It might be hard to believe, but we’ve officially been blogging about events and fundraising for ONE YEAR!

That’s right, it’s our One Year Anniversary of the IML Purple Carpet Event Blog this month and we couldn’t be happier.

In honor of our first year we decided to look back and identify our  5 favorite blog posts.

Thanks to you, our readers, who helped make our first year of blogging such an exciting and productive experience.  Without further ado, here were our 5 favorite and most popular posts from the last year:

1. Event Planning – 8 Common & Costly Mistakes to Avoid – This post offered up 8 amazingly simple and helpful tips on how to avoid some of the biggest mistakes in event planning.  The mistakes are common ones that many make when trying to organize events of any size, but not hard to correct!
2. Cancer Fundraiser Raises Support in a Unique Way – Sometimes fundraising efforts need a worthy cause to be a very well executed event.   This Cancer fundraiser used the idea of wearing a bald cap for the entire day as a way to raise money and awareness.  This post highlighted how a unique fundraiser can do so much for a great cause.
3. 13 Essential Elements of Successful Fundraising Events – Speaking of fundraisers, this post offered up 13 elements that absolutely cannot be overlooked when planning and implementing a fundraising event.  From setting a goal, to planning the budget to encouraging audience participation via audience response systems (hyperlink this keyword phrase), these tips were helpful and truly essential.
4. Planning an Ethical & Sustainable Event: Top Tips – We’re living in a world that must pay increasing attention to the ethical ramifications of any event or business promotion.  From the event planning to the actual hosting, paying attention to how to make it as ethical as possible is vital.  This post had some very relevant and timely tips on how to stay ethical, and successful, from the planning to the cleaning up of your next event.
5. IML Connector – Another Glimpse into the Future of Audience Response Systems – One of the most exciting developments from IML was the IML Connector, IML’s upcoming revolutionary hand-held audience response system, set to change the way people participate in any kind of meeting or event.  This post covered the exciting new technology and even offered a hands-on video of it.

There you have it!  Five of our favorite posts over the last year.  We’d love to hear which posts you found most interesting or entertaining too.  Or feel free to submit an idea for a future post below and we’ll be sure to address topics and questions from readers. Here’s to another great year.

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IML Purple Carpet Event Blog Turns 1: Our 5 Favorite Posts was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

Last week we were able to post something that hopefully many of you found extremely exciting…a glimpse at the IML Connector.  The IML Connector is a hand held revolutionary audience response system device.    By combining features that traditionally lived inside simple handheld voting device sand combining them with features that traditionally lived only inside smart phones or sophisticated AV devices, the IML Connector is a cutting edge audience response system device that affords the best of both worlds.  The marriage should prove to shake up the world of interactive meetings and change the way the audience is able to effectively hear, engage, participate and change the meetings they attend.

Here’s your chance to get another quick glimpse at the IML Connector as CEO Richard Taylor once again has the opportunity to show it off at InfoComm2010.

The future is right around the corner and the tools to achieve more than we ever thought possible with audience response systems, interactive meetings, voting and even silent auctions are almost here.  Be prepared for the landscape of the industry to change.  The IML Connector, once released, will do all of that and more.

Receive all of the latest news on meetings, event planning, audience response systems and interactive voting by subscribing to the Purple Carpet Event Blog RSS feed or by email. Or follow us on Twitter.

IML Connector – Another Glimpse into the Future of Audience Response Systems was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

Interactive meetings, live voting and audience response systems are on the brink of a major breakthrough.  Coming this September, a new level of interactive engagement will provide limitless possibilities for originality, innovation and achievement among your audience.  That’s right, the IML Connector is coming this September.

Watch this interview with Richard Taylor, CEO of IML, and learn about the newest, latest and greatest of all IML devices, the IML Connector.  See how the addition of a microphone and speaker will allow each person in the audience not only to speak, but directly hear all communication at an event.  An OLED screen will allow exceptional battery life in addition to the capability for companies, events and hosts to put logos, moving graphics and animations on the screen.

One of the best aspects of the new IML Connector is the ability to completely manage the order and methods in which people can interact with the meeting, event hosts and speakers.  Whether it’s through a ‘first come first served’ basis or a queued list, or whether their questions and votes will be heard through voices or through text messaging, all of these methods can be accessed quickly and efficiently.

