Type A Events: A Strategic Event Planning Company Website

Type A Events: A Strategic Event Planning Company Website

A focus on events. All of them. All aspects of them. Anywhere.

Events

www.typeaevents.com

We are an event company. We handle all sorts of events in all sorts of locations. We handle the fun events but we excel at strategic events. We surpass our competition by not only mastering the details but balancing them within the larger strategic picture. We differentiate ourselves through our passionate, positive service. We partner with our clients and their teams. We become a part of their team. And, perhaps most importantly, we become as invested in the event’s success as they are. A Philosophy In the 1950’s, doctors developed a personality classification that was supposed to help them identify predicators for heart disease. They grouped certain criteria together and labeled that personality, “Type A”. The term has come to have some negative connotations. From our point of view, while we are an eclectic team of varied personalities and interests, we endeavor to provide type A service. Does that make us a group of unlikable, over-bearing maniacs? No. We think the so-called “symptoms” of type A are the same qualifications you want in your event planners: Type A individuals can be described as time-conscious, competitive, ambitious, business-like perfectionists. They are usually over-achievers who derive a great deal of satisfaction from work and multi-tasking. They drive themselves with deadlines and are often “stress junkies”. –Type A Behavior: Its Diagnosis and Treatment, Meyer Friedman We proudly don the scarlet letter as a badge of our undying need to deliver services to you on time, in budget, and beyond your expectations. If that ends up leading to heart disease….well, we’ll live with that. If our service prevents your heart attacks, then we’ve done our job. A Focus There are differing opinions regarding whether the superior term these days is “event planner” or “meeting planner” or any of the other euphemisms. We’ve settled that debate amongst ourselves and have gone with “event planning”. Meetings are events. Conferences are events. Galas and fundraisers, Incentive Trips, Employee Appreciation, Grand Openings, Sales Meetings, City-Wide Conventions….be they for 10 people or 10,000…are all events. They are all experiences that should provide a lasting impact for the attendees and value for the stakeholders. (So, we could call ourselves “experience planners” but that’s a little fruity-sounding…even for us.) We focus on events. All of them. All aspects of them. Anywhere. We are experts in the development of new events, the re-invention of existing events, and the increased success of proven events. We partner with you and your team to elevate your events from a money-suck to a bona fide company investment with return. Sure, we manage all of the details along the way, but even more so, we help you make it along the way. We provide guidance and direction for your team—whether we are handling one aspect or the entire event We don’t do widgets. We don’t deal in whatcha-may-call-its. We do events. And, cliché as it is, we do them really well. A Rundown Want more specifics about what we offer? We are happy to provide more detailed descriptions on any of our service offerings once we learn what is most applicable to your event. The services we offer are based on our expertise. We aren’t lawyers. We don’t perform surgery. We aren’t an ad agency. While events fall under headings like public relations and marketing, we don’t claim to be experts in those either. We know events—with all of their related elements—and that is what we sell. Our services can be modular or comprehensive. Here’s the A to Z (we couldn’t resist including that reference in here somewhere!) of what we offer: A. Event Development a. Stakeholder identification a. Objective and metric setting a. Event strategy definition a. ROI Analysis A. Budgeting a. Financial projections and reporting a. Expense tracking and oversight a. Negotiated savings tracking A. Project Management a. Project plan and timeline development/implementation a. Key performance indicators a. Project meetings and updates A. Site Selection a. Destination analysis a. Cost comparison a. Site visits A. Contract Negotiation a. Hotel/convention center contracts a. Vendor and supplier contracts a. Event risk analysis and mitigation A. Logistics Management a. Event Planning a. Registration a. Housing/Room block management (Logistics Management Continued…) a. Audio-Visual and production management a. Food and beverage management a. Transportation a. Offsite events a. Theme and décor a. Meeting room management a. Venue communication and spec tracking A. Content Management a. Speaker procurement and contracting a. Session development a. Calls for papers/presentation a. Speaker and presentation management a. Session evaluation a. Session technologies; audience response A. Event Marketing a. Marketing plan development a. Printed, electronic, and web marketing a. Attendee communications a. Onsite signage and branding opportunities A. Revenue and Partner Management a. Sponsorship and exhibit programs a. Sponsorship and exhibit sales a. Tradeshow Management a. Sponsor/exhibitor communications A. Onsite Management A Team No gold chains or Mr. T’s here but we do think we’ve got the “A Team” when it comes to talent and service. And, we certainly have set a gold standard for a strong team environment. When you work with us, you’re paired with experienced event managers who meet your needs and your culture. That primary team is supported by an equally dedicated team of expertise that furthers your projects behind the scenes or is drawn on as your project requires. When you partner with us, you’re not hiring a mom-and-pop shop that can’t maintain your needs. You’re also not turning yourself over to a monstrous event-machine whose strict policies and procedures prevent the adaptability and customization your needs require. The “A Team” is comprised of highly enthusiastic and talented individuals with such varied backgrounds as: art, business-management, financial management, education, marketing, advertising, graphic and web design, sales, customer service, and, of course, event design, event marketing, and event planning. We are professionals with passion and personality.

