Toronto Event Intelligence on What People Are Talking About, Columnist Ted Kruckel, Smart Event Planning and Selling Sponsorships in Toronto by BizBash

Toronto Event Planners Event Intelligence on Smart Advice, Useful Knowledge, Q&A with Smart Event Strategists, Tips and Event Problems & Solutions

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Q&AS WITH SMART EVENT STRATEGISTS Robin Kay Is Already Eyeing Another New Home for Toronto Fashion Week MTV's Kelley Electa on Launching a North American Tour to Promote Rock Band Giffin Koerth Chooses Constant Contact ABC's Darren Schillace on Using Events to Launch the Post-Strike TV Season Emmy Producer Ron Basile on the Show's Move to the Nokia Mark Singh Gets Ready for the 28th Annual Toronto Pride Week City of Toronto's Jane French Gears Up for Doors Open   USEFUL KNOWLEDGE Green Leaders: Setting an Example Green Leaders: Getting Vendors Involved Green Leaders: Shrinking Waste With Style Green Leaders: Getting the Whole Team on Board 10 More Green Events     Event Intelligence Archive 09.15.09 1:21 PM Event Security: The Twitter Effect The Black Eyed Peas at a tweeted party Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Texting, blogging, and online social networking have already made it a breeze for guests to send out tips to their friends and readers on scoring access to private parties. Now, with the increasing popularity of Twitter, the volume of recipients is growing exponentially and the details are leaking in real time. Crashers, gawkers, and paparazzi have instant access to more information than they’ve ever had before—on an easy-to-search platform—and security professionals and planners agree that 140 characters are more than enough to cause some trouble. Barry Meyerson, president of Manhattan-based security firm Meyerson Associates Inc., first noticed Twitter’s impact during New York Fashion Week in September 2008. As celebrities and partygoers shared details online, queues outside venues got longer, and throngs of paparazzi seemed thicker. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Twitter, Security, Secuity Leaks, Black Eyed Peas, Fashion Week 08.03.09 8:00 AM Marketers Share Insights on Successful Event Partnerships HBO and Virgin Atlantic's Entourage Air Photo: AP Photo/Virgin America, Bob Riha Jr Playing well with others hasn’t been strictly enforced since kindergarten, but companies looking to maintain or increase the impact of their events could do well to pay heed to that notion. Brand partnerships for events, campaigns, or long-term initiatives can produce more desirable results than tackling a project solo in any economy, but these days—when people are asked to do more for less—pooling resources can help marketers get more for their buck. But before you jump into bed with another brand, make sure to confirm you and your partner are looking for the same thing. Six months of trying phone conferences and constant concessions may not be worth a few dollars saved or a mention in Us Weekly. To get an idea how successful pairings come together, we talked to marketers who recently teamed up to share production responsibilities and generate more media impressions, higher attendance, or stronger buzz than each probably would have on their own. The bottom line: They’re all open to doing it again. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS HBO, Virgin Atlantic, Entourage, The Fader, Levi's, Belvedere Vodka, Bustle Clothing, Consumer Electronics Show, iLounge 07.13.09 11:34 AM 6 Warning Signs a Vendor Might Be in Trouble 1. A show-me-the-money attitude: If a vendor is unusually insistent on receiving the deposit, your money might be the only thing keeping the company afloat. 2. No welcome mat: Most vendors are happy to accommodate a mutually convenient visit. An unwillingness to show you around their place of business might mean they have something to hide, such as a half-empty workplace, threadbare supplies, or a general state of chaos. 3. A nearly empty calendar: “I want to see how busy they are,” says Debbie Baker, director of sales for Extras, an event and destination management firm in Las Vegas. “If they’re only doing one or two events a month, they’re not making it.” MORE >> 07.08.09 11:22 AM Recession Prompts Many Planners to Investigate Vendors' Financial Health Vendor bankruptcies and closures will likely increase during the recession. Illustration: BizBash Last year Matt Robbins, president of the Event Team in San Diego, booked a harbor cruise for a financial services client and put down a $2,000 deposit. A month before the event, Robbins found out the company, hobbled by the death of its owner and a failed vessel inspection, had shut its doors, taking the deposit with it. “They just stopped answering their phones,” Robbins says. He initially learned why through the grapevine. “I think after six million phone calls somebody confirmed that the company had closed.” Robbins only had a couple of weeks to go before the event. He raced to find a backup boat. The only available vessel was smaller