EVENT MANAGEMENT TRAINING

iGoogle Launch Suffers Hiccup

After thousands of Google users lost their calendar and digital sticky notes when personalised settings mysteriously disappeared last week, the explanation seems to be ’iGoogle’.

According to the Google blog, staff at the search giant call their customised Google homepages iGoogle, and the functions of iGoogle were released to the general internet public on Tuesday.

"Developers around the world have been working hard to make more and more of the world’s content available for iGoogle," said Google software engineer Sophia Brueckner, on the official Google blog.

It seems that updating Google to support the iGoogle collection of personalised gadgets such as photograph updates, instant messaging service, and a YouTube video channel might have caused the foul up last Friday when many Google homepages reverted to former settings, causing reams of data stored on homepages to be lost in "Britain, Ireland and one other European market", according to a Google spokesman.

Google engineers are currently looking into the cause of the error, and the company said a quantity of lost data had been restored to personalised homepages.

Meanwhile more than 25,000 of these new iGoogle gadgets have been created, according to reports.

GoogleGram is an unfolding ’greeting card’ gadget that shows personalised messages and images over seven days. The Daily Me is a miniblog service, and there is also a Free Form gadget for displaying any text or images. The Personal List gadget, is a collection of individual favourites such as songs or TV shows, and a Countdown timer crosses of the days ahead of important events.

The company is also announcing a new area on the gadget directory called My Community that will let people share the gadgets they’ve created with anyone in their Gmail contacts list.

These iGoogle ’gadgets’ are also customisable, and the search engine giant has set up a web page to explain how to make a DIY Google homepage. This means users can fiddle with familiar Google widgets such as the Currency Converter to create a little piece of individually tailored software.

However with the recent system crash that scrubbed clean important diary notes and other vital information for an untold number of internet users still fresh in the mind, questions are being raised as to the wisdom of keeping important data on a commercial web service which can cock things up from time to time.

For its part, Google said people were free to choose to keep their information on their service or not.

"People are aware that when we release a new innovation it will be in beta and is 60 to 70 percent ready," said a Google spokesman speaking with ENN. "When people do raise an issue with a problem we do spend considerable time trying to solve it."

Commentators have also been speculating that the iGoogle name may be a sideswipe at Apple who has been notoriously litigious over any perceived unauthorised use of its iconic iPod trademark. Alternatives like MyGoogle and YouGoogle have been proposed amongst the numerous online discussion groups with an interest in the Californian internet giant.

The company has not made any noises about placing personalised ads on the new iGoogle personalised homepage, but industry observers are fairly confident it is only a matter of time.

Trade body merger receives green light

Rival trade bodies the British Association of Exhibition Organisers (BECA) and the Association of Exhibition Contractors (AEC) moved a step closer to becoming a single body last month when members of both organisations voted in favour of a merger.

Despite the landmark vote, however, it is thought that ironing out the finer details of the agreement, which include winding up the AEC and creating a new name for the enlarged association, will still take several months to complete.

The basis of the agreement is a much-discussed 17-point plan, which was created by a dedicated merger team and put to each body at separate AGMs. It proposes a council of 12 members with six representatives from each board. BECA director Lynn Felton and AEC director Austen Hawkins have been put forward as operations director and commercial director respectively.

“The crux is that the two associations have agreed in principle to merge. We are merging to become a new body with a new name – that’s the eventuality we’re now working towards,” said Hawkins. “We will be talking with one voice despite not being at the ‘big bang’ stage where we all come together under one name.”

Members of BECA were the first to vote-in the merger at its AGM on 30 March. From the potential pool of 136 eligible members, 42 voted in favour and 21 against, providing the majority verdict that was needed to pass the motion.

Following the vote, incoming BECA president Mark Lamont said: “By merging with the AEC we are also able to capitalise upon the benefits of working more closely with the Events Industry Alliance (EIA), whose sole purpose is the promotion of the events industry. This merger does not mean a yes man’s vote at the table of the EIA; we retain the freedom to change.”

On 4 April, 23 members of the AEC attended its AGM and were unanimously agreed on the merger.

Sony brings its vision to life

Imagination served as lead agency on Sony’s recent Media Experience event in Rhodes, which showcased the brand’s ‘Sony United’ positioning to 400 press and 200 staff.

Sony Media Experience (SME) 2007 took place from 27-29 March at the Sofitel Capsis Rhodes Hotel and Convention Centre and shared the vision of the

Sony Consumer Electronics Europe division. The theme was ‘High Definition’.

