10 New Years Resolutions for Brands from Shawn Parr, CEO, Bulldog Drummond - GENWOW.COM

10 New Years Resolutions for Brands from Shawn Parr, CEO, Bulldog Drummond - GENWOW.COM

Quote of the day

"Goodness is the only investment that never fails to return a dividend"

Why you need an event planner?

Whether you are a private individual, a company, or a government entity, you can save precious time and employ an event management company or consultant. This will allow you to take your mind off the event itself and focus on your day to day obligations. The event management company will consult with you a number of times to learn your desires and requirements, and they will also be able to offer a number of ideas. You choose how much control you want to hand over.

Most of the time we choose to go about juggling different tasks together, and ending up comprising one thing for another. I always say you cannot be a jackal of all trades, and that’s why we need different people or other people to take care of needs we cannot take care of. You would rather sacrifice now for future gains, than pay later for compromising in one way or another.

It’s not just about having an event it’s about THE EVENT!

Event management is the act of managing or organizing events or functions occurring at a particular place and time.

Event management involves studying the intricacies of the brand, identifying the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the logistics and coordinating the technical aspects before actually executing the modalities of the proposed event.

Events bring people together for a common purpose and event managers or planners ensure this is fulfilled.

Event Management is a multi-million dollar industry, growing rapidly, with mega shows and events hosted regularly. The industry includes fields such as Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events, exhibitions, conferences and seminars as well as live music and sporting events.

Anyone interested in becoming an event planner or manager should begin the path by understanding that it is not party planning. This is the case whether you’re considering a path with social events or corporate events. The final program may appear as if the profession is about throwing great parties, but the event planning professional focuses on the rationale or goal of having an event, and whether it is achieved. If you have an appetite for challenges and would love to work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment where no two projects are ever the same, you may be well suited to a career in event management.

Clients hire event management companies or consultants to handle a specific scope of services for the given event, which at its maximum may include all creative, technical and logistical elements of the event. (Or just a subset of these, depending on the client’s needs expertise and budget).

Event managers/ planners come up with programs that address the purpose, message or impression that their organization or client is trying to communicate. The event manager is the person who plans and executes the event. Event managers and their teams are often behind-the-scenes running the event. Event managers may also be involved in more than just the planning and execution of the event, but also brand building, marketing and communication strategy. The event manager is an expert at the creative, technical and logistical elements that help an event succeed. It is a multi-dimensional profession.

The event manager plays a critical role in the planning, coordination and subsequent success of any event. This is a complex task as it often requires the event managers to assume the role of creative director, human resource manager, operations coordinator, trouble shooter, public relations officer, licensee, accountant, health and safety officer, and master of ceremonies.

With these multiple roles and significant responsibilities, event managers generally need help. Coordination and consultation with key stakeholders is not only advisable but essential if an event is to be safe and successful.

The success of events is often assessed against economic, social, health, and safety measures. The measurements generally include the impact the event has on patrons, event staff, police, emergency services and the community.

Event planners work long and non-traditional hours to plan and execute all details related to a particular event.

Examples of events include:

Corporate/ organizational Events: seminars, staff trainings sessions, political, conferences, press conferences, product launches/expo,sales sports day, breakfast meetings, road shows, grand opening events, Mergers, Company acquisition, trade shows, executive retreats, incentive programs, golf events, conventions, charitable events, donations, luncheons, dinners, sponsored walks or runs, end of year staff parties, team building sessions, retreats, award and other programs.

Leisure/ Special corporate hospitality: concerts, award ceremonies, film premieres, launch/release parties, fashion shows, commercial events, leisure sports, music, recreation

Cultural Events: Ceremonial, religious, arts, heritage, folklore

Theme Parties: Wine tasting party, bringing all continents night, dress down, dress up, Karaoke, Mr. and Miss University, branded event with known with a certain company, etc

Private/ Personal Events: Weddings, Baby showers, reunions, fashion shows, Birthday parties, anniversaries, bridal showers, Stag, graduation, proms, concerts, bachelor parties,

To be Successful event planners you need to develop the following skills:

