Super Bowl Sunday - At-Home Party Tips

Super Bowl Sunday is the one time of year where fans and friends alike gather together for three things: FOOD, FOOTBALL, and FUN. When planning a Super Bowl Party, the host should make sure that these three F’s remain the focus of the event. The key in doing so is easy: KEEP IT SIMPLE. This is no time for impressing guests by slaving in the kitchen making fancy appetizers with hard-to-pronounce ingredients or for stressing over the exact color of the floral centerpieces. Instead, make some mono-symbolic finger foods, let the Game be the centerpiece of the action, and let the fun begin!

Every successful party begins with a planner who KNOWS HER AUDIENCE. From a seasoned professional with experience planning for many different types – from celebrities to high-level executives to hard-to-please family members – here are some Super Bowl party tips that are sure to succeed:

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD
• Let your guests indulge. This is probably the first party they’re attending since that pesky New Year’s resolution to “eat better”, so whip up some comfort foods and allow them to splurge for the night. Wings, Pizza and Nachos are all basics your guests will appreciate.

• Spice it up with dips. Game-watchers have to have chips, so create a tray of dip varietals to excite their palettes. Try pesto-artichoke, chili-cheese, spicy taco or creamy seafood dip. Dips are easy to make and quick recipes can be found online.

• Show your team pride. If most of your guests will be rooting for one team over the other, make menu items themed to your team. For example, if everyone is rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers, prepare some mini-Primanti sandwiches or cheese-filled Pierogies. If you’re hosting for a slew of New York Giants’ fans, serve bagel deli sandwiches or NY-style pizza.

• Remember, drinks are just as important. On Super Bowl Sunday, beer becomes the fifth food group, so be sure not to disappoint. Put out a tub of iced beverages near the game-watching area, so guests won’t have to miss any millisecond of the game when they need a refill.

THE GAME
• Set up all the televisions you have available in the viewing area. If you have multiple tv’s, set them up on different height levels and angles so guests will have clear view no matter where they are in the room. Make sure the volumes are set to an appropriate level.

• Make sure you have plenty of seating. Pull enough seats around the TV’s for all confirmed guests, and test all seating areas to make sure they have a clear view of the action.

• Save one room for guests who want to chat. Some may not be interested in watching the entire game, so have an area set aside for those guests. Whether it’s the patio or den, make sure it’s far enough away from the game that viewers won’t be distracted from the chatter.


FUN’S THE WORD
• Make it interactive. No matter what kind of party you are throwing, guests love to be part of the action. Tell them to come dressed in their favorite NFL Team’s sports gear. Hand out mini pom-poms to guests as they enter so they can cheer on their team. Prepare a trivia game with questions about past Super Bowls, the history of the NFL, or current player stats. At the end of the night, give away a fun door prize to the person who got the most answers correct.

• Half-time entertainment. Make sure you keep the party entertaining during half-time, whether you organize a game of “football” charades or challenge your guests to a quick game of touch football outside.

• Decorate. If you get the urge to decorate, think team colors, footballs, field goal posts and pennants. But keep it simple – most eyes will be glued to the TV.

Happy Planning:)

Cheers,
Stephanie

Tips On How To Attract Guests to Your Tradeshow Booth

Tradeshows are a great way to get your company or product out in front of the right industry and customer. There’s never a better time to promote your product to such a targeted group - all gathered in one place! I personally enjoy working on designing tradeshow spaces because while most other showcases have the same, generic feel at tradeshows, we work with our clients to discover creative ways to make their booths stand out.

Besides just designing and staffing a tradeshow booth, we always recommend going that extra step to get more eyes on the booth. Among the hundreds of booths, there are ways to make your area stand out and attract the guests that you want.
Here are a few ways to get those impressions:

Iconic Figures. Schedule an autograph session by a famous icon of the industry inside the booth. Most conventions, such as Comic Con, have autograph sessions that take place in designated autograph areas of the convention. Instead, hold yours inside your booth. Find a “celebrity” and then promote it well. This doesn’t have to be a celebrity in the mass market world (no need to spend an exorbitant amount of money to get Will Smith to come out!), but find someone that is important in your industry, such as an author or an industry specialist that is frequently featured on news shows. Weeks before the convention, send emails and issue press releases announcing this icon, and times that he/she will be at the booth. Encourage attendees to bring an article for them to sign (i.e. a book, or a photo). At the convention, showcase a sign outside the booth announcing the times that the autograph sessions will take place.

Appointments. A few months before the convention, begin to schedule back-to-back appointments with movers and shakers in the industry, key customers and potential strategic partners to come check out the booth. Once at the booth they should be greeted by high level executives who will give them a personalized tour and commentary around the booth. Make sure your VIP guests are given the golden treatment – offer them water, introduce them to all of the executives manning the booth, and schedule follow up lunch meetings with them to really drive the message home.

