SPOTLIGHT

This NPR interview really resonated with me.  Please take one minute to read - it will brighten your day and hopefully refocus your priorities if needed!

It's a segment from the Patt Morrison show on NPR.  It aired last week.  Patt is interviewing Donovan Campbell, an author of Joker One: A Marine Platoons' Story of Courage, Leadership and Brotherhood

Campbell served three combat deployments—two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan; he was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon and a Bronze Star with Valor for his time in Iraq, and recently promoted to Captain. He is no longer active in the Marines.

A blogger asks the author what we can do to help the troops from home.  

Here is a transcript from a portion of the interview....

Patt Morrison: 93KPCC is how you can talk to Donovan Campbell.  He is the author of Joker One: a Marine platoon story of courage, leadership and brotherhood.  You can also ask questions on the blog at KPCC.org.  

Kirk has a blog point: "beyond trying, he says, to be responsible voters offering deep gratitude and trying to be well informed, what do you think citizens can do that would be meaningful to the troops?"

 Donovan Campbell: You know what, I have a kind of strange perspective on this but I think what citizens can do that can be meaningful to the troops is to serve each other back here in America - especially now, when times are hard for so many people.

 I think, if overseas (the troops), know that back home people are regularly pitching in at soup kitchens,

or they’re donating money to charity even though it pains them to do that,

if they’re helping teach their neighbor how to budget so that they can avoid foreclosure on their home, if they’re serving as mentors in underprivileged areas,

I think those things mean far more to us, far more to the troops, than does a simple care package filled with Kleenex.

And our nation, I think, is in a tough time but we have a unique opportunity to turn and help each other and serve each other in a way that perhaps we didn’t when we were more affluent.

Listen to entire interview at this link: 

http://tinyurl.com/ck4ul7

Introducing Karchi Perlmann!

My good friend, Director, Karchi Perlmann has been invited to screen his short film, Vascora (the Dinner) at the Newport Beach Film Festival. It is the official North American premiere.

Awarded Honorable Mention at Venice Film Festival

Awarded  winner of the Best Short at the Cottbus Film Festival

The screening  will take  place on Sunday, April 26th at 8:15PM at the Edwards Islands 2  

Cinemas (Inside the Fashion Island Mall). It is advisable to purchase  

tickets to the event in advance to insure it doesn't sell out before  

the actual date.  The film is showing with 5 other short films in a  

block and every filmmaker will invite as many of "their" people as  

possible, so they can get a shoe in for the audience award.  Such is  

the festival culture... :)

The festival's website is: http://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com

Vacsora website: http://www.vacsorathemovie.com

THE STATE OF OUR INDUSTRY

I enjoyed most of these articles but they’re too  long to add to the blog so I picked my favorite (click on the "State of our Industry" title).  I’ve included the link so that you can view all if you want - they are listed off to the right side of the article.

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* Death of a Sales Meeting: Time for a Change?
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* 10 Ridiculously Cheap Ways to Raise Morale
* Measuring Training Effectiveness
* Business Etiquette: Be Smart with Your Smart Phone

INDUSTRY TOP 5 COUNTDOWN

Concept Design shares their take on the Top 5 Industries doing shows in 2009

• Technology
  
• Pharma
  
• Infrastructure
  
• Media & Entertainment
  
• Worship
  

http://www.conceptdesigninc.com/blasts/2009/february/

GREEN REPORT

Is the Green revolution on hold?
In a time of shrinking budgets, are clients willing to shoulder the costs of going green? Last year, several shows went green with LED lighting, biodegradable disposables, and recyclable scenic elements. This year we have massive layoffs, cancelled events, and shrinking budgets.
My question to event producers: Is it more of a priority for your clients to cut costs or go green? If equipment suppliers are willing to purchase efficient equipment and green materials, will the end client be willing to share the costs, knowing they are behaving responsibly and helping the environment, OR, are budget restrictions a priority, and going green will have to wait for the economy to improve?
Any thoughts?

