Expert Advice

What Goes Into A Great Hospitality Bag?
02/4/13
A hospitality bag is the first welcome gesture you make and the last reminder of the event-if it gets taken home. How do you create a bag people won’t toss? Figure out who your audience is, how and when they will be using it, and...
Meeting Notes- Rise & Hang
01/25/13
Rise And Hang Frequent travelers take note- keep your clothes organized with the Rise and Hang collapsible shelving system. Available as a luggage insert or as a duffel bag; designs include a bottom hamper to separate dirty clothing, and hooks to...
Meeting Notes: Popbar
01/8/13
Wow your guests with Hot Chocolate on a Stick from Popbar. Allow event-goers to create their own perfect cup by choosing between three flavors of chocolate and added steamed milk: vanilla white chocolate, milk ...
Meeting Notes- Affair With Flair Invitations
12/14/12
Lisa Cook and Leslie Williams-Heins know how to throw a party, and did just that for the 30th anniversary of owning and operating Denverbased Affair With Flair. This was one of those invites that couldn’t slip by guests due...
Making the Most of your PR Campaign
12/5/12
Bill Gates once shrewdly stated, “If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.” Savvy business people have long realized the value of a strong PR campaign for telling a compelling story about their company and its services. A...
Meeting Notes: Moo Business Cards
11/30/12
Moo Business Cards Say goodbye to boring business cards and hello to these vibrant options from MOO. Choose from a variety of sizes including MiniCards, postcards, stickers, labels and traditional business cards. Patterns, fonts and design orientations...
The Party Index Moves Up with Advance Planning
11/6/12
Dow Jones Industrial Average? NASDAQ? Manufacturing Index? How about the Party Index? That's one essential indicator in our industry that the economy is improving. People are booking more parties, and to me that means the economy is in a better place...
How to Set the Stage for Events With Scent
10/26/12
Meeting and event planners spend countless hours designing details large and small to please the senses of attendees-from elaborate lighting and sound design to luxurious linens and comfortable seating. Yet few really consider scent. That’s a mistake:...
Customer Service, Come Back!
10/4/12
Disintermediation. That's a long and very officious term for a simple concept: Get rid of the middleman. And while getting rid of the middleman may have helped a lot of companies' bottom lines, it may have caused a lot of other headaches. As we've cut...
Top Fall Food and Drink Trends
09/27/12
Fall is the perfect time of year to change up your event’s culinary direction, décor and overall atmosphere. Knowing how beautiful and colorful fall is here in Chicago, Blue Plate strives to give focus to our fall events and therefore create customized...