Event Planner Series: Event Check List

 
The second in my Event Planning series is on how Event Producers organize themselves and make sure they are on track. There are so many apps and programs that can help keep you on track, but my favorite way is the good old fashioned checklist. Whether you update your moleskin or your iPhone, all event producers need a checklist from the beginning to the end. See below for the initial 10 points I start every event with. 

1. Venue (Capacity, restrooms etc)
2. Marketing Plan
3. Food and beverage – allergies, special meals
4. Signage
5. AV
6. Photographer
7. Temporary Staff
8. Internet – wifi
9. Insurance
10. Run of Show

Throughout the series I will review each of the above points to give pointers, tips and some great products, apps and technology to consider to help you on your way. Check back for the first one on Venues and what to look for at a site visit!

Not into the notebook style of checklists? Here are some great apps and programs to help keep you on target:

ToDoist: http://todoist.com/
Remember The Milk: http://www.rememberthemilk.com/
Evernote: http://evernote.com/ 


Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1280927

Mini's Not Normal, Heineken's Express, and A Human Powered Running Machine

Happy Viral Video Friday! Check out the hottest videos on the web this week at our site. Today you will see videos like The Express from Heineken, London Raises a Toast for Arthur's Day, and a human powered free running machine!

Did anyone catch this great new emotional Mini ad - Not Normal? Its a good one to share.

Viral Video Friday! Top 5 Videos of the Week

Happy Friday everyone! If you are in NYC, this weekend is shaping out to be a beautiful one. Before you head out doors to enjoy your weekend, check out the top 5 viral videos on the web this week.

Click here for the videos.

Here is a sneak peak at one of them!

BENG!Buzz Tool Tip For Conferences

New BENG!Buzz Tool Tip: http://sched.org/

Why we like it:

We have done a few conferences this year, and with each one we think about how to make the user and attendee experience better. One piece that always seems complicated is the agenda. If your conference only has one or two moving parts you are OK. However, if you are producing a blow out conference with concurrent sessions, tracks and multiple locations you want to provide your guests with as much information as possible. 

Sched.Org is a program that can definitely help you. It allows producers of the conference an easy way to display event agenda and most importantly is fun and easy to navigate for attendees. Attendees can pick and choose how they want their agenda displayed based on their own preferences. You can access Social Media sites which makes it easy to personalize the agenda and also share and interact with coworkers and friends who are also attending. AND no, you don't need a laptop. Sched.org is available on mobile platforms. 

Check out  http://sched.org/  and blog for more info.

App Wakes You Up Based on Weather Forecast

A fun post to help get you through your Wednesday afternoon! Belgian Agency, Boondoggle, has created an app that wakes people up dependant on the weather forecast. Perfect for those surprisingly frosty mornings. Being late because you have to defrost your car is no longer an excuse to be late to work!

Inspiration for the app came from the unusually cold weather last year and many of their employees being late for work. The app works in the same way as a normal alarm clock, however it collects weather forecasts during the night and if the forecast worsens it will change the alarm to wake you up earlier. Leaving you plenty of time to shovel and defrost your car, or leave early enough to catch public transport.

Interesting idea, although I am not sure how many people would opt to use this app. I don't know many people who would trust an app to wake them up earlier than scheduled.  And, with the unusually warm winter we are having, there isn't much need. But cute all the same.

[Simply Zesty]

Happy #Viral Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! Looks like we finally have some snow coming. So get your shopping done and hunker down in your apartment before it gets here! Oh, and definitely check out our Viral Videos of the week. Fun Friday begins now!

Check out our site for the top viral videos of the week. While you are there you might as well check out the funniest stuff on the net in the More Fun section.  Get ready for a laugh!

Scandinavian Airlines Creates Smart Campaign

Knowing your customer profile is incredibly important. All too many companies just rely on general sales without thinking about who is actually buying their product, why and capturing the data they find. Scandinavian Airlines recently launched a really smart 2 for 1 campaign based on research they conducted about their customers.

The airline's research showed that their best customers were affluent couples who booked holidays to spend time together. In order to entice a higher number of sales the airline launched an app that required two people (a couple) to put their phones together at the same time and unlock a discount code. Scandinavian Airlines sent out over 100,000 emails to their existing customers as well as launched an advertising and social media campaign to highlight the promotion. Customers scanned a QR code each and were promoted to follow the promotion and buy tickets using the provided discount codes. 

Couple Up to Buckle Up from Tobias Carlson on Vimeo.



Cute promotion AND they sold out every ticket available to the promotion. 



[Scandinavian Airlines & Simply Zesty]

Hyundai's iPhone Controlled Racing Game

Hyundai recently brought the world's largest iPhone controlled racing game to Times Square, NYC. Passersby registered and are then were given a turn using their iPhone as a controller. Not only was it a great experience for the controller, but those around totally got in to the game too. The crowds become a mini grandstand and with the apps being downloaded before playing, each participant took Hyandai home with them.

The Obliteration Room - Sticker Art

Image from PSFK

The Obliteration Room, a piece created by Yayoi Kusama for the Brisbane Gallery of Modern Art in Australia, is a reconstructed environment where the walls and everything inside the room is painted white. The artist gave thousands of colored dot stickers to invited children to help transform the space into a piece of art.

The exhibit site reads:

As with many of Kusama’s installations, the work is disarmingly simple in its elemental composition; however, it brilliantly exploits the framework of its presentation. The white room is gradually obliterated over the course of the exhibition, the space changing measurably with the passage of time as the dots accumulate as a result of thousands and thousands of collaborators.

Here are more pictures of the exhibit. I wish we were in Brisbane!

image from PSFK

image from PSFK

image from PSFK

image from SkyNews

image from Zilamag.com

Starbucks Cup Magic for the Holidays!

Have you seen any Starbucks Holiday Characters on their signature holiday red cups recently? Use your iPhone or Android smart phone to scan all five characters that are found on the chain's cups, blend bags, and in-store signage and watch them come to life on your phone.  You can watch teh winter fox come frolic in the snow, some carolers and much more. You can also use the app to find special offers,  send gift cards to others and share your Starbucks experience socially. A little simple, but still a nice campaign to continue the sharing aspect of Starbucks' social media projects.