Blog

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Erin Fontana and I am excited to join the Special D Events family.  As a young professional, I have had my share of ups and downs as I have navigated the first few years of my career. There are lessons I’ve learned the hard way and others that I have graciously been spared by the timely advice of my colleagues, friends, and family members. I would like to share a couple of “nuggets” that I’ve gleaned from the past few years.

• Time management is EVERYTHING

There is no handbook for how to manage your time.  Timelines missed, meetings forgotten – this does not reflect well on your professional image.  Email is my biggest struggle and I’ve finally found a system that works for me.  I only check my inbox a few times a day. Scan for anything that needs to be addressed immediately or within the day. Everything else can wait. Your diligence will pay off by allowing you to focus on your most important and time-critical tasks.

• Embrace technology, but understand what works best for you

It’s 2013 and we are in the age of technology.  I should be able to use my iPhone for all my workday needs. The truth is, I like making a paper to-do list every day because I enjoy crossing items off when they are completed.  Do I carry my phone with me almost all the time? Yes. But I also take my paper calendar with me as well. Do what makes you comfortable. You will be a much more productive, happy, and valuable employee.

• Networking -  it’s worth it

As a meeting planner, I work hard to create new, exciting, and valuable events for my clients and their attendees. As a professional, it is nice to take a step back to enjoy a similar event in my own industry. Whether it is a 3-day conference, 1 day meeting, or a quick chat with colleagues; time spent away from your desk can be invaluable.  Continuing education keeps you up-to-date and also encourages forward thinking and best practices. Industry events also provide wonderful opportunities to get to know others who do what you do. They have been there, they get it. The opportunity to bond with like-minded individuals is truly wonderful. It creates a sense of community that becomes like a support group as you advance though your career.

In 2013, I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn and continue to grow both as a meeting planner and as a young professional. Now it’s your turn: do you have any tricks of the trade?

~Erin Fontana

Pearl Jam has a song lyric that has always resonated with me: "if you hate something, don't you do it too?"

The answer is a resounding yes! Admittedly, I have no patience for slow people. Whether it be dawdling drivers or the half asleep cashier at Target ringing me up, I simply don't have time to wait for them. Except, that is, on those days when I'm moving at the pace of a snail. Then I don't understand why everyone is in such a hurry?

I do this with most minor pet peeves. I can't stand people who complain all the time, and yet sometimes find myself complaining about these individuals. It drives me crazy watching those moms who hover over their kids coddling their every move, yet I find myself regularly sneaking into my son's elementary school after the morning bell to help him change his snow boots before kindergarten. The list goes on and on.

So, was I surprised when I applied this same hypocrisy to my professional life? Well, yes, I was...although, I probably shouldn't have been.

One of my job responsibilities is managing speakers prior to a conference or event where they are featured. This means coordinating event day details with them, reviewing and setting guidelines for content, managing distribution, collecting speaker biographies, etc. So, when I accepted the invitation to speak to some peers on the topic of Holiday Event Planning last November, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. Yet again, I fell into the trap of committing the very pet peeves I disdain.

Speaker Biography: The good news is- I turned it in. The bad news is- I turned it in late. This is a frustrating one for me. The deadline is always given well in advance and many seasoned speakers have their biographies completely written but hold on to it so they can package it with the delivery of their presentation. A late biography can sometimes mean holes in conference information for attendees.

Audio Visual Needs: I knew what I needed to pull off my presentation. I planned to bring my laptop and projector. Could I have been a bit more prompt in sharing that with the presentation organizer? Absolutely.

Presentation Submission: I procrastinated to the fullest when I should have been developing content for my presentation. I put the finishing touches on the presentation right up until the hour I spoke.

This is something that occurs frequently with speakers. As the event producer you are responsible for reviewing the information the speaker is going to present, confirming it is within the provided guideline and relevant to your audience. Many times the presentation needs to be available immediately afterwards, requiring some advance production.

Moving forward, I will continue to provide a clean schedule of speaker expectations and deadlines and appropriate follow up accordingly. In turn, the speaker and event organizer dance will go on. This time, however, I may have a bit more empathy when a speaker deadline is missed. And, maybe next time I am in line at Target, I will practice just a tad more patience too.

With the holidays quickly approaching many companies are looking for employee gift ideas.  Here are two interesting examples I arranged for a client this year in honor of its 100^th anniversary.

For the first gift, we created a custom Monopoly board game customized with the client’s colors, logos and even the metal game tokens. The corporation is a large architecture firm and each of the properties on the board represented office locations. Not only was the board game a great gift, but working with USAopoly to create this one-of-a-kind gift was seamless.  We were provided with a detailed timeline based on when we needed to have the games delivered. We participated in weekly conference calls with the designer and project manager which made the whole process quick and easy.

