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DIY Job Titles: Role Play [Connect Magazine]

DIY Job Titles: Role Play

By Libby Hoppe

Read the original article in Connect Magazine and Collaborate Magazine.

TCG Events isn’t a new player in the event industry. The company, based in North Carolina, has been helping clients plan, design and execute events for almost 30 years. But a few years ago, company leaders decided they needed a rebranding. The result was a new logo (with a giraffe as the mascot), a new website, new business cards, a new company blog and a new tagline (“Event Differently”). The rebrand also included an update to a business mainstay rarely touched by company executives: employee job titles.

Cassie Brown, owner of TCG, and her team came together in a meeting armed with a dictionary to brainstorm ways to describe what each member really did. “Our goal is to provide amazing experiences for our clients and our clients’ guests,” she says, which led to Brown’s new title: chief experience officer. “It just felt right,” she adds.

Creative job titles are creeping into mainstream business at a slow but steady pace, led mostly by tech startups who have advocates, rock stars, trailblazers, dynamos, geeks and happiness professionals on their payrolls. Tech companies thrive on innovation, and their reputation depends heavily on their ability to change public perception and usher in new ways of thinking. It’s no surprise, then, that they jump-started a trend to change the way creative professionals talk about what they do and how they brand themselves. That trend is now making its way into other creative fields like event planning.

5 Must-Have Technologies for an Event [Meetings + Events]

By Cassie Brown. Read the original article in Meetings + Event Media Group.

So, you’re tasked at pulling together an event. The charter? To produce an excellent event for the client that will engage the attendees, foster great conversation and networking, and not to mention, run smoothly. One of the key components to having a successful event is the choice of technology, which can be overlooked or underestimated. Technology can affect the overall energy, perception, and even communication of the event. It is an element that, if done right, can boost your clients ROI, increase networking, and keep the event running seamlessly. Here are the top five technologies that can really make a difference at your client’s next event:

1. Wireless LEDs

When lights need to be in a place where cord placement is inconvenient (cords over doorways, through a room, placement where there is no power, etc) wireless LEDs work very well. Good lighting sets a tone and energy for the event that is important for networking. Research shows that light, music, color and food all affect learning. Neuroscience has determined that when multiple senses are employed, the brain remembers better.

2. iPad registration:

The first impression of the event begins when the guests arrive, which is not the time to be scrambling to find that piece of paper with the guest list and frantically scanning to check off names. Not to mention, you’d have to cross reference later with any colleagues to see who they checked in. Invest in an iPad for unified guest registration and consider event check in apps such as Event Check In or Check In Easy, which can efficiently help you check in guests, and will make you look sophisticated too. Or, if you’re not interested in purcasing a tablet or iPad, CheckIn Tech can provide iPad rentals, staff people and more. Key advantages of online registration:

  • Know how many people have arrived at anytime
  • Can add/change guest names and information quickly and succinctly
  • Retrieve an historical data report of how many people arrived at what times (helpful for staffing future events)
  • Each iPad has the most up-to-date information (vs printed list which are outdated when a second list is printed)
  • Can add notes and photos so key sponsors, speakers, VIP are acknowledged (no embarrassing situations of not realizing you are speaking to a high level donor or a speaker)
  • Easy to see if there are empty seats at a table
  • Visually cleaner, faster, more welcoming – not to mention it looks stylish and smart

3. Screen size appropriate for room size and content

Limit live speakers to a minimum and consider incorporating short two minute videos to portray messages. This introduces a visual element that is captivating and often, more engaging. Video also helps avoid “wasted time” by having speakers walk to and from a podium.

  • If seats are too close to screen, people can’t see content
  • Content determines the seats that will be able to see clearly. Seating 4x from the height of the screen is good for graphics (so a 6×8 screen means graphics can be clearly seen up to 32 feet away – anyone seated further away than that won’t see the graphics as clearly). Whereas you should consider 8x the height of the screen for video and 6x the height of the screen for any visual in the middle.

4. Countdown clock for speakers

  • Reconfirms the amount of time someone has to speak to avoid going over the allotted time and keeping your guests too late
  • Subtle on stage
  • Helps speaker stay on track – they don’t want to go off on too much of tangent and not get their point across
  • It provides comfort for speakers to know how long they have been talking
  • Make sure tech company resets the clock! It’s important to walk through the process in advance with the speaker.
    – If a countdown clock isn’t available – warning signs also work. Holding up signs noting 10, 5, “Wrap”, from the back of the room helps your speaker stay on track.

5. GREAT sound

Sound can affect the energy, mood and thinking for attendees. The clarity of the sound is just as important as the level of the sound and it’s evident that one without the other doesn’t get the job done. Loud, inarticulate sound is blaring and offensive to the listener. Clear, articulate sound that’s not loud enough to hear is, well… not loud enough to hear. It’s important to note the point of measurement of which sound can be heard clearly. Sound will decrease by approximately 6dB for every doubling of distance. If the sound level at your loudspeaker is 100 dB at 1 meter, it will be 94 dB at 2 meters, 88 at 4 meters, and so on.

