improved customer satisfaction and minimized cost. Let us have a look at the top most benefits offered by the online ticketing system:

繚 Online system offers 24x7 access:

Even as creating a website is a great idea of advertising your company or organization, you are surely going to loss potential customers, if they are unable to buy tickets online, when they land up to your site. You must ensure that the online ticketing process is easily accessible, so that the viewers who are interested in your event can instantly purchase tickets of their choice. Taking your ticketing process online will offer better experience to your attendees, as they will no more have to wait further. Waiting long for buying tickets might change their mind and they might spend their money on other things or may even forget about it.

繚 Get rid of additional service charges:

Within a manual ticketing system, both customers and event organizers have to spent major expenses, charged by the middlemen. But employing an online ticketing system, you can not only evade extra service charges, but also manage and control your ticket sale and pricing structure, accordingly. Thus, this will ultimately help in building up good and healthy relationships with your patrons.

繚 Minimize workload and save time:

The online system saves your time greatly, which would otherwise be required in answering calls about event related queries. As the manual task of registration and payments gets automated, you can easily relax back and utilize your saved time in doing other productive works. Thus, interested attendees can register and make the payment within minutes, for booking tickets for their favorite show or concert.

繚 Build patrons fidelity:

Most attendees expect that event page will display the updated information about the event as well the best prices and offers. By offering the best services, with informative contents and online ticket availability, you can build up a sense of loyalty.

The online ticketing system embedded with several beneficial features can serve you immensely and help in offering enhanced experience to your attendees.

How Team Building Events Can Make Your Organization More Effective

If you own a company, you are probably always trying to use your resources to become more profitable and become the best company possible. So much time and effort is spent trying to research where the market is moving before spending any money on marketing. It can be very frustrating at times. This is especially true when we still have to manage day-to-day operations. Fortunately corporate team building programs and events can help you achieve your short and long goals for your business become more efficient and effective.

Why Corporate Team Building?

Basically, because corporate team building event is an event that includes your employees- the entire staff or single departments- with the end goal of better communication for enhanced company productivity and efficiency. The events typically occur at external locations such as retreats, conference halls and hotels, and create a team-playing environment for employees through games, and problem solving activities. Studies show time and time again that employees involved in corporate team building events come back to work noticeably more productive, enthusiastic, and overall happier.

Team-building Enhances the Efficiency for Your Business

One of the biggest goals and typical outcomes for businesses and organizations that enlist in one of these corporate team building events is enhanced efficiency. Your business can have the most up to date equipment, the newest technology, the best employees and the best product possible for your prospective customer. However, if your employees do not know how to effectively work as a team, your company's objectives and overall efficiency will greatly suffer.

So, how do these corporate team building programs, events, and retreats teach your employee workforce how to better communicate in a day, weekend, or week? First, like any business or service, the professionals involved in corporate team building programs have been trained in personal communications. They know the basic personality profiles that make up any sample group of people, and can therefore use this to work with your employees in order to unite them. The team building activities, games, etc. that they use have been tried and proven to best connect your team through better communication.

More Effective Communication

Your employees communicate on a daily basis amongst themselves, but, because of human nature, they may be subconsciously communicating with stereotypes, negative perceptions, and grudges that only serve to break down effective communication. This breaks down the efficiency and productivity of your entire business. Team building events teach your employees, through games and activities, how to trust, depend upon, and better communicate with their fellow employees. In this way, they can better contribute to the efficient success of your company.

Improved Employee Morale

Corporate team building events can also improve your company's efficiency through boosting employee morale. Studies have shown that making people feel more connected at work to fellow employees dramatically enhances how people feel about themselves and their place in the company. Furthermore, it makes your employees feel like they are a vital part of the overall success of the company.

Improved Problem Solving Skills

Many corporate team-building workshops contain activities that bring the participates together to solve a challenge or puzzle. This is an effective way to reinforce the employees need to look at business challenges in a healthy way and not in the typical, "we're all doomed" attitude. Teams work to find the best collaborative solution to problems and challenges. Once the solution is found, the teams feels a strong sense of accomplishment, and are more willing to take on future challenges with a confidence they have never shown before.

If you are interested in a Corporate Team-Building Event, contact us at http://www.magnovo.com or call us at 1-800- 861-TEAM (8326)

Planning Event Itinerary - 6 Even Methods To Get With The Program

Event planning is successful when guests know what to expect and then get it. You may have lined up the best caterer, the most exquisite decor, and the finest facility. But if people don't know when to sit down for dinner or when to plan a bathroom break, your event will lose some of its glimmer. For organized events involving speakers or specific activities, it's important that event program planning take into account time available, time required, and the inevitable last-minute changes. When you develop the program for your event, consider these details:

1. Who's on First?

Before you write down your event program, the agenda, make a list of every activity you want to occur. Then order everything in a way that is natural and makes sense. For example, instead of scheduling a speaker immediately after the meal, schedule something active that will keep your guests from getting drowsy. Better they dance or do the limbo than they take a nap during an important talk. Don't plan a speaker during the first part of the dinner. If you do, your speaker will have to shout to be heard about the squeaking of chairs and rattle of silverware, not to mention that get-to-know-you chatter you hope to encourage over your catered meal. Don't overwhelm your guests by presenting several speakers or presentations back-to-back. They'll get restless and stop paying attention, both insulting the last speaker in line and losing the impact of his or her presentation. Schedule highly social activities at the beginning and end of your event program. Give people a chance to see who's there at first and to say their hellos. Then let them relax and have a good time before the go home so that they take a great memory with them.

2. Timing is Everything

Once you've established a logical, smooth order to event program activities, make sure event planning includes practical timing. You have an allotted amount of time to accomplish everything, and you don't want your event to move like a freight train. Neither do you want it to progress along in fits and starts. If there's no time for relaxation or bathroom breaks, your guests will not be happy. And they'll be overwhelmed if you try to keep them engaged every minute. There's a fine art to scheduling - planning too much or too little time for each activity will leave your guests irritated, bored, or gone.

Including times on your program will give your help your guests anticipate their own choices - when to fill their plate or find their seat, when to take that smoke or bathroom break, when to corner Harry for a special favor or question. It will also help you keep things moving according to plan by giving you check points. A printed program with scheduled times keeps everyone on the same page as the event program unfolds.

3. Don't Overbook your Program

Everything you plan to do doesn't have to be included on the printed program. Keeping a special "surprise" speaker or entertainer on board will allow you to fill extra time if it should come up. Your program doesn't have to be so detailed that you have no flexibility to change things that need to be changed to keep the momentum going. Make sure you include the major activities (the meal, specific ceremonies, keynote speakers, social activities social mixing time or dancing) on your printed program, but don't include every break or announcement. Your program should be structured enough to keep things organized and flowing, but it should be open enough to meet unanticipated needs.