The second gift was a custom photo mosaic poster comprised of each employee’s picture.  I worked with the client to collect the employee photos and collaborated with a great supplier to create the mosaic.  Each employee received their own poster and each office received a framed poster for their lobby. We also created a video mosaic from all of the photos submitted. It will debut at the holiday party this month.

These custom gifts are excellent examples of ways companies can honor employees and incorporate the company’s culture and brand. Interested in something similar?  Give me call at 248-336-8600.

~Alix Chapie

First off, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Brooke Jakobsen, and yes, my last name is foreign. My husband hails from Denmark, hence the odd spelling. I have been a freelance planner at Special D Events for the past year and a half, and am happy to brag that I have a job that I actually love. It gives me an outlet to express creativity and to travel the world. It also comes with its challenges. Such as dealing with clients from all over the world.

Back to my last name. A day in my life is probably very different from yours. First off, most of the clocks in my house are set to military time. (It’s a European thing) I am familiar with temps in Celsius, have measuring cups in deciliters, and the soccer channel is a big hit on weekends. But being married to someone from another country is far different than working with a client from one.

I recently had the pleasure of planning a meeting for a Chinese automotive supply company, whose US headquarters are located here in Michigan. I dealt mainly with the US office, but had weekly evening calls with China closer to the actual event date. Yet even when working with the US office, the answers to simple questions would take a day or two before a response was given. Everything was run past China first.

So not only was there a time barrier to overcome, but a language barrier as well. My clients were wonderful, and very respectful on the phone. Prior to speaking with them, I freshened up on my Chinese culture. Values are very important to the Chinese. And so are colors and numbers. So over a bowl of sweet and sour chicken, I took notes on how to act, what to say and what to expect. I tried to put myself in their shoes. My clients would be traveling a long distance, and I wanted to make sure they had all the comforts of home when they arrived. Slippers were waiting in each guest room, hot tea was available in the library, and rice porridge was an option at breakfast.

Just because a foreign client plans a meeting in the US does not mean it needs to feel foreign to them. In the end, we were all working towards one goal; to have a successful meeting with happy attendees. And a smile is a pretty universal thing.

~Brooke Jakobsen

Being an event planner is a great profession. It is the perfect balance of left and right brain—creativity and business. Once you become an event planner there is, however, no turning back. Oh sure, you can quit your job and take on a new role somewhere else but that doesn’t mean your brain will be able to overlook a poorly laid out room or inadequate sound. You will never go to another wedding, tradeshow or even party without thinking things like, “I can’t believe there aren’t more high top tables for people to put their drinks down” or “How can they serve alcohol without so much as a crumb to nibble on?” It is a blessing and a curse, indeed.

Because this is a profession that takes over the depths of your core; it is often a struggle for planners whose clients have very small budgets. How can we create the perfect setting without ample funds? Here are some tricks of the trade I have developed to stretch my client’s dollar.

• Event suppliers are approached for sponsor requests on a weekly basis. If they were to agree to each appeal they would have little to no revenue. Instead of asking them to do a direct trade for event services, I propose my client pay a minimum amount and the supplier provide above and beyond that price point. In exchange, we offer sponsor incentives such as print and stage recognition. This works especially well with florists and caterers who often have an abundance of “leftovers” that can be put to good use. They key here is to be flexible. You can provide your wish list of items, but they may not be able to tell you what they can provide (specifically) until the week of your event. Still, it’s better than no floral or a meager buffet.

• Create generic signs so they can be re-used for annual events or meetings. Stay away from including dates, years, or specific details on signage because doing so will limit the longevity of the sign. In addition, consider ordering a die cut arrow that can be adhered with Velcro so you have the option of switching the direction of the arrow from event to event.

• Forgo the formal coat check for your Fall/Winter event and instead ask to have coat racks available for self service. This way, guests don’t have to wait in a long checkout line and you don’t have to pay the extra fee to staff the coat check. Many times the coat area is close to registration anyway. So, make the most of the event staff who are already working and have them staged by the coat rack to pull double duty.

What are your tricks? Any ideas that save the budget without sacrificing quality? I’d love to hear!

~Lindsay Krause

“Thanks again to all of you for an experience that Kelly, Elizabeth and I will remember for a lifetime!”

That written feedback from one of our recent event attendees was music to our client’s ears. It came from the VP of Manufacturing for a Fortune 100 company that was a key customer of our transportation industry client. We arranged for this client to host 130 of its top customers at the US Open in San Francisco, and it was a smashing success.

It’s just one concrete example of how events can strengthen client relationships. The bonding that takes place outside the office cannot be overvalued. But hospitality events don’t come easy. They require creative forethought, detailed planning, and flawless execution. You don’t need to break the bank on something like the US Open, but the more unique the opportunity you offer, the more likely your clients will RSVP “yes”. It’s about the experience. We have arranged for behind-the-scenes tours, athlete meet and greets, and many private special events.

Make them an offer they can’t refuse and they will remember you for a lifetime.