When it comes to interactive meetings, audience response systems and interactive voting, the IML Connector should prove to be the best tool yet.  Please check out the full interview with IML CEO Richard Taylor and learn even more about what should shake up the entire industry!

Receive event planning, audience response systems and interactive voting news by subscribing to the Purple Carpet Event Blog RSS feed or by email. Or follow us on Twitter.

IML Connector: Upcoming Device to Revolutionize Interactive Meetings & Voting was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

It is no secret that a properly planned, hosted and executed event can be an amazing asset to your business.  It’s extremely important that when you are planning your next event, you gather as much crucial information as possible before you ever get started. Some of the most common mistakes made during event planning may seem rather obvious, but they can easily occur amidst your busy planning schedule.

What are the most common mistakes and how can you avoid them?  See the bullets below and print this checklist to help you avoid making these common mistakes.

1. Short Marketing Cycle – Always make sure you allot enough time to effectively market your event.  Too little time means too few attendees.  This article from Scribd says a good rule of thumb is 90-120 days in advance for any medium-sized event averaging around 75 attendees.
2. Competing With Yourself – Avoid promoting multiple events too close together.  If you send out invites for multiple events at the same time, or too close to one another, potential attendees may get confused.
3. Not Delivering on Your Promises – This is a key.  If you make promises or offers in your marketing, make sure you have a list that guarantees you will remember when, where and how to deliver on all activities or concepts you’ve promised.
4. Losing Control of the Room – Maintaining control and order over the audience is absolutely necessary to stay on schedule.  Implementing an audience response system can be amazingly helpful as it allows questions to be queued up, and asked in a timely fashion.  Keep control the easy way – automate it.
5. Poor Scheduling – Proper order of your speakers can directly influence the smoothness of your event.  Generally, place the keynote speakers at the best times and revolve other, less important speakers or presentations around the keynote.
6. Being Cheap – If people are paying good money and time to show up at your event, make sure they are getting their money’s worth.  Don’t make them pay for drinks or refreshments, think about throwing in some giveaways or even donating money to charity in their name.
7. Closing Your Office – Just because you’ve been doing a great deal of event planning doesn’t mean you should shut down your office.  You’ll only be losing money and your customer’s confidence by doing so.
8. Mismanaging the Event – A properly managed (and properly planned) event will help ensure a successful event.  Time management, traffic flow and proper layout is key.

As you move forward with your event planning, remember that while it might feel overwhelming, staying organized and on plan will be instrumental.  As we mentioned in the 4th tip, implementing an audience response system can be amazingly helpful in guaranteeing that everyone at the event feels like their voice is being heard and votes are being counted, without giving up the control of the room.

Receive all of the latest news on meetings, event planning, audience response systems and interactive voting by subscribing to the Purple Carpet Event Blog RSS feed or by email. Or follow us on Twitter.

Event Planning – 8 Common & Costly Mistakes to Avoid was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

The pairing of the IML pledging system and the Robin Hood Foundation proved to be a massive hit to help raise millions of dollars for charity.  The Robin Hood Foundation’s annual event takes place in the 150,000 square foot Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City.  The 2010 event hosted a record breaking 3,600 guests and broke yet another record raising $87.8 million for underprivileged New Yorkers.

Read more about the Robin Hood Foundation and IML’s pledging system collaboration:

Bizbash New York – LiveNation producer Dan Parise, meets Alex Coletti Productions (a production company so exclusive the website is simply a business card), meets floral design by DeJuan Stroud (featured on Martha Stewart) to deliver a star-studded event and record breaking evening.  The event design represented six verbs the Robin Hood Foundation uses to explain where the money goes: teaches, heals, feeds, nurtures, trains, and shelters.  Each verb was showcased in a streetscape installation within the cocktail area.  Brian Williams from NBC served as the night’s M.C. with a special comedic appearance from late-night TV host, Jimmy Fallon.  Stevie Wonder was the music headliner with a surprise acoustic performance by Sting.  And of course, the $87.8 million could not have been raised without an IML pledging system for silent donations during dinner.