“We wanted it to be an event like no other, and that was definitely what Imagination delivered. We’ve had uniformly positive feedback from the 400 European media that attended and we’re already starting to see the impact of SME 07 across a variety of media titles. ­Creatively and logistically it was a very challenging event to stage, so it’s great to see all that hard work being rewarded,” said Sony Communications Europe general manager Maria Heavey.

Each Sony workshop offered an individual experiential section for attendees to explore the product range. Experiences included filming dancing dragons with Handycam camcorders, editing HD footage on VAIO laptops and using Cyber-shot cameras to shoot aerial performers. Between workshops the HD Hub offered an informal exhibition and relaxation area.

Two parties were held during the event, one themed around the Walkman and the other around Blu-ray. At the Walkman party attendees danced to Norman Jay and watched as the Funk Stylerz performed a dance-off. The Blu-ray party closed a street in Rhodes Old Town and guests were entertained by numerous performers.

More than 70 production staff worked on the event environment, deploying 40 different acts across multiple workshop and performance spaces. Imagination worked with agencies Freud, Fallon and BCD on the event.

Ingredients of Success

One of the latest trends in event planning is close attention to the menu itself, according to high end caterer, Zafferano.

‘More and more clients ask questions about ingredients, sourcing and preparation.’ comments Zafferano Managing Director, Julian Saipe. ‘I am really impressed at the increasing levels of knowledge and enthusiasm.’

Enotria Winecellars recently hosted a wine tasting buffet lunch at the Historic Royal Palace, Banqueting House in Whitehall for 600 exacting guests. The menu included: roasted boned stuffed leg of lamb with parmesan and lemon; Castelluccio lentil salad with roasted red onion, baby beetroot, feta and parsley with cabernet sauvignon vinaigrette; winter leaves with toasted crushed hazelnuts & blackberry balsamic dressing.

‘While we would always expect clients such as wine merchants to demand innovative, challenging menus this is also a trend that has also spread to our customers within the broader business community’, adds Julian. ‘A recent dinner for Merrill Lynch Global Markets at the Foundling Museum included a starter with real wow factor for those who care about food.’ The 45 VIP guests were served truffled Burrata (a rare speciality soft cheese from Puglia in Italy) with wild rocket, black truffle shavings, roasted figs, toasted pine nuts, Reggiano curls, chestnut honey and a vintage balsamic dressing.

Meanwhile, the Zafferano team is busy capitalising on this enthusiasm with some stunning menus for the rest of the year. Already popular with clients booking summer dinners is roasted loin of new season Salt Marsh lamb, served with ‘Janson’s Temptation’ (a delicious variation on gratin dauphinoise served with anchovy).

‘We source our lamb from just four salt marshes on the banks of the Dyfi estuary in Wales.’ reveals Skye Coxe, Head Chef at Zafferano. ‘It is one of the most exclusive varieties of lamb available and guests always love it’.

Between 1 and 21 December, Zafferano will cater a run of stylish dinners at Kent House, Knightsbridge for Premiere Winter events, organised by Evolve Venues & Events. These pre-Christmas celebrations for up to 200 guests combine luxury ingredients and traditional favourites - all served in an innovative way. Highlights include: foie gras terrine served with black truffles, parsley, walnut and clementine salad; and roasted fillet of sea bass with ‘bubble and squeak’, winter greens and truffled butter sauce. Desserts include chocolate & Grand Marnier mousse cakes topped with gold Amaretti dust.

Pepsi’s new ads and packaging make use of celebrities like Ronaldinho, Beckham and Lampard in a more subtle way

The Lampard packaging, which is being prepared for the British market, is one of dozens of new can and bottle designs coming from Pepsi as it seeks to connect with the "Second Life generation" — young consumers who may be fiercely loyal to certain video games or portable music players, but relatively indifferent when it comes to choosing a mass-market soda brand.

Under a new branding strategy, Pepsi is introducing new can and bottle designs every few weeks, planning to sell 20 or more different ones annually in every market.

For a mainstream consumer brand to vary its packaging so often is a striking departure from marketing convention, which says that brands should strive for consistency.

Health-conscious consumers are cutting back on purchases of sugary, fizzy beverages, particularly in developed markets.

Beverage volume rose 7 percent internationally, led by markets like Brazil, China, Argentina and the Middle East.

“Shuffle” the new Pepsi Football commercial