Green & Social Responsibility:

The Year that Was in Meetings

By Terri Hardin

There’s buzz in the industry about incorporating

social responsibility and green initiatives—

as well as co-locating (holding similar

meetings simultaneously in one

venue)—into events. But are these trends

driving meetings, or are we paying lip service

(and printing ink) to fads that aren’t significantly

impacting business?

MeetingNews heard from 502 corporate,

association, and independent

meeting planners,who weighed in

on these subjects. The result?

When asked, for example, if they

incorporated charity initiatives into this

year’s meeting programs, only 5 percent

of all responding planners said

they had done so for up to 100 percent

of their programming in 2008,

while 51 percent of all planners said

they had not done so—although the

number was lower (40%) for independent

planners. Only one-third of all

planners said they had incorporated

charity into their programs up to 24

percent of the time.

Of those incorporating charity

initiatives, the most popular initiatives implemented

were related to health and education

(both 43%). For the participants, health-related

charity initiatives created the most positive experiences.

Click "Green Report" title to view entire article

TECHNOLOGY NOTES

I Doubted Twitter and Twitter Forgave Me

(part II of a series)

We regarded Twitter as a forum for teenage chat until we gave it a try and found that it drove a lot of traffic to our web sites. Audience acquisition is an obvious application for Twitter, as I wrote previously. A quick look around the web shows that a lot of event managers are using Twitter to connect with attendees and exhibitors prior to events and on site.

BusyEvent in their blog entry described a number of interesting ideas for integrating Twitter into the activities of a conference, including digital signage. One comment: they suggest setting up a twitter feed based on the name of the event. I would suggest that the event Twitter feed be delivered under the name of someone associated with the event—conference chair, editor, association executive. A person-to-person feed always grabs the user much more than a “brand” feed. Great Idea: get attendees to provide their Twitter name when they register, and make this information available to other registrants.

Among other things, this blog entry from MeetingsNet contains some good ideas on the use of Twitter as a way to get your audience involved in building conference content, and to battle attrition. Here’s where getting attendees to “follow” each other comes in handy—when they see the feeds coming from their colleagues onsite, they’re going to want to jump in the car. Last week I saw dozens of feeds coming from SXSW conference, and I wish I had been there. 

Here's what our clients are saying...

Staying Afloat in the Stupid Economy - A look at the Film/TV Industry

Matt Armstrong

February 17, 2009 Source: Studio Daily

With a recession that has no end in sight, companies in virtually every industry are hunkering down for hard times. The film and television industry is no different. We’ve already seen a number of companies go out of business, from large VFX houses like The Orphanage to smaller boutique editorial/design outfits like Version2. We spoke with a number of heads of companies about strategies they are implementing to weather the economic storm and found a few consistent themes. All are looking to improve workflow

efficiencies, some are diversifying their services to offer clients a more complete package and most have a hiring freeze. And while all of

the respondents we spoke with said they have no plans to cut their rates, their replies of “no” were followed with a conditional “but...”, so take that with a grain of salt.

Read below the strategies a variety of companies — from mid-level edit/design shops, to large, full-service post facilities, to those targeting new media outlets — are taking to make a profit in the current recession.

Meg's note:  I've included a few here but there are tons on the website.  Click the title to view entire article

Sean Henry, Calabash Animation

executive producer

animation production

What has the state of the economy meant to your business?

For us it may still be a little bit too early to tell. Business has remained strong for us as far as cereal commercials are concerned, but the

rest of the advertising industry seems to be tightening their belts and re-using or re-purposing old spots rather than investing in new

productions. One possible telltale sign of the struggling economy is that while we have seen a marked decrease in new business from

the agencies, we have also been seeing an unusually high number of job inquiries from more experienced animators and other artists.

What strategies have you had to take for the short term? Long term? In terms of personnel? Investment?

We are expanding in certain areas and showing more restraint in others — adding new animators, producers and new technology. On the one hand, we are generally trying to be as fiscally conservative as possible, but at the same time we have been investing into new

technology to create products that may be more relevant in this current economic climate. In the near term, we are refocusing our sales efforts to address an increased interest in Flash animation for the web, as well as other non-traditional media such as CG, which

provides an additional dimension of flexibility. For the mid term and long term, we are re-vamping our Shorts program to be able to release new material more often, and in a more strategically targeted way that will be more effective as a sales tool. We put a lot of emphasis on cross-training our full-time staff in all the various tools of the trade, and we rely heavily on a network of local (and not-solocal)

freelance talent. These strategies have allowed us to remain very flexible and effective.