4. Be Prepared for Featured Guests to Go Over their Allotted Time

You may have scheduled 10-15 minutes for each speaker or presentation, but it's human nature to ramble. What if someone takes 5 minutes over their time budget? What if EVERYONE goes over? Or what if it takes longer than anticipated to set up a presentation or a stage? Keep in mind when setting your schedule that even the best plans go astray. Allow slightly more for specific activities than you think they will take. And build in some breaks so that speakers can get their breath or guests can take care of personal needs. If you find you don't need the extra time, keep a "surprise" guests or activity in your back pocket. It'll add some spontaneity to your event and make it less predictable. Your guests will be happy to be "honored" with a special appearance or activity.

5. Be Willing to Cut the Fat or Add Some Sparkle

Be flexible. Nothing will go exactly as planned. event program planning requires give and take on the scheduled program. Perhaps one of your speakers gets lost in traffic or gets sick. Maybe your entertainment can't find a place to park. Be willing to switch speakers and activities where it makes sense to keep the event moving along. Have something extra planned to substitute or add to your program if needed. One great way to accommodate unplanned timing jams is to have an emcee that can fill empty time with jokes and entertaining stories if necessary. The emcee can also drop some planned remarks to accommodate over-times. Be flexible, and don't get stressed when things don't go exactly as you planned them. Maintain your poise and grace, and no one will even know there's been a hitch in your event program planning get-along.

6. Always Have Someone Else Review your Program

Your program documents the event. Avoid misspelling someone's name, and be sure there are no typos on your program. Your program should be attractive and professional. If you developed it, you're likely to miss some errors. Run off a trial copy and ask friends, co-workers, or fellow event planners to review it for you. Very important: double-check the spelling of names. No need to insult a speaker or guest with a casual error like that. When you are comfortable with your program, get it to the printer well in advance of the event. Creating unnecessary panic by waiting too long to have your program printed is an easily-avoided problem.

Event programs can be as simple as a list of activities or as complicated as a formal schedule. In event program planning, the nature and purpose of the event will suggest the type of program you need. The more guests attending, the more structured your program should be. If you have celebrities or community big-shots, you should include their names in the program.

Most important, use your program as a guide while you're overseeing the event. Don't throw your planning away by playing it by ear during the event. Set a reasonable, well-timed schedule that makes sense and provides for both stimulation and relaxation. Be both flexible and disciplined as your event program unfolds. Be prepared to make last-minute changes, but don't turn over the program "apple-cart" by making dramatic changes. Give your guests enough information to know what to expect, and then give them what they expect. Using an event program will be an invaluable tool in making your event a rousing success.

Important Steps to Follow in Hiring a Casino Party Company For Your Next Casino Fundraiser

7 important casino fundraiser steps and pitfalls to understand when planning your next casino fundraiser.

Having been in the casino party and planning business for many years I have heard from customers some very sad stories of what occurred at their casino fundraiser and I would like to pass to you the 7 steps you must follow to ensure you have a successful casino fundraiser and hire the BEST casino party company for your event.

Step 1. The planning committee. This is the most important step in your planning and you must assign a person to each of the specific tasks that must be accomplished for your event, which include the Law and getting the appropriate licenses, finding the location and catering for the event, getting sponsors to help with the costs, getting gifts donated, finding the correct casino company, and who will be handling the money. It is impossible for one person to handle all of the above items. The only successful way is to have one person responsible for each item, leave them alone to perform the task, but having them report their progress every so often to the person assigned in charge for the event. You will need plenty of time to accomplish all the tasks I a good time frame to start is 4-6 months before the event date.

Step 2. The Law and obtaining your fundraiser license and township permission. Always remember that gambling is illegal, and having casino games at your fundraiser is gambling. This is important because a casino fundraiser is not the same as holding a car wash to raise funds. Because gambling is illegal there are state authorities in charge of stopping illegal gambling which means your casino fundraiser will fall under an exception to the gambling laws. Let's take New Jersey as an example. The state agency ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control)is responsible to find and prevent illegal gambling, unfortunately their own handbook does not say illegal gambling, or exceptions to the gambling laws, it only says gambling, and there has been an occasion where one of their investigators attempted to stop a casino fundraiser claiming it was gambling. The situation was resolved before the event date because of the second point I want you to remember. Even though your casino fundraiser is gambling and gambling is illegal, you fall under an exception to the gambling laws by state statute. In New Jersey the state legislature created a statute to allow casino gambling and created the Casino Control Commission to oversee the activity, they also created a statute to allow casino fundraisers and created the legalized Games of Chance Control Commission to oversee casino fundraisers. The point I want you take from all this would be to make your casino fundraiser legal, you must understand the law and get the proper licenses and township permission for the event. Just because you are a 501(c)3 non profit organization and used to having a car wash to raise funds doesn't mean you can have a casino fundraiser simply because it sounds like a good idea. So at this point you should understand it is a good idea to call your states Office of the Attorney General to find out the laws in your state to have a casino fundraiser.

Step 3. The Best casino company. The licensing requirements needed for you state may also require the casino company to be licensed. There have been occasions in New Jersey where a non profit organization called a casino party company and neither of the parties knew the laws resulting in the event being stopped and fines. Each state is different and in New Jersey the casino company and all the dealers must have a casino fundraiser license. So the important point here is to first learn the requirement on your own by calling the state authorities, then you start calling the casino companies and ask them what is required to have a casino fundraiser. A good casino party company will ask you if you have your license and be able to email you the forms needed to obtain the license. They should guide you through all aspects to obtaining your license and getting the township permission. If they do not assist you or explain the rules then they may not understand them and that could be a disaster waiting to happen.

Step 4. Who is really doing your event? Understand there are casino party companies who advertise locally and some who do it nationally. In my experience the local companies are the best for you because the national companies may not know the laws for you state. Even worse is the national companies will not be doing your event. What they do is call the local companies, get a quote from them and add hundreds of dollars to the bill just for answering your phone call, and the local company is who will be doing your event and they will have given you a quote that is less than the national company. As you look at each company you will see some that have photographs of movie stars and people having fun in a casino on the front page of their website. Forget all that material designed to attract you because it is not important. When you receive price quotes from the casino party companies you may get 3 or 4 that are in the same general range and 1 or 2 that are much higher than the others. Let's give an example and say you received quotes for $1000, $1100, $1200 and $2000. It doesn't make any sense that 3 quotes were in the same range and one quote was much higher and that is because the very high quote is from a national company who will not do your event because they are going to call the local company who gave you the lower quote in the first place, then add the extra money to the bill.