Bloomberg News – Wall Street’s largest single-evening fundraising event brought in a record breaking number of guests including executives from Wall Street banks, hedge funds and private-equity companies.  Donations exceeded last year’s $72.7 million by over $10 million and go toward 200 of New York’s poverty-fighting non-profits.  The event board, including Paul Tudor Jones II (Tudor Investment Corp.), film producer Harvey Weinstein, and actress Gwyneth Paltrow, ensure all proceeds go to the organizations.  After dinner-pledges raised $26.4 million, thanks to an IML pledging system that allowed guests to submit silent donations.  Actors Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas, and New York Jets coach, Rex Ryan, were among those in attendance.

Wall Street Journal – Wall Street’s biggest fundraiser helped raise a remarkable $88 million for charter schools, food programs and job training.  After a great trading day, the Robin Hood Foundation’s annual event, a favorite of the hedge fund community, gathered 3,600 guests for a gala evening of celebrities, food and entertainment.  Held at the large Manhattan Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, the event was kicked off by a live acoustic performance from Sting, followed by a comedic lineup of Saturday Night Live head writer Seth Meyers and late-night TV host Jimmy Fallon.  The night’s event helped raise the largest amount the charity has seen since it was founded in 1988.

@RobinHoodNYC – The Robin Hood Foundation’s official Twitter has been updating and linking to all sorts of stories and articles that highlight the success of the event.  Click to follow and find out more!

Learn how silent auction systems like the IML pledging system can help make your fundraising event a record breaking success.  The ability of attendees to quickly, quietly and instantly pledge their donations is an amazing way to increase donations!

Receive all of the latest fundraising and silent auction system news by subscribing to the Purple Carpet Event Blog RSS feed or by email. Or follow us on Twitter.

Photos Courtesy of Bryan Derballa

IML Pledging System and Robin Hood Foundation – Right On Target! was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a Washington DC based non-profit, will be flying the flag of unique fundraising ideas at their forthcoming annual Washington DC Brady Center Gala on May 18^th, 2010 with the use of IML’s silent auction systems The event will take place at the National Museum of Women in the Arts at 6:00 PM.

Encouraging participation can be a real challenge for non-profits when asking for donations at their fundraisers but the Brady Center will be doing things a little differently this year.  They have enlisted the help of IML, experts in event fundraising technology, who are revolutionizing the way non-profits collect donations at their events.

At the event, guests will be invited to instantly pledge donations via IML’s silent auction systems.  They are free to donate as many dollars as they can afford, there is no donation too large or too small, but participation is key, and the Brady Center has designed a friendly competition to encourage everyone to take part.

The room will be divided into 2 teams.  During the evening a real-time animated “scoreboard” will provide a tangible display of the percentage of people pledging a donation from each team.  It will be up to the “Team Captains” to encourage their teams to reach the 100% mark!

Asked about what the silent auction system is going to bring to their event Samantha Konstandt Assistant Director, Special Events remarked “It’s an immediate call to action for our guests, and they will get an instant sense of how they can make a real difference. We are very excited to be working with IML.”

Silent Auction Systems Create Unique Fundraising Event was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

With significant local, state and federal legislation – like healthcare reform – town hall meetings have once again been resurrected as a way to give citizens a voice.

Have you been tasked with organizing and executing a town hall meeting for your community?

Take 25, a preventive child safety campaign created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), offers several tips to help effectively coordinate a town hall meeting. We’ve added a few of our own tips here:

1.  Organize a Committee to Help Plan – The more people from different backgrounds – business owners, educators, government officials, etc. – the more diverse points of view you’ll have to plan your meeting.

2.  Create a Contact List – Include potential speakers, officials, volunteers, local business owners and all the people who could provide a service to help in either the planning or execution of the event.

3.  Determine the Meeting Strategy – What are the goals of the meeting? Has the issue been addressed somewhere else already? What is the agenda, and how will you keep the meeting on track?

4.  Plan the Details – Next, it’s time for the many minute details involved in the meeting. For example, who should speak? Where will you hold the meeting?

5.  Reach out to Media – Draft a list of media reps from TV, radio and newspapers to attend and cover the event.

6.  Engage the Community – You must have the town to have the town hall meeting.  How will you get them to attend, and how will you advertise? Consider advertising in area newspapers, distributing flyers in highly trafficked areas or posting the information at local businesses (i.e., banks, hospitals, department stores).

