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The Times They are a Changin

I have recently been having a reoccurring nightmare. I am stood alone, reflecting on a street in London and I am there for no longer than 10 minutes before somebody builds an office block around me. It seems with so much change going on around us you can no longer walk down the same street twice in this wonderful city with out a new shop, restaurant or gastropub popping up to meet the ever growing needs of the public for something bigger and more exciting than what was previously there.

Embracing change has to be considered one of the most important factors when designing an event, if we are surrounded by an ever evolving world then why would event design stay static? Number 1 in my 10 Commandments would be to make an event stand out from the rest using fresh and new ideas; repeating the same theme twice with exactly the same ideas just for ease is lazy. It is our responsibility as event organisers to keep pushing suppliers and ourselves for change to make sure that the events industry is always the freshest loaf and never goes stale.

Under the Influence

You can never be 100% sure of when something is going to come along that influences you, it could just creep up on you and before you know it you're influenced. The events industry is one that is heavily dictated to by fashion and pop culture and it is being able to draw on the everyday influences around you that separate a good event design from a great one.

Fashion is important in choosing colours and designs for upcoming events. If you are planning for a summer event in December then have a look on fashion websites or magazines at the colour palettes, patterns and trends for the upcoming seasons and for maximum impact match your event to what will be in Vogue. Fashion is often influenced itself by music and this is a great place to look for event inspiration.

Seeing the Arcade Fire and Trentemoller this year showed me new ways that lighting and visuals could be used at my events. Music videos and songs not only influence what people do but what they wear and how they speak, which demonstrates the power that they have. There are so many different sources to draw on that there is simply not enough room here to mention them all, however it is worth remembering that people are also influenced by events so as influencers it is up to us to stay one step ahead and keep the events industry at the forefront of fashion.

Social Meltdown

If you are able to avoid talking about the global financial meltdown then the current hot topic is without doubt social networking. I for one am a huge fan of technology but I remember growing up, the geeks were the one's who sat in playing on their computers whilst the rest of us were outside playing football and socialising. Admitedlly the internet when compared to the ZX Spectrum does have a bit more going for it, but we now live in an era where the people who are not inside surfing the internet and social networking are the social outcasts. Which leads us to the question of is there still a need for face to face networking.

In a personal sense this is unquestionably yes, as much as social networking helps you keep in touch with friends all over the planet it will never replace the enjoyment of a few beers in the local with your best mates or having friends over for dinner. In a business sense though it is less clear cut.

We all enjoy networking events as we get to meet people from within the industry, build relationships, we share thoughts and discuss best practices, generally over a glass of wine or two. However with the poorly economy and the reduction of budgets this is no longer always an option. By using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook you are able to spread your corporate message, highlight new promotions and offer opinion and advice to a large group of people quickly, easily and for little or no cost.

The effectiveness of this as a business tool is without doubt, but will it completely replace face to face networking ? I doubt this very much, as much as a love Twitter I can't image that 2 years down the line people will still be talking about that classic Tweet you once did whereas for a venue like ours if we produce a great client event people will still be talking about it years later ! (Someone asked me about our Gothic Fairytale Launch we did 3 years ago just last week !)

There is no real conclusion to this and is something I could write an essay on but it is worth bearing in mind that the majority of probelms arise from people not talking to each other so the more we communicate the better we will all be.