In my last instalment of ‘Memories from Event Solutions Catersource 2010′, I thought I’d share some pictures from the Anthology party. I’ve been to my fair share of industry parties, but this one was full of so many great ideas. Enjoy the pictures!
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(from left to right) Myself, Tracey Kumar-Moore of LV Wedding Concierge, Debra Roth of PinkInc
A lot of people ask me, “What’s the deal with tweetups?”. First, let’s define what one is. A tweetup is basically a scheduled meetup between Twitter friends. Tweetups allow you to take the relationships you’ve built online and extend them in person. The beauty with tweetups, which is hard to describe to someone who doesn’t use social media, is that all of the awkward “um, hi, errr…I’m Lara” is replaced with “Oh my Gosh!!! You look nothing like your picture! How are your daughters? You mentioned they’re moving to California for University, right?…”. They’re fun, they’re unpretentious, they’re meaningful.
The Queen of tweetups (aka Debra Roth of PinkInc) planned this one at The Event Solutions / Catersource 2010 Conference. We met at Bally’s Indigo Lounge before the big Anthology party later that night. It saw a mix of girly drinks (yes, even the men had a few pink, fruity concoctions), a lot of smart phone comparisons and a tonne of business card trading. A perfect combination.
Next time you attend an event, follow the event’s hashtag on Twitter and you too may just be lucky enough to find yourself at a tweetup!
(left) Liese Gardner of Mecca Communications, (right) Debra Roth of PinkInc
Eddie Diaz (right) hams it up for the camera
What happens at a tweetup? Everyone compares smart phones. (middle) Eddie Diaz, (right) Alan Jones.
(left) Robert Sivek of The Meetinghouse, (right) Jeff Hurt of Velvet Chainsaw
(left) Laura Schwartz of White House Strategies, (right) Howard Givner of Heathcote Advisory Group
(left) Liese Gardner of Mecca Communications, (right - back to camera) Lindsay Fultz of Grosh Backdrops
(left) Liene Stevens of Think Splendid, (right) Carolyn Baragona
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On March 8, 2010 event planners from around the world will descend on Las Vagas for the 2010 Event Solutions Conference & Tradeshow. The event will start with a bang…on the evening of the 8th, the Mandarin Oriental Ballroom will roll out the red carpet for the 2010 Spotlight/CATIE Awards (in association with ICA and Event Solutions Magazine). Yes, Vegas has seen its share of Trekkies, Adult Film Stars and Gadget Geeks, but they’ve never seen the likes of this bunch.
With my smartphone and my social media applications, yours truly will be reporting from the awards celebration along with Alan Smithson of Star Productions Inc, Brent Prockert of All Seasons Catering and the fabulous Ruth Moyte of Red Dandelion Creative (one of my blog sponsors – yay!). I’m very excited seeing as Ryan Hanson of Beevents (who will be producing the event), Event Solutions and many of the event sponsors have readily embraced social media and will be introducing some amazing social ideas leading up to the event and on the evening of the awards.
Over the next week and a half, the 2010 Spotlight/CATIE Awards will be asking its attendees to help shape their event using social media. In their first of three question to all of you, they ask: Which centrepiece would you like to see grace the dinner tables of this 60s themed event? Cast your vote here!
If you haven’t already, make sure you follow the conference twitter hashtag: #ESCS10. You’ll hear event stakeholders leak cool information about the event, attendees build relationships with one another and social media reporters weighing in on their event experiences.
I’ll be delivering 3 sessions at the conference & I hope to see you there. Please introduce yourself – I always love to meet my social media friends in the flesh!
MONDAY • MARCH 8 10:30am – Noon . State of the Industry: Where We are Now and Where We’re Headed
Moderator: Laura Schwartz, Principal, White House Strategies, Chicago, IL
Panelists: Branden Chapman of The Recording Academy, Steve Kemble of Steve Kemble Event Design, Lara McCulloch-Carter of READY2SPARK, Kevin Dana of CORT and Craig Bullock of TBA Global
From the A.I.G. effect to blacklisted destinations to the Great recession, the events industry has faced many significant challenges in the past year that have changed it forever. this March, join your peers and a panel of industry leaders to discuss all that we have faced as an industry and the way ahead. Leaders from diverse sectors of the event world will present their vision for the future of the industry; the top-line trends you need to be aware of; and how our industry will look one, five and 10 years from now. Whether you’re an independent, association, corporate, or nonprofit planner or a supplier, this must-attend session will give you the big picture you need to strategize your business or career for today and tomorrow. Stay tuned to learn more about the top event industry voices who will convene for this one-of-a-kind featured session!
MONDAY • MARCH 8 3:00pm – 4:15pm . Business Development: How to Turn Customers into Evangelists
Attracting and retaining customers is the age-old challenge for all business owners. In this session, explore how to find new customers, and more importantly, how to keep the ones you already have. In this ever-changing and significantly more sophisticated business environment, your relationships with your clients is vitally important to your company’s survival. You will leave with an accomplishable “to do list” for meeting your clients’ needs and having them shout from the roof tops about how great you are!
TUESDAY • MARCH 9 9:00am – 10:15am . Socialize With a Purpose: Building a Social Media Strategy For Success
Social media offers an excellent tool for business owners and marketers to expand their communities and their brand recognition – but just because it’s free doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a strategy behind it. The key to success is a clearly thought-out plan. This session will give you the tools you need to craft an effective strategy to achieve measurable results for your company.
Register
Click here to access the conference program & event information.
Helping smart businesses attract more customers
(289) 937.0141 . hello@ready2spark.com
It was difficult to narrow down the world’s most beautiful restaurants to my top 7…but I did it. There are just so many worthy contenders out there. To me, an event planner-worthy restaurant must have a totally unique experience to provide its guests, innovative design and a big punch of drama. Each of my favorites below accomplish all three criteria and then some. I will admit that the venue I now have on my must-visit-before-I-expire list is Piz Gloria in Switzerland. Being able to say that you dined with 360 degree views of one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world is true bragging rights. But the remaining 6 restaurants are very close runner ups.
I’ll be taking a trip to Las Vegas in the next few weeks and you can be sure I’ll be stopping by this restaurant. I found the design so etherial. This is a true statement restaurant.
Need I say anything? This restaurant could serve cardboard wrapped styrofoam hamburgers for all I care. The breathtaking beauty of the view says it all.
I picked this one in large part because of my obsession with pink. The design is sleek, but it’s the color combinations that had me swooning. Note to self: pink, black & gold = hot, hot, hot.
Another restaurant that is a must-see for me. Dining in an open air restaurant at the foot of Mount Fuji is a dream I didn’t know I had until I saw this venue.
Such a cool, new space that has just launched in New York. I quite liked the unconventional seating groupings.
I love the design of this restaurant space.
Paris is one of my favourite places on Earth. And Germain is one restaurant that I won’t miss the next time I’m in town. Beautiful and unexpected architecture give this venue a checkmark for me.
So, I’d love to hear from you. Are you an event planner? What do you think of the restaurants on this list? Which restaurants would you add?
Helping smart businesses attract more customers
(289) 937.0141 . hello@ready2spark.com
Business Marketing BlogCopyright © READY2SPARK 2011 All rights reserved
International keynote speaker & small business marketing consultant Lara McCulloch-Carter offering marketing consulting, brand consulting, business & social media coaching, workshop leadership.