Step 5. The casino tables. There is a general rule to follow which is you want approximately 70 percent of you guests to be able to play. You can modify this rule, but I would not go below 50 percent able to play. The casino company should advise you on this. They should also stay in constant contact with you in the week leading up to the event to revise the tables if needed. Let's assume your event was 300 guests, but in the last week you realize only 200 will show up. A reputable casino company will suggest you reduce the number of tables. A poor casino company will want you to stay with the original suggestion because they will make more money. Simply stated, the BEST casino party company would rather you have the correct number of tables and not too many or too few, and they should not put their profit above your fundraising needs. Now let's discuss the casino tables that will be used for your event. This is my opinion as a licensed dealer, but the best casino companies have new equipment which does not have folding metal legs and/or use skirting under the table to hide the metal legs. Ask yourself why a real casino doesn't use metal folding legs on their tables. A craps or roulette table is very heavy with up to 14 people all leaning and shifting their weight on the table. Maybe that's the reason you shouldn't have metal folding legs on the table because you do not want to take the chance the table collapses. I will never deal craps or roulette on a table that has metal folding legs. The point I want you remember here is that you should have the casino party company put in writing that they will be the company doing your event and will not subcontract to another company. You should also require the casino company to provide photographs of the actual tables they will use at the event. It is fine if they can show you the tables on their website, but I would ask myself why a casino company does not have photographs of the tables on the website. Do not accept the company having a photo showing the top of the tables with people having fun because that does not show the legs of the table which I consider the most important part.

Step 6. Cost from the Casino company and suggestions. The casino party company should be making suggestions on the proper casino tables and the number of each table to have for your event. They will follow the general rule of 70 percent of your guests being able to play, but they should also be in constant contact with you leading up to the event and be willing to reduce or add tables if needed. Remember the casino company is there to help you but also want to make money. A great casino company will advise you if needed to reduce the number of tables originally suggested based on the number of guests, allowing them to be a great help to you and still make a profit. The Poor casino companies will want you to stay with the original plan because they will make more money. The point here is that if you have too few tables then your guests can't play meaning they can't donate money to the event, and if you have too many tables they will not be used and you are spending more money than you should, and you could run the risk of losing money for the charity because of it. The last point I want you to remember is some casino party companies that do fundraising want a percentage of your profits. Never hire a company that wants a percentage of the profits because that is your money. Look at the casino company as you would a caterer or DJ. They are being paid for their service a flat fee and not a penny more.

Step 7. Who is going to handle the money. There is a cardinal rule in casino fundraiser that you never allow the casino company to touch the money. Keep in mind there could be thousands of dollars out there and you want to remove all temptations and possible accusations. A great casino company will advise you how to set up a "bank" and how only your representatives will touch the money. There are certain aspects of the evening where the casino company pit boss will do things to help encourage additional donations by making chip specials to your guests if they donate more money at each table, but this should only be done one table at a time with one of your representatives standing next to them.

I hope the discussion will help guide you to having a successful casino fundraiser. If you ever have a questions you may always email me at cardsordice@verizon.net or visit my companies website www.cardsordice.com and I will get back to you and answer your questions because I want to ensure you hire the BEST casino party company and make a lot of money for your charity.

What You Should Know When Planning Corporate Meetings

Depending on time management skills, the job that event planners do can be either enjoyable or nerve-racking. A planner is the one person charged with the responsibility of ensuring that huge meetings are coordinated gatherings that have a purpose and matches the company's demands, often having to adhere to very strict details. The event planner also arranges for the meeting venue and works with the support staff to set up the requirements for the meeting, all under a set deadline.

For a large or small business, planning a meeting involves knowing how many people will be in attendance and thus making sure that the meeting or conference venues are big enough to accommodate all of the participants. Other logistical details, like the seating arrangements, food, sanitation facilities and sound or audio equipment are also part of the work with which the event planner has to contend.

In brainstorming sessions, intended to update the staff, flip charts or boards for use during demonstrations are vital. As effective as they are, a meeting can also be a source of conflict between participants who fail to agree on particular agenda issues. In such a case, the event planner has to find a facilitator, who creates an allowance for problem solving in such settings. This is done by clarifying the validity of each argument. A consensus is reached by voting, in which case the popular vote wins.

It is the responsibility of the event planner to ensure that speakers in meetings, conferences or conventions know when they will speak and how much time is allocated to them. The planner also organizes all the printed material to be used, in addition to all the sound and visual equipment that may be needed.

Ideally, an event planner has to understand the theme and the overall corporate image that the hosting company wants to portray. In addition, they need to have knowledge of the area they are working in. This allows them to employ the best conference planning strategies and to match their client's needs. A meeting that runs for several days may require the planner to organize the accommodation and transportation details for the attending participants.

Today, planning corporate meetings is rising in stature as a serious profession; one that oversees the organization of a major events, like political conventions, trade shows, and corporate seminars. For all events, the planner needs to be calm and should be able to handle pressure. Organizing a meeting needs professional self-starters and team players who have great interpersonal skills and a good level of management expertise.

Negotiating Events Out Clauses

Time and again, I have witnessed numerous organizations lose substantial amounts of monies because they failed to pre- negotiate numerous clauses, that are often key to substantially protecting the organization's interests. Over my career in event planning, negotiations, and organizing, which now spans over more than thirty years, I have continuously tweaked and adapted my contract demands, in order to assure these protections. Those areas that have often caused the greatest agony for organizations are: limiting/ amending attrition clauses; addressing audio- visual expenses; protections regarding food and beverage areas; protections because of economic downturns, wars, or acts of God (weather, etc.); negotiating in modification and give- back dates; and, specific language regarding the ever- expanding tendency of many resorts to add on mandatory fees and service charges.

1. The strict attrition clauses of the past must never be permitted in a negotiated contract. The best way to address this is in advance, via a tersely and properly written and crystal clear Request For Proposal (R.F.P.). It is essential that group's negotiate out or down attrition (i.e. not meeting certain specific numbers) either outright, or by instituting a substantial compromise/ outright reduction, or by being given flexible give-back dates (where the group can return rooms and reduce other targets, without penalty).

2. Audio- visual costs are often the great eye- openers to non- professional event organizers. These costs often escalate dramatically, often to the disbelief of amateurs. Professional negotiator first reduce substantially the audio- visual fee schedule, negotiate certain comps and allowances, and get in writing, in detail, all specific costs in this area, written in plain English descriptives.

3. Organizations must put in a clause regarding economic downturns, and the possible implications. Good negotiators have clauses regarding stock markets substantial drops, energy/ transportation substantial increases, acts of God (weather, war, terrorism, etc). Again, these clauses must be specific, and permit substantial givebacks if these parameters occur.

4. Giveback clauses must be included. These clauses are capable of protecting both the vendor as well as the organization, because it permits givebacks (and thus eliminates penalties, etc.) at three specific times (I recommend at 90 days out, at 60 days out, and then the final revision permitted at 30 days out, by specific percentages).

