Life's too short to give boring swag

As a marketer first, and meeting planner second, bad swag is one of my biggest pet peeves.  What constitutes BAD swag?

1. Cheap (and it’s going to reflect on your brand as being cheap!)
2. Doesn’t align with your brand

3. Logistically isn’t easy to transport (yeah fancy wine opener-I’m talking to you and TSA)

4. Very forgettable (pen, stress ball, notebook)

5. Useless (the kids or dog will end up playing with and /or breaking it—or you’ll see it piled in the trash—not a good look)

6. Over-branded (love the Patagonia beanie—wish your logo wasn’t in 72 point font on it)

Clients always ask me, “What should we do for swag?”  My response is to share the three pieces of swag I have received that changed my life, meaning:  A. I still use the product, or B. I still remember the experience (because giving an experience can be considered swag.)

My favorite product (higher end)
As a constant jet-setter, I am used to living out of a pre-packed, ready–to-go-at-all-times carry-on. I even had an old Target plastic bag that I kept in my carry-on for dirty clothes. That is, until a hotel partner gave me the most USEFUL piece of swag—a linen laundry bag with their logo and MY name, hand embroidered! You better believe I keep this thing in my carry-on, and use it every.single.time I travel. You’ll note the supplier logo is subtle—love that. Bye bye Target bag.

My favorite product (lower end)

Memorable, useful swag doesn’t need to break the bank. Point in turn, this handy dandy “sticker pocket” that I received on a FAM. I wanted to be polite when I received it, so I placed it on my phone case and then stuck a biz card inside it. Honestly, I have a really nice Bosca leather business card holder—why would I use an inexpensive plastic rubber whatever-it-is-made-of sticker for my cards? Convenience! Sadly, we are rarely without our phones these days. And I found when I’m at a networking function, holding my phone, I can easily present a biz card without digging through my Mom-purse looking for my “proper” business card holder. Love it!  In fact, the sticker outlasted my case, so I had to ask for another one when I bought a new case.

My favorite experience
Imagine my surprise when I arrive back home from the gym at 8:30am to find this box on my door step. #Panic. OMG there are ALIVE in there!  Geez—do I need to cancel all my morning calls and make sure they are ok? I don’t know what to do with live lobsters! How do I cook them? Do I have to cook them now? Will they last until 5pm? As a friend told me later that day, “Only you would be stressed out by free live lobsters.” Yes, it was a stressful day—but guess what? My two year old daughter had her first live lobster meal that night. #memorable.  Why were they sent? To get my attention and to entice me to register for a conference. Of course the promoters could have sent me a luggage tag, or a Starbucks card. But #this, sure did get my attention and will soon not be forgotten. #nicetry #AforEffort

Bonus Tips:
1. Have a trusted supplier.
2. Order well in advance as to not incur rush production or shipping charges.
3. And speaking of shipping, don’t forget to include shipping (and hotel/venue receiving fees) in your budget.
What's your favorite piece of swag? Worse?  Would love to hear!

A Few of My Favorite Places in Hermosa Beach

I live in Paradise. And I work from home. But sometimes, I need to get away...here's where I go.

To Unplug From Technology

Hermosa Beach at 2^nd Street is my happy place. It’s a short walk from the andgreat office and usually quiet and peaceful, especially during the weekdays as most the tourists are up closer to the pier. It’s the perfect place to sit in the warm sand, sun shining down, listen to the ocean waves, and get my thoughts in order. I’m a huge fan of actual books—so I usually bring down a book to read. I play in a beach volleyball league on Tuesday nights and it's simply breathtaking watching the sun set over the Pacific ocean as you're playing. 

To Get Work Done Outside of the Office
JavaMan is local coffee shop that’s a short walk or beach cruiser ride away from the andgreat office.  It has a real coffeehouse feel with large tables, couches, and outside tables too. I love that it’s a local and not a chain. It’s a great spot to catch up on emails or write content. The “focus and get work done” vibe is definitely in the air as lots of local entrepreneurs work out of here.

For a Group Dinner
I’m always on the planning end of group dinners, and there are so many great choices here at the beach. Mediterraneo is a fav as it’s right on Pier Plaza, has indoor/outdoor seating, and the small plates (tapas) are great for sharing. They also have a great local craft beer menu and interesting wines.

