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International Special Events Society

ISES adds to Conference Education

Creativity is a key component to any successful catered event The International Special Events Society (ISES) is the principal association for the creative event professional globally. ISES knows that new ideas are the foundation of business success and provides educational opportunities where those new ideas and new ways of thinking are risked, explored, developed and shared.

We are happy to announce our partnership with ISES for the 2014 Catersource and Event Solutions Conference & Tradeshow. ISES speakers will present educational sessions as part of the Conference program that will explore the role of creativity and the creative process in designing and delivering live event experiences.

"We are proud to have ISES as an educational partner," says Catersource and Event Solutions CEO Pauline Hoogmoed. "Our two organizations are a very good fit for each other since Event Solutions’ mission is to educate, engage and celebrate the events industry and ISES has been doing just that for 25 years."

ISES branded sessions at the Conference include:

Dam Busting. Finding Solutions to Creative Problems
Kevin White, CSEP, Founder/Chief Strategist, XPL, North Easton, MA
In a profession where innovative ideas need t be on demand and unique problems jump up onsite in need of an immediate solution, finding a way to deal with problems is key to success. But you can lost critical time, energy and resources in that process. Kevin White will lead you through an interactive session on creative problem solving and provide real event challenge examples to work through as a group.

From Trend-Spotting to Trend-Doing
Matthew Trettal and Bruce Vassar, The Wedding Guys, The Wedding Guys®, Minneapolis, MN
Inspiration is everywhere, but when you have a client that requires an aesthetic that is on-trend, where can you go to make sure you’re pulling together the elements to be on point. Discover the tricks The Wedding Guys use to ensure their signature events are TREND FORWARD,even when critical design decisions are often made a year before the event. Learn to cut through the Pinterest clutter, discover the key elements of Trend-Spotting and get tips and techniques to implement immediately to set your designs apart.

Brain Writing. 108 Ideas in 30 Minutes
Jodi Collen, CSEP, Director of Event & Confrence Planning, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN
Brainstorming encourages a group to generate creative ideas verbally where, without censorship, only the most vocal people tend to participate. Brain writing is an idea-generating method that enables an entire group to generate ideas and solutions to several problems/issues simultaneously on paper. This group activity is focused and individualistic, yet it taps into collective input as participants build on each other’s ideas. This session will lead participants through an interactive brain writing session resulting in 108 new ideas in 30 minutes followed by a group debrief. You’ll learn how to creatively brainstorm and quickly develop solutions while ensuring all team members are actively involved.

Audience-driven Event Design
Ryan Hanson, CSEP, Creative Producer, BeEvents, Minneapolis, MN
The greatest asset of your meeting or special event is the guest. In a world where the commodity we trade in is our audience’s attention, are we designing events to meet their needs and desires? Are we actively competing for and providing reqarding experiences worth having or boring our guests right out the door? In this interactive session, we will explore examples of meeting and event producers who haven’t been afraid to break the mold and place the engaged guest at the center of the planning strategy. You’ll examiine real life examples of events that effectively utilize the audience to create value and understand how to use design to engage the audience in this conversational session.

The Creativity of Brands
Robert Wright, Managing Director, Davies Tanner, Kent, United Kingdom
Building a recognizable brand is based on the concept of creating one single idea that is easily and readily communicated. This simple approach is designed to quickly engage the audience and enable them to easily understand what that brand means to them and to tell others about it. In this creative and interactive session, Robert will take you through that creative process, giving practical live examples of how organizations use creativity to deliver clear brand messages.

The Art of Hotel Negotiating
Judy Brillhart, CSEP, PBC, Director of Catering, Sheraton Commander Hotel, Cambridge, MA
Take an in-depth interactive look at hotel contracts; What do the clauses actually mean to you and to your clients? This interactive session will let you dive into reviewing hotel contracts, asking questions applicable to actual events and help you understand how hotels structure contracts so that you may negotiate the best deal possible for your client. Learn to speak the hotel lingo from understanding REVPAR to room to space rations, plus how to spot pitfalls in contracts and more.

These sessions are part of the Event Solutions educational program that is included with your Catersource registration. Click here to see full details.

ISES will also host a lounge on the Tradeshow floor where they will engage attendees in "Creative Sparks:" Attention is everything and distraction is everywhere, especially in Las Vegas! But sometimes it is a good thing to be “distracted.” ISES invites you to take 15 minutes to distract your brain with sessions of creative play. Offered twice daily, ISES will lead fun and interactive brain game challenges for those who want to take a short break and freshen up their minds with a shot of inspiration and, in the process, learning through creative play ways to strengthen your focus and spark your team or your own energies when it matters most.

We look forward to a long and creative partnership with ISES.