Oshkopoly

I once heard a quote from Winston Churchill that said "There's nothing wrong with change, if it's in the right direction" and I can't help but think back to that quote as I started to write about our latest event. We have all been guilty of getting comfortable with something or someone, and ending up in a rut. Expecting the same old thing, doing the same old thing and with no surprise receiving the same results. So when we found out Assurance Title would be hosting Business After Hours in October, we knew it was our chance to shake things up. For those of you not familiar Business After Hours (BAH) is an opportunity for local businesses to host a networking party at their facility. It gives local businesses a chance to meet new people and strengthen ties with old friends and business associates. The problem is, that sometimes things get so familiar that you don't end up doing the intended task. After showing up to a BAH where I essentially knew no one I realized how hard it would be for someone to feel comfortable with meeting new people. Now let me tell you, I am one of the most outgoing people I know, and actually feel quiet comfortable talking to anyone who will listen, but when you have groups of people who circle themselves off it actually even made me feel intimidated. So that was our challenge, turning BAH back into the networking event it was intended to be, all while keeping the fun.

After talking with Assurance Title and brainstorming here at Encore we knew the perfect idea, Oshkopoly. An interactive event where guests would receive one piece of their property and would have to mingle with others in order to be able to find the rest of their set. When their set was completed they were able to write their names on their cards put it into the "community chest" and were entered to win prizes. It was amazing to see so many people getting excited about finding their set. And even more amazing, hearing compliments and thank you's from individuals who not only said they had fun playing the game, but that they were able to meet so many more people.

Chamco 50th Anniversary

Happy Monday! Just wanted to share with you some pictures of an event we did at EAA for Chamco's 50th Anniversary. After brainstorming with our client we decided to keep their colors for the look of the night and also add in some silver to add a touch of elegance to the night. After finding out they did not want tall centerpieces that get in the way of table conversation we decided cakes would be a perfect option. Not only were the cakes an interesting focal point but they also helped out with costs. Chamco is a non profit organization and so to be able to have the centerpieces double as dessert was a great option.

There's No Place Like Home

When asked to be a part of CitizensFirst Credit Union's grand opening this past summer, we knew it would be a big project. When we decided on the Wizard of Oz theme, things really took off. We wanted to make the atmosphere very inviting and entertaining to both adults and children. So many people are familiar with the Wizard of Oz movie that it almost seems to take everyone back to a place of nostalgia. We had hundreds of rainbow colored balloons to give out, a coloring table of famous Wizard of Oz characters, pick a Wizard of Oz duck, face painting, tours from the lollipop kids, a wizard show, door prizes and even the characters walking around and taking pictures with all of the guests. There was no shortage of entertainment and it left guests feel right at home in the new CitizensFirst building.

Tee'd Off at MS

They say that everything happens for a reason, and in the case of our MS Golf Outing it couldn't have proved to be more true. We had been working hard on getting sponsorships and prizes for months prior to our July 24th scheduled date, but as fate would have it a huge storm front came in that week and literally rained out eastern Wisconsin for a week straight. Needless to say the golf course was in no shape to hold a golf outing come that Saturday. So the search was on for a new date and by the time September 17th rolled around we had gained many new hole sponsors, new golfers, a $1500 sponsorship from Pete's Garage and a couple new prizes. Because of our little rain delay we were able to net over $5,000 towards The National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. We also Ended up with some pretty great weather too.

M.I.A

It's been a very long time since the last post. We have had events coming out of our ears, and for that I have no room to complain. But an apology is in order. And so to say I'm sorry, I offer you some eye candy of some of the recent events we've had. For the next couple of days I will share with you some details and pictures of our wonderful events we've been working on for the last couple of months. We are now looking forward to all of our other events coming in including...Allstate's Grand Opening & Meet and Greet, The Wedding Faire... and many more events for 2011.

Today's event I want to show you is our Sadoff & Rudoy Seminar held at the Waters. For anyone who isn't familiar with Sadoff & Rudoy, they are a metal scrapping company located throughout Wisconsin and Nebraska. One of the coolest elements of this seminar were the metal save the dates and invites we created for them. The pictures simply do not do them justice. We were very hands on with our client making sure that the right name tags were ordered, the food provided a nice atmosphere and flow in the room, the souvenirs were catchy and useful, the guest speakers were greeted with a nice welcome basket, and because Oshkosh seemed to be one big road block this summer, a wonderful map to get them from the meeting venue to the onsite tour of Sadoff & Rudoy Industries was made handy. Overall it was a very successful and entertaining meeting, and bonus if you have any questions on metal, I have gained a mass amount of knowledge on the subject!

Tee'd Off at Ms

After personally battling MS along with three other family members, Dave Blavat has made it his personal mission to raise money for the MS Society so that one day no other family will have to endure the slowly debilitating consequences of this disease.