• Verbal and written communications
• Organization and time management
• Project management and multi-tasking
• Technical knowledge
• Self-starter and team player
• Understand Microsoft Office applications
• Detail and deadline-oriented
• Time management/sensitive
• Calm and personable under pressure
• Negotiation , organizational, communication, problem solving skills
• Innovative, creative, inspiring, entertainer
• Budget management
• Staff management advertising, catering, logistics, decor, glamour identity, human relations, study of law and licenses, risk management,
• Marketing, advertising and public relations
• Interpersonal skills with all levels of management

To be Successful event planners you will need to develop the following knowledge:

• Venue selection
• Catering
• Production
• Entertainment
• Gifts
• Transportation
• Lodging
• Conference Services

RESPONSIBILITIES OF EVENT PLANNERS

-Selection of an appropriate venue

- Key liaison point for your clients as well as suppliers and 3rd parties such as hotels, sound engineers, caterers and talent agencies.

-In charge of logistics

-Budgeting

-Event Design

- Audio visual production

-Negotiation with different suppliers/vendors, etc

-Marketing

-Ticket sales

-Managing people

- Offering exceptional customer service.

BENEFITS OF EVENT MANAGEMENT

For Event Planners: Exciting challenges, diverse projects

Opportunity to meet celebrities and other public figures

Freebies – see your event for free

Recognition – build your reputation with every successful event

For Organizations/ individuals: market themselves by reaching out to audience at the actual events, communicate with clients or potential clients, build business relationships, generate media coverage to reach out to thousands or millions of people by inviting audience to their events, raise money or celebrate.

THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF EVENT MANAGEMENT

The early stage

• Site surveying
• Client Service
• Brief clarification
• Budget drafting
• Cash flow management
• Supply chain identification
• Procurement
• Scheduling
• Site design
• Technical design
• Health & Safety

Closer to event-later stage

• Health & Safety including crowd management,
• Logistics
• Rigging
• Sound
• Light
• Video
• Detailed scheduling
• Security

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN THE EVENTS MANAGEMENT SECTOR

Event Management, Event Management Consultancy, Hotel, travel and hospitality Industries, Advertising Agencies, Public Relations Firms, Corporations, News Media, Non-profit organization, Integrated Marketing & Communications, Event Budgeting and Accounting

The different software’s available in events management: Online Event Registration, Event Marketing Tool, Hotel Booking Tool, sponsorship donation forms, Travel Booking Tool, Budgeting Tool.

Tips on event management

Here are some tips to plan your Ground-breaking and Signing Ceremony!

Any events needs detailed planning and achieve results. Here are some tips on how to plan a successful event.

• Before you start you need to have a theme of the event. After the theme is confirmed, you might want to host a meeting to brainstorm the theme, target audience, guests list, guest of honor, budget allocation, etc.
• Develop a purpose to accomplish for this event, to gain maximum publicity and exposure from the international industry players in the chemical industry, investors, public and media.
• Develop a budget for this event.
• Logistics planning. Check about liability or safety issues that may impact your event. Prepare A Risk Management Agreement for this event.
• Identify human resources and materials essential for the event.
• Identity a date, time and venue for your event. Book venue and any technical audio-visual equipment you might need. Plan and make contacts with the media and governmental bodies.
• Follow-up discussion meetings regularly.
• Assign specific departments to handle specific responsibilities and assignments.
• Check with key resource person a week before the actual program to confirm everything is in place. A dry run is needed three days before the actual event day.

Last but not least, strategies for media relations and presentations, Also supporting collaterals, like invitation cards to be printed with company’s logo, address and contact numbers. The design should be simple, elegant and consistent with company’s corporate identity.

Invitation list needs to be complied and submitted, 4 weeks before the actual event.

Have the best event ever!

Heart touching incident.........

I was walking around in a Big Bazaar store making shopping, when I saw a Cashier talking to a boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old...

The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll. Then the little boy turned to me and asked: ''Uncle, are you sure I don't have enough money?''

I counted his cash and replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy the doll, my dear.'' The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.

Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. 'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much. I wanted to Gift her for her BIRTHDAY.

I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.' His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God... Daddy says that Mommy is going to
see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister...''

My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.' Then he showed me a very nice photo of him
where he was laughing. He then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so my sister won't forget me.' 'I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.' Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly..

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?''

'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!'

Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!'' 'I also wanted
to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses.'

I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever...

The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

Please DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE.