and pricier, and he paid the $1,000 difference. “It was a mad scramble to keep our clients happy, and we just had to absorb the extra cost,” he says. MORE >> 07.01.09 9:30 AM Proving Your Worth: How to Avoid Getting the Boot—and Fight It If You Do Stephen Viscusi After years as a corporate headhunter and résumé doctor, Stephen Viscusi has taken on the role of job retention expert. His most recent book, Bulletproof Your Job: 4 Simple Strategies to Ride Out the Rough Times and Come Out on Top at Work, offers tips for people sweating out the uncertain job market. How can people best prove their worth in the workplace today? The most important thing is to establish a personal relationship with your boss, and your boss’s boss, so that they know you as an individual. The hiring process today sterilizes who we are, and it means that bosses don’t often know their staff. Nobody likes firing people, but it’s easier to fire someone you don’t really know. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Proving Your Worth 07.01.09 9:15 AM Proving Your Worth: The Example Liz Glover Wilson Photo: Leslie Hassler This story originally appeared in the most recent issue of our magazine; subsequently the subject, Liz Glover Wilson, left her job at iStar Financial to start her own event and fund-raising company for nonprofits, Elizabeth Rose Consulting. Before she left, Glover Wilson expanded her two staffers' job descriptions, and they were promoted and remain at the company. One of her first clients is the iStar Charity Foundation, and she'll be hosting its annual charity shootout in July. Here's our original story. Liz Glover Wilson has spent nearly 13 years at iStar Financial, steadily increasing her presence at the company by centralizing its approach to meetings and events and rising to vice president of corporate events. Now that funds are being taken from her department, she approaches every project with an argument for its necessity, and so far, she’s making her point. How She’s Already Proven Her Worth When Glover Wilson joined the real estate investment firm in 1996, planning its events was a one-woman job. She spent her first few years running 35 big events a year on a shoestring budget and eventually implemented a standard by which all iStar events are produced. Glover Wilson now has oversight of all meetings and event initiatives nationwide, so whether someone in her department or an administrative assistant plans them, they should deliver a consistent brand message and use her proven cost-saving methods. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Proving Your Worth, iStar Financial 07.01.09 9:00 AM Proving Your Worth: 5 Discussion Points to Make the Case for In-House Event Jobs Cost Savings Nothing speaks to employers like the bottom line, so you should already be keeping track of how much money you’ve managed to save through negotiations, partnerships, and minor budget-saving adjustments. “Even more than the economy today, people are worried about future money,” says Gen Art New York event director Kaki Stergiou. “Something I would have hired a freelancer for, I’m now hiring volunteers [to do], on the promise of partnering with them on something else. And for venues that are hesitant to give a low rate, I’ve gotten discounts for signing on to do two [events] in a year instead of just one.” MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Proving Your Worth 06.02.09 9:00 AM Guerrilla Marketing Guide: Where to Stage Stunts in Six Cities Tennis pros Venus Williams and Andy Murray stopping traffic in Miami Photo: Getty Images Chicago Where to Go: One of the Windy City’s most iconic locales, the Daley Center, allows marketers to reach consumers—including the lunching masses—under the watchful eye of a 50-foot untitled Picasso sculpture. A few blocks northeast, and just outside the Loop, is Pioneer Court. The petite, extremely busy plaza sits where the Chicago River meets Michigan Avenue and sees most of the 40 million tourists who visit Chicago annually. What It Takes: The Daley Center’s plaza is owned by MB Real Estate (312.603.7981), which prices permits individually. Pioneer Court is controlled by the Equitable Life Insurance Company and the Chicago Tribune Company, but any event using the streets around it would require permits from the City of Chicago (Office of Special Events, 312.744.0626). Months of red tape and a 28-page application packet might persuade you to go guerrilla instead. Recent Stunt: When More put future first lady Michelle Obama on its October 2008 cover, the magazine deployed 100 readers to the streets around Pioneer Court to pose with issues—and it didn’t spend a penny on permits. Who Can Help: Based in Chicago, Legacy Marketing Partners has earned a lot of attention from experiential campaigns like the Stoli Hotel and the mobile Burger King/NFL Challenge. