National Small Business Week Conference and Meeting
BACKSTAGE, COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
Just wrapped up the 2012 National Small Business Week Conference and Meetings in Washington, DC. This year s event featured a number of great sessions at the Mandarin Oriental, along with offsite events at the U.S. Department of State and the White House.
Along with these events, we also rolled out our touchscreen kiosks for the Microsoft Lounge. These were fully wrapped with graphics and networked for both internet as well as printing. Be on the lookout for these at future events, they were a huge hit both with the client as well as the attendees!
As with all of our events, it takes some great partners to produce an event of this caliber. Thanks to the teams at EventEQ, Legacy Scenic, Radium, the staff at the Mandarin, and countless other folks that all came together to build out the event.
National Small Business Week
COMPANY NEWS
Decibel Management was selected as the event producer for the 2011 National Small Business Week meetings and events in Washington, DC.
They will be at the Mandarin Oriental from May 16 20, 2011. We will have updates as the work progresses and when we have registration up and running. This is a great conference for small businesses and I highly recommend attending.
Decibel Mobile Hotspot for Events, Trade Shows and Conferences
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY
We just finished the build on a great new project for an upcoming tour. This is a mobile hotspot that is purpose built for events, trade shows, and conferences.
While we have historically and typically used in-house or dedicated wired connections for our events, this just was not an effective solution for the current deployment. Our current tour schedule is amazingly aggressive- we do not have time to advance the sites or drop a staffer early to work with wired connections and have them set and ready when we arrive. We needed a solution that can be set up within 5 minutes of arriving onsite, it needed to travel well, and the back end software needed to be solid.
In looking at all these parameters and what was on the market currently, we decided it was best to develop our own solution. It was shipped to meet the tour build today and we plan to do a thorough shakedown before launch and more testing during the first four preview events. Look for more updates to come!
PR Week Award
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
Congrats to the team at Ketchum DC and their client DoubleTree by Hilton on the Product Brand Development of the Year award! We loved being a part of the tour and the award couldn t have gone to a better team! For their PR Week submission, Ketchum included a great writeup of the tour itself. You can see it on the PR Week Award Site, or read on below.
Since 1986, DoubleTree by Hilton has been giving a warm chocolate chip cookie to every guest upon check-in as a symbol of the brand s enhanced care culture. Just in time to celebrate the sweet treat s 25th anniversary, Ketchum was tasked with raising DoubleTree by Hilton s brand awareness. The agency recognized that the cookie was central to the brand s story and organized a summer campaign in which the Cookie CAREavan, a branded food truck (a first among hotel chains), traveled more than 15,000 miles coast to coast through 50 cities distributing and donating a total of 250,000 chocolate chip cookies. Ketchum leveraged existing events, including ComicCon in San Diego and pride festivals in Chicago and Key West, FL. The firm also reached out to mayors and government officials, securing July as the DoubleTree by Hilton Chocolate Chip Cookie Month in Texas and Tennessee. Cities including San Francisco, Atlanta, and Detroit named the CAREavan s arrival as DoubleTree by Hilton Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. A Facebook tab displayed the route, relevant tweets, and sweepstakes for free hotel stays, which resulted in nearly 29,000 new likes and more than 10,000 sweepstake entries. In addition, Foursquare check-ins at CAREavan stops awarded Hilton HHonors points. The business with the most #SweetBreaks tweets won 250 cookies hand delivered to the office. Results directly attributed to the campaign include a 200{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} jump in unaided brand awareness, a 15{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} revenue boost, and a 125{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} increase in HHonors enrollment, all over 2010. The campaign was recognized in 1,833 media outlets including Today, Good Morning America, and USAToday.com. Mashable declared the CAREavan No. 1 Food Truck for Social Media Marketing. One judge praised the campaign as brilliant and bigtime. Another judge agreed, saying, The effort put a fresh new twist on the food truck concept and blended in a terrific cause element.
Decibel Red Carpet Premiere Event
BACKSTAGE, COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
Fleishman-Hillard DC and their ONDCP team tasked Decibel to create a red carpet entrance for a press event. This was for the winner of the MTV Unwasted Weekend Challenge. Decibel traveled to Essex Junction High School in Vermont to turn an Auditorium into a traditional red carpet event. It was a privilege for the team at Decibel to be part of this amazing evening dedicated to the members of the Essex CHiPS program for high school students that stay above the influence of drugs and alcohol. The evening started with the students, parents and speakers having pictures taken on the red carpet. The evening also included speakers from the Essex CHiPS program, the director of the Above The Influence Campaign and the students that created the winning video. Take a look at the video they produced.
More Facade Projection and Mapping
BACKSTAGE, COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS, TIPS & TRICKS
Another Lyon Festival of Lights (F te des lumi res) has concluded. I am a big fan of the festival as well as the fa ade projection and fa ade mapping that has become ubiquitous with the celebration. Each December, I look forward to seeing the displays and designs that are produced for the 4 day event.
This year, it was an experience, rather than breakthrough content that we were most excited about. The installation and design was from a French company called CT Light Concept. In the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon a square called Place des C lestins is home to the theater in the video below. (Quick aside, the square is located on lands once owned by the Knights Templar). Instead of simply having festivalgoers watch a presentation, CT Light Concept took fa ade projection and fa ade mapping to an interactive level, a pinball game that users can control. The only piece that would have been great to see added was a high-score list on the fa ade, but I am sure that folks had a blast nonetheless.