Like white space or neutral space. Prefer the crisp look of white and neutrals over black. Like transperancy and neutrals that allow the page to be made fresh with new photos or allow different pages to be differentiated through use of photos with different prominent colors vs. needing to define the whole website with color. Like letterpress styles shown on some websites. On the starwood hotels website, flip through the slideshow they have in the main block on their homepage. I love the use of the logo made transparent with photos behind it. I love that they have taken a very sleek, sophisticated, neutral look but have given it some fun/spunk/personality with what they have put behind it--like the slide with the disco ball and purple that is somehow still corporate and yet fun. Also, the page where they made the W filled with stacked suitcases. We are inherently a corporate service provider so we need a very corporate appealing look but we want to demonstrate that our ideas and style of working are approachable, creative, fun, and cutting-edge. We like the feel you get from ad agency websites--where they obviously have a corporate target audience but they show their fun side. I like the Fleming Van Metre website (although the navigation bar is slow and fairly basic) because of the brain and what happens when you scroll over that. I like the gray and white that pops when the red shows up. It is corporate but has personality, wit, and a bit of smart whimsy. Other websites I like...neutral retail websites like: www.anntaylor.com www.clinique.com Our competitors: We are endeavoring to exceed these... www.helmsbriscoe.com (like the look and the use of photos when you go to new page) www.conferencedirect.com (looks dated but gives good, easy to access info) http://www.experient-inc.com/ (like the boxes but the page feels cluttery and it doesn't feel like a high-end or unique) http://www.bcdmi.com/ (has the neutral element but doesn't grab me as creative or innovative) http://www.equinoxcreative.com/ (this is a local competitor in our area; like that it has more excitement and personality but the sun feels dated and kitschy. The bottom navigation is nice but a bit boxy.)

Grays (Slate Gray, Silver, etc.)

Dark Teal

Open to colors that make above combo pop--like white over black, like taupe, navy, fuscia, eggplant

left side

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/index.html

http://www.fvmadvertising.com/

www.helmsbriscoe.com

We just redid our logo on this site. We have slapped a gray version of that logo (also have deep teal version) on our exisiting website. You can view that there. Are we able to post that logo file for your use? We like the idea of finding a web design that fits that new logo. We selected taht logo because it was corporate but very neutral. It was our hope it would allow for more personality to be placed around it. For instance, we saw the possibility of making it transparent and putting photos behind it. Also, had the idea for a flash that looked like search lights and then transitioned into the "A" of the logo since it has a searchlight type look. The "Navigation Placement" question above doesn't have an option for "don't know" but that is how we feel. We'd like an easy to navigate looks--perhaps unique navigation. We have no preference as to how the menu bar looks/works--we consider that a major element of the design you suggest. Stock photos that center around conventions, conferences, corporate events are all appropriate. See the stock photo we have used on our site right now. The content on our current page is what we will be using. We don't have a ton of copy for each page....nor do we have a ton of photos as the amateur snapshots we take of our events don't represent them well or very artistically. So, we'd like the site to be enticing visually and project a professional and creative image. Another idea we have had is to draw on our "A" and bring in the photos (usually black and white) you see of "A"s found in architecture/every day places--like a part of a bridge or a skyscraper that forms an "A", etc. Ideally, these would have something to do with our industry--like an A found in a hotel banquet chair, a general session stage, a business person's briefcase/padfolio, an escalator, convention center window, etc. Also love the look of photos in black & white that have one small element photoshopped into a color--like our teal. Or, when you scroll over them, the part you should click on turns teal/a color, etc. We want our website to look "big business" versus "mom and pop shop".