5. Many hotels today, observing the airline model, have instituted certain resort fees and service charges, in an attempt to promote an attractive hotel room rate, while collecting additional revenues. This has varied substantially from property to property, and, it is not unusual for the room rate promoted and the amount paid per night (adding in taxes, fees and service charges) to differ by thirty percent, or even more. Negotiators should have any fees that will be charged spelled out in detail, and a clause stating that the only fees the group will pay are those stated. In addition, negotiators should look closely at what these fees are for, because often what is included are not things that a large percentage of the group will either utilize or find of value. One area today that many surveys indicate are most resented in terms of fees, are substantial charges for internet access. With many properties today including or, at least, substantially reducing the cost of internet access, attendees often feel ripped off by excessive fees in this area. When a hotel says their service charge includes domestic local and long distance service, most attendees today find that of little value because most calls are made by their own cell phones anyway, and they rarely use these phones. Hotels that promote their spas as a reason to come to that hotel should not be charging fees for basic services, such as locker room access, saunas and hot tubs, or exercise equipment. It is appropriate, however, for them to charge additional for more advanced services such as massages, salons, classes, etc. Again, negotiators must carefully negotiate appropriate language into the initial contract.

Beware that it always easier, less stressful, more efficient, and fairer to all, to pre- negotiate in all of the above areas, and more. Failure to do so often leads to negative financial ramifications.

Paper Wrist Bands - An Easy Event Management Option That Will Not Tear Apart Your Budget

Whether you have heard of it or not, it cannot be denied that paper wrist bands have taken their place alongside the better known silicone, vinyl and rubber wrist band versions. At this point you might be wondering how paper based wristbands can have as large an impact with people as their more durable and longer lasting counterparts (after all paper is not known for its ability to weather adverse conditions such as water and natural wear-and-tear.)

The solution to this conundrum lies not in the wording so much as it does in the composition of the 'paper' material, which - if you have not already guessed it - is not made from paper, or rather, not entirely from paper.

With help from the latest technological advances, a new, hardier material was created using a unique blend of fibre, fabric and paper. This became known as Tyvek and the rest is history. Although Tyvek has numerous applications, it cannot be denied that using Tyvek to make paper wrist bands was a good idea. These wrist bands are utilised by many people for many things spanning from admission into concerts and large events, to being used as identifying tags to help separate those who are under the legal drinking age.

And this is not all they can be used for. These wrist bands can also be used to help identify VIP guests. This would allow them to have access to VIP areas which otherwise they would not have access to. This method of identifying those who are allowed special privileges is in many ways advantageous over existing methods.

Instead of having to print special paper passes, or having the special passes in clear plastic pockets which can then be hung around the neck of the guest, these wrist bands can be placed easily and simply on the wrist of each guest. This not only minimises cost (no paper passes to be printed, no clear plastic pockets necessary to hold them, and no lanyard needed to hang around the neck), it also simplifies matters for the guests as well. Not only do the guests not have to keep track of their special pass, they also do not have to worry about it getting on caught on something and potentially harming them.

And if you think along the same lines you will find this is not the only use for paper wrist bands. They can also be used to help control those factions of people who will look to con their way into large events such as concerts by using one ticket for a number of people. By using paper based wrist bands instead of using paper admission tickets, you have effectively made it more difficult for those trying to bluff their way past the entrance security owing to the difficulty in removing these wrist bands without first defacing them in some manner or other.

That said, if you put your mind to the task there is really no shortage of ideas you can come up with as to how best to use these paper based wristbands. Do not limit yourself to the tried and tested uses they have already been put to - do something different and you will immediately see the advantages in using paper wrist bands.

Event Planning Certification - Do You Need Certification To Work In The Event Planning Field?

To make an event a hit you need to an excellent event planning. However, sometimes, people fail to make good arrangements even though they have spent so much money. Besides this reason, people have become so busy in their lives that they hardly get any time to make any arrangement. Therefore, instead of experimenting themselves they hire event managers who handle their work with professionalism.

The demand of event managers is always high. So many popular event managers are earning in millions. Both in the corporate world as well as in non-corporate world, everyone wants his or her events to be successful. They want to impress their guests and want them to have a great time. That is why they depend on event managers who know very well how to make events last forever.

Hence, for those people who see many potential in the event planning careers, there are certain certifications present that will enhance their skills and make them an expert. With the passage of time the demand of event planners in immensely increasing, this will create a big competition and for this reason; it will become necessary to have an event planning certification or two so that you can stand above others. Therefore, by passing these certifications now, you will create a strong base and gain success in this field.

There are so many people who are very interested in this field but do not have the required set of skills that are very important. If they take these courses, they will enhance their progress, as they will become more creative, dynamic and systematic. Mostly event take place in the evening or on vacations, so the organizer has to be very active and multi-tasking in order to carry out all the procedures of arranging the event. In this business, you will also face situations where you will have a tight budget or a short time span to make the event come alive. Individuals do not posse these skills unless they trained how to handle such situations.

The event planner has to try his best to satisfy his customer. If he or she succeeds in doing this, then there are chances of more projects and maybe bigger than the last one. This is quality management. On one hand, they have to provide their clients with quality products and services instead of doping him with cheap products and on the other hand, they have to assure them that they will provide improved services and that clients will not be disappointed. With the help of an event planning certificate, he or she will be able to do so.

Therefore, now it is clear that event planning certificate has great importance and if one acquires them, he or she will definitely become triumphant in his business.

Summer Internships For College Students

When a student finishes a long year of college classes, the last thing they want is to look for summer internships that will occupy their months of freedom. However, an internship is an important part of many academic programs and they may not have a choice. Just because a student has to do an internship for the summer, however, does not mean that they cannot have a great time. Check out a few of the best internships around for a summer of fun and education.

If a student wants to have a great summer while completing their internship, why not do it at the happiest place on Earth? Disney offers a variety of internships, most notably their program working with the Disney Imagineers, who design and construct all of the Disney theme parks and attractions. The perks of this internship include free admission to the parks, discounts on Disney merchandise and sneak peeks at new Disney parks and rides.

The student who would rather spend their summer playing sports might consider applying for an internship with Major League Soccer. These interns get a close look at the soccer league as they assist with tasks such as updating the scouting video library and the end of season technical report. They may even get to spend some time outdoors playing soccer since they will be expected to assist with youth development projects.

The social butterfly who cannot stand the thought of working instead of partying all summer might have a great time interning with an event planning company. There are many event planning companies that offer internships to college students, such as Backstage Creations in Los Angeles or Butterfield 8 in New York. Interns get to assist in all aspects of planning events like parties, conventions and competitions and usually get to enjoy the fruits of their labors by attending the events.

Students who are interested in photography could spend the summer shooting outside by themselves, or they could learn from a professional with a photography internship. While interning with a photographer, a student will be exposed to various photographs, stylists and models. They may even get to shoot a bit themselves and start building their portfolio.

Just because a student needs to look for summer internships does not mean that they cannot have a great summer. If they had any high school internships, they could even consider going back to that location and spending the summer with old friends. If they think outside of the box a little bit, any student will be able to find an internship that will be educational and a lot of fun.