To Watch A Game
Silvio’s BBQ is a bustling restaurant and bar serving authentic Brazilian BBQ specialties plus great a great beer selection. They have outdoor seating and tvs and the sand is a stone’s throw away. It’s really nice to be watching a Saturday morning college football game in November at 9am and be beachside. Love this spot for it’s non-bar food, that’s relatively healthy!

For My Favorite Meal
One of my favorite pizza spots in town is Locale 90. They serve Old-World pizzas in an industrial setting a block from the beach. It always reminds me of my time living in Rome, Italy. They customize the pizza for me (I don’t eat cheese).

To Have a Productive Meeting
Balleen at The Portofino Hotel & Marina is a short bike ride down the street from the andgreat office and it’s where I do most of my meetings with folks over coffee or lunch –overlooking the marina. It’s a great atmosphere and folks love getting out of the office. And the view...

To Relax 
See #1.

In the Midst of Disaster: Meeting Planners are Priceless

The meetings and event business is the backbone of many cities’ economies. Often times, the lack of tourism to an area following a natural or man-made disaster is more devastating to the local community than the actual disaster. The natural and man-made disasters that impacted the world of events in Q4 2017 alone, brought that message close to home. Additionally,  the importance of utilizing a certified meetings management professional to manage your programs has never been truer.

Hurricanes in September
This year saw the most expensive U.S. hurricane season in history, as storms caused more than $200 billion in damages across the country. If you had a meeting booked in Florida or the Caribbean (like andgreat did) in September, you likely heard the words “force majeure” more than once. Most meeting planners, including andgreat, were easily able to rebook their clients’ programs at other venues or rebook later into the New Year—with no penalty.

Shooting and Fires in October

andgreat was exploring Cuba on a FAM trip the first week of October, and many friends and family were worried about safety. andgreat was safe. Safer than most Americans in America. The mass shooting in October at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas, really forced planners to take a hard look at event security. And again, threatened the tourism and conference business that supports Las Vegas.

Other Natural Disasters in November
The natural disasters didn’t end with hurricane season. Later in the month of October, a series of wildfires broke out in Napa and Sonoma counties, as well as other Northern California cities, destroying almost 9,000 structures, forcing more than 20,000 people to evacuate, and killing at least 41 people. Sonoma Valley is home to many events—especially wine tastings and corporate retreats. And as such, planners again had to rise to the occasion.  Needless to say, it is times like these when planners have two or more programs coming up and there are fires raging at the contracted venues’ doors, your local contacts and CVBs are priceless resources. andgreat is happy to say that both our programs in Sonoma in November went forward as planned, with no side affects or negative feedback. It felt good to bring business to an area that needed it.

Have you thought about how your company would handle these types of disasters without the knowledgeable assistance of a certified meetings management professional?

WFH with Kids

One of my clients, who is distributed, recently tasked me with creating an infographic on the topic of working from home with kids. It's a relevant topic and one of concern for both employers and employees of distributed-model companies. As a Mom working from home running my own business, this was a fun project that truly allowed me to share my expertise on the matter.

Would love to hear your advice on working from home with kids.

Takeaways from a First Time Company Retreat

If you are considering hosting a Company Retreat, the below article I wrote for a client's blog, may be of interest. Bringing your team together in a relaxed, casual atmosphere allows them to bond while continuing business conversations. If designed correctly, its a win-win and you'll see a stronger team post event. 

On November 16, 2017 Sonoma, California was greeted with 37 virtual CFOs, and accountants from all over the USA. They flew in from places like Casselberry, Florida and Fort Wayne, Indiana to spend four nights at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn with their fellow colleagues—whom they never met.   Over the course of the Retreat, which broke all the rules of typical events, the group bonded and became friends over DISC assessment sessions, group dinners, cooking class, and 2am swimming sessions. (Yes, plural.)

Designed by a seasoned experiential marketer, the agenda facilitated lots of learning in different environments. For example, the group spent time in compelling and engaging interactive main sessions, and then broke away to have casual smaller group conversations at the pool. They enjoyed old-fashioned ice cream floats during breaks, and then continued the conversations over small group dinners nightly, and capped off the retreat with a day of activities such as go kart racing, historic walking tours, cooking class, and a biking winery tour. The farewell group dinner was held in a wine cave—a first-time unique and memorable experience for most.

For a team that is 100% distributed, coming together and meeting colleagues for the first time in person vs over a video conference call was eye opening. Apparently, a few team members that came off as “shy” via video, really weren’t so timid in person.