Have you redirected your business to other areas that you were not focused on before?

We have greatly expanded our capabilities for Flash-style animation for the web and mobile platforms. Whether or not it is because of

the economy, many companies are looking away from traditional media and more toward the internet, which also lends itself to more

economical styles of animation. In addition to web animation, we have been receiving a lot of interest in 3D computer animation and we

are investing heavily into our CG department. Calabash has the advantage of being able to apply our many years of traditional experience

to these new media, whereas many Flash-only animation companies may have the technical skills but lack the artistry.

The danger for us is that with a higher volume of smaller projects, the overhead is greater and the profit margins are smaller.

Are you cutting your rates?

We are not cutting our rates per se, but we often find that we can offer cost-saving alternatives to clients without sacrificing too much of

the original concept.

How will you survive a prolonged recession?

We will do our best to stay flexible, keep our eyes open for new opportunities, adapt as necessary, and roll with the punches.

Ray Carballada, Shooters Post & Transfer/DIVE

president

post production facility

What has the state of the economy meant to your business?

We have seen things slow down a little in some areas from the crazy pace of the last few years. Shooters' diversification in advertising,

producing television programming and films has helped. We are also working with more clients who want to benefit from the resources

and talent of our diversification.

What strategies have you had to take for the short term? Long term? In terms of personnel? Investment?

Short-term we are holding off adding the staff we had budgeted for 2009 and using freelancers as needed. We are still investing in

technology and equipment. Long Term we feel very confident in Shooters’ business module. We expect that the industry we are in will

continue to mature. We don’t expect things return to the past as far as pricing, deadlines and workflows.

Have you redirected your business to other areas that you were not focused on before?

We redirected our business into developing television programming and starting a film division several years ago because we knew that

the ad business was changing. The reasons for diversifying then are serving us well now.

Are you cutting your rates?

We have a different, more efficient business model than most so we haven’t seen a lot of pressure on our pricing.

How will you survive a prolonged recession?

We are pursuing additional marketing opportunities and finessing our sales strategies to address the current economy. Ultimately, our

business strategy has served us well to compete and weather this current economic storm. We are also partnering with our clients to help

them survive as well as seizing the opportunities to create new relationships.

Camille Taylor

owner/EP

Crossroads

multimedia and content creation

What has the state of the economy meant to your business?

There is no business as usual. The percent of billing that we are down for 2008 has forced us to cut overhead, rethink and revamp all

expenditures, and continue to work on how we can bill more while keeping costs down. With no end in sight for this economic downturn,

everything we are doing is for the long term. We have joined forces with other companies and executive producers who have come to us

with directors thus further amortizing the basic costs of doing business. We have been acting as a service company for long format work

in television and in feature film as well as servicing foreign productions. Cutting rates further on regular jobs is not a long term survival

option, although making bulk contract deals with either agencies or clients for a guaranteed amount of work does allow us to offer

certain price breaks. We continue to work on TV promos, TV programming, music videos, feature film production, design, and editorial

as well. This diverse profile is certainly helpful. More than ever continuing to look at advertising globally is key to remaining healthy and

successful. As all aspects of the entertainment business tighten their belts and lose frills and perks, so must we. Every company needs to

walk the tightrope of maintaining repeat business and high client service standards while spending less money.

Dan LaCivita

senior VP/executive director

Firstborn Multimedia

digital creative agency with Web design, live action, graphics

What has the state of the economy meant to your business?

We felt the economy last year though it was our best year financially. We’re probably going to feel it a little more in the first quarter this

year, with clients being more judicious in where they are spending money. We’re getting a lot of opportunities that we normally would

not have gotten if the economy wasn’t bad.