Benefits of Using Corporate Hospitality Packages

More than ever it is important for businesses to be offering the best service to their clients and ensuring that their needs are being met so they stay loyal customers. The increasing use of electronic communication benefits business with efficiency gains but can be detrimental with the interaction with clients. We all need to hold onto and look after our customers and one of the best ways to obtain quality time with valuable clients as well as potential clients and top performing employees is to take them to an exclusive or very popular event such as a high profile sporting event demonstrating to them how much you value them. The best way to spend time at an event is going with a corporate package, for many reasons.

Firstly by doing it in style and creating a special occasion people will remember it for years to come and will certainly show how much you value them by going that bit further than buying tickets to the event. Taking employees and clients here will pay you dividends in the future as it will encourage loyalty and continue bringing in valuable income.

Using hospitality facilities will provide you with space to spend time with valuable clients and those contacts that you want to convert into customers. Having that prime location at the event gives you a huge benefit over sitting in a crowded and noisy stadium. It is a much better suited environment to enjoy the event while talking business too.

Going with a hospitality package can often give you the opportunity to network as other companies will be sharing the facilities with their clients. You can find valuable clients and contacts this way.

If you run a sales team you can use these types of events as a motivational tool or reward your best performing employees as well as attract other highly competent people to your organisation. The initial cost of paying for a hospitality package will be repaid plus more with extra sales for your company.

Finally with these economic times it is important to offer the best service and have a competitive edge over the competition in order to win valuable business. Using corporate hospitality will certainly do that.

Personally I prefer motor racing to any other sport and have had recommendations for THG Worldwide for their packages they offer at the Formula 1 events.

How Strategic Alliances Help You Organize Better Events

The growing expenses of holding an event compel organizers to look for convenient ways out to arrange programs at low costs. Reducing costs as well as the workload, while making sure that the event is well executed, has now become the major concern of the event organizers. According to the veterans in the event industry, the best way to reduce cost is to establish strategic alliance with a non-competing organization with the focus on the same target market.

Broadly speaking, a strategic alliance refers to a partnership, where two or more organizations work together to achieve a common goal and share profits. For example, your organization arranges a corporate meeting. For this, you need a venue, food, and so on. You can collaborate with a supplier or a vendor, such as a catering company, who will be responsible for offering appetizers and food to your guests. In turn, they can get the chance of promoting themselves. Here is a brief overview of how you can garner potential benefits from a strategic alliance.

Shared Costs

A potential collaboration helps you share the expenses required for venue, marketing, registration, planning, and so on. Partnership with another organization allows you share time or space at a venue. It is likely to reduce the expenses, which was otherwise required for organizing the event entirely on your own.

Shared Workload

Collaboration with a non-competitive partner allows you to share workload, thus offering you enough time to invest in your core business functions. For example, if your organization can handle registration and payment processing, the other may take up the responsibilities of managing the event in real-time.

Share Expertise

Divide the workload with your partners. Decide what you can do best. Provide your partners with the part of the work they have expertise in. Make sure to be complimentary to your partner to complete the task with success. Keep this point in mind while approaching for partnerships. Such alliances increase your efficiency and maximize the success rate of your event.

Share Invitation Lists

You can double the attendee participation in your event, by establishing a strategic alliance with other organizations. For example, if you have one hundred contacts to invite to the event and your partner already has a client base, then you can instantly double the number of potential event attendees. It gives you chances galore to generate more revenues and, at the same time, paves the way to attract new attendees for future events.

Establish partnerships strategically, so that you can garner more profits from the event.

Ideas for a Successful Company Picnic

Company picnics are a fun way to spend time with your fellow employees and their families in a relaxed atmosphere. Planning in advance will ensure that you have a successful event that is enjoyed by all who attend. Many organizations choose to hire a professional event planner to take care of the planning and managing of their corporate picnic. Their experience and expertise ensures that your picnic will be full of fresh and innovative ideas each year.

The goal of a company picnic is to spend time with your co-workers and get to know their families. This type of informal interaction is crucial to building your team and promoting goodwill among your staff. Picnics are a popular corporate event because they are cost-effective and allow all the members of the family to participate. It is a great opportunity to relax and have a good time outside of the office.

While company picnics are typically fun and relaxed events, planning and managing them can be quite a task. Event planners can be used so that all of the planning is taken care of. In addition, they will be there during the event to ensure that everyone on staff can enjoy themselves while they take care of all of the details.

Choosing an appropriate venue will be one of the most important decisions you make. Your event planners will find you a location that has enough space for all of your guests. The best location will be somewhere outside of your business campus that has plenty of room to accommodate all your activities and entertainment. Try to keep the venue somewhere that is close and easily accessible to the majority of your employees. Most cities and towns have beautiful parks and open areas that are ideal for company picnics, large or small.

Promoting your event is key to its success. You will want to generate excitement and interest within your office to ensure that your employees and their families will show up. Event planners can guide you toward promotions and invitations that will get your employees talking.

Entertainment and planned activities are crucial for keeping your audience engaged and having fun. If you plan on having quite a few children there, be sure to include activities and entertainment that will interest them as well. For an adult crowd, casino games or live music can create a celebratory atmosphere.

When there is a picnic, people expect to eat. Provide lots of tasty food and drinks for your guests. Your food may reflect a particular theme that you have set for your gathering or you may choose to serve typical picnic fare. Be sure to include some kid-friendly foods to keep the younger children happy and well fed.

No matter what your budget, event planners can create a company picnic that will delight your employees and become a fun gathering that they look forward to each year. With their expertise and your vision, your next corporate picnic will be a huge success.

How To Plan A Banquet - A Guide To Planning Perfect Banquets For Company Or Private Parties

First time planners are often stricken with complete fear! Even those that plan events over and over again still fear that something will go wrong and they will be the subject of ridicule. Hopefully we can allay the fears and quell the butterflies in your stomach by helping you through the entire project.

There are a lot of questions you need to ask. First timers probably don't have the foggiest idea what questions to ask, so, the first thing we'd better do is outline these for you.

Perhaps the easiest way to do that is to fill out a form. (I love forms!)
If you were to phone me and ask me to help you make arrangements for a special event, the first thing I would do is reach for a blank form, and over the phone we would fill it out. When I had all the information, I would be better prepared to help you.

Before you continue reading, you may want to print the banquet planning worksheet(PDF) from my website. That way you can follow along with the worksheet as I describe the planning process. I've also included a pre filled sample planning worksheet that you might help.

Let's begin with fact finding.

PURPOSE

The first question to ask is, "What is the purpose of the event?" This question should be really easy, but it's perhaps the most important. The purpose of your event will determine your event's agenda.

DATE

Break out your calendar to decide a date for your event. Look for possible conflicts. It might be tough to get people out to a Saturday night banquet if it's a three-day holiday. It would be unwise to put on a church social if your local school, where most of your congregation had children attending, were having an open house or play that night.

Pencil in a date and then try to think of possible conflicts. I know of one organization that booked a very popular and relatively expensive Jewish comic into the club house of a predominantly Jewish retirement community. Attempts to sell tickets failed miserably, because they had not realized they had scheduled his appearance on a Jewish holiday - a very expensive oversight!

