New York-based event company Paint the Town Red has added Webcasting to its in-house services in response to a cutback in business travel. Company president Howard Givner speculated that “some of [the cutback] is economically motivated, some is terrorist motivated,” and cited major banks as one client group that is restricting employee trips.
With Webcasting, Givner said, businesses can conduct a meeting in a central location and make the proceedings available to off-site employees either as a live-view or on-demand service. Remote employees need only Internet access to view or download the meeting, and can ask questions via e-mail or by phone. “Webcasting is really good in ‘one-to-many’ distribution,” Givner explained, adding that it is an attractive alternative for small to mid-size companies that may not have designated IT departments or videoconferencing capabilities.
Givner cautioned that despite its benefits, Webcasting can't take the place of person-to-person meetings in many circumstances. For client visits, trade shows, sales incentive trips and other revenue-related situations, live participation will continue to be the best method, he insisted. “But if you've got a company working on a new policy that they've got to disseminate to people,” he said, “that's a really good candidate for this kind of thing.”
Paint the Town Red
62 W. 45th St., Ninth Floor
New York, NY 10036
212/677-3173
www.paintthetownred.com
Chicago-based JRDaggett & Associates and Durham, N.C.-based Professional Meeting Planners Network have paired up to provide full-service meeting management and support services. Jeff Rasco, senior vice president of meeting management and consultation firm JRDA, said the alliance emerged out the friendship and shared vision of three key figures including himself, JRDA president Jim Daggett and Rod Abraham, president of meeting planner resource PMPN.
As demand for return on investment continues to grow, “we all have to optimize productivity at every level,” Daggett said. “We've added hundreds of highly qualified and experienced planners to our team through this alliance.”
“In uncertain times, organizations are trying to regain their grasp on normalcy,” Rasco explained. “There has been a collective gasp, and now it is time to move forward. But there is more internal focus than before. How should we manage this event? Should it happen at all? Can we accomplish our goals through other methods?” The alliance between JRDA and PMPN will provide organizations with both meeting planners and ROI experts — “as large or small a team of specialists as needed” — and stand as “a model of the value of meetings and efficient management,” he added.
JRDaggett & Associates
233 E. Erie, Suite 700
Chicago, IL 60611
312/587-2502
www.jrdaggett.com
Professional Meeting Planners Network
3717-B University Drive
Durham, NC 27707
919/490-0663
www.pmpn.com
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NEWS & NOTES
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas has delayed the opening of its new convention center, originally scheduled for summer 2002, to January 2003. A spokesperson for the property attributed the postponement to “the recent change in the near-term economic climate for the meeting and conventions industry.” Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, 3950 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89119; 702/632-7900; www.mandalaybay.com.
Santa Monica, Calif.-based event production company Leonard Neil Productions has signed an agreement making the firm the exclusive representative of Los Angeles-based comedy program “An Evening at the Improv.” LNP will offer a lineup of headline acts including Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen DeGeneres to high-end corporate and private events. Leonard Neil Productions, 1820 Idaho Ave., Suite 5, Santa Monica, CA 90403; 888/453-1137; www.leonardneilproductions.com.
What's new with you is news to us.
Send your news items to Natasha Garber at fax: 310/317-0264, e-mail: [email protected]
