Posts

Red Carpet Ideas that Excite

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Roll over “red carpet”! Our event planning blog is about to lay down some fresh ideas on this time-worn event entrance feature. At its most basic, red carpet says to event guests: “You’re special. You are a very important person.” Throughout history red carpet has been a symbol of respect and honour; laid before a dignitary so that he/she can tread a prestigious pathway into formal and ceremonial occasions. For those who grace the red runner, there is almost certainly an expectation that their presence is eagerly awaited by those in whatever setting he/she is headed toward. Consequently, event planners use red carpet as a tribute to guests, to show appreciation for clients, and on occasion, to lavishly lure new customers. However, red appears to have become something of a cliché, fading in popularity to rising competition from plush runners in black, blue, pink, purple, orange, and gold. Even artificial grass, Persian prints and logo-infused carpet paths are being pursued by adventu...
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Brushing Up On Presenting: 5 Key Tips

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Tips for presenting to a captive audience make for topical matter in event management blogs. Having organised hundreds of functions over the years I know why!  Having also been an attendee to a few corporate events recently, I’m reminded that some really simple things can make the difference between flawless and a flop. Not everyone can be as accomplished a presenter as 2014 Oscars host, Ellen DeGeneres. That said, a few back-to-basic presenter tips, along with a couple of clever things we’ve seen in recent times, are sure to get your audiences raving about your presentation techniques and your event planning. 1. Text. Clear. Large. Make any text in presentations large enough to be easily read, even by the old folk in the room. Choose a sans-serif font; something stylish, crisp and clear. Just last week Event Manager Blog contributor, Kelvin Newman clued us into the widely available font “Blue Highway” - something that can be read from a distance. If this font’s good enough to be ...
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I’m Responsible for WHAT?! (aka every event manager’s worst-case scenario nightmare)

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During a recent chat in the office kitchen while making my 3:00pm cup of tea (Twinings Lady Grey, no sugar or milk, in case you were wondering), I curiously asked j2 ideas & events’ Company and Creative Director, Jo Jordan, about the most disastrous moments she has experienced during her 25 year career in the events industry.  Her response just begged to be shared here on our event planning blog. She was more than happy to recount an incident from her time at South Bank Corporation in the '90's in a role which (amongst other things) saw her in charge of the New Year’s celebrations at the precinct. Approaching midnight on this particular New Year’s Eve, South Bank was in full festive swing. The crowds of revelers were in great spirits, restaurants and bars were buzzing, and the promenade along the river was packed with families and friends, many of whom had staked out their position early that morning in order to secure the best view of the annual fireworks display. The ...
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Event Industry Predictions for 2014

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First cab off our 2014 event management blog rank is a prediction: we’re forecasting challenging times for the special events industry in the coming year. Despite encouraging figures released in November 2013 by research company IBISWorld suggesting that the event promotion and management services industry will be up 1.1% for the 2013/2014 Financial Year [1] , I’m predicting that event managers will need to continue to work hard to rationalise their professional value to clients and to remain competitive in the marketplace. Many Australian event companies are struggling to compete with ongoing issues that plague our event industry at present, such as: > Competitive offshore destination packages, which are luring businesses to international locations for events, meetings and team building experiences; and > Increasing charges across the industry such as food, wages, Superannuation, electricity, entertainment, rubbish removal and accommodation. These challenges, featured in an arti...
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New Year's Resolutions: Event Manager Style

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Cheers! Here’s to celebrating the events of 2013. With this being j2’s final post on our event management blog for the year, it’s fitting to pen my resolutions. 1. Network more Travelling the Australian Event Awards path reminded me just how healthy it is connecting with my industry peers. While we work side-by-side with great teams on events all year round, it just isn’t the same as having a casual chat and swapping ideas over a canapé or two. 2. Share what I’ve learned Having delivered events since the 80’s, I’ve amassed loads of event planning tips and information that, when shared with relevant audiences, could help enrich the careers of future event industry leaders. I plan to continue feeding our event planning blog, contribute editorial to a variety of publications and start talking! 3. Teach the world to make a French Martini Starting right now... 1 1/2 oz vodka (50ml) 1/2 oz Chambord® raspberry liqueur (20ml) 2 oz fresh pineapple juice (60ml) 1 twist lemon peel or ...
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Suppliers Who Steal Business from You: 6 Ways to Stop Them

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The urban term “shafted” prompts this moral high ground addition to our event manager blog. Here’s a post that aims to rally ethical businesses, champion professional respect, and stare down suppliers who toy with the idea of stealing customers from the very businesses that recruited them in the first place. For those not accustomed to uncouth jargon, “shafted” is the act of being ripped off, cheated, treated most unfairly by people, getting screwed out of a deal, or to get screwed over. (Thank you kindly Urban Dictionary ) Increasingly, friends in the creative and events management industries are sharing horror stories involving underhanded practices by the people they trusted – their employees and contracted suppliers. In many instances our friends have engaged professionals under contract as a means of boosting their project or event delivery resources. Only, the engaged supplier later forms a direct agreement with the client at cut-rate price, squeezing the original business out of...
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Merry & Bright - Our take on Christmas Theming (tinsel not included!)

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Following Sunday’s turn of the calendar page, heralding in a new month, a new season (hello Summer in Australia!), and the official countdown to Christmas (22 sleeps!), j2 ideas & events’ Brisbane office has been buzzing this week with final Christmas preparations.  Here lies the inspiration for this week's event planning blog! A long-time enthusiast for all things festive, shiny, sparkly and well, Christmassy, I have been known to become a little giddy with excitement at the prospect of theming a Christmas event (or my own home at that). As part of a team that is always eager to break away from the status quo, l’m quite sure I spend 11 months of the year subconsciously on the look out for new ways to capture the merriment of the season, and personally I prefer to do so without breaking out the tinsel! I’ve fallen in love with the gorgeous crystal chandeliers and candelabras on offer from Australian company Crystalabra  and their unconventional approach to Christmas styli...
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