BUDGET

There are many, many determining factors in establishing a budget. First of all, how many are expected to attend? You might have a pretty good idea for a company party, but in some cases you might just have to make a "guess-timate" until you can get more information. Make the best possible estimate based on what facts you have, and proceed.

TICKET PRICE

Another factor to determine before we select a location is how much your attendees are willing to pay. Sure, we can work the other way: we can pick a location, hire a band, select the menu, etc., and then add up how much it all costs and thus determine how much everyone needs to pay, but doing so will probably leave you hurting in the end.

If you expect 1,000 people, and you determine $25.00 a person is acceptable, then your entire budget for food, printing, entertainment, etc., is $25,000. If you expect only 20 people and you know they won't come if it's over $5.00 a person, then you know you're far more limited.

LOCATION

Determine the geographical area where the event is to take place. If you live in the area where the event will take place, you may already know of various hotels, country clubs, restaurants or catering halls that can accommodate your group. If you don't live in the area, be sure to go look at the potential location before you book it. If the event is in a distant city and it's not possible for you to travel there, and the event is a significant one, I suggest you hire a professional meeting planner.

I once attended a banquet in a quaint "50's malt-shop-type restaurant. The party planner had not gone there to look at the room where the party was to be. She had just taken the word of a friend. True, it was a great restaurant, but their "room" had about 5 permanent booths on each wall. Guests were facing in all different directions. This made it almost impossible for the magician they had hired to perform. To further confuse the issue, it was not even a private room. Restaurant customers could not get to the restroom without disturbing the party, and the 50's music continued to blare through the ceiling speakers throughout the evening because it was piped throughout the whole restaurant and could not be isolated from one room. A visit beforehand could have prevented this nightmare.

Many, if not most, facilities do not charge a fee for the use of the room but instead absorb the rental fee into the price of the meal. For instance, in our example of 200 people, a banquet facility would be delighted to supply a private room in order to sell 200 dinners.

Usually they will have several dinners to choose from - perhaps a chicken dinner, complete with beverage, salad and dessert, for $12.00 per person; or prime rib at $18.00 each; or sirloin steaks at $25.00 per person. In our example we are charging $30.00 per person. Let's select the prime rib at $18.00.

Does that include tax and tip? Oh, Oh! Find out if it does, or you may get a surprise at the end of the night. Let's say it does not. 15% tip and 8% (or whatever) tax makes the dinner a total of $22.14 per person. Our sample budget calls for 200 people at $30.00 each for a total of $6,000. If all 200 people attend, dinner will cost $4,428. That leaves $1,572 for all other costs.

By the way, the facility may ask you for a deposit and guarantee. If you guarantee 200 people, you will have to pay for 200 dinners even if only 175 show up. Generally, a facility is prepared to serve about 10% more people than you guarantee. So it makes sense to guarantee a lesser number than you expect. Even some of those who told you absolutely they would be there, maybe even gave you a deposit, don't show for one reason or another.

Just to be on the safe side, in our example of 200 people, I would guarantee the restaurant 185. If you're pre selling tickets, which I recommend, you can always adjust your estimate upwards with the restaurant a day or two ahead of time if needed. Ask the facility about their requirements in regard to a change in the guarantee.

AGENDA

The evening agenda is largely determined by the event's purpose. A typical event might go like this:

6:00 - 7:00 - Social or cocktail hour

7:00 - 8:00 - Dinner

8:00 - 8:15 - Meeting/Awards/Business

8:15 - 9:00 - Entertainment/Speaker

9:00 - 9:10 - Raffle/Door Prizes

9:10 - 1:00 - Dancing

Having an hour to "gather" is always good. You and the facility both will want everyone present when you actually sit down to eat. It's been my experience that almost everything starts late, so plan for it and don't be disappointed when it happens.

Will you be having a cocktail hour? A "Hosted" bar means that drinks are free to the party-goers. If you choose to host the cocktail hour, be prepared to spend about $1200 for our sample group of 200 people. Most organization-sponsored events have a 'No-Host' bar, in which guests buy their own drinks. It's appropriate to announce 'Hosted', or 'No-Host' in the invitation.

Some form of entertainment during the cocktail hour is certainly a plus. The facility may have music piped in through its sound system, which is certainly the most economical; however, for around $300 you could have live music. Most banquet facilities have a piano, sometimes on wheels, and will let you either rent the piano or use it for free. Fee for the piano rental should be around $50 to $100 and a piano player anywhere from $150 to $250.

Other cocktail hour entertainment could include a chamber group, a jazz or "society" trio, harpist, or a strolling accordionist. A strolling "close-up" magician, performing from group to group or table to table, is always fun. Other forms of entertainment for the cocktail hour could include celebrity look-alikes, mechanical or conventional mimes, a balloon animal sculptor, caricaturist, graphologist, palm reader, tarot card reader, stilt walker, or just about anything else you can think of! Again, your budget is your gauge.

DINNER

This is pretty easy. When the Maitre'd says dinner is ready, have your party sit down!

The vast majority of banquets have certain people assigned to sit at the head table while everyone else may sit where they wish. If you choose to have a head table, you should make small place markers for those assigned to sit at the head table, and don't forget to discuss table arrangements with the facility.

OPENING

Someone, perhaps you, should step to the microphone and announce that dinner is ready and ask everyone to take a seat. When this has been accomplished your President, or whoever is presiding, should welcome everyone.

It is appropriate at most banquets to have someone lead the flag salute, followed by a blessing on the food. People should not be called upon for these jobs extemporaneously, but should be asked in advance and their names and responsibilities should be listed on the printed program if there is one. Following the flag salute and prayer, your Master of Ceremonies (or who ever is conducting) should introduce the people sitting at the head table, introducing himself last.

THE PROGRAM

If business of any sort needs to be conducted, begin when dessert is finished, or at least served. Make sure that the facility knows that you do not want any bussing (clearing of tables) or coffee served after the program starts, as it can become an irritating distraction and take away from the enjoyment of the program.

ENTERTAINMENT

Following opening remarks, and/or other business, you could either introduce the main speaker, or present some form of entertainment.

This could be the highlight of the evening! There are many outstanding after-dinner performers and speakers. If you really want to have a successful event, hire a professional. At this writing $500 to $1,000 can buy you some pretty top-notch entertainment.

How about a comedian-magician who uses a member or two of your group and does some hilarious bits of business and audience participation magic tricks - 30 or 40 minutes of non-stop laughs!

Or picture this...the dessert has just been served and in walks "Lt. Columbo," complete with overcoat and cigar..."Oh, excuse me," he says, "I was looking for somebody else." All eyes are riveted on this familiar figure as he turns and starts to walk out. "Oh, one more thing, is this the Walker party?' Then for the next 30 minutes or so he does a comedy routine in the style and delivery of Peter Falk as Lt. Columbo, using names of people in your group.

