Via one of my favorite travel and hospitality blogs — Hotel Marketing Strategies — comes TwitterSheep, a new tool which allows you to see a tag cloud from the ‘bios’ of your twitter flock.
The site scours your list of followers and pulls together various keywords to describe them. It gives a very good overall picture of who is who and what they might be interested in. Plus it look cool, too.
Chris Piel from Absolute Promotions understands the importance of giving clients an eco-friendly solution that also fits their corporate personality.
“A software company is looking for something that’s a lot different than a client in the financial industry. And, it’s our job to come-up with unique products that will help each company show off their brand colors in the best light and within budget,” says Chris.
“Some of my favorite promotional products are desk-sized wind turbines and organic cotton lanyards and key tags with full color custom cotton labels rather than just direct screens. I love preloaded biodegradable custom-shaped USB drives that hold exhibitors information and more. And, it seems so much smarter than handing out all that printed material you usually see at shows. Nobody wants to carry it around or find room for it on the plane home. Most of it ends up in the garbage and being more of a hassle.”
Minneapolis photographer Joe Szurszewski specializes in photographing news, people, features and sports for editorial, corporate and advertising clients. He is an experienced and accomplished photojournalist with clients in numerous fields, including entertainment, publishing, education, financial services, engineering, government, retail, non-profits and many more.
Whatever your event, a lot of time, hard work and money goes into making it happen. When you hire Joe to photograph your event, you maximize your ROI with an experienced photographer who delivers images that become valuable marketing collateral for your business and demonstrate to your clients, vendors and business partners that you put on a first-rate event.
With experience in photojournalism and newspapers, Joe is comfortable working to deadline. He’s happy to accept same-day and next-day assignments and has the maturity to adapt to last-minute changes. During a busy conference, Joe is able to deliver high-impact images on-site. And when you hire Joe, you’re guaranteed a wider selection of images to choose from in less time then it takes the average shooter. Joe retouches the best images from the shoot and includes these on disc along with all of the un-retouched images. This allows you to immediately use the best images in print or on the Web, while still having the freedom to use any image from the shoot.
To find out more about Joe Szurszewski Photography, please visit the Website at http://www.joesz.com/
One item often overlooked when planning an eco-friendly event is the conference giveaway. Those little “tchotkes” that delegates look for when checking into their hotels; the logo-emblazoned tote bags and t-shirts and all the nifty pens, clipboards and stress-release gadgets can amount to a LOT of stuff. That’s why it’s important to source suppliers who can provide unique, quality giveaways made from environmentally friendly or recycled materials.
Before buying your next truck load of event products, here are a few things to consider:
1. No more built in obsolescence. Even the greenest giveaways are not green if they end up in the landfill. Look for durable and practical gifts that delegates can (and will) use well into the future. Put client logos on reusable water bottles or recycled tote and carry bags. These along with flashlights with long lasting batteries and solar battery chargers are all unique gifts that your delegates will actually use and appreciate.
2. Insist on environmentally friendly raw materials. Organic cotton and bamboo wine bags, shirts, hats and carry bags; skin creams and sunscreen (for your “tropical paradise” events) are available in a wide range of brands. Beeswax products like candles and lip balms are good for both the men and woman in your group. Incorporating biodegradable bags and gift items made from hemp will also contribute to the success of your meeting.
3. Source Recycled Materials. Old car tires, recycled steel and aluminum, plastic bottles and discarded glass and metal objects are prime ingredients for a new breed of event supplier. New “green suppliers” are springing up across North America to meet this new demand. According to Stacee Matheson, from Seattle-based EcoBrander Promos, customized “sticky notes”, notebooks and pens made from recycled materials are really popular with convention delegates. Customized seeded paper products are a lot of fun and delegates DO take them home and plant them in their gardens. In addition, items made from ‘post-consumer’ recycled materials lessens the carbon footprint more than buying items made from post-industrial recycled materials.
4. Eco-up your name badges and lanyards. Lanyards and badges are now being produced in a wide range of recycled, eco-friendly and bio-degradable materials such as recycled papers and corn. You may also want to provide drop-off boxes and encourage delegates to leave their name badges behind. Paper badges can be recycled and the plastic covers can be reused at your next event.
5. Shop locally. It can be a real challenge to decrease the transportation-related carbon emissions related to your events. EcoBranders’s Stacee Matheson recommends sourcing suppliers close to the event location. Ask your promo rep to source products that are as close as possible (geographically) to the final ship-to address. Decreased distance in shipping means decreased carbon emissions, and also lower shipping costs.
6. Use what you can. Donate the rest. It can be depressing to just THINK about all of the things that get thrown out at the end of even a small meeting or conference. Research charity organizations located near your next event. Partnering with local shelters or socially responsible organizations gives you an alternative to just tossing out extra gifts, t-shirt and other supplies. Acting in such a socially responsible manner will only heighten the appreciation that delegates have for your client’s commitment to the community and the environment.
Looking on the bright side of things, the meetings and conventions industry is taking sustainability very seriously. And as planners turn to eco-friendly products, the selection and availability of those products will only continue to grow. The promotional products industry has also made it clear that its commitment to these types of products is a permanent one.
Janet Latremouille is a sales associate at WTTC.com - The Meeting Planner’s Best Resource. She can be reached at 1-888-224-3178 or by e-mailing amjl@wttc.com
Doing more with less doesn’t have to be that difficult, says Chris Piel, Idea Ambassador at Albany-based Absolute Promotions.
Last year, Absolute Promotions took this concept to heart when they created an all-in-one-product for one of their international clients.
“In the past, this client gave out padfolios, pens, bags, giveaways, printed pages of plenary sessions, conference maps, sponsor sheets … well you get the idea,” says Chris.
To replace the glut of products, Absolute Promotions came-up with the idea for a custom notebook. Printed on FTC recycled paper, the book contained conference information within the first 20 pages and had an additional 100 pages that attendees could use to make notes. A page was also created specifically to hold business cards collected at the event.
“Our client saved a lot of money” says Chris. “They were psyched.”
“Our attendees were also really happy with the outcome as they only had to carry around one book during the week long event.”
