MEET Welcomes New Vice President of Sales & Catering

MEET Las Vegas is pleased to announce a new addition to its team. Cory Harwell has joined MEET as Vice President of Sales and Catering. 

Cory has spent the last decade in the hotel side of the meeting and events industry, working as VP of Food and Beverage at New York, New York Hotel & Casino. He also owned his own Tapas restaurant in Vegas and in 2010 he was voted Top 40 under 40 in Las Vegas for In Business Magazine.

For the past six years, Cory has volunteered with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a charity that holds massive head shaving events in Las Vegas to raise money for childhood cancer.

Cory is thrilled to be working with the amazing team at MEET and is looking forward to the opportunity to grow the brand.  

“I’m excited to join a team that is embracing the vision of achieving all the potential that MEET has to offer, not only in Vegas but even in potentially taking the brand to other cities.”

To contact Cory, call (702) 734-MEET (6338) or e-mail him at charwell@meetlv.com. Welcome to the team, Cory!

What’s In, What’s Out for Business Events in 2012

With corporate events on the rise this year, companies are changing up how they do things. From entertainment to maintaining a strict budget, businesses are sprucing things up and honing in on their target audience. 

Special Events magazine addresses the ins and outs of business events for 2012 in its March issue: 

What’s In:

• Big  name speakers and entertainers
• Events with targeted demographics
• Reinventing annual company events
• Sponsor participation and integration
• Themed designs

 What’s Out:

•  Incentive travel and promo gifts
• Open buffets in the conference room
• Careless spending

 How is your company changing things up this year? What else do you think is in or out for 2012?

On Trend: Pop-Up Restaurants

Pop-up restaurants have been growing in popularity in major cities across the country. These temporary restaurants set up shop for hours, days or weeks in various locations such as restaurants that close at night, commercial food establishments, hotel lobbies, etc.

    

These short-term restaurants are a great way for chefs to get to know the market in which they would like to open a restaurant, test dishes, and acquire a following without having to invest in opening at a permanent location. 

Cities like New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego, New Orleans, Chicago, and Portland are all known for pop-up restaurants and the trend is catching in Las Vegas. Project Dinner Table blends excellent cuisine, community connection, and charity with its monthly pop-up community series.

Do you know of any other pop-up restaurants in Las Vegas?

Vibrant Colors Dominate Events in 2012

 According to Special Events magazine,  "Tangerine Tango" is the color for 2012.

The color, described as a “spirited, enticing hue” ensures vivacious colors will be popular at events this year. 

G.E.T. Enterprises, Inc. has created quality melamine food service products that are on trend for the season. The exuberant and vibrant shades featured in their Brasilia and Keywest displayware will bring a fresh new perspective to any occasion.

What colors are you using for events this season?

Design idea: Imageglow Candles are Eco-Friendly, Stylish and Safe

Imageglow candles’ signature Lantern Candles are a nice eco friendly, stylish and safe lighting solution for most any event. These candles have a clean-burning center surrounded by an eco-friendly wax shell or “lantern.” As the unscented, pure-burning candle melts, the design is illuminated.

Your guests will admire the candle design and, as a bonus, once the inner candle has melted, they can take them home and reuse the lantern by inserting a tea light. In addition, if you’re hoping to create an intimate setting but the venue prohibits open flames, these candles are the perfect solution because Imageglow candles are fully contained.

Check out the entire Imageglow candle selection on their website.

Facebook Pages to Change to Timeline Format

On March 30^th any business that has a Facebook page will automatically change to Facebook’s Timeline format, altering the way companies can market themselves on the social network.

Here are a few key things you need to know about the new format:

1. Landing pages are a thing of the past. With the new Timeline, brands can no longer have a landing tab with a message urging fans to “Like” the page. The cover photo has replaced the landing tab and is where a business can set the tone of their page and visually market their brand. The profile photo, which is separate from the cover photo, should be used for the brand logo, since this is what fans will see in their newsfeed when a post is created.   
2. Update the About section. This section is front and center in the new Timeline, right under the profile and cover photos. This is where companies can sell themselves to their audience. Keep this section short and interesting.
3. Add Milestones. With Timeline, businesses can go back in time and create posts for major events in the company’s history. Add events such as the day the company was founded, past product launch dates, commercials, etc. Redbull used this feature and made a game of it. You can play along here: http://www.facebook.com/redbull

These are just a few of the many changes that come with Facebook Timeline for Pages. More information about Timeline and marketing on Facebook will continue to develop as businesses make the switch.

Have you converted your company’s Facebook brand page to Timeline?

3 Ways Event Planners Can Utilize Pinterest

If you have been on the Internet lately, you’ve likely heard about Pinterest.   Pinterest is used as an online bulletin board for consumers to post (aka “pin”) images of the things they like.  The social network's self-proclaimed mission is to “connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting.”

How can event planners use the popular social network for their business? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Inspiration. Search Pinterest, to find products, cuisine ideas and inspiration for your event’s theme, color or style.
2. Organization. For a planner working on multiple events, it’s hard to stay organized. Creating a board like “vendors” “catering” or “Jane and Jon wedding” can help keep everything in order.
3. Collaboration . This is one of the most beneficial features Pinterest offers. For each board you create, you can allow other users to contribute. This is especially handy if you have multiple planners working on one event.

Do you use Pinterest for business?

For more great Pinterest tips visit: http://blog.socialtables.com/pin-your-way-to-the-top-how-the-event-world-c