That will rock your people out of their seats with laughter. These are just a couple of suggestions. Everybody loves to laugh, and a good professional entertainer can make you a hero.

How do you find that kind of entertainment? Again, watch out for the well-meaning friend. Sometimes hiring a friend of a friend who tells jokes or plays the banjo can put a wet blanket on the evening if they don't live up to your expectations.

Probably the best way to secure talent is to work with a professional talent agent that specializes in special events. Ordinarily there is no fee for his services. He can make recommendations and suggestions based on what your needs are, and work within your budget limitations.

Some entertainers may have special requirements, like a stage, spotlight, two mics or something else, and these items need to be arranged with the facility. There may be a rental fee involved.

RAFFLE/DOOR PRIZES

Giving away door prizes or raffle prizes should not be held until after the entertainment or main speaker. Perhaps it's an inducement for your guests to stay until the end.

If you're selling raffle tickets, again you need to make out a budget. How many tickets do you expect to sell and for how much money? Do you want to make a profit? Let's say you expect to sell 100 tickets to those 200 people expected to come, and we sell them at the banquet for $2.00 each. That'll give you $200 to buy prizes with. You can put this in your general budget or assign someone to take care of the whole raffle, including purchasing the prizes and selling the tickets.

DANCING

Following the raffle, the formal portion of the program is really over. Your people can now go home. If you've elected to have a deejay or band, they may stay for dancing.

The facility might charge to set up a dance floor. Sometimes this is a portable dance floor they build right on top of the carpet. A band will cost anywhere from $150 per band member to $450 per band member for four hours. A small trio of keyboard, drum and guitar could be anywhere from $750 to $1,500.

An $1,800 to $3,500 five-piece band, including a vocalist, is average. If you hire a band, you may be able to use one or more of those same musicians to provide cocktail hour and/or dinner music for a small additional fee. You normally need to make a deposit at the time you hire the band. Anything over four hours' playing time is considered overtime, and you should talk with the band or agent about the cost of overtime when you make the initial arrangements. Bands also need to take a 10-15 minute break each hour. Ask if the band will supply recorded music during their breaks.

MOBILE DEEJAY

Sometimes you might prefer a DeeJay playing recorded music instead of hiring a band. This gives you the advantage of hearing the original recording artist instead of a dance band's rendition.

Another advantage is that most mobile DeeJay units will set up before dinner and offer to play dinner music at no additional cost, and of course, a DeeJay does not take a break during the evening, so you have non stop music for your event.

Cost-wise, there is not a lot of difference between a 3-piece band and a DeeJay. Some DeeJays offer a full light-show that few bands do, and even with an additional charge, this could be a real plus. I think it's just a matter of taste. Some people insist on a live band and others are just as adamant about a DeeJay.

PHOTOGRAPHER OR VIDEOGRAPHER

Video taping an event, except for historical purposes, is unnecessary. Seldom will the video tape or DVD be watched more than once after the event. Yes, maybe a Bar or Bat Mitzvah will watch his or her recording years later when they grow older, and maybe even a bride and groom would watch a well-edited and condensed recording. A company or organization's banquet, however, will be seldom if ever watched.

I would recommend that you hire, budget permitting, a professional photographer rather than leaving it up to one of your guests or a friend of a friend who only takes photos twice a year. You can have the photographer deliver prints or a CD of digital photographs in which case you could print just the photos you want.

PROMOTION

Probably the most traumatic thing that could occur is that you planned the entire event and then no one came. If it's a company party and the food, entertainment, drinks and dancing are all free, I don't think you will have a problem, as long as you let everybody know when and where and that it's FREE!

But if that's not the situation, you may need to promote the event. Once you have all the facts (WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, WHO, and HOW MUCH), you can create a flyer - a piece of paper with all the facts on it, designed to motivate people to attend.

If you're an artist, great! You can create the flyer yourself. If not, maybe someone in your group is and they can help you. Otherwise, you need to "rough it out" the way you'd want it and take it to a graphic artist to do the "camera-ready copy" for you, then off to a printer to print however many you're going to need. How many you need will depend on how you're going to distribute them.

The layout, printing, envelopes and postage all need to go into your budget. There are, of course, additional ways you can promote the event - word of mouth, bulletin boards, phone committee, club or company newsletter, posters. If your event will be open to people outside your organization, you might try using the publicity channels of other related groups, companies, schools, etc., as well as your own. Have a "brainstorming session" with your committee, if you have one, to think of all the ways you can get the word out.

And remember that if you want people to come to your activity, you can't just tell them. You have to tell them and tell them and tell them! Use all the resources at your disposal, and don't hesitate to repeat yourself. The more times you tell them, the more will come!

TICKET SALES

There are as many ways to handle this as there are ways to promote the event. If you have to lay out funds ahead of time (which is usually the case), it is good to get as much money as you can up front. Pre selling your tickets will help you do that. Of course, your publicity must state your requirements and deadlines. This also will help you get a handle on how many are going to attend. Remember though, that there will still be some last minute cancellations and additions, so stay flexible.

TABLE ASSIGNMENTS

As mentioned earlier, most organizations assign only the head table, and the rest of the attendees are left to sit where they wish. Some groups insist on drawing pictures of the tables on a sheet of paper, numbering them, and then assigning people to specific tables.

I think it's far more work than necessary, but if you must, then have at it.
Some banquets, especially those honoring individuals or groups, offer entire tables "for sale." 10 people per table at $30 each means that for $300 someone could reserve a whole table. Make sure you put a "reserved" sign on that table, showing the name of the host.

THE PRINTED PROGRAM

When all the facts are in, if the budget will permit, a nice printed program could be put at each place setting or handed out as people arrive. It should contain the agenda for the evening and credits given to all those who contributed to the event.

Many organizations have been successful in selling ads in the program to defray the cost of printing or even to raise some extra money. I've put $250 income under the income column of our example. Don't you think you could convince 10 people to give you their business card and pay $25 to be advertised on the back page of the program? Of course, this idea could be a little tacky if the event is to celebrate little Bobbie's 10th birthday. Use your best judgment.

DECORATIONS

This could be a big item or not - strictly up to you. If you picked a beautiful location, and it's not a special seasonal event like a Christmas or Halloween party, why not just enjoy the facility's decor? If you feel you need decorations and you have a sufficient budget, call a party decorator who uses balloons. They go a long way towards dressing up a room without spending a lot of money.

Centerpieces on each table look nice. You can ask someone to donate these or have someone clever make something for each table. Many facilities make such a nice table layout that a centerpiece is not necessary. Don't spend money unnecessarily, but do remember that the nicer the ambience, the better the memories or the event will be in the minds of those who attend, which means that they will want to come to your next event, too!

One note of caution. If you're having entertainment, be careful that large
centerpieces, particularly balloons, don't block the view of the performing area or even the people sitting on the opposite side of the table who want to see and talk to each other.

YOU DID IT!