When the group was asked to share memorable experience from the Retreat, overwhelmingly they responded that simply meeting colleagues in person was the coolest experience.  Someone shares they ate wine grapes for the first time. Now there’s an unforgettable experience! Others really enjoyed the day of activities and seeing the local area for the first time.

Having face-to-face time with the CEO and COO was also an important experience for some team members.

The company utilizes several innovative technology platforms to communicate. Many people noted that they were surprised how willing people were to enjoy the pool, as well as, have drinks after dinner.  Perhaps that speaks to how comfortable the team is with each other and how effective the technology platforms have been.

At the end of the day, everyone (hopefully) realized that they work for an amazing company that really cares for their employees. It was a truly rewarding experience to meet and mingle with everyone and get to know them even more.

It’s now nearly four weeks later and the group is still talking about the Retreat and are looking forward to the 2018 event. The destination is still TBD but if I had to guess, it’ll be on the East Coast.

The Importance of Play (in Meetings)

It’s important that meeting professionals take ownership of how learning is delivered at events. Participants respond to events in different ways and there are many tools to improve these experiences. Incorporating play is one way to enhance your participants’ experiences, and
their learning.

After setting through hours of sessions for multiple days, incorporating a change of scenery and a change of focus, will help attendees continue to learn, but in a different way. Breaking a larger group into several smaller groups allows more sincere, honest conversations and a chance to connect on a different level. Add to that opportunity a relaxed, casual atmosphere where attendees are focusing on play and the fun—and learning--really begins!

The types of play I include at my clients’ meetings and events incorporates a local  experience. For example, when a group is in Sonoma, they may be engaged in a wine blending activity where they break into teams. The best tasting wine –as determined by a proper winemaker—wins and that blend is bottled and the group takes home bottles of the winning blend—complete with custom label. When a group is in Los Cabos, attendees are encouraged to break into smaller groups and choose a thrilling activity such as zip-lining, ATV, horseback, or to ride, feed, and kiss (yes!) a camel. (I know, not your usual first choice for an activity in Cabo, but a unique and memorable experience nonetheless.)
Just as there’s always room for dessert, there’s always time for play. It’s important to carve out time in every agenda for play to truly see results of the classroom learning. Play opens the minds of the young and old alike and brings theories and concepts to life through practical use. It also facilitates cross team/function relationships and team bonding that is priceless.

I’d love to hear how you incorporate play into your experiences.

Are you meeting the experiential needs of your attendees?

Ensuring terrific attendee experiences is an increased focus for meeting planners. It’s imperative to design an engaging experience for your attendees that aligns with their style of learning (during corporate retreats, for example, many companies implement a DISC assessments or similar personality test to assess employee personalities to facilitate a better working/learning environment.) The experience starts well before and extends until after the meeting, in addition to the on-site experience itself.

Traditional meeting formats --like a jammed packed agenda with a 10 min break and six one hour long Power point presentations—are super out-dated. Who can sit through that?  Attendees need the correct environment and space to digest and discuss the new ideas being presented.

A few strategies that I find successful include:
1. Distribute agenda and content ahead of the event. This allows attendees to have an idea on what will be discussed, and gives them some time to think about the topics prior to the meeting.  This allows the valuable face-to-face time to be used to discuss, debate, and evaluate what was presented.

2. Small breakout sessions help facilitate more meaningful, honest dialogue.  Attendees can choose the breakoutout topic that best resonates with them.

3. Group dinners in the evenings are a perfect venue for continuing the days conversations in a relaxed, casual atmosphere. The real team bonding and relationships are forged over food and drinks with 5-6 people.

4. Interesting snack breaks. Don’t just throw sodas and granola bars at your attendees. Customize the breaks to be memorable, and unique. Cool (or warm) lavendar scented towels coupled with a build your own old fashioned rootbeer float station.

5. Purpose-built networking activities. Trust falls and rope courses, move aside. Any activity—whether it be a wine blending, ziplining, or historical tour – can have great ROI. Providing a platform for attendees to continue the discussions, network, and forge relationships is priceless.  Giving attendees the opportunity to meet and talk with colleagues from other departments that they usually don’t have a chance to interact, helps promote cross functional learning and awareness.

How are you meeting the experiential needs of your attendees? I’d love to hear!