Multiple Sclerosis is an unpredictable and often disabling disease that interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body. Many times people with symptoms of MS dismiss or overlook them as no big deal, but after diagnosis, they realize the signs were there. Common MS symptoms include numbness in the hands or feet, occasional temporary sight loss, chronic exhaustion and cognitive disorders.

One in every 500 residents in Wisconsin lives with MS, giving our state one of the highest incidence rates in the country. While the progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted advances in research and treatment are giving hope to those affected by the disease. The goal of this event is to help in the fight to find better treatments, options and ultimately a cure.

Mark your calendars. The Tee’d Off at MS Charity Golf Outing will be held on Friday, September 17th, 2010 at Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne, WI. All proceeds will go to The National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, helping to fund research and education to help find a cure. Volunteers, sponsors and of course, golfers are all needed to make this event a success.

The 18-hole scramble begins with a 12:00 pm shotgun start. A box lunch will be served on the course and a picnic dinner will be held in the clubhouse afterward. Door prizes, silent auction and a raffle will be available to all golfers and attendees. Golf registration is $80 per person and is open to the public. Sponsorship opportunities are available ranging from $100–$3000.

For more information, contact Shana at shana@fortyfournorth.com or call her at 426-1970 or Dave at dblavat@charter.net

Key Chains, Bottle Openers, and Magnets... Oh My!

I don't know a person alive who doesn't like free things. Even when it is something you just end up putting in your junk draw, free things attract people to booths like a bear to honey. With the downward economy effecting almost every business, people are naturally looking at ways to cut costs, but should these freebies be spared? How valuable are these little tinker toys?

Georgia Southern University was wondering the same questions. They conducted a survey on just how powerful the promotional product really is, and you may be surprised. More than 70% of trade show attendees who received a promotional product remembered the name of the company that gave them the product after the show. Even more interesting than that fact is the in depth survey seeing just how effective your promotions are when increasing the quality of the promotional product. Pre-registered trade show participants were put into three categories. The first group received only a postcard inviting them to visit an exhibit. The second received the same postcard along with a branded magnet. The third group received a postcard with a coupon to redeem for a free T-shirt at the booth. The study found that 78% more attendees responded to the T-shirt offer than the postcard/magnet offer, while 57% more people responded to the postcard/magnet than to the postcard alone.

When choosing products to represent your company its important to have just that, something to represents your company and does so logically. Just because you can't live with out your free bottle opener you got doesn't mean that its a great item for your business to give away. I think three key objectives should be hit when looking for what product to choose. Make it fit. It's important that your item tie into your compay or the event you are attending, or better yet both. Make it functional. You want people to use this item over and over again, thus seeing your name over and over again. Make it memorable. You want people to get excited about the product, so excited they need to show their friends the gadget, its all about visibility and getting that little gadget to do a lot of talking for you.

Not your mamma's word of mouth

In a new day and age of constant communication it is important to make sure that the right messages are being sent out, that of course is not always possible. With millions of people tweeting and facebooking each day, on anything and everything, it is now more than ever important to realize that consumers and employees are really the ones who make the world go round, or at least your company.

When planning a company meeting social media can most definitely be your friend. You just have to know how to make sure to keep on top of things. After reading an interesting article in PSMA Convene, about Jeff Hurt’s rules on social media, I realized just how hard companies must work now to make sure the event runs smoothly. The phenomena of word of mouth has always been around. With multiple lines of communication literally at your finger tips, the old school version of word of mouth has taken on a whole new meaning.

There are a couple of tips that can help to make your event run smoothly along side social media, remember it can be your friend. First make sure that everyone who will be working the event is on the same page regarding social media aspects that will be present during the event. If you are allowing and encouraging guests to tweet and facebook you also need to have a plan to control a situation if those posts turn negative. It is also important that you designate times for your guests to use such media. Even though social media is being utilized at the event, you must also remain respectful to your speakers, this includes focusing on those presenting. I think its also important go get active with the social media. If you are having a speaker have them at some point in the presentation look at the posts. We no longer have to probe into people to get a discussion started. Once the question is out there on the web it can be used at a starting point for discussion, someone was obviously interested enough to post it, so they should be interested enough to discuss it.

Events working with social media and those not working with it should still hold the some of the same key aspects; Guidelines, contingency plans, and thought provoking conversation to spark a discussion. Adding the social media aspect just helps to gain visibility for those not attending, who will in turn hopefully attend the following year. If you would like to read more about Jeff Hurt’s tips and wisdom you can go to PSMA Convene’s website and check out that and much more.

Rubber Ducky You're the One...

Rubber ducky you make bath time fun. Oh rubber ducks, how joyous. Now you may be quite puzzled about why on earth I am writing about rubber ducks. I came across an interesting article that talked about how ducks can be a cheap and very effective way for a company during an event. Whether the event itself is based on the lil' guys, or if it is just a parting gift. Rubber ducks seem to have this lasting effect on peoples minds, not to mention bring a smile.

