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World Leaders in Audience Response

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Purple Carpet Event Blog
Posts in the ‘Events’ Section


Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

IML Connector Audience Response System

Attendees at this week’s International Confex Exhibition in London got a firsthand, exclusive view of the brand-new IML Connector audience interaction and voting tool.

Not there? Not to worry.

We’ve got our own exclusive look at the new audience response system.

The audience response device – in direct response to event producer demand – reduces the amount of hardware necessary for attendees to fully participate in events. The single handheld device combines:

  • Multiple audio channels and portable PA system
  • Instant voting with configurable menus and choices


Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Large-scale events – from silent auctions to shareholder meetings – require careful planning, monetary resources and manpower. And a few tried-and-true tips for event planning don’t hurt, either.

In a recent podcast and whitepaper from promotional product retailer 4imprint, Paulette Wolf and Donielle Levine, authors of the book “Event Planning Made Easy,” offer what they consider the first and most important tip for successful event planning:

Establish the 5 “W’s” and 1 “How.”

One by one, those 6 elements include:

1. Who are the guests or attendees?

2. What is the event being planned?


Monday, December 28th, 2009

Brand Integration Silent Auction Event Not all silent auction events are created equally.

But the upcoming Inaugural Integration Auction, Scatter Categories 2010 – hosted by Brand in Entertainment (BiE) – is truly in a class all its own.

You won’t find luxury vacation packages, department store gift certificates or state-of the-art flat screen TVs at this silent auction event. On Jan. 20, corporate and ad agency representatives will gather to outbid one another for the chance at integrating their brands into the hottest upcoming films and television shows.


Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Tips for Successful Fundraising EventsWhether hosting a fundraising event for a school, church, non-profit organization or any other entity, certain planning requirements remain the same. In a recent post on The Fundraising Authority blog, several steps were identified to incorporate into planning. We’ve added to the list to create the 13 essential steps of any successful fundraising event.

1. Determine the event’s purpose. Is the goal to raise funds, gain publicity or develop a presence in a new market? In some cases, events have a combination of goals. For example, a charity dinner might be hosted to gain publicity for a non-profit organization, with a secondary purpose of raising funds.


Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

For charity organizations, a down economy presents a conundrum of sorts: the worse the economy, the greater the need for fundraising donations—and the greater the difficulty in securing them. When brainstorming fundraising ideas, it’s vital to consider how to maximize fundraising ROI.

But which fundraising ideas produce the best results? And which donor groups should be targeted to gain the most return?

Blogger Norman Olshansky, of non-profit consulting firm NFP Consulting Resources, presents some useful statistics to maximize fundraising (based on “Fund Raising: Evaluating and Managing the Fund Development Process” by James Greenfield) in a recent post.


Monday, October 5th, 2009

Silent Auction IdeasIn December 2005, Associated Content offered twelve ideas for how to run a silent auction with the article Organize A Silent Auction.

Despite being nearly four years old, some ideas in the article are timeless, including:

  • Set a deadline for items to be entered into the auction
  • Ensure you have sufficient lighting wherever the auction is to be held.

In the four years since this article was published, silent auction software built into hand-held Communicators from IML has ensured the success of hundreds of silent auctions.


Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Unique Fundraising IdeasA recent article in Profit Quests Fundraising titled “A New Trend in Fundraising,” details both the history, and per its title, unique new ideas in fundraising.

In regards to historical fundraising, the article offers an interesting history on the emergence of fundraising galas and events.  When discussing new trends, the article cites new philanthropic support companies, like eTapestry.com and Kintera.com, “that have put an electronic twist to the old fundraising methods.”

At IML, we’ve seen hundreds of fundraising events achieve unprecedented success when using new technology to support unique fundraising ideas.  Below, are two of the best:


Monday, September 28th, 2009

Charity Sporting Event Fundraising IdeasLooking for interactive, inventive fundraising ideas for a charity sporting event? Take a cue from a 12-year-old in Florida.

Seventh grader Torii Robertson hosted the first Bumps for OCC, a volleyball tournament to benefit Operation Christmas Child, the Seminole Chronicle reports. The non-profit organization provides shoeboxes filled with gifts for children in need across the world. The charity sporting event was held in late August. During the 12-hour tournament, participants raised money for the number of hours they played.

Torii’s strategy for conceiving the fundraising idea and planning the event was based on a few principles:


Friday, September 25th, 2009

On May 21st of this year, a silent auction held by poverty fighting organization Robin Hood helped generate over $72 million for residents of New York City in need. Remarkable about this silent auction was that not a single prize was up for bid.

Before the event, Robin Hood engaged with IML to rent audience response keypads to be held in the hands of each gala attendee. Spurred along by emcee Jon Stewart, and celebrity attendees Anne Hathaway, Eli Manning & Brian Williams, attendees were encouraged to donate simply by entering pledge amounts into their keypads.


Thursday, September 10th, 2009
Ray Hansen

Ray Hansen

Ray Hansen, Director for audience response systems provider IML, was recently named the 2008-2009 Supplier Volunteer of the Year by the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) WestField Chapter. The award does not simply signify the financial contribution of IML to MPI by its membership. Rather, the award celebrates its dedication to actively improving the meetings and events industry.

IML takes an active role in MPI to acquire valuable knowledge about the profession and where it’s headed. That knowledge is necessary in order to create the most effective audience response systems to help the meetings and events profession succeed.