Did you know there is a currently a national helium shortage? Scientists are predicting the American helium reserve may run out by 2018, possibly 2020 if we are lucky. To read more about why this is happening check out this recent article by Popular Mechanics>>.

So, what does this helium shortage mean for event planners? In short, it means we deflate to the bottom of the priority list when it comes to doling out the second most abundant element on Earth. Helium is used mostly in the science and technology industries. It is essential for hospitals and a key player in space exploration. All of the sudden, using balloons for décor and directional markers doesn’t quite seem as inspired as it once was.

Balloon providers have been experiencing helium price increases for the past couple of years in response to this shortage. Some suppliers simply don’t offer balloons anymore, and if they do, it is costly. This leaves planners scrambling to find more cost effective tools for enhancing events. How will you go about replacing the classic balloon?

~Lindsay Krause

My experience as an event planner has definitely helped me overcome the hurdles of being a first time mom. The old adage “you cannot understand how hard it is until you go through it” couldn’t be more true. But isn’t that the same for events? No one except a professional event planner understands the blood, sweat, and tears that go into planning events. Well, I knew sleep deprivation and constant worrying would come with having a baby, but I had no idea that our day to day lives would need to be so planned. I was never a fan of set schedules at home (too much of that at work!); but now, as a mom, I find schedules make our lives much more manageable.

Between the feeding schedule and nap schedule to making sure you have everything you could ever possibly need for just a quick trip to the store, it all comes down to planning. Every day is like a mini event. I need to anticipate everything! I need to plan when my son needs to eat, nap, and figure out where we will be when this all needs to happen. It can be pretty overwhelming at times, but I am finally starting to get the hang of it. Similar to event planning, I have stocked the diaper bag like our on-site take box. It has all of our supplies we may need for the day: diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, toys, change of clothes, blanket etc. And I always pack extra because like an event, the unexpected always happens!

Aside from being a full time mom, being a working mom brings even more challenges. Everything needs to be prepped in advance for the days that I work so that everything will run smoothly while I am gone. The night before, the bottles all need to be cleaned, diapers stocked, clothes washed and ready.  

The good news is, just like with corporate events, the payoff is monumental. Once you have planned everything and given it your all; you sit back and admire the accomplishments, and you couldn’t be more proud. I feel like that every time I look at my son. This journey has been overwhelming at times and exhausting, but just seeing that little face look back at you smiling makes it all worth it!    

~Alix Chapie

1. Inappropriate / low cut necklines. Women, the minute you lean over in front of someone to pull their name badge, you'll know why.
2. Eating. Yes, we know you are SO busy, it's difficult to take even a few minutes to step away for a meal. Find the time. Eating at the desk looks unprofessional and it's just messy.
3. Insufficient staff. We recommend a ratio of 1 staff per 75 pre-registered attendees if event attendance is free. If attendees paid to attend, the ratio bumps up to 1 per 50 since payment questions/issues slow down the process on site.
4. Mispronouncing names. If you are unsure how to pronounce a registrant's name, don't try. Even if you say it aloud and ask, "Is that correct?", you may have already insulted the person. It's safer to pick up the name tag and ask, "How do you pronounce your name?" Most people will be flattered that you asked and are happy to oblige.
5. Burying your nose in your laptop. If you are seated behind the registration desk, event attendees assume you are there to assist. Any event planning staff who camp out at the desk to work should be prepared to assist the registration team during peak periods. Attendees don't want to wait in line and see staff with their heads down, seemingly ignoring them. Eyes up.

~Carol Galle

Cell phone charging stations are popping up everywhere; large crowds gather providing users with a quick power up and giving sponsors a new avenue for visibility. These convenient kiosks offer a spa experience of sorts for your personal technology. They are particularly effective at trade shows and conferences because of the great brand exposure they provide.

Recently, a major transportation industry client and frequent trade show sponsor, Con-way, Inc. asked me to research renting stations for an upcoming trade show. What I found were standard, lackluster designs. As such, Con-way Inc. decided to design and build custom stations to be used at all of the shows they attend. They wanted the design to include small tabletops to allow the user space to continue working on their cell phone or tablet while the device charged.

More than a year after the idea was born several trade shows agreed to include them with current sponsorships. The charging stations were strategically placed in the high traffic areas of the conference such as registration, outside the general session rooms, the exhibit hall entrance, and at a lounge area in the exhibit hall. Each station is three sided and feature a rotating Con-way branded header on the top. We also designed a slot for dispensing branded cleaning cloths for users to wipe their phones and tablet screens. Attendees sought out the stations and were happy to wait their turn for a chance to power up. The 15 minutes a prospect stands at the station looking the graphics and logos is great brand exposure.

Con-way Inc., received positive feedback for their innovative stations and now have a timeless sponsor offering that does not require continuous reinvestment.  So, next time you are looking for a unique way to brand your organization, scrap the signage and create something innovative.

~ Bridgette