Now anyone who knows me knows I am somewhat obsessed with collecting rubber ducks. So maybe this is the reason I found this idea so great. But really after doing some research I found it can be quite the money making event.

What a great way for a company to get its name out there and raise money for charity. Perhaps you can make this apart of your upcoming company picnic. The ideas are somewhat endless. The great thing about the ducks are that you can even customize them to your company. Many ducks can be sold with your company logo on them or even designer ducks to spice up the event could be a great idea. If you are itching to try this for your company check out e-hows how to on creating an event.

Winter Boredom?

Today while I was doing some research for a client, I realized there is an event in Oshkosh that I really knew little about. I felt ashamed that I knew so little about this event considering I was a student at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh for 4 and 1/2 years. After thinking about this for a while I wondered, am I the only student or community member out of the loop?

In this fast paced world we all get so wrapped up in our jobs, hobbies, families and friends that we sometimes forget to open our eyes to our wonderful community. I hear so many of my friends complain about there being nothing to do. Well, here I am to solve all of those winter boredom issues. OshkoshEvents.com is a place you can go to click on a calendar and see what is going on around you. I urge all of you to check it out and further more go get involved with your community.

A cheap date and some entertainment...what could be better?

Budget Friendly Tips

In these troubled economic times planning an event can be a difficult thing to do. Meetings & Events Magazine has come up with a list of ideas on how to keep costs low. So next time your company is looking to hold an event or meeting utilize these tips to help keep your budget under control.

• Use volunteers. You can find excellent volunteers among your organization or from local students looking to gain some experience and network.
• Keep volunteers busy with varied work assignments and time blocks.
• Hire on-site registration staff instead of paying staff to travel.
• Be aware of local regulations and overtime restrictions.
• Book local speakers to save on travel expenses.
• Pay travel per diem and outline expense rules.
• Hire now. Speakers and entertainers often raise their rates each year. You can lock in their current rate to save money.
• Cross-train staff to perform multiple functions and combine job duties when possible.

In the end it comes down to being smart. You can save money without making the event look cheap or amateur. Use your resources around you, give a student a chance, get creative and keep strict guidelines and your not only will your guests be thanking you but your wallet will be too.

Haiti Help

As my followers have probably been able to pick up on by now, Encore is in the business of events. We help to make others have a stress free and successful day. And while the business I am about to propose is not the event you would typically link to Encore, it is an event that needs our help.

Unless you have been in a hole you have probably heard recently a catastrophic event took place. Tuesday evening a 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti. The devastation has left an estimated 50,000 people dead with more to come unless they get help soon.

Thanks to our technologically savvy world, you can help out from home with a couple quick clicks or a short phone call. If you are looking to open your hearts and help others in this devastating time of need CNN has posted a list of organizations helping out in the relief.

Please join Encore by spreading the word and helping those who need it most.

"Peace is not something you wish for; It's something you make, Something you do, Something you are, And something you give away." Robert Fulghum

Planning an Event at a Hotel?

I found this article in "Meetings & Events Las Vegas Meeting Planner Resources Magazine" and thought that it was a very handy and helpful piece of information to pass along to our readers. Hope this will help share some insight into some things often over looked when planning meetings. This is just another reason why leaving planning to the professionals such as Encore is a great idea ;)

Enjoy!

"Consider the following before making a final decision:

• Decoration- Hotels usually offer lavish settings for meetings and events compared to convention centers or other meeting venues. On the other hand, the restrictions placed on decorating hotels are often more strict and can prevent meeting planners from achieving a desired look. Meeting planners should have a vision before committing to a space that can not be altered.
• Security- Hotels offer 24-hour service and usually have security officers in place at all times. Convention center "close for business so security is often not available after hours. It is important to determine what level of security the event will require. Hotels are public so additional security may need to be put into place to keep attendees safe. 
• Freight Elevators- Many meeting planners are shocked to find that they have been charged a fee to use the freight elevator when the bill comes. It is important to discover any hidden fees before the situation arises.
• Additional Services- Hotels can often offer a multitude of services to meeting planners that convention centers are forced to contract out. This is beneficial to meeting planners because it is easier to negotiate discounts and keep services organized when they are coming from a single source. Hotels are essentially a one-stop-shop for meeting planners.
• How to Negotiate With a Hotel?- Promise multiple meetings. One of the best ways to leverage negotiations with a hotel is to commit to holding several events at the location. Hotels are looking for return customers and are more likely to make deals with meeting planners that they know will contract their services, time and time again. "

Winter Spectacular Part 2

Hey everyone happy Monday! Just got some more pictures in from our event a couple of weeks ago. Thought I would share the beautiful set up. Enjoy!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year friends or according to feedback from last weeks blog perhaps I should say Happy 2K10! If your new years resolution is to become a bit more organized then do I have the calendar for you. This calendar, from Urban Outfiters, is so fun it would get me excited to see each day pass! Count down to the weekend anyone?