We’re getting a lot of larger brands that are looking at how they are spending their money and coming to us. We are a 45-person shop

and are not a 300-person agency, but I think clients are realizing that you don’t need a team of 35 people to develop a great digital

strategy and execute it. So in some ways we’re getting a lot more opportunities that we may not have got if people weren’t looking at

their numbers very closely.

What strategies have you had to take for the short term? Personnel? Investment?

One of the things, and this was born out of necessity rather than the economy, is that the fact that we’re able to produce video, 3D

graphics and Web development. Before a client may go to an ad agency, the agency will hire a production house and director to come up

with a video campaign, a 3D house to do the graphics and a Web house to do the Flash work. We’re able to do all that, which really does

increase efficiency and thus brings done costs a lot. Every time you outsource to another vendor you are going to pay their markup. Not

only will it bring the budget lower, it’s also going to be a tighter deliverable. Our web team and our video team are working right next to

each other so we’re working on a whole campaign together rather than working on each separate piece.

Have you redirected your business?

In the last three years we’ve bolstered our live action, 3D motion graphics and our software engineering teams, so we'll not only be

building great looking front-end Web experiences but also creating real software applications.

Ironically we’re hiring more people, we’ve signed a lease for another 6,000 square feet and we’re not cutting our rates. We’ve been

fortunate to be in a position to be able to do that. It is amazing that the resumes we see, these are not some mid-level guys we’re seeing

that are out of work. These are professionals that have been working for a long time.

Are you cutting rates?

We’re not cutting our rates and we’re not paying our employees any less, but there is a correction in the scale of salary happening now

and it will probably continue to happen over the next year. Two years ago when the economy was awesome you had guys who probably

should have been making $60,000 a year making $90,000. A lot of those guys probably don’t have jobs right now and their next job

isn’t going to be making $90,000.

How will you survive a prolonged recession?

Cross our fingers.

Meeting Update

Event Industry Leaders Meet with President Obama last week - A big thanks to those who supported us!

Dear Travel Colleague:
Our efforts to increase our voice in Washington paid dividends today when one dozen CEOs from leading travel businesses met with President Obama to discuss ways to increase travel to and within the United States. To learn more about our meeting with the President, please read our statementbelow.
We owe a great deal of thanks to the CEOs who took time to convene in Washington. In addition to meeting with President Obama, the CEOs held meetings with senior Congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd.
Given the enthusiasm and support of the group, I anticipate this is only the beginning of what will be regular CEO leadership meetings to help strengthen our industry. I will keep you informed with future developments.

Sincerely,
Roger Dow
President and CEO
U.S. Travel Association

Go to this url to read more and see the final TARP legislation

http://tinyurl.com/dbkqwk

Read on... we can affect change - it IS working!

Dear Friends,

We have big news to report, and even though it appears to be only about the US, if you read on you will understand why it is so important.  I am thrilled to let you know that yesterday President Barack Obama and key US senators met with our industry leaders.  Two topics were discussed- attracting more international visitors and our community’s concern about the dramatic nationwide downturn in meetings and events. We are confident that President Obama understands the economic impact and jobs connected to our industry and that we will see some noteworthy comments in the days ahead.

As you can imagine this was a critical meeting and will help us tremendously as we continue to raise awareness about the value of motivational events. My goal is to keep you informed with news and tools so that you can navigate these challenging times. Please be sure to chec k our website as we update it daily.

Harnessing the power of the collective has been the key to creating opportunities that are making a difference. Thanks for your continued diligence in working as a community to affect change. It is working!

http://tinyurl.com/cff6ao

Andrea Michaels, President of Extraordinary Events in LA sends a powerful letter to the LA Times - watch out for the letters from the ladies!

March 10, 2009
 
A letter to our Government:
 
Our country was founded on the principle of meetings that mattered. Without a meeting of our forefathers there would have been no Declaration of Independence and thus no United States of America. Nor would we have a Constitution or Bill of Rights without the meetings held to draft these documents. Our House of Representatives functions because they meet. Our Senate functions because they meet. Our Supreme Court meets as do the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
 
For 30 years I have planned meetings and events. I have launched products which later sold and provided revenue and subsequent jobs for thousands. I have produced charitable events which provided funds for those in desperate need. I have created programs that brought business solutions to corporate challenges such as how to build a team out of two merging companies with different corporate cultures. And as a result built an entire school that benefited a community of thousands and will for many years to come. Why is any of this considered frivolous or unnecessary?
 