  • Speaker placement is important, as it needs to be evenly distributed into the room
    – The ability to hear a spoken word vs a thump thump (think rock concert)
    – Prevents sound delay from front of room to back (producing an out of sync effect – think bad foreign film dubbing)
  • Wireless microphones: anyone speaking at the event should be hands free so they can engage with the audience effectively and not be distracted by the technology itself

The Hidden Costs of Weddings [US News]

By Geoff Williams

Everybody knows weddings are expensive. According to last year’s annual survey by theknot.com and weddingchannel.com, getting hitched costs an average of $28,427 – although it really comes down to where you live. It’s far cheaper to get married in Manhattan, Kan., for instance, than Manhattan, New York. Still, no matter how prepared you are to spend whatever it takes for you or your son or daughter to have a phenomenal wedding day, it may be difficult to prepare yourself for the not-so-obvious costs that come with weddings.

“Unanticipated costs can add 30 percent or more to a client’s budget,” says Maggie Daniels, associate professor at George Mason University and the author of the textbook for wedding planners, “Wedding Planning and Management: Consultancy for Diverse Clients.”

That’s because there are often many moving parts. You may hold the ceremony at one place and the reception at another. You may have a team of professionals helping organize your day, such as a wedding planner, photographer, florist and caterer. And no matter how well-intentioned or prepared you are, there’s likely some expense you haven’t factored into your budget.

Here’s a look at some of the hidden costs you may encounter during wedding planning.

Taxes. It’s all too easy to forget about the tax tacked onto every product and service. Sales tax adds up, says Ginny Kozlowski, an adjunct professor at the University of New Haven, who teaches courses in event planning. “For example, a $5,000 dress with sales tax is $5,475 in Connecticut. This will vary state by state, of course,” Kozlowski says.

Service fees. “I notice service charges creeping in mostly in country clubs, private clubs and sometimes on catering bills,” says Karen Bussen, a wedding designer in New York City. “These are not necessarily gratuities. Sometimes, for example, a private club will just charge an 18 to 22 percent service charge for administering the wedding. This money is not distributed to tipped employees, and gratuities may be left to your discretion, which could double the money you need for service.”

Bussen adds that you can often negotiate service fees – but read your contract carefully, she cautions. You aren’t likely to get far in negotiations after you sign the contract.

Odd fees in contracts. Speaking of which, if you don’t read your contracts, you’ll miss many of these hidden fees, says Cassie Brown, chief experience officer at TCG Events, a national event planning company based in Charlotte, N.C.

“The first hidden fee that comes to mind is a cake cutting fee,” Brown says. This is the fee for someone from the catering company or venue to cut the wedding cake and pass it out to guests. According to weddingstats.org, the average cost in 2013 ranged from $1.25 to $1.72 – per guest.

She also says she has heard of cake “corkage” fees. Corkage fees are fees some restaurants charge if you bring your own bottle of wine to the restaurant. A cake corkage fee comes into play if you bring in a wedding cake from an outside vendor, Brown says.

“I’ve seen them priced out as much as $12.50 a person, which, when totaled, would have been more than the cost of the cake,” she says.

Tips. Forking over extra money to the limo driver is probably the last thing on your mind, Daniels says, since by the wedding day, “most couples have already overspent their budgets.” But it’s something to consider.

Daniels says tipping isn’t mandatory, of course. Still, it is a nice gesture – and who wants bad karma on their wedding day? People to consider tipping include hair stylists, florists, delivery people, wedding reception attendants and musicians.

Tent costs. Tents are “the most misunderstood by clients in terms of costs,” Daniels says. “Brides and grooms on a budget may think that holding a tented event will save them on venue costs, but they are sorely mistaken.”

Bussen agrees. “People always ask me, ‘What does a tent cost?’ I tell them that for the most part, the canopies themselves are not all that pricey. It’s the floor that gets you.”

Flooring can easily cost in the thousands, but that’s not all. Daniels says beyond the canopy and flooring, you’ll want to consider “sidewalls, entrance canopies, lighting, fabric liners, power generators, heating or air conditioning, staging, tables, chairs, linens, tableware, executive restrooms, permits and labor.”

As you take all that in, Daniels adds, “A fabric liner alone can cost $4,000 or more, while custom lighting can cost up to $15,000. If done well, the total cost for just the tent and necessary rentals easily exceeds $30,000.”

Bussen recommends getting proposals and estimates from at least two tent companies during the planning stage.

Lighting and other expenses. Whether in the tent or a reception hall, lighting can get expensive, says Liz Drew, a Tustin, Calif.-based marketing professional who is getting married at the end of the month.