MBA in India & Abroad – a scenario

Had come across a piece that was written by someone whom i know and thought of putting it up on my blog. Makes a very interesting read.

Despite India boasting over a thousand B-schools some of which are rated and ranked among the best in the world, most graduates who aspire for careers in the corporate world yearn to do an MBA abroad, especially in the UK, Australia and the US. Well-aware of this national aspiration, many foreign B-schools have established offices in India and stage promotional programmes in five-star hotels and glitzy fairs to ‘sensitise’ youth about the great globally cherished MBA programmes they offer.

But one has to understand the dynamics of why offshore B-schools aggressively recruit students from India and third world countries. A prime cause is that the pool of students who want to get graduate education in the western nations is low and falling dramatically. Hence the assiduous are wooing Indian and third world students. Yet, it’s becoming increasingly clear that a foreign B-school diploma doesn’t guarantee quality education or quality jobs. How many with foreign B-school certification attain these objectives doesn’t provide a very comfortable answer. Good MBA education, even in the US, the UK or Australia is restricted to a few 30 odd B-schools and the diplomas and certificates of other B-schools don’t open doors abroad or in India. Overlay this with other factors such as expensive education, poor living standards while studying, difficulties in securing appropriate work visas/ cards to settle aboard etc, and one can understand that the charm of working abroad is fading and most students educated in B-schools abroad are coming back to India where job prospects are better. Moreover with the recent global economic downturn having hit western economies harder there is more glaze and glitter than real gold in foreign MBAs. Nevertheless assuming that your heart is set upon a foreign MBA and you have the wherewithal to fund the aspiration, choosing an appropriate B-school isn’t rocket science. Check out the QS, Times Higher Education rankings of the best B-schools to the country of your choice. Some of the points that you may want to check out: Is the B-school you’ve chosen suffering from lack of local demand? Is its certification well recognised? Who are its prominent alumni? What is the school’s placement scenario? What are the fees and the hidden costs? Some answers to these questions will be easily available. Some won’t be. For answers to difficult questions, search out alumni of short-listed schools. In the connected world of Orkut and Facebook, searching for alumni shouldn’t be a great problem. Moreover, there are always B-school forums that will happily help you. But in all likelihood you’ll find that your investigations will prompt you to shortlist the top 30 B-schools in the US, top five in the UK and the Australia and a few others in the Europe and Singapore. But admission into these top-rung schools is difficult and expensive.

Will the scenario be markedly different if foreign B-school establish branch campuses in India as proposed by the Foreign Education Providers (Regulation of Entry Operations) Bill 2010 is enacted into the law? This is a timely relevant question. I believe it will be for the very talented and the rich ─ a miniscule minority in India. Foreign institutions entering India will be of two types: those that are serious about education and others who have been waiting for opportunities to cash in pout-up demand. The former will be few, the latter will be many; but both will be expensive propositions.

Against this backdrop for the vast majority it makes eminent good sense to explore the Indian B-school option. Admittedly Indian MBA diplomas with the exception of certification from top two-three IIMs, are not recognised by western firms. This is true of all public and private B-schools in India. It’s useful to remember that an MBA from top 30 B-schools of India is no better than of also-ran institutes that woo you from abroad. Certification from B-schools in both these groups is unlikely to result in the red carpet being rolled out for you by corporates. On the other hand graduates of top and middling indigenous B-schools can land well-paying jobs, closer to home and friends in culturally comfortable environments. Several exchange students from Europe and US in India will vouch for the quality and rigour of the top 30 B-school’s education in India.

As the Indian economy chalks up high annual rates of GDP growth and suffers serious talent shortages, opportunities for well-remunerated jobs are opening up for graduates who have received business education related to indigenous ground conditions. It’s important to bear in mind that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. While we are in India, we want a foreign life; while we are there, we root for India. Many students, even from the IITs who are in demand the world over, are spurning six-figure salaries and returning to India, as are a growing number of students who have MBAs from the best foreign B-schools. And lastly, most of us owe our education to the taxes paid by millions of Indians. Should we not repay to our own people their investment? That’s a crucial question.