How does our government then have the right to deny corporate America the right to convene, educate, enlighten and elevate as well as personally communicate? Our inauguration was publicized as costing 150 million dollars for “parties” yet our world is being told that we can spend no money on celebration. If our governing bodies are setting the standard for what we must all do to economize then why are they exempt from the spending to meet and celebrate? It seems to me that it’s long past the time when they should set the example and “do as I do” and not “do as I say”.
 
Sincerely yours,
Andrea Michaels
President
Extraordinary Events 

Here's what our clients are saying... 

New feedback from a major So Cal Automotive OEM

Auto Show Division

Event Outlook

1. Have you suspended events in the short term? No
2. Have you cancelled events that were in production? No
3. Are you preparing RFP/RFQs for distribution? We will continue to work with our contracted suppliers.  No current RFPs planned
4. Have you or will you adjust the scope of your events? Hopefully no.  Budgets have been submitted for 2010 and so far have been approved.  Budgets remain flat – no increases from 2009 but no cutbacks either.
5. Will you remain loyal to current vendors or will everything go to bid? Loyal to current vendors
6. Have you had to downsize your internal departments? Not yet
7. If yes, will be more reliant on outside services? NA
8. Projected outlook next 3-6 months? Status quo
   

AMCI IS OPTIMISTIC FOR 2009!

We are in what is a very trying economy and the automotive industry is obviously not exempt. We at AMCI have had great

success these past few years, and we are still extremely hopeful for 2009. As always, the first few months have been slow, but that has always been the case. With the cold weather and dangerous driving conditions, we have never produced many events during this time. What do we expect? Well, that is still extremely hard to say. We have provided quality events in the past; you have worked hard and done exactly what was asked, providing safe and informative drive programs. We believe that our consistency will pay off and even with the economy we will gain momentum and have a strong summer.

Please stay in touch and provide information to Denise Ledon (dledon@amcimarketing.com) in the VKC. For those of you in Production, please contact Brian Wahlquist (bwahlquist@amcimarketing.com) who is now the newly appointed Staffing Manager for Production. I think the appointment of Brian will add great value, giving you in Production a direct contact to what is happening at AMCI.

On a less optimistic note...

Las Vegas Suspends Work on Convention Center
Mar 16, 2009 12:55 PM

Las Vegas’ drastic drop in meetings and conventions business over the last several months has forced the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to suspend a plan to expand and renovate the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The LVCVA board of directors last week voted to delay the $890 million project until the middle of 2010. The decision comes after the LVCVA reported that the city had seen more than 300 meetings and conventions canceled over a three-month period, leading to a loss of more than 100,000 visitors and an estimated $131 million in spending.
The LVCVA also reported that in January the number of meetings was down from the previous year by 19.5 percent, while attendance had dropped by more than 20 percent. Weekend occupancy rates were down by 3 percent, while weekday occupancy rates were down by a whopping 18 percent.
The loss of so much business has led the LVCVA to expect a $53 million shortfall in room-tax revenues. Even with plans to cut its operating expenses by 3 percent, the decline in room-tax revenue would have made it extremely difficult for the LVCVA to continue with the project without risking default, considering the capital expense and debt that continuing with the project would have entailed.

From:  SoCal Production Company

Freelance advice

1. What type of freelance help are you using most: Creative Directors, Writers, graphics, AP, PA, Producers, etc.?  We are not currently hiring freelance help.  However, as we begin to write proposals and answer RFPs, we’ll primarily call upon writers, creative directors and producers.
2. What advice can you share with the freelance community? We’re going through a brutal economic time right now, but it will turn.  Stay in touch with your hiring sources so you’ll be top-of-mind when the economy comes back and projects start rolling in.
3. What is your preferred method for freelancers to inquire about work opportunities so as not to continually pester you: email, phone, etc. Email
4. Does the squeaky freelance wheel get the grease? No
5. Have you asked freelancers to adjust their rates? We've asked freelancers whether they would be willing to adjust their rates?  The response was 50/50 - some said no, others said they would be open to it.  More than ever clients are looking for the best and lowest budgets, so freelancers need to be flexible and adaptable if they want to stay competitive and be hired.  
   

