Now, for whatever reason, my brain got sidetracked the other day with all of the things that I HATE about events (and event-related marketing) and I went OFF on a mental tangent that produced some totally useless but funny images (at least to me, I giggled as I photoshoped). So, I’m going to call this a little window into everything that I think is sick and wrong with respect to events. Here’s some event promotion FAIL items that I’ve received in the past when attending an event, conference, or tradeshow; a couple at the end are just for fun – I got carried away.

Stress Squeeze Toy	Silly Putty
Logo Launcher	Game Cube
Frisbee	Credit Card
Snuggie Blanket	Pack of Smokes

Now I have to get back to work. The moral of the story is: cut out the crap. We’re going to continue with what we did last year: keep things simple like not giving people a name badge or a printed program and making everyone use ceramic coffee cups filled with Ethical Bean Coffee – that kind of stuff. How we’re going to get people there is still being worked out. Chime in if you like.

So if you’re planning an event do the world a favour and don’t destroy the earth one tchotchke at a time. If you need gifts or giveaways for your event be smart and order it from Saul Good Gift Co.

Posted by: Corwin Hiebert [This post can also be seen on CREATIVEMIX.ca/blog] ]]> http://redwagonmanagement.com/promo-fail/feed/ 1 http://redwagonmanagement.com/f5-expo/ http://redwagonmanagement.com/f5-expo/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:49:29 +0000 Red Wagon Management http://redwagonmanagement.com/?p=579 I used to be a preacher. Bet you didn’t know that. Okay, preacher is a strong word but I was once a Youth Pastor (an evangelical version of a priest without the collar, and in my case, very little training and an unhealthy addiction to ping-pong and foosball). Being a man of the cloth was a ton of work but the hardest thing was the preaching (aka teaching). It wasn’t the public speaking – I loved that part. It was the content. Preparing a sermon, talk, or lesson that had a personal and/or spiritual impact on the listener was a difficult task, especially on a weekly basis. What I learned from that experience was this: content is king. I talk more about the value of great content in my event planning eBook Eleven and a Half.

And now for something completely different.

I’m really picky when it comes to conferences. Most conferences I find completely unnecessary but I’ll save you the rant and plug a conference I like instead. On April 7th, here in Vancouver, F5 Expo is taking place and I’m convinced they’re going to knock this one out of the park – you won’t want to miss it. It’s going to be an amazing conference for one simple reason:  they’ve got great speakers who are tackling relevant topics. They claim that: Technology is everywhere; F5 will be your filter. Your guiding light. Your inspiration. It will de-program “old, out-dated” ways of thinking and help you bring refreshing ideas for even greater success within your business. And, I think they’ll deliver on that promise. The content of this conference looks to be top-notch (yes, even spiffy and skookum) and considering Malcolm Gladwell is one of the keynotes it’s pretty much a given it will be a home run (I have all his books – Blink is my favourite).

I’m not going to re-post their website or roster here – check it out for yourself – but know this, the panels, workshops, and talks they’ve got lined-up are definitely worth the full meal deal at $260.

If you want to put your hat in the ring for a free pass to see Malcolm Gladwell make a comment on the “freebie” TechVibes post.

Posted by: Corwin Hiebert