2012 National Meetings Industry Day National Meetings Industry Day (NMID) is being celebrated across Canada on Thursday, April 19, 2012 in recognition of the significant economic and community impact of the meetings industry. This special day will highlight our Canadian meetings and events industry and communicate its value to the general public, business community and governments. Edmonton Tourism, the Shaw Conference Centre and Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Greater Edmonton Chapter are organizing a breakfast (7:00am – 10:00am) to celebrate NMID 2012 in Edmonton.  This year we are thrilled to have a new panel format with: Ron Gilbertson, President and CEO of Edmonton Economic Development Corporation Bruce Okabe, CEO of Travel Alberta Simon O’Byrne, Chair of the Downtown Vibrancy Task Force and a Senior Principal at Stantec They will be delivering a panel presentation about “Major Trends Meeting And Event Professionals Don’t Dare Ignore” during our morning celebrations. This celebration is being supported by many local industry partners, planners, suppliers and associations such as Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS), Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE), and Edmonton’s Food Bank to name a few. This event is also being held as a fundraiser with all proceeds being donated to Edmonton’s Food Bank to support their recently launched food recovery program. Our goal is to raise $15,000 for this initiative. As my second year involved with this event as Co-Chair , it  has been a tremendous honour to collaborate with the Edmonton meeting and event industry and continue the momentum that is building to recognize what we do. For more information visit: www.nmid-edmonton.ca...

12 Best Practices for Developing a Volunteer Program 1. Planning and Organization   2. Policies and Procedures   3. Risk Management   4. Volunteer Recruitment   5. Screening, Interviewing and Placement   6. Orientation   7. Training   8. Supervision   9. Volunteer Performance Evaluation   10. Retention and Recognition   11. Recognition   12. Measuring Volunteer Program...

Most press releases are now distributed online. Instead of checking their mail or fax machines, journalists now go to online press release distribution sites for press releases. This makes SEO a critical component of a press release, especially if this is the only method of distribution you are using. An effective press release should: Include an attention-grabbing headline Have an informative opening paragraph and other newsworthy elements to get the information noticed by an editor or journalist Be written with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind   SEO makes a press release more visible when a search engine is used to find a release. Many publishers use SEO tactics to help their stories rank higher on search engines. A well-written press release that ignores SEO tactics might never be found by writers using search engines to generate story ideas. Figure out what people are looking for by doing some keyword research. Try tools like SEO Book, Google Keyword Tool or Wordtracker Limit yourself to a select number of terms (use the tools above to identify the ones that will drive up the quantity and quality of visitors). Use your keywords in your domain name, i.e. www.yourdomain.com/eventplanning/weddings.html Keywords should be around 3 – 5 percent of the total text and links of any particular...

“Trade shows are about foot traffic and exposure to your exhibition booth. Combining two seemingly unrelated ingredients, such as fashion and cars, can generate buzz at a typical trade show, garnering crowds and exposure.” (Event Planning Made Easy, Paulette Wolf). Some steps in planning a successful trade show: Research your stakeholders to identify goals, objectives, target audiences, timing, and location Conduct a market analysis (list other shows targeting your audience) Design your show based on the best possible dates and locations Choose a venue / location that will attract both exhibitors and attendees Market your show to potential exhibitors who have an interest in that target audience Provide support to exhibitors prior to, during, and post show Evaluate the trades how using measurable objectives and benchmark for future...

When it comes to theme development, work with the stakeholders to develop a theme that establishes the message or image that will reach the intended audience, communicate the event experience being offered, and encourage participation. Design from Inspiration: Creativity depends on inspiration and inventiveness.  Keep a folder of newspaper articles, magazine clippings, to look back at for inspiration.  Theme ideas come from many different sources: Supplied by the client Topic research Site or destination Religion, political and history Popular culture The Arts Fashion Nature   Design to Colour: The color wheel is an invaluable tool for event designers and the lighting technicians.  The industry standard is produced by the Color Wheel Co. which is available through arts and crafts stores.  Pantone colors is the world-renowned authority on colour and provider of colour systems and leading technology for the selection and accurate communication see www.pantone.com Red = energy, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Orange = enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success Yellow = the color of sunshine, associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy. Green = nature, symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness. Purple = royalty, symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, creativity, mystery, and magic. Blue = trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. White = light, goodness, innocence, purity and it is considered to be the color of perfection. Black = power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery.   Design to the Senses: Sight – setting, props, floral arrangements, color, fabrics, food presentation, lighting, attire Sound – ambient noise (which may be good or bad depending on selection), soundscaping, musical entertainment, dialogue, dining sounds (i.e., glasses clinking, crunchy foods etc) Taste – food, beverage Touch – surfaces, fabrics, furnishings, food texture, visual textures (that stimulate the tactile sensation) Smell –  food aromas, flowers, fuels (cooking and power generation), scented candles/incense/oils, ambient aromas (natural scents) Design in Layers: Theme development is about layering all components of the event from behind the scenes to up front.  The following topics are broken down in brief to give a general idea of what to consider when in the design phase: Background Colour Focal Points Fabrics Furnishings Lighting Audiovisual Detailing Flooring Rentals Props Stages Signage Remember to develop themes that support the event objectives and communicate the desired message. Events are often put into a recognizable context by infusing them with a theme that will communicate the purpose and establish a set of expectations. Package the...