Industry Outlook

1. Have you had to downsize or are you planning to downsize? Yes, we have downsized.
2. Are you receiving proposals (RFPs)? We hope to receive one this month; no others on the horizon as of today
3. How is your book of business over the next 6 months? No signed contracts but lots of contacts and potential business when the economy turns
4. Projected outlook next 3-6 months? Lots of business development

From:  So Cal AV Company

Freelance Advice:

1. What type of freelance help are you using most? AV & Lighting
   
2. What advice can you share with the freelance community? Stay in touch with those who can potentially hire you.. it's a necessity, even if there is no business at the moment. Network with others in the business. Consider alternative ways to bring in income, as there may be no short-term turnaround.
3. What is your preferred method for freelancers to contact you to inquire about work opportunities without pestering you? Email or phone - not a bother
   
4. Have you asked freelancers to adjust their rates? Yes, we are making minor downward adjustments
   

Industry Outlook:

1. Have you had to downsize or are you planning to downsize? Yes
   
2. Are you receiving proposals (RFPs)? No, it's extremely quiet
   
3. How is your book of business over the next 6 months? Some, but business levels are significantly down and projects have been cancelled
   
4. Your projected outlook over next 3-6 months? We are hearing of some proposal activity at the production company level.  Some of these do not have firm dates attached.  The outlook for the next 3 months seems bleak.  There is hope that things will pick up in the fall.  In general, 2009 business levels will be at record lows

Eco-Planner 
GMIC’s Million Tons of Trash Challenge
  The Green Meeting Industry Council, an association dedicated to sustainability for meetings and events, has a challenge for the industry: Divert, recycle, or compost a million tons of trash between Earth Day, April 22, and the end of 2009.
GMIC issued the challenge during its recent Greening the Hospitality Industry 2009 Conference in Pittsburgh, where nearly 200 green meetings devotees gathered at the end of February. Find out how to participate in the Million Tons of Trash Challenge, and read more about a growing push for GMIC’s chapters-in-formation and the association’s upcoming green-resource Web portal.

http://tinyurl.com/dlq4j7

Are You Producing Green Meetings?

10 Easy Tips  

Here are 10 easy tips you can apply to any meeting to make it more environmentally responsible.

Put it in writing. Establish an environmental statement or policy for the meeting, and get buy in for it from the meeting host organization's management.  Share the policy with suppliers, delegates and speakers.  You'll be amazed at how far they'll go to help you make your event BlueGreen.  

Use paperless technology. Use new media and electronic technology to cut down your paper use.  Create a conference web site; offer electronic registration and confirmation; and advertise using the web and/or email.

Meet close. Reduce distances traveled by speakers and delegates.  Choose a host city that's close to as many delegates as possible, and within the city choose a venue and hotel that are close to the airport and within walking distance of each other.

Practice the 3Rs. Ask your hotel and meeting venue to provide visible and accessible reduction, reuse and recycling services for paper, metal, plastic and glass.

Bulk up. Have your food & beverage service provider use bulk dispensers for sugar, salt, pepper, cream and other condiments.

Lighten your Stay. Choose a hotel that offers a linen reuse program and bulk dispensers for shampoos and soaps in guest suites.

Eat green. Include vegetarian meals, and have meals planned using local, seasonal produce.

Close the recycling loop. Have all printed materials published on recycled paper, using vegetable-based inks, and on both sides of the page.

Save energy. Coordinate with the meeting venue to ensure that energy lights and air conditioning will be turned off when rooms are not in use.

Spread the word!  Tell delegates, speakers and the media about your success.  You'll be surprised - BlueGreen efforts are contagious

http://www.bluegreenmeetings.org/