Over Thanksgiving I took a 5-day cruise. It was an older versus a newer boat. I wanted small versus mega. I needed quiet and old school just for a little while. And that is what I got. In abundance. The food was…okay. Not gourmet. With all of the great catered events and restaurants I visit and review, it was tough. But I was on vacation – so I decided not to complain…too much. But it was the entertainment that I really found interesting. The costumes were a bit … tacky. It was like the ’80s revisited in a way. Too many primary colors placed on one stage at the same time for me. The lighting was decent. Nothing earth shattering or ground breaking, but good enough for me to take notice. The entertainers themselves were fine. There was an aerialist couple – and they performed two times. I kept wondering if it was due to low ceilings, but I couldn’t figure out why they couldn’t add more to their acts. But here’s the thing that really got me – they were not nearly as good as what  that we see in the events industry daily. It made me think of how far the events industry has come. We constantly raise the bar and better ourselves. From weddings to corporate and even what we do at conferences for each other – we continually evolve.

We are an incredible industry that keeps getting better. Guess I will continue to attend events – and next time I cruise, I’ll hit the Epic for some Blue Man Group, Cirque Dreams and The Second City Comedy Troupe. After some freestyle dining  (there’s a churrascaria and various other options), I can finish my night at Howl at the Moon.

After spending three days in my “second home” – that’s Orlando – for the IAAPA convention, I took away one major thing. No, it wasn’t about what was trending in the Amusements and Interactive Games industries, it wasn’t even new things from events thrown (because there really weren’t many outrageous things to report on) but wheat i did learn (or something that was actually reinforced) is that Farm To Table is trending everywhere! I met my dear friend David Rodriguez of SHOWORKS Inc. for lunch at Napa at the Peabody, a brand new restaurant housed in the freshly renovated Peabody Hotel. Close to the show, we decided to park and eat there before “walking the monster”.

Well, first things first, the reno looks amazing. It is modern, a bit over-the-top bringing a bit of Vegas to the family-oriented city, and if you canoverlook the carpet (it is a hotel, so enough said) it is incredible. HUGE!  It’s almost like being in a convention center before you hit walkway to the North/South hall of the convenmtion center. Ok, with that said, back to Napa. A stunning gold and wine colored oversiized mosaic wall handing and a huge coordinated chandelier meet you before you descend the steps to the restaurant. The eatery itself is gorgeous. Wine bottle are recessed into the walls, a bar rounds the multiple dining rooms, small booths for two or for are cut into walls. It offers a fresh, clean feeling that is so inviting you wish lunch would turn into dinner.

Anyway, the menu is equally lovely. All items (or as much of the menu as possible) uis obtained through local providers, are organic and sustainable, allowing  for the freshest ingredients. Presentation is stunning and here is the best part – portions are more than ample. We split a lobster and Blue crab salad sandwich. I would never have used the clumsy bread (They did grill the inside but it was not strong enough to stand up to the mayo the sald used) but the salad itself – exquisite. No filler – just tons of sweet lobster bites and delicious crab. House made chips (beet, Yukon, sweet, russet, etc) added the right amount of crunch and texture to the plate but it was the single slice f Heirloom tomato that got us both. It was so delish we ordered more and a huge ($14) heirloom tomato salad wcame to the table (as dessert!) Each tmoto was sweet like candy. But, so I digress. We also order Caramelized Diver Scallops in Vanilla scented Cauliflower puree, pepper syrup and pistaciovinegrette, four serious sized scallops appeared. Hello Yummy.  Since we mentioned we would share everything, it did come plated for two – an awesome touch. 

It just made me realize that in Florida, where I believe we are somewhat of a “me too” society, there are places that truly get – and believe in – these concepts. I love food and will definitely talk a lot about food in this blog. How it relates to events, how to work it into events, how concepts need to be thought and carried through with space and food relations and more. as always, Please send me thoughts and feedback. I want to know what you think about what I think…

After writing…and writing…and writing…efforts have paid off! Congrats to all of the Gala Awards finalists including Nico Cervantes. This guy is the next big thing. Really. Talent, Attitude. Sweet. Funny. He’s got “it”.  Nominated for “Starry Night” for Best Fundraiser, it is his first submission.

Room Service, an AFR Event Furnishings Company, was selected as finalist for Best Achievement in Event Rental Support for “Dinner en Rouge”, a product launch for Grand Marnier during the 2010 South Beach Wine & Food Festival. This was their first nomination as well!

SHOWORKS Inc. won a nomination for Best Decor: Total Decor Budget  $50K to $150K for Fusion: The Power of Purple, an incredible dual product launch that focused on energy, power and the melding of two difficult colors.

Among the hundred and hundreds (maybe more) of spectacular entries and all the talented companies in the industry, these three are among the “chosen” few.

And what does it take? Well, sure talent, vision, brilliance and budget never hurt, but perserverence and planning.

But wait, there’s more: As all the awards seem to come up at teh same time, Event Solutions’ Spotlight Awards have yet to go public with its finalist’s list, but among the chosen few are:

Limelight Photography for Event Supplier of the Year
Dan Cohen from Uplyte for Event Supplier of the Year
Stefanie Berry of SHOWORKS  for Creative Director
Donald Braun of donald braun events LLC for Creative Director
Shari Lynn Rothstein-Kramer (hey, that’s me!) of SLK Creative for Marketing Professional of the Year!

 Pretty exciting…

As I work with more clients, it becomes more and more apparent that there are so many levels of knowledge  in regard to branding yourself. I know it seems so elementary but I think we all need to start from the beginning. When you start a company, you can be off and running before your basics are in place – a website, business cards, press materials – even a basic business plan (after all we are creative types inthis industry), but honestly, it is so important to set up the back end before charging forward.

Think about it. first thing people see (other than you!) isyour business card.  What does it look like? What is it printed on? What are the colors? Your logo? Does it represent you? remember, the first impression is made only once. Take a minute to really think about who you are and what your company represents! Then go from there.

Once you decide on the logo, and business cards, move onto your website. It can be simple – think: who, what, where, when why, and how? Those are all the questions that need to be answered. Five simple pages can do it: Home, About, Contact, Photos, and Services. Naturally, you can add on from there, but at least this gives viewers a starting point.  

Remember, branding yourself is mega-important. You want people to be able to recognize your company – whether it ‘s by color, your logo, a graphic – anything that is ALWAYS associated with you! So, when you are planning and creating  your website, be sure that it coordinates, carrying through the elements of your logo and business card.

A simple press kit should also follow suit. Be it online, in emailable form (totally more cost-effective than printed materials, but not always offering the same impact) or a full-blown multi-media presentation, it should all offer a “same” look. Now, you are prepared to shoot off information to all those potential clients, just waiting to give you business!

It may seem a bit daunting (at least, at first) and time-comsuming but it is seriously worth the effort in the end!

After spending almost four years building SLK Creative as the go-to agency PR and marketing agency for the special events and hospitality industries – and focusing on writing blogs, facebooking, and spreading the word for everyone else, I’ve FINALLY made it my business to start practicing what I preach. From today on I will be blogging about everything I see happening in the world of events. From color trends to hot new companies, if I know about it, so will you.

And I promise to be impartial (yes, that means talking about everyone and everything – not just SLK clients). So please, send me info, share with me all of the cool stuff you are doing, and I will share it with our industry and beyond!

I look forward to furthering this industry, helping us grow and strengthening what is the best “just getting known as an industry” industry there is!