Arran Events, Advertising and Marketing

Most good event planners are a bit on the anal side. That is because “the devil” really is in the details.

And if the details are not well managed, it is very easy for all kinds of problems to occur.

A good example occurred just this week.

I received a call from a client this past Tuesday. She wanted to talk about the party she is scheduled to have for this coming Saturday.

She had done all of the right things including planning and booking her vendors well in advance. In fact, she had booked our services back in February.

The reason for the call? She received a panicked call from her catering hall.

It turns out that they double-booked the time slot for her event.

This catering hall is run by a husband-wife team. The wife generally handles reservations. But her husband had taken down a reservation for another event, a wedding reception. He didn’t see that the time slot was already reserved for my client’s event.

The wife discovered the oversight while reviewing arrangements for the weekend.

The upshot? My client, who didn’t have the heart to displace a wedding celebration, had to reschedule her event on short notice.

Needless to say, the oversight caused my client a great deal of inconvenience. For starters, she is expecting out-of-town guests who will have to change their arrangements.

The hall is trying to compensate by giving my client its use for free.

Nonetheless, damage was done.

In this case, there was little the client could have done to prevent this problem. It was caused by conditions out of her knowledge and control.

The reality is that people are human and screw-ups happen to the best of us.

But you can minimize problems arising from items under your control.

The key is organization.

If you are planning an event, keep a timeline and keep records. The timeline will give you a way to impose order on the endless details by letting you quickly see what has to take place and when.

Records will give you concrete reference so you don’t have to rely on memory. Contracts, receipts, papers, and your notes of phone conversations should be kept in a central place such as a folder.

A diary system based on your timeline will trigger necessary reviews and action on your part.

For example, if you book a vendor’s services and they promise to send you a contract, ask when you can expect to receive it. Then, note the date in your diary. Check it off when you receive the paperwork.

Failure to recieve the contract or any other promised paperwork should precipitate follow up on your part.

Such failures can be caused by any number of things. Papers get lost in the mail, and occasionally vendors don’t properly record an order.

It is rare, but it happens.

Likewise, many providers of party services require the payment of a deposit to secure your order.

Many clients shop around, change plans, or fail to commit for any number of reasons. Depending on the specific product or service, some vendors receive orders from a small percentage of their inquiries.

So a vendor may not follow up if you do not send in the deposit. And you may find yourself scrambling to obtain that service under a short deadline. This is more likely during peak periods when the vendor’s resources are stretched.

A diary system will keep you on track and organized.

Experiences like my client’s are rare. But mistakes do happen.

By being organized and on top of your diary system, you’ll prevent a lot of problems. And you can be confident that you have the details of your event under control.

Ellen Zucker owns Faces & Fortunes, a party entertainment company specializing in providing Caricature artists and Fortune tellers in the Philadelphia area. Her website is http://www.facesandfortunes.com

For more advice on planning your event, visit her sister site, http://www.faces-and-fortunes-partytips.com

Tags: event planners, event planning, organizing a party, party planning, preventing problems

I watch a lot of stuff on Television in India, particularly the ads that make me think. Now hold on. I don’t mean that in a good way but the fact that they bring the thought, “What the hell was that all about?” speeding in to my head.

You know the stuff that makes you wonder what were they thinking? Well I am sure there will be constant supply of this stuff in the coming months and years so I am starting this article as a series.

To open this 1st episode if you like I would bring the ad for the Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle to your attention. They used the song, “These Boots were made for walking” as the soundtrack. The first fifteen seconds or so you think it’s a shoe ad. Then for the next ten you feel it’s a Ray Ban commercial and then out of nowhere wham – It’s a Bike! Great.

Next up is an ad that still sends shivers down my neck every time I see it. It’s the one for HP Pavilion Desktop. It features a boy that seems interested in this girl that’s always surrounded by other guys. It’s the geek gets the girl routine and that’s fine. The chink in the “amore” so to speak here is the fact that the boy and girl chosen look so much like each other they could be brother and sister. Ouch! I know but look at them, they even feature in the press ads and it’s shocking stuff. Quick get that out my mind!

That’s better. Now to cool things off lets have a look at the latest ad for the Mahindra Scorpio SUV set in a very snowy part of the world. You know the funky looking Helicopter ad. Where this chic looking lady, pilots the helicopter that blows the snow off of Scorpio that belongs to the very chic looking dude in an overcoat. Well look at it – something’s not right. And you know what it is? No its not the MCP concept of the guy getting all the work done by the gal but in fact the Helicopter is a R/C model. Not the one that the lady is sitting in but the little thingy that is shown flying around the SUV. Come on guys you can do better!

Finally to round things off we go back to another beauty from Bajaj. This time for the motorcycle called Discover. I am sure you’ve heard that Time Warner is suing Bajaj for using the “Harry Potter” look-a-like to sell their bike. To make matters worse it got heavy exposure on tele and also print. The only “Jadoo” [Magic] was that they thought they could get away with it. Hey who knows they still might!

Sasha Masand the founder of Indian Voice Overs is an award winning Television Producer who has been part of the Indian media industry for over twelve years.

Tags: India Advertising

Elections are a great chance for small business owners like you to see how advertising works in a rather short time frame. With three weeks to go before elections here across the USA, you have the opportunity to observe local and state political races.

Consider the candidate “the product” and his / her campaign advertising and public relations campaigns.

As you try to predict the winners, it’s a great opportunity to observe how various politicians communicate their messages to specific groups of voters.

Compare this to your own small business advertising.

Of course, candidates have been working their audiences throughout the campaign, but what media they use and how is worth watching in these final weeks.

Sure, there will be upsets and predictable wins and everything in between. You’ll be able to observe whether or not those “dirty campaign tactics” worked or not on election eve. (P.S. most don’t!)

Using combinations of different media makes the candidate appear to be everywhere,

You’ll find each politician strives to stimulate personal referrals, debates / forums (you use seminars to educate), and different media such as direct mail pieces, newspaper ads, lawn signs, radio, tv as the budget allows.

The political advertising season once again hammers home the need for advertising to repeat, repeat, repeat. Studies show it can take from 6 to 9 impressions before your ad gets the attention of your potential customers (i.e. the voter).

The repetition factor came to mind one recent weekend here in Connecticut when – all of a sudden – almost overnight, literally – yard signs appeared for a new candidate for State Senate, running for his very first time. Not only did he have a difficult to recognize last name, but he was pretty much unknown in some of his district towns.

But this was no amateur effort. It seemed as if suddenly the distinctive yard signs appeared. You could see them from one yard to the next as you drove down some of the main streets, Very hard to miss. Not one sign here and there. It was repetition of lawn signs superbly orchestrated.

Some people love to watch the politicians battle it out and pay fairly close attention. At the other end of the specrtum, some voters sort of listen and make vague emotional judgements. Just goes to show how different people often react differently to the same message.

So whatever your political persuasion, remember you still need to promote your small business with advertising. Learn from what you see happening in political campaigns in your town or city during these last few weeks.

© 2006 Jon Sinish

This article may be reprinted and distributed as long as the resource information remains intact.

Jon Sinish is a 30-year champion of advertising for small businesses, whose clients range from international corporations to private professional practices.

Now, at his web site, you can discover more exciting articles that reveal practical tips, tactics and strategies to help the small businessperson manage and improve their advertising and marketing programs. Please visit http://www.advertising-for-small-businesses.com

Tags: poltical advertising, small business advertising