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XPERIENCE ROOM
One room, two visionary stages!
Xperience this Fast-paced “Ideas Tradeshow”
Xperience education in a whole new way! The Xperience Room will feature quick, interactive presentations on three small stages showcasing the newest techniques, latest design trends, and cutting-edge marketing ideas, including social media.
Throughout the Conference, these live 30–minute demonstrations will let you quickly Xtract more new ideas than ever before. Get up close and personal with scheduled presentations that include:
10 Questions You Should Be Asking Every Client
Sasha Souza
President / Event Designer
Sasha Souza Events, Napa, CA
For the past 10 years, Event Designer Sasha Souza has been asking her clients key questions about themselves. In this session she will give you the top 10 questions she asks and in this 30 minutes you will walk away with tips on what your client's personality reveal about them. These top 10 questions will give you insight into who they are, how they live and how they want to celebrate. Using these to develop your own design questionnaire will save you time & resources over the course of the planning.
Raising More Money at Your Non-Profit Event
Samantha Swaim
Event Director
Samantha Swaim Fundraising, Portland, OR
Kristin Steele
Operations Director
Samantha Swaim Fundraising, Portland, OR
For non-profits, events can have a large impact on their fundraising bottom line. The event’s Special Appeal or Ask is the area of the program that can have some of the most impact. But to pulling it off successfully is a delicate fusion of planning strategy, program content, and orchestrated logistics. We’ll chat about how speaking from the WHY of the work your organization does will set your Special Appeal apart and how carefully preparing your catering and AV details beforehand can make all the difference the night of your event and help make it a smashing success.
Designing for “Your” Clients
Nico Cervantes
Principal Designer
NLC Productions , Santa Barbara, CA
Nico envelops every aspect of event design from concept to completion. Nico Cervantes’ unique and versatile style enables him to bring any client idea or vision to life in the most memorable fashion. Nico will teach the importance of the client/designer relationship. For example, he will address that it is not always about what “we as designers want,” but it is about making the clients happy, taking their ideas and making them look good. He will incorporate authentic client profiles and will then show the events and clients dreams being brought to life. Nico will display hand drawn renderings, photos and design boards to give his audience a complete visual experience of what it is like from the client’s point of view. He will cover all aspects of design including color, linens, lighting, tabletop, entertainment, layout, and catering.
Your Big Flat Blog
Liese Gardner
Owner
Mecca Communications, Los Angeles, CA
Is your blog big on great content and fat with followers? It should be! Or, are you still on the fence about it all? Come to this session to hear why blogging, the most trusted of social media platforms, can help extend your company’s brand and name recognition in ways no other social media can.
• Learn why you should be blogging, besides SEO!
• Find out how to set up a blogging calendar with your team
• Discover why blogging can even help sales
Embracing Event Apps
Silke Fleischer
CEO
ATIV Software, Santa Rosa, CA
Event apps are becoming more and more popular for conferences and meetings. Not just because they are cool and save you a lot of time, but because they are extremely convenient for attendees, allow the ability to integrate social media, and enable you to offer more sustainable events by going paperless. With so many apps and vendors to choose from, how do you know which app will work for your event, what questions to ask, and what to expect for the price?
In this session, you will learn feature and functionality requirements for event apps the differences, benefits and shortfalls of native, web, widget, and hybrid apps important questions to ask the developer estimated development time frames marketing and revenue generation strategies pricing, quality assurance, agreements, and expectations.
Fundraising Event Logistics
Samantha Swaim
Event Director
Samantha Swaim Fundraising, Portland, OR
Kristin Steele
Operations Director
Samantha Swaim Fundraising, Portland, OR
Fundraising events all too often get off track by pulling the focus off of fundraising and placing it on details that don’t impact the bottom line in the right way. We’ll take a look at how to orchestrate the program of your event to focus on fundraising, and talk about when décor impacts fundraising in good and bad ways. How you set up your event floor will impact all of your strategic elements, so we’ll take a look at how to set up registration to avoid lines for your guests. Since how you spend your money also impacts your bottom line, we’ll explore ways to make partners out of your event vendors and talk about when and where to spend your money.
How Event Planners Can Save $$ on F&B
Patti Shock, CPCE
Professor
Harrah Hotel College, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Events often include food and beverage. The pricing of food and beverage can be a mystery to buyers. This session will give you practical tips on ways to save money on catered events, including what’s negotiable and how to negotiate. It’s a big mistake if you don’t consider food and beverage when selecting a venue.
Risk Management
William Werner
Associate Professor
William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
This session will examine current topics in Risk Management, including recent industry cases, common insurance issues, and techniques for identifying and managing the multitude of risks facing every event management company.
How to Effectively Use Student Volunteers at Your Event
Curtis Love, Ph.D., CHE
Director of Graduate Studies
University of Nevada Las Vegas, William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, Las Vegas, NV
Reaching out to local community colleges and universities can be an effective way to get free or very low cost assistance with your events. The key is understanding who to contact, how to schedule student workers, and special needs of student workers. This session will help you maximize your volunteer efforts and plan for a successful event.
Green Event Design Today
Gayle Gilberto
President and Lead Event Design Producer
Art of the Event, Inc., Boston, MA
We explore recent changes in green event design, including how your event no longer has to look green to be green. We’ll discuss the benefits of hiring local, renting over buying, using electronic invites and collateral vs. paper products plus new LED lighting options and other green innovations coming in the future. We’ll sum up by suggesting (10) quick changes a caterer or planner can implement right now to become greener!
Four Seasons of Tents
Linda Alpert
Owner
Affairs with Linda, Chicago, IL
Linda will guide you through the ins and outs of "Seasonal Tented Events". Her 30+ years of experience in the event industry gives her a leg up when it comes to everything event related. She is especially keen to designing and implementing tented weddings and parties. This session will showcase classic looks and the process it entails when you are dealing with a particular season and its elements...Winter Snow and Summer Heat. This is going to be an insightful discussion and promises to be a visual feast when it comes to tented looks.
…AND MANY MORE!!
• Tech Trends: What Works and What is a Waste of Your Time
• Simple Design Elements for Classic Buffets
• Business Coach or Business Consultant
• Taste and Toast with the Saucy Sisters
• All Grown Up: The “Over 21” Soda Fountain Station
• Keeping the Balls in the Air: How to Produce Multiple Events on the Same Night Flawlessly
• Linens 101: Using Basic Linens to Make Decorative Tables
• Five Hot Ideas for Marketing to Today’s Bride
• Mining Your Corporate Customers for More Business
• iPad as a Sales Tool
• Wedding Menu Trends
• Celebrate Every Season with Easy Floral Designs
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