7.  Encourage Audience Interaction – Make your town hall meeting interactive by including an audience response system in which people can vote live, text, and even offer instant feedback through a built-in microphone.

8.  Follow Up with Supporters – After the meeting ends, make sure you have a plan to follow up with those that attended and supported you. Act on the goals discussed.

Follow these helpful planning tips, and your next town hall meeting will go off without a hitch.

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8 Tips to Plan a Town Hall Meeting was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

Which company’s CEO has listened to and heeded shareholders’ demands to step down and give up the title of chairman inside the company?

1. Wal-Mart

2. Whole Foods Market Inc.

3. McDonalds

If you guessed “2. Whole Foods Market Inc.” you are exactly right!

The chief executive officer of the organic supermarket Whole Foods Market Inc. has finally given in to years of petitioning and demands by shareholders that the two roles be separated out and filled by different people.

ABC News reports that the co-founder and current CEO of the company, John Mackey, recently agreed to hand over his title as chairman.  This marks the first time in three years that the voices of a shareholder activist group have been heard, as they’ve been petitioning for the change all along.

Clearly, the group was in need of a more effective shareholder voting system. At last year’s annual shareholders meeting for Whole Foods, the proposal was unsuccessful; soon after the group called for Mackey’s all-out removal.

Perhaps the ordeal could have been avoided with an electronic voting system for shareholders to make them feel as though their opinions were being feelings heard.  The ability for shareholders to cast their vote with 100% accuracy at annual meetings would have meant that Whole Foods could have tackled this much more efficiently.

Looking for more of the latest trends in shareholder voting? Subscribe to the Purple Carpet Event Blog RSS feed or by email. Or follow us on Twitter.

Shareholder Voting Heard: CEO Gives Up Title of Chairman was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

You are never too young to make a difference in fundraising.

Burlington, Vermont-based Davis Studio is giving children the opportunity to let their creative juices flow for a great cause. Partnering with the Vermont Children’s Trust Fund and The Humane Society of Chittenden County, Davis Studio will host painting classes for area children beginning on March 16. Paintings will then be auctioned off May 6 at Shelburne Farms Coach Barn.

Including children in fundraiser events is a great idea to get the whole family involved and maximize fundraising success. Along with raising funds for a good cause, it also helps to shape children to become the young philanthropists of tomorrow.

Davis Studio, and others hosting similar events, can take its event to the next level by encouraging audience participation and interaction. We’ve come up with three ideas for maximizing fundraiser event success through audience interaction:

1. Honor the “Most Unique Painting,” the “Best Use of Color” or the “Artist in Training” by allowing guests to vote using keypads

2. Increase funds raised by incorporating audience response keypads that enable charity guests to place instant bids on artwork

3. Encourage a friendly “bidding war” among attendees by showing real time results of bidding with audience response systems

Learn more about the different types of audience response systems for your next fundraising event.

To receive the latest news and tips for enhancing your next event with electronic bidding and pledging, subscribe to the Purple Carpet Event RSS Feed or by email.

Plus, you should follow us on Twitter today.

Paint and Donate! Ideas to Get Children Involved in Your Next Fundraiser Event was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

It’s not every day that we discuss who helps make the Purple Carpet possible. But today, we take you behind the scenes as we welcome seasoned event marketing pro Liz Connors to our team.

Joining audience response system global leader IML as Director, Business Development for the West Coast team, Connors brings eight years of experience in the meetings and events industry.

A graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, Connors brings an impressive professional background to the IML team, most recently as a sales, marketing & events consultant at Southern California Meetings+Events Magazine.

Prior to working in California, Connors also held positions as the partnership development executive at the Convention & Visitors Association of Minneapolis, and director of programming and events at Wellbridge/NWAC – St. Louis Park. She has also been an advocate and events aide to U.S. Senator Mark Dayton of Minnesota.

As Director of Business Development for the audience response systems provider, Connors will leverage her event planning and partnership development expertise to further expand West Coast operations. She will also help lead efforts to continually develop IML talent.

Receive all of the latest audience response systems and other industry news by subscribing to the Purple Carpet Event Blog RSS feed or by email. Or follow us on Twitter.

Leading Audience Response Systems Provider IML Welcomes Liz Connors was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com