By: Jayaram K. Iyer – Chairperson, Corporate Communications and Director, Marketing, Loyola Institute of Business Administration

@ # Angels # @

June 21, 2010 evening I have been out with boss for a bottle of beer, we discussed on various things and it was 10:30 pm …… finally time to go home

I was suppose to drive on my bike back home but somehow I was not comfortable to drive that garbage … so I hit the road on my legs to find an auto at the corner of the street…. I walked almost 3 kms but no luck. I was exhausted and have no strength to take even a single step ahead so I have decided to stay back and see if I can get some help. I turned back and see the road – its empty and deserted with no street light, its pitch dark and for instance I felt that I am the only human left on this earth.

After few minutes I see a bike coming towards me. I raised my hand and requested to slow down and the person. I see a beautiful girl right in front of me on her scooter. I was lost looking her beauty but suddenly I hear a sweet voice saying ‘can I help you’ OMG I still remember her sweet voice. She was looking like an Angel…. She again asked me can I help you…. Then I can back to my senses and said yes and said can you please give me a ride to the nearby junction. She said yes and I got on to her scooter…… I can smell a sweet fragrance stuffing my nose… I tried to start conversation, before we start any conversation we reached my destination.

She left me and about to leave then I asked her name…….. Surprisingly she said I am an ANGEL and left me with many questions…..

# Angels:

In many of the world's religions, angels are spiritual beings who act as intermediaries between God and humans. Messengers of God, angels may serve any of a number of purposes. Their role may be to teach, command, or inform individuals of their destiny. Angels may also act to protect or help people.

The word angel comes from the Greek word angelos, meaning "messenger." In Western religions, the word specifically describes a kind, or benevolent, being. However, in most other religions, the line separating "good" angels from "bad" angels is not always clear. An angel may act benevolently in one situation but with evil intent in another.

The Nature of Angels:

The world's religions have had different views about the nature of angels. Some regard angels as divine beings who deserve to be worshiped rather than just as messengers of God. Disagreement also exists about the bodies of angels. Some think that angels have actual physical bodies. Others insist that angels only appear to have such bodies. Still others believe that angels are purely spiritual beings but that they can assume material bodies.

Dreams ….. fascinating

Something knocked off my head….. it was paining and pulling me to death…….OMG what is this …… where am I ……… I don’t see anything …….Somewhere in the distance I see a light coming towards me ………….Suddenly everything came to idle ……

Finally I wake up from my bed ………

Illusions…… delusions…….reality

Dreams versus Visions ……..

OMG……pretty confusing

Dream interpretation: Dreams were historically used for healing (as in the Asclepieions found in the ancient Greek temples of Asclepius) as well as for guidance or divine inspiration. Some Native American tribes used vision quests as a rite of passage, fasting and praying until an anticipated guiding dream was received, to be shared with the rest of the tribe upon their return.

Wake up from illusion

We can wake up completely, understand and become conscious of the illusion of Maya, and live, as we really are, as a pure, formless, beginning-less and endless consciousness. Due to illusion it seems as if we are all separated, having individual selves and each living a different life. Even when we wake up from Maya, its play may go on. We continue to see and experience it, yet it is of no concern to us anymore. Outwardly we may continue to live our life in the same manner, but we are really awake.

It is like a movie show. A person watching a movie gets so involved with the characters and with what happens on the screen. He may become happy or sad with the heroes, gets depressed, shouts or laughs.

If at a particular moment he decides to stop watching the screen and manages to withdraw his attention from the movie, he gets snapped out of the illusion the movie creates. The projecting machine will go on projecting images on the screen, but he knows that it is only light projected through the film onto the screen. What is seen on the screen is not real, but yet it is there. He may watch the movie, or he may decide to close his eyes and ears and stop looking at the screen.

Have you ever watched a movie, when at some point the reel got stuck or there was a power failure? What happens to you when you watch an interesting, absorbing film on the television and then suddenly there are commercials? You are snapped out of the illusion to the world around you. When you are sleeping and dreaming, and someone wakes you up, you feel thrown out of one world to a different one. It is the same in the life we call reality. It is possible to wake up from it.

One who has managed to still his mind and senses through proper training, may go on living and acting in the world like the person in the cinema hall, who is no longer interested in the movie. He learns how to get out of the illusion and wake up. If he is no more a slave to illusion and dreams, he is free. He sees everything as it really is. Contrary to what you might think, such a person functions in his daily life in a better way, is stronger, happier, very practical and free from worry.