I thought this was a very unique and interesting installation. You can view the video by following the link here.
Political Debate Production
BACKSTAGE, COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
Recently, we were invited to assist a campaign with advance work for the CNBC debate in Michigan. We spend a lovely week in Detroit advancing the debate at Oakland University, as well as various smaller events throughout the week. We love debate production and what goes on behind the scenes. This one was particularly well produced and we have some great shots of setup. The first few are of the hall itself, as well as backstage. The final shot is from the filing center and spin alley.
Decibel vs. Snowstorm at the H agen-Dazs Concept Shop Launch: Decibel Wins
COMPANY NEWS
January 24th was already a gutsy date to launch an ice cream shop. Throw in a surprise blizzard, and you get an event management challenge. Hey, winter storm Lola? CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Check out the video after the jump.
H agen-Dazs Concept Shop Launch from Decibel Management on Vimeo.
When Decibel partnered with Ketchum PR to organize and promote the launch of H agen-Dazs new concept store in Bronxville, New York, no one could have predicted a 6- to 8-inch snowfall the night before the event. Thing is, though, these things happen, and trite but true the best tool you can have in this industry is a get- er-done attitude.
With the outdoor weather putting a cramp in our ice cream giveaway tent setup, we fell back on Plan B, bringing the activities indoors. In need of additional space, the team made a few quick calls, and the owner of Pete s Tavern & Restaurant, immediately next door, graciously granted us use of the space. Great turnout.
The shop itself is a working example of H agen-Dazs new in-store experience, and the company plans to open 12 new stores this year all based along the same lines. The new design features digital menu boards, leather eat-in booths, a tasting station, and a dessert theater counter, where customers can watch employees craft fancy frozen treats.
Many thanks to the quick-thinking souls that made this event a success, and congratulations to H agen-Dazs on their shiny new location.
Merry Christmas to All from Decibel Management: Our End-of-Year Roundup
COMPANY NEWS
Christmas already? Good heavens. This year has flown by, as all years do, and as we see the new year rounding the bend, we d like to take a moment to look back and salute the last 12 months. We ve been working on a showreel of our top moments of 2014, which we re super excited about posting, but in the meantime, a quick roundup of Decibel s 2014 highlights.
A look at some of our 2014 projects
We took on quite a few repeat clients this year, honing events that we ve managed for the last few years running, plus a couple of new projects and challenges. Not for the first time, Decibel Management tackled the annual National Book Festival, sponsored by the Library of Congress on the National Mall. This event sees hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and is a truly gratifying undertaking. Come on, who doesn t like watching people get excited about reading? It s a joy.
We also stepped back in for the annual National Small Business Week sponsored by the SBA, the Glass Packaging Institutes annual meetings, the DoubleTree by Hilton CookieCare Mobile Tour, and additionally several unique events for nationally-recognized brands (H&R Block, Clorox) with our friends at PR powerhouses Ketchum and FleishmanHillard.
Some of our other projects have included the T. Rowe Price National Sales Meeting, some trade show work for ACell, and more forays into political event management with the Republican Attorney General Association.
A shoutout to friends and vendors
It takes a huge team to pull off large-scale events, and everyone s gotta be on the ball. We feel extremely lucky to be partnered up with some of the most on-it folks in the biz, companies that we trust to back us up in creating some killer events. We particularly want to give some love to the folks who keep bringing the skills year after year. That list includes:
- EventEQ
- M1 Interactive
- CGS Premier
- GES
- Optima GFX
- Greenroom Communications
- Polaris Logistics
- Nomadic Display
- Olympic Case
- Design Foundry
- Legacy Scenic
- Matrix Display
- Access Passes
No really, Merry Christmas
It sounds like a platitude, but platitudes are platitudes for a reason: looking back on this year, we re grateful. We re grateful that we know so many incredible, interesting and capable people; grateful for the opportunity to work in a field that never fails to fascinate us and keep us on our toes, grateful for all of our terrific clients and friends.
We wish you all an incredibly fulfilling 2015, a year that is full to the brim with new experiences, huge successes, and of course, lots of love. We hope you re spending the season surrounded by loved ones and lots of cheer. From everyone at Decibel Management, Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years.
Oooh, Kudos! Decibel Wins Silver at Event Tech Awards
COMPANY NEWS
Shweet! This just in: Decibel and our partners took home the silver for Best Audience Interaction for the Get Your Billion Back America campaign.
Decibel partnered up with Ketchum Public Relations and M1 Interactive to create an experiential kiosk aimed at educating about potential money lost when personal taxes are done improperly. Event Marketer, who hosts the awards, explains best:
The kiosk, which Lively describes as part-ATM machine and part-video/photo booth, is located within a 20-foot by 20-foot activation at high-traffic locations. Participants take a two-minute quiz on an interactive touch screen, answering multiple-choice questions about the campaign and what they would do with a billion dollars, then the machine spits out $10 bills, which represents their piece of the billion. The kiosk also takes their photo or a video with the cash, which they receive via email. On-site brand ambassadors answer questions about H&R Block and schedule tax preparation appointments.
Here s a little glimpse of the campaign:
Check out the Event Marketer site for all 2014 Event Tech Award winners.