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Guerrilla Marketing, More Magazine, Sony, DirecTV, Budweiser, Ikea, Ikea, Sony Ericsson 05.27.09 7:00 AM What's Worth It? Where to Spend and Where to Save in Today's Budgets Lighting at the opening-night party for The Little Mermaid on Broadway Photo: Courtesy of McNabb Roick “I don’t think it’s a matter of what you must cut from your budget, but what you do with the money you have,” says Ting Wang, events and promotions manager for Condé Nast’s Fairchild Fashion Group in New York. “At the end of the day, the most important thing is to produce a memorable event.” That pretty much sums up the point of this package—to explore which event expenses are worthwhile in an economic climate that can make many aspects of entertaining seem extraneous. Hosts with limited budgets face some difficult decisions, so we asked a diverse array of event planners about the line items they continue to approve (and fight for), and the costs they eliminate. Some opinions are specific to the respondents’ companies and brands; others are particular to their personal preferences and pet peeves. Some are contradictory—the print vs. email invitation debate is a hot topic—but in choosing which comments to include, we tried to focus on the concepts that many people agree on. When it comes time to set the final budget, though, the ultimate decisions often depend on the situation. “Every event is so different,” says Katie Youngkin, senior events manager at the Fader Inc. in New York. “You have to judge each event based on the audience it would attract and what would be most valuable to reaching that audience. Is it more important to get a DJ with allure, or just one who will play fun music? Is food necessary, or would drinks only be fine?” You’ll have to make those calls on your own, but here are some suggestions to guide your choices. MORE >> 05.01.09 9:30 AM How Two Recent Events Used Social Networking Sites to Woo Attendees These days event pros are using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter for a lot more than posting status updates about their weekend plans. More and more planners are utilizing social media sites to promote their events and reach new audiences. (Speaking of Twitter—and aren't we all lately?—BizBash's news tweet is here.) Here are two examples. “We created a character called Buybarella, designed by our fashion illustrator Danielle Meder, to promote Buy Design this year,” said Kelly Carmichael, event manager for Windfall Clothing Service, which hosted a space-themed fund-raiser at the Fermenting Cellar in mid-April. “Twitter was something new to Windfall and Buy Design and it was really beneficial.” The character, inspired by the Jane Fonda movie Barbarella, tweeted about ticket giveaways and details about the event, including hints about the menu and ideas about where to shop for an outfit to wear to the benefit. MORE >> RELATED TOPICS Social Networking, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Interior Design Show, Windfall Clothing Service MORE NEWS Search for Suppliers Activities/Experiences Catering/Food Services Decor/Design/Flowers Entertainment Event Planning & Marketing/Meeting Planning/PR Event Production/Audiovisual Services Gifts/Premiums/Awards Industry Resources Invitations/Name Tags Photography/Videography Planning Tools/Software Rentals/Props Security/Fire Services/Insurance Signage/Banners/Printing Special Effects Staffing Trade Show Services Transportation/Parking Services Search for Venues By Type All Types Activity Venues Ballrooms (All Venues) Banquet Halls Bars/Clubs/Lounges Boats/Yachts Casinos Conference Centers, Convention Centers & Auditoriums Entertainment Venues/Performance Spaces Golf Courses/Clubs Hotels Independent Event Spaces Lofts/Photo Studios/Raw Spaces Mansions/Houses Movie Studios/Sound Stages Museums/Cultural Spaces Outdoor Spaces Private Clubs Quick Trips Religious Spaces Restaurants Retail Venues Spas/Relaxation Places Stadiums/Arenas Terraces/Roofs/Gardens (All Venues) By Neighborhood/Location All Neighborhoods Annex Baldwin St. Area Beaches Bloor St. West Bloor West Village Cabbagetown Chinatown Church St. Village Danforth/Greektown Downtown Core Downtown East Downtown West Entertainment District Etobicoke Financial District Little Italy/College St. Midtown North York Queen St. West Rosedale Scarborough Theatre District Yorkville Markham Mississauga Niagara Niagara-on-the-Lake Other Areas Richmond Hill Stratford Thornhill Bloor/Yorkville Forest Hill Harbourfront High Park King West Leaside Leslieville Liberty Village Muskoka North Toronto Old Town Toronto Parkdale Show Only New Venues Search Our Venue Directory RECENTLY VIEWED Stories New York's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Outpost Opens With Music Memorabilia Transportation Expo Closes 11th Avenue for Car Demos Lyric Opera Opening Night Gets French Country Treatment More Beds From Miami at Nikki Midtown France Aims to Garner Cinco de Mayo Cachet Suppliers Foggy Hogtown Boys Chefs in the City Christopher Oz Michael Shane Barkley Square Gourmet Dog Bakery Security Industry Specialists Rose Brand Powerstation Events Carson Enterprises Inc. 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