Press List. All conventions and conferences put together a list of invited members of the press. Utilize the press list! Call up the conference organizer and ask for a copy of this list. Many times these lists will have the complete press contact information including phone numbers and email addresses, but if not, they will at least contain the name of the press outlet and the contact person. Before the convention, call up those press contacts and set up appointments with them, much like the appointments you will set with the movers and shakers in the industry. Also offer key press behind-the-scene looks at your booth, exclusive interviews with executives and never-before-announced pieces of information about the company, all leading up to the convention. If timed right, all of these features in the press will be released immediately before, during, and following the convention.

Exclusive Areas. There is an innate want in humans to be a VIP. Set up “exclusive” meeting rooms/screening areas of the booth, blocked off to the general public. Usually this can be done by designing the booth so that a wall with a door blocks off the VIP area. Invite select guests, especially ones that express a lot of interest in your product, to this meeting room. Here you can discuss with them, in a one-on-one setting, features of your product or service. You can also set up a screening area where a special promotional trailer runs for these invited guests. This is a good way to show that you appreciate those valued and enthusiastic customers. And once these guests feel like VIPs, they will spread the word about how well you treated them, and others will be encouraged to check out your booth in hopes to get an invite into the VIP area.

Happy Hour. Who doesn’t love a happy hour? The perfect time to catch customers is when they’re all done pacing the convention floor and now just want to relax, an idea perfected by the marketing team at Virgin Charter. Set this up during the last hour of every convention day, offering light snacks and drinks, organized through the convention center’s catering service. Throughout the convention days make sure to tell valued convention attendees to come back and visit the booth during the happy hour for complimentary refreshments. Right before the happy hour kicks off have some of your employees roam the convention center floor, spreading the word about the event, driving more attendees to your booth. Happy hours are a great way for you to network in a more informal setting, without having your guests feel like you’re selling to them. Our friends at Virgin Charter secured some really valuable contacts at these one-hour parties, without having to spend any extra money on renting out an additional venue.

A lot of money is invested into showcasing at tradeshows, so make the most of it!

Good luck,
Gail

Event Trends to Watch for in 2009

Happy New Year fellow readers! We here at Starfish Creative Events are excited that 2009 is officially underway and look forward to bringing you our weekly event updates each Thursday. We again commit to bringing you up-to-date information, tips, trends and event recaps that you can use, both personally and professionally. New this year, we’ve recruited some amazing industry professionals as guest bloggers to help us bring you cutting edge details on everything related to events, marketing, branding and promotions.

We trust that you are now fully recuperated from that long, hectic holiday season, refreshed and ready to look forward to all the wonder that is 2009. So, we are kicking off the year with our (un)official Event Trend Forecast for the year. Enjoy!

Décor inspired by fashion

· It’s Cool to be Blue – This year, blue is the new black. But not just any blue – think Tiffany Blue and her cousin Palace Blue (like the ocean). Spiritually, blue represents peace, stability and serenity, which is why it’s going to be the star of 2009’s spring weddings. Just check out the recent Bride Wars Movie Premiere. More practically, it's a flattering color on just about everyone, hence why it’s shaping up to become the premiere hue of this season’s hippest fashion trends.
· 1960s retro-style – With the critically acclaimed show “Mad Men” gaining in popularity, industry professionals are becoming inspired. The style influence of the early '60s is fresh, crisp and modern with a healthy dose of American practicality. Think art deco. Think Vintage. Think awesome.
· Dandy Manifesto –This theme combines the somewhat stuffy elegance of the Oscar Wilde style dandies with a bohemian, more modern, poetic, “artist” spirit. Using calligraphy & coding, muted color palettes with little splashes of vibrant tones, stripes, and photo montages techniques, I nicknamed this trend the “Modge-Podge”.

Budget-Saving Techniques

· Go Simple – This is the year where less is finally more, with smaller, more intimate parties focusing on a few modest décor elements that actually make a statement and mean something to the guests. Extravagance gives way to thoughtfulness, in everything from weddings to corporate events to fundraisers.
· Make your own Music – great music is essential, and a well thought-out iPod playlist can be just as good as hiring a DJ for thousands of dollars. In fact, the disgusting trend is that most DJ’s play off their own iPods these days anyway, so what are we paying them for again? Invest in a great sound system instead, and be your own entertainer.
· Choose-Your-Own Gift Bags – Instead of pre-bagging the swag, have sponsors set up a table at the exit area where they can flaunt their products to all, yet gift only those who are truly interested. Imagine how much waste can be saved? Not to mention, the added exposure the sponsors receive at the actual event.

Going Green

· No More Printing – Mailed invitations and printed marketing collateral are quickly becoming faux pas. Focus your energies on digital items that can be emailed or handed out on CD or flash drive at events.
· Eco-Friendly Products – There are now a million alternatives to wasteful, hazardous event supplies, from Spudware cutlery and liquid cardboard to compact fluorescent bulbs for lighting and sustainable local food products. USE THEM!
· Reduce, Reuse and Recycle – An old adage but still a goodie, actually now more than ever. Reduce the amount of waste you collect at an event by re-using recycled materials, and recycling new materials to be re-used at your next event. See how the circle works?

Keep your eye out for many more trends to follow in the coming months. Until then, happy planningJ