A good chunk of successful event planning involves trying new ideas to appeal to your audience. But whether you’re an event planning novice or a seasoned pro, it also helps to get “back to basics” once in a while. Here are five essential event planning tips to consider, courtesy of Cassandra Johnson at Promotional Consultant Today:

1. Set your business objectives.
Pinpoint your reason for hosting the event and identify a measurable goal. What will make your event a success? Is it the number of referrals you’ll receive as a result? This will guide you in your decision-making throughout the event-planning process.

2. Build a baseline. 
In order to track your event’s success, you must first get a baseline of the clients’ attitudes and opinions. This can be done by conducting a simple online survey that asks questions about your business. Are they aware of your services? Do you offer a product or service th at they would recommend to others? Keep the survey short with just a few questions.

3. Determine your budget.
Decide the amount you are willing to spend in order to gain the target return. When planning your budget, be sure to account for the venue, meeting planner (optional), food and beverage, printing, postage, photographer, gifts, audio/ visual rental and valet parking.

4. Identify your audience and create a guest list.
Define the type of guest you want to attend your event and build your guest list based on this description. If you are looking to go beyond your current contacts and client base, consider acquiring a list through a trade organization or other source.

5. Engage your team in the process.
Form a small team of three to four employees, request their input and assign specific planning responsibilities, as needed; then meet on a regular basis to stay on target.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

While academic programs and instructors at public institutions are being eliminated, alumni associations are increasing their staffs and gearing up their fundraising appeals. More events are being held in order to solicit their alumni. As a result, alumni associations are increasing their budgets to include banners, other event signage, and branding items. Before starting Banners on a Roll® with my partner, Brad Lehrer, I was a professional, nonprofit fundraiser. Consequently, I understand that alumni associations walk a fine line. They must host events and distribute printed materials which not only spread their appeal messages effectively, and, at the same time, they must assure their donors that the school is not spending too much of its money directly on the events and promotional materials. Donors want to make a difference in the lives of students; they don’t want to donate to the operational budget, which pays for services such as heating the buildings and cleaning the common areas on campuses. Alumni associations are developing programs to achieve their fundraising goals. Often supplies such as banners, table skirting, and stickers are purchased in order to host effective events. That’s where Banners on a Roll® can help. Give us a call to discuss your objectives, and we’ll work with you to meet your goals. Our years of experience working with nonprofits will benefit your organization by providing the most effective items for your events while working within your budget constraints. We enjoy developing fundraising campaigns, and we’re good at thinking outside the box to make an effective branding statement.

What a challenge alumni associations face! Not only are you scurrying to generate funds for your schools from alumni, but also you are competing with other nonprofits organizations across the country, which are also facing budget cuts. But you are not alone. Banners on a Roll® is here to work with you to host effective events which result in increased alumni donations. Feel free to give us a call, and we look forward to discussing your plans with you.

It’s so easy to imagine ways to use Banners on a Roll: table skirting, signage at community service events and fundraisers, backdrops for photos, and barriers to cordon off special areas.  All sorts of organizations can use Banners on a Roll. Corporations can use them not only in the community to brand events, but also for in-house activities such as company picnics, annual meetings, and conferences.  Non-profits can use Banners on a Roll at orientations, fundraisers, and banquets. Colleges and universities, additionally, can use Banners on a Roll at alumni and athletic events.

To get more information…either email me, susan@bannersonaroll.com, or call us today at 800-786-7411.

“Hello, nice to meet you. Please scan my QR Code.”

What?! Scan my QR Code? Really?

Yes, really. What you overheard could in fact happen. QR Codes are no longer a “what’s next” innovation from Popular Science. QR Codes are reality. As we discussed in one of our earlier blog posts, “Twitter, RSS Feeds, Facebook, oh my! Is Printing Getting Run Off The Press?” the offline world continues to seek stronger communion with the online world. QR Codes are a manifestation of this communion. The surge of online innovation has spurred a resurgence of offline innovation. And this is only the beginning.

Take Facebook for example … recently TechCrunch reported early rumors that this behemoth of a social network was experimenting with the integration of personalized QR Codes with online profiles. Print the code on practically anything and all your friends will be able to take a picture of it and instantly view your Facebook profile in all its glory.

Microsoft is taking the concept of QR Codes to a new level. Clearly understanding the power of integrating offline with online, this technology powerhouse has created a technology called Microsoft Tag; even recently launching an Android app awarded best of March 2010. While similar, Microsoft Tag and QR Codes are quite different. How are they different? Read through this dialogue.

QR Codes are even appearing on large billboards. Take a picture of the QR Code below with your mobile phone and instantly navigate to a dedicated website with a wealth of additional information; significantly more than what is spatially possible on the billboard itself.

So if you are still wondering what a QR Code is, think of it as the mobile version of the barcode. Wikipedia also gives a nice definition:

“A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The “QR” is derived from “Quick Response”, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.” Read More

One reason we get excited about QR Codes is because of its ease of implementation and dissemination. Most smart phones nowadays are already equipped with the technology to decipher unique QR Codes. This makes sharing your contact information, contest rules, quotes or websites, fun and easy.

Some people even experiment with QR Codes as temporary tattoos, as seen below.

Or, if you are really brave, and maybe even a little eccentric, you could permanently tattoo your personal QR Code.  If you go this route we hope your QR Code redirect is something very special.

Because we see the value in innovation and printing, we are always trying to think of unique ways to use QR Codes creatively for our clients. Here are just a few of our favorite ideas:

• At trade shows for name badges
• Backdrops at events
• Temporary Tattoos
• T-shirts
• Business cards
• Coffee mugs
• Any promotional product that you want information shared

For purposes of this blog post, we created a QR Code of our own. Go ahead. Scan it! To be able to scan and read a QR Code, you will need to download a QR Code reader. Visit this link and select one of the many options.

The future is exciting. As the Internet continues to innovate, so will printing. If you want to get innovative with your brand and explore the potential of printed QR Codes, give us a call 800-786-7411, email us info@bannersonaroll.com, or live chat with us from our home page. We’d be happy to help blend your online and offline worlds.

Arguably the month of March generates the most exciting, dare we say, “maddening,” moments in all of college sports. The passion, affinity and excitement you feel throughout the season, and especially over the next few weeks, are why we at Banners on a Roll® enjoy working with colleges and universities around the country promoting events all year long. It’s really quite infectious.

Scroll down to see the types of products that help make March Madness come to life!

Image source: eBay