Yes, you will fret and worry until the whole thing is over, but every party planner does. Just relax, do your best and enjoy! (Here's a secret: If you enjoy what you're doing, the people you are doing it for will enjoy it, too!)

Promotional Writing Gifts For Corporate Events

Promotional gifts have to be chosen with concern because they represent the profile of the company and the use of the clients should also be kept in mind. Perhaps the safest and most dignified of such promotional items are the writing gifts. Notebooks, executive pens and journals are used every day and express solidarity found in few other items.

Notebooks: You can never have enough of notebooks. With so many engagements and appointments to remember, so many events to attend and so many aspects to remember while running a huge organization, every moment something or the other crops up which needs to be jotted down in order to be carried out later. It makes for an excellent promotional item as well.

Get you company logo imprinted on the cover of the notebook. However, it is advisable to imprint the logo on the cover only if the cover is basic and neutral in design, otherwise the look of the notebook may not be appropriate. If you are planning to give away notebooks with designed or jewelled covers, then it is best advised to imprint the logo on the spine.

If you want to give an artistic touch to your notebook, then you can opt for notebooks with jewelled rims, or bold tile work print. Geometric designs also lend a sporty look. If they are meant specifically for female candidates, then notebooks with floral patterns or covers in pastel shades is also a good idea.

Pens or Markers: They may not appeal to a lot of people for the simple reason that they look very common. As every company tries to bring uniqueness into their promotional products, they often oversee the fact of usability, because looking at things from the practical point of view; the pen is indeed one of the most important things that we use in our daily lives.

It is inexpensive and is one of the best items to be distributed when the promotion is taking place on a large scale among the masses, instead of some corporate events open only to invited guests. The users will remember your company every time they use the pen, which also makes is the perfect tool in marketing strategies.

Pens are, therefore, apt promotional gift items for any kind of promotional event hosted by a company.

Folders and Files: These are another very popular promotional item. It comes in so handy when there are so many papers to be managed and so many leaflets and brochures to be gone through. It is something which makes work easier in our daily work life, however simple it might be in looks and common in availability. Moreover, sorting out company papers in company folders makes categorization more easier, and will surely be appreciated among your employees and clients.

Why Hire Event Organizers In Manila?

Before you ask the question about why you should hire event organizers in Manila, you should first think about the reason why you want the event in the first place. Most probably, it is because there is a very important event in your life or it may be because it is essential for business operations. For this reason, it is essential for you to get the best services possible in order to make event successful and memorable. Hiring event organizers in Manila is very much recommended because they have the necessary expertise, time, and resources to plan the event thoroughly.

The most common reasons why people chose event planners include:

o Celebrations - such as weddings, birthdays, reunions, parades, and anniversaries

o Educational purposes - includes meetings, conferences, and graduation

o Promotions - includes political rallies, fashion shows, and product launches

o Commemorations - includes civic events and memorials

But there are many other reasons why people need to event organizers, this list is not an exhaustive one because people hire event organizers in for social and business events and everything in between.

Event organizers in Manila also do a list of exhaustive tasks that can overwhelm a client with no experience in event organizing. For example, some of the things that event companies have to do include conducting research, developing the design concept, implementing the design, finding the perfect venue, arranging the food, arranging the décor, finding entertainers for the event, and sending out the list of invitation. In addition, some related tasks may include arranging the transportation of the attendees and their accommodations as well if applicable.

As you can see, the job of evemnt planning and event organization is not an easy task. Event organizing is a specialist field, expanding only when one has perfected a niche, perfecting a system and set of core services that is both impressive and satisfying for both client and vendor.

Planning A Grand Opening Event: Promotion, Gift Cards, And More

The grand opening of you new office, retail store, or any other business venture should be an exciting, busy day that brings you new customers and helps you reconnect with current clients. Whether the grand opening is for a new office building, a third retail store, or your first bakery, planning a great grand opening event can immediately boost your sales figures. There are several key elements to a kickoff event that will ensure its success.

Promotion

A public event doesn't take place in a vacuum. You need to create anticipation for the opening and reach as many people as possible so that they'll know when and where your grand opening will take place and what they can expect from the opening. There will need to be activities and special offers that are valuable enough for people to be willing to take the time to visit your business on the day of the event.

A multi-pronged approach is the best way to advertise your event. Television, radio, and newspaper ads are all excellent ways to reach people. At the same time, don't neglect the newer venues of social media. Post an announcement on your website (if you don't yet have one, get one!), tweet to your customers, friends, and associates so that they'll help get the word out, and lure them in with the promise of good food and prizes.

Food And Drink

Once people arrive at your business, you want to keep them there long enough to really get to know the advantages of your new location and do some browsing or talk to you about their needs. Always serve some food and drinks. Finger foods, including appetizers and cookies, are easy for visitors to eat while mingling. Depending on your company policy, you can offer alcoholic drinks or a simple fruit punch.

Giveaways

Prizes are always big hits at kickoff celebrations. You can offer door prizes, have a raffle, or host a Chinese auction for gift baskets that contain anything from jewelry or accessories to a nice bottle of wine. When putting together these baskets, be sure the prizes complement whatever products or services your business offers. For instance, a car dealership might give away gift certificates for the local car wash or car accessories such as a portable navigation system, new car mats, or products for cleaning a car's interior. A hair salon might give away gift certificates for a line of hair care products, hair dryers, flat irons, or make-up and hair accessories.

Buy gift cards online for several different stores or several gift cards from the same store and present them to the first 50 or 100 people to arrive at the grand opening. Be sure to prominently mention this incentive in all your advertising literature. You might say something like, 'Today Only! Grand Opening Specials and Gift Cards for Our First Hundred Guests! Doors Open at 10:00 AM.' This also encourages people to arrive earlier on the day in hopes of winning one of the cards.

Various contests can also be incorporated into your celebration. Trivia tests, spinning a raffle wheel, or simply drawing tickets handed out to guests lets you give away more prizes. If you buy gift cards online, be sure to select an assortment. Local restaurant cards are always nice, but sporting goods stores, shoe stores, and bookstores also offer great gift cards. They are nicer to give than cash prizes, because the winners are more likely to treat themselves than if they simply pocket some cash. The cards can be tucked into attractive note cards that mention the grand opening and thank the guests for coming. It's a subtle reminder that your grand opening was where they won the prize, giving you an added bit of advertising.

Discounts

Be sure to let potential guests know that your grand opening event is about more than simply introducing your new location or building. Your advertising should also highlight discounts available only on the event day. This will encourage guests to purchase your products or sign up for your services while they are at the celebration, getting your business off to a strong start. Once they've tried your product or service at a discount, they will likely become repeat customers.

Discounts can also be handed out in the way of gift cards. If you don't have your own company gift cards, consider a free 'gift card with purchase' promotion. For every $50 customers spend, they will receive a $5 or $10 gift card to one of several stores. Simply order a stack of gift cards online in advance of the grand opening and have them ready to slip into shoppers' bags as they are leaving.