“Who knew that additional lighting would cost another thousand?” Drew says. She says because her parents are still buried under student loan debt, her generous in-laws are footing the bill for the wedding, which could top out at $50,000. That includes at least $10,000 in unexpected costs, Drew says. Although her in-laws are paying for the wedding, she has been the one writing the checks.

And the expenses come up a lot. “Linens and chairs was an expense that didn’t seem necessary when I booked my venue, but it’s something a majority of other brides do to dress up the room, and I felt pressured to do,” Drew says, adding that it will cost another $1,200. Why the extra lighting? Her venue has lighting, but this cost is for “uplighting,” in which lights are placed on the floor and projected off the wall for an atmospheric effect.

As the venue representative argued in an email to Drew, the uplighting “has a dramatic impact on the space as far as enhancing the florals, linens, chairs, etc.”

Suddenly, you can see why many people spend more than they intended on a wedding. After all, if you’re already spending a fortune on flowers, linens, chairs and so on, you probably want it all to look amazing.

Avoiding the fees. You can minimize some of the damage or at least spend wisely, asserts Daniels. She argues that hiring a professional to help you spend your money is one of the best ways to save money. “The smartest move that any couple can make is to hire a wedding consultant who has a stellar reputation for respecting a client’s budget,” she says.

Daniels argues that staging a wedding on your own is like selling a house solo. You can do it, but a planner or real estate agent will save you money in the long run. And saving money is the goal. Well, having a happy memorable day is the goal – but so is not putting yourself in the poorhouse.

Read the original article in US News and World Report.

Thinking Inside the Box

A client came to us this year wanting to shake up their corporate awards program. They were looking for ways to refresh the typical “grip and grin” photo ops and long company descriptions being read as the company representative slowly makes his or her way to the stage. It was time for a new look! Enter TCG Events. Ready to shake things up and add new and engaging elements, we were ready to pull out all the stops.

Then came the challenge: no budget increase.

The current budget was stretched to the max and managed to the penny. Giving this event an overhaul was going to be a stroke of creative genius, not a bought solution.

After hours of looking at the event backwards and forwards, inside and out, and forcing ourselves to think outside the box, we found our solution.  It was time to think inside the box.  Instead of taking down all the parameters, we put up the parameters. There were only so many elements that we could play with that were not cost prohibitive: room orientation, staging (provided at no charge by the facility) and program flow. By narrowing down our options it became clear that the answer was in the staging. Rather than creating the typical rectangular stage in the front of the room we would use the stage decks to create a runway in the middle of the room with seating tables on either side of the runway. With energetic runway music pumping in the background, alternating MCEEs called the (58) award winners to the stage. To quicken the pace, company descriptions were read as the winners walked the runway. At the end of the runway they received their award and had an opportunity to strike a pose at the step and repeat.

No typical square stage, no time lost in getting on and off the stage, no awkward grip and grins – just a high energy program that was loads of fun.

Next time you find yourself in such a predicament, try thinking inside the box for a change.

Real Life Event Planning vs Fiction

Planning Events in Hollywood vs. Real Life

Sometime during the 80’s, “Event Planner” became a real job title. Hollywood can be thanked for the real tipping point of marketing event planning as a profession. Meg Ryan appeared as an event planner in the film, Hanging Up.

Then, Jennifer Lopez made wedding planning look glamorous in The Wedding Planner. The opening scene had J-Lo’s character carrying an emergency kit strapped to her body while she prevents a wedding nightmare: a disappearing priest and a father of the bride meltdown. (Our “kit” is a two layer toolbox with wheels – definitely not fitting under a suit jacket.)

Then the pinnacle moment for the event industry came on The Sopranos (All Due Respect episode), when AJ said he wanted to become an event planner. Tony and Carmela banter in confusion about the exact nature of the job. Shortly after that, event planners started popping on reality shows like The Hills, The Apprentice and The Bachelor.

Now entire television shows are devoted to the behind the scenes world of event planning. There are already “celebrity” event planners such as Preston Bailey, David Tutera, and Colin Cowie.

Not What It Seems

The downside of this media recognition is that a well-planned event doesn’t make for great TV. Many event planners on television are portrayed as unorganized, flighty individuals who flit around in great shoes while attending the party they halfway planned. This television personality provides a nonsensical view of the job under the guise of “reality”.

Unfortunately the unrealistic view distorts the consumer’s experience as well. Television shows use product placement to lower costs. Many times when the cost of the event is flashed on the screen, it isn’t including the sponsorships. Great events can certainly be done for $20,000, but consumers’ reality turns to fiction when shows claim to have a party for 200 people with a full bar, heavy hors, decor, floral, specialty rentals AND entertainment for $20,000.

In real life, planning an event requires an enormous amount of paperwork, devotion to detail, and attention to logistics. Most event planners (including some of our own!) are smart control freaks who crave adrenaline rather than fame.