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How Destinations Can Improve Fam Trips

Posted on 25 Gennaio 201718 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

Fam trips are of educational nature to give planners ideas, inspiration and networking opportunities with local suppliers.

Fam trips, or familiarisation trips, are designed for event planners to get acquainted with a destination. They are often organised by the Convention Bureau, hotel (or hotel chains) and other local suppliers. Organisers invite top decision makers to experience the best of what the destination has to offer.

Fam trips are exciting and fun! Destinations will go the extra mile to give you a lifetime experience. They will show you all the secret gems and be attentive to all your needs. You’ll often stay in luxury hotels or get the suite or best view. Most importantly, everything is organised for you and you just have to be there and can relax. This is one of the job perks.

Keep first day “light” for attendees

On the first day attendees are coming from different destinations, some have short, others long journeys to the airport of origin. Depending on the flight duration they can arrive exhausted. Often fam trip organisers plan a very packed programme on the first day but attendees can be exhausted to fully enjoy it. I recommend keeping the first day light, with a relaxed evening programme so we can have a good night sleep and save the energy for second day. Alternately offer your attendees an extra night the day before.

Facilitate attendee networking

On the first day when everyone arrives, most probably we are strangers to each other. Try to facilitate introductions, make an ice breaker or name badges including name, company and maybe a flag of the country of origin. Usually during the fam trip we find ourselves chatting on the bus, between the venue tours, at the table and introducing ourselves to each other. But would be better if the host plays a bigger role in facilitating networking.

Too much food

We appreciate the fantastic hospitality, but sometimes there is too much food. Starting with breakfast at the hotel, continues with splendid buffet lunches, coffee breaks, desserts, afternoon snacks and three course dinners can be too much. And because we also talk about sustainability, last thing we want is to waste food.

Invest in the invitation

If you want to attract decision makers, you must think creatively to prove it’s worth their time. The invitation is the first impression you give them if you cold call or even inviting an existing client, because they get many invitation so yours must stand out.

How is your experience with fam trips? How often do you go and what are the challenges you encounter?

6 Ways to refresh your annual conference

Posted on 5 Ottobre 201618 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

An annual conference provides the unique opportunity to bond relationships between peers, clients, investors, vendors, and prospective business partners.

It creates a stage where people can come together and reflect on exceptional accomplishments as well as opportunities missed throughout the year, creating a reflective and honest environment.

This atmosphere can act as the perfect catalyst for supercharging your whole company and motivating members to move forward together towards a common objective.

Your annual conference can prove to be productive time well spent if your audience is engaged and people are poised to collaborate. Here are some ways to breathe life into your annual conference:

Change the scenery

Create anticipation for your meeting even before attendees step foot inside the door.

Host your annual conference in a different location from where you do business to give a feeling of a fresh start and unlimited possibilities. For example, if your office setting is typically in an urban industrial area, try hosting your conference at a forested retreat surrounded by wildlife and natural habitat.

A change in scenery can completely alter the way attendees approach issues and transform perceptions.

Plan some functional free time

Try balancing out a lecture-heavy agenda by adding other non-traditional activities to the mix.

Building excursions, recreation opportunities and friendly competitions into the schedule provides an outlet for creative thinking, thus giving attendees the chance to regroup and fully engage during traditional work sessions.

Sample activities can be as simple as furnishing a bike for each attendee to explore a nearby trail system, or simply providing interactive maps for attendees to discover must-see places throughout the host city.

Get to know your peers

With so many great minds in one place, try to make it easier for people to reach out to one another and start meaningful conversations. Ask attendees to fill out a “nametag” that includes not only a name but also lists the one accomplishment he or she is most proud of for the year, or a question he or she is hoping to have answered by the end of the conference.

This is a great way to get individuals interacting to share similar accomplishments and goals.

Break from the classic break

Sitting stationary for long periods of time is not good for the mind or the body.

Intermittent breaks allow attendees to move around and shake off stiff limbs, clear heads, and seek refuge after a morning filled with strong coffee and bran muffins. Take coveted break time to a whole new level by inviting in special relaxation and movement experts to help loosen the tension.

A few easy yoga moves in the fresh air will get people bending and stretching to increase blood flow and brain function, while a visiting chair massage specialist can ease the aches of sitting all day and give attendees a chance to temporarily zone out so they are less likely to do so in the middle of the session.

Interactive food fare

Food relaxes the atmosphere and helps sustain positive energy levels throughout a conference. Instead of opting for the regular ol’ soda and sandwiches theme, change it up a bit for a new spin on snacking.

Rather than one generic buffet, offer diverse lunch stations with different types of cuisine available in each area. There can be an Italian-themed create-your-own-pasta station, a sushi rolling area, or a station offering food distinct to the area in which you are hosting your conference.

Change the furniture

At one time, banquet chairs in meeting rooms were replaced by ergonomic seating. Now ergonomic seating is being replaced by bean bag chairs, overstuffed couches and “living room” areas where groups can meet and talk in a less formal and more comfortable venue.

Whether it’s incorporating aromas to energize the room, or requesting fitness balls and free weights for breaks at association events, the smallest ideas can breathe life into your traditional conference.

Utilize some of these tricks during your next conference for a brand-new approach to the old way of doing business. They will help foster great ideas to propel your business into the future.

How To Use Lighting At Your Event

Posted on 27 Maggio 201618 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

Lighting can make or break your event experience. If the lights are too bright your event may seem stark and cold. If your lights are too dark guests may miss important elements of your event and design. Well placed lights can create ambience at your event. Great lighting will allow you to get more impact from other items such as floral arrangements and other decor. You can also use lighting to direct your guests attention to events going on within your event, or to grab their attention.

Uplighting At Your Event

Uplighting is a great way to create an atmosphere at your event. Rooms can look bland if you do not use perimeter lighting. This is especially important for a simple more basic venue such as an empty ballroom, gallery, or conference center which can tend to be bland if you do not add in lighting and color. These venues do not have a lot of character to begin with you will need to build ambience with more lighting and decor. It’s a great way to tie in a color that goes with your theme and create a wow factor upon guests entering the room.

Using Gobo’s

Gobo’s are a great way to add an element of design and depth to your event. Simply stated a gobo is a beam of light with a metal stencil over it that creates a pattern. Gobos can project any design or pattern including abstract shapes, patterns, pictures, and company logos. You can project gobos onto ceilings, floors, and walls, they are a great way to add visual interest.

While gobos are great for transforming your event by giving it a dynamic atmosphere and feel, they can be used to promote your brand. Seeing your brands logo in bright crisp lighting will create a visual impact that surely will not go unnoticed.

Gobos can go almost anywhere and are highly flexible, work perfectly with many types of events from conventions, to galas and even weddings. Below is a photo from a corporate event we did where we projected their logo onto a venue wall.

Create A Light Show

A light show is a really fun way to grab your guests attention. Light shows are often combined with the first two lighting techniques. However, unlike the first two lighting options these lights will be constantly moving and flashing because a lighting engineer designs a custom show specifically for your event.

Lighting shows are often used at corporate events before an awards ceremony or speeches to quite the crowd and build excitement for the main event. We also use them to create an amazing dance vibe at galas and high energy concerts. Light shows make a very memorable experience and keep the energy high at events!

Highlight Design with Pin Lighting

Pin lighting is an excellent way to direct attention to certain parts of your event. Using a spotlight creates a dramatic effect that can transform centerpieces, decor elements and table settings into incredible pieces of art. Not only do pin lights add drama to your event lighting, but they also provide separation that is often needed between dark table linens and centerpieces allowing the centerpieces to pop and stand out. Pin lighting will make your event design a more dynamic visual experience.