Monday, October 29, 2012

The Jeff Show: Scary Travels


Since it's the spookiest month of the year, Nicole, the glue that holds this newsletter together, suggested that we have a Halloween theme. “Do you have any scary travel tips?” she asked.  

Let’s see, getting into Dallas 20 minutes late on gate A4 to find out that the connecting flight is on time and departing from C28 is pretty scary. Or, how about any story that involves Miami International airport? Because we all have heart pounding travel tales that involve MIA.

When I seriously think about it, New Orleans comes to mind. Visiting "the Big Easy" is a haunting experience you can't find anywhere else in this country. Not only for the famous drinking in the French Quarter (although, that can be a mind altering experience), but for the city itself.  Walking through and around New Orleans is always a little scary to me. Sometimes it’s the people walking past me, but most times it’s catching an otherworldly glimpse out of the corner of my eye in one of courtyards that happen to be centuries old. Or, seeing one of those little dark shops off of Bourbon Street. To me, being able to purchase voodoo supplies for yourself or a loved one raises the little hair my neck. The look of the trees along the streets in the Garden district, seems a little ghostly. 

But for a real trip, take a day tour of the bayou. Something is sure to scare you out there.

But, New Orleans is really about the food.  Next time you visit there are two must-try places. The first is getting a muffuletta at CentralGrocery. It's located right on a sea wall of the Mississippi.  The wait to get the sandwich is forever, and there is no good place to eat it.  But it is the best, and try their root beer.

Right near the Westin, a popular ballroom in town called Mr. B’s Bistro. The barbeque shrimp for lunch is the real deal...and get extra bread.  Trust me.

Next month I hear that we are doing Thanksgiving recipes.  Yummy. I can’t wait.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

The AV Gig from H$LL


Since Halloween is this week, we have ghouls, ghosts and goblins on our minds. We let Jeff handle that one. This week, we all reflected on gigs and events that could made out as a meeting planner's nightmare - the power went out, a piece of equipment broke or a wire went bad. But my experience from May 2010 is literally from a meeting planner's version of Halloween 13.

My day started late at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN. Our equipment was delayed due to inclement weather; and when it finally arrived, I was able to mount the two projectors, six lights and dimmers, three 40” LCD monitors, and one 32” monitor in record time. 
Shortly after lunch, I was about to hang the last monitor when a man on a cart drove by me, and rudely said I had to stop setting up gear and evacuate. I thought he was crazy, and proceeded to hang the monitor. Several minutes later, the same gentleman plus two more men drove by me, and told me and my crew to evacuate the building. Wishing we could finish up the job, we grudgingly left the hotel.

For hours, we stood in the rain outside on the Opryland steps waiting for permission from show management to re-enter the building and get back to work. It was fruitless, and we decided to call it a day.  My colleague and I decided grab dinner across the street and find out what was going on in the hotel. When we stepped out to leave, we saw this car parked next to the building.

At that point, we knew we were in trouble; and luckily, I was staying at the Country Inn and Suites on top of the hill opposite of the Opryland Hotel. We decided to wait out the storm at my hotel, and get to work the next morning to finish last minute preparations on the booth.
I awoke the next morning to one of the largest floods to take Nashville, TN.  I headed back to the Opryland Hotel to assess the damage, and found that it was only accessible by row boat.

Scrambling to leave Nashville I stood at the main entrance of the hotel and frantically made phone calls. Of course, I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw a staple “Elvis” from the wax museum floating by me.

I arrived home safely, but never saw the gear again. It probably floated away with “Elvis” to a better place.  Here are some more photos from employees at the Opryland Hotel:

Entrance to the Exhibit Hall where the booth was setup.
A lonely road case floating under the famous atrium.



 From the ballroom looking down to the convention center.
So next time your event isn't going as you planned, just think back to my own AV Halloween 13 experience. Happy Halloween!

By Cory Wetzell, Project Manager

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Event Advice: Managing Live Social Media


Photo: Courtesy of Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee
Less than a decade ago, social media barely existed. Today, this communication revolution is hot, word of mouth travels quickly. It's important to welcome, manage and engage your event attendees. Not only will social media enable you to receive instant feedback, it also generates awareness for your event.

Rishi Dave the Executive Director of Online Marketing for Dell explains how other businesses are using social media to engage attendees in Social Media at Live Events: Who's Managing Real-Time Interaction for Target, Dell, and Other Brands, in BizBash magazine:
  • It's really important to have at least one social media expert present at the event to capture the activities, energy and what people are saying.
  • At last year's inaugural Dell World conference, Dave included a Twitter stream and Tumblr feed, but also created an app that encouraged live questions and win rewards 
  • Big brands that have sub-brands (i.e. Target Baby or Target Style) need to have a separate community manager and should be attending events such as promotions and product launches to communication with customers and key influencers.
  • If you do not have a budget to hire an in-house social media team, look into companies like MKG that send out an external team to help drive engagement among attendees at your next event.
We can always work with you to make sure you are driving social engagement by setting up AV displays that include your Twitter feed and other social activities at your next event.