The article he wrote titled “Creating Great Events in Asia” was published in the June 2010 issue as part of the International Special Events Society experts column and is reprinted here.

Many of your organisation’s best and brightest may soon be flying out to a destination of choice within Asia for a series of incentive and recognition events.

Business events carry a huge degree of strategic importance to the hosting organisation and in turn can attract a considerable amount of stakeholder input and competing budget demands.

You will need to call upon a broad array of specialist disciplines as you tackle concurrent challenges including travel, venues, catering, pre and post-tours, team-building, gifts, program collateral, and entertainment, AV production, set designs, signage, branding guidelines and messaging objectives and so on.

By their very nature, events have lots of moving parts that constantly evolve. They require a huge amount of planning, thought, and applied expertise to ensure it all comes together as a seamless and powerfully engaging event experience.

Expectations are high and the pressure is on for people charged with this strategic, creative, and tactical responsibility. So extra careful consideration needs to be given to who will help you deliver. It’s okay if at this point you need to let out a deep sigh. I am.

Now add to this mix a whole host of regional variables that are at constant play within the business of delivering events throughout Asia.

South Korea is one of the few places where English is not the universal language of business – common elsewhere across global event practices. Neighbouring Japan presents an added challenge with many layers of communication protocol needing to be addressed and worked through to make simple things happen… simply.

Although hugely improved, the Philippines is still sadly beset by implied ‘corruption’ practices, and when working within Indonesia and Malaysia one needs to keep front of mind religious sensitivities in everything you do.

The island city of Singapore remains a great introduction to Asia for many western corporate event clients but rarely sustains a second or third visit. With the opening this year of Marina Bay Sands and Universal at Sentosa, the city will refresh itself as a MICE destination of choice.

Hong Kong, gateway to China, still labours under former past MICE glories as it continues to confront challenges in terms of offering diverse event space that doesn’t look like another exhibition hall while outdoor events are on the extinction list due to unreasonable government noise ordinances.

Bangkok, despite current political instability, still remains MICE attractive although the provision of event services often reminds me of Bangkok traffic – slow and convoluted despite always appearing to be incredibly busy.

The emerging MICE destinations of Vietnam, Nepal and Cambodia offer great potential for the brave and well resourced who are not easily spooked by little pre-existing infrastructure.

And China. Sometimes producing events in China feels to me like walking a movie set of an infamous ‘spaghetti western’ as an unarmed extra who’s been given poor street directions.

It is not so much the Wild West as it is the Wild East with plenty of people willing to ‘help’. As your on the ground event experience deepens, the more you value having a reputable ‘Sheriff’ at your side to better help with the safe navigation of your event.

Of course this is not to say that all these sites don’t offer massively attractive attributes for MICE projects. They, in fact, present as fabulous settings for the delivery of some truly amazing and memorable event experiences. It is more a question of approach.

You could tackle the challenge by jumping straight into the deep end with all guns blazing as you spend an immense amount of time hunting out and engaging vendors. Haggle endlessly and issue deposits to companies you suspect may not really exist in this dimension. Combat the challenges of working remotely with different time zones and fall foul of unexpected cultural nuances while wondering what exactly is going to happen (and for the matter not happen) on event day.

It comes as no surprise that the entire experience of delivering events within Asia can wear many down very quickly. Like constant water against stone. Nice lemongrass smelling water… and a very polished stone.

Based on close to two decades of producing events of scale within Asia, the team at FACTOR168 Creative Event Company recommends to anyone considering an event within the Asian region to make it a mission critical priority to seek out and engage a reputable and seasoned events professional; an events expert experienced within Asia who will work with you as a partner invested in a mutually positive outcome rather than just trawling through endless vendors or waving the proverbial white flag and handing the entire process from start to finish to the nice people in the catering department at the hotel who seemed okay in return for a more generic outcome.

Engaging a strong events professional is the most assured way of achieving your event goals on the ground regardless of the nation and city you visit.

So how do you assess who this outfit should be? Who will serve as your China sheriff? Well don’t go looking for a tiny little tin cowboy badge… look instead for four little letters – ISES.

This represents credibility and a service promise bound by a professional code of ethics. An expert not only within the events profession but an expert in getting the best results on your behalf within a region that is often complex, always evolving and very mercurial in temperament.

Seek out a shortlist of partner candidates from the ISES membership directory, or if you’re engaged within a specific region, query your potential partner and vendors on their professional affiliations and red flag those that fall short.

Your ISES partner will be able help you best navigate successfully through the region, provide informed advice and recommendations, and ultimately add value and diminish your exposure to risks. In my mind I always regard working with fellow ISES members who are well positioned to reduce my exposure to risk as a smart form of event insurance. But without the premiums.

It really is this simple: engage a professional to do a professional job.

So from Hong Kong it is cheers for now… or if you prefer, Yung Sing or even Kong Chien.

Darren Kerr is a founding partner of FACTOR168 Creative Event Company, www.factor168.com. He is a proud member of the Queensland chapter and Hong Kong board member of the International Special Events Society www.ises.com.

Source Notes:

For the online version of this Mice.net.au article – click HERE.

For current and timely information about the meeting and events business within Australia.

FACTOR168 Creative Event Company

Creative. Strategic. Tactical.

Sensational Events through Powerful Experiences.

Rubber Ducky, you’re the one,
You make bathtime lots of fun,
Rubber Ducky, I’m awfully fond of you;
(Woo woo be doo)

Seriously who doesn’t like Rubber Ducks.

In fact according to some – Rubber Ducks and Fundraising Events are a perfect match!

If you’re looking for a great charity fundraising idea, then organising a rubber duck race for a charity fund raising event is the perfect idea! A rubber duck race is easy to set up, wholesale rubber ducks are quite cheap to buy and you can make a good profit for your charity. People love watching rubber ducks float down a river or stream and are generally only too happy to sponsor a rubber duck to help raise money for your charity. There are plenty of great charity fundraising ideas out there, but we think that a rubber duck race can be a unique and fun event for all.

This blurb was taken from a UK outfit that sells wholesale Rubber Ducks. it just goes to show that there is always someone out there happy to sell something….

To me plain yellow is a tad meh’ – if you want to make a ‘splash’ (LOL) at your fundraising event, consider ducks branded with your company logo or designer ducks.

Ok ok, so we got the ducky-vibe going on but what else for the rubber duck…

Wellstrap yourselves in, check your reality at the door and launch yourself into Rampant Duck Madness that is Rubber Duckzilla.

Lotta fun that. Also love the cool tag - ‘for people who don’t like drinking water’.

Yeah, I have admit it, I’d try an Oasis beverage based on this strange advertising event.

Imagine a fundraising event stormed by a RubberDuckzilla! Pocket ‘emptyingly’ Cool!

I also like that fact that you can extend this RubberDuckZilla event experience in the form of some equally strange online flash games  http://www.rubberduckzilla.com/

Rubberduckzilla was brought to you by The Coca-Cola Company.

Yeah, we don’t know why either but we suspect someone got fired over it … or promoted… but be rest assured, something would have happened for sure. You can’t create rubberduckzilla online flash games and not expect something to happen. It’s like a butterfly flapping it’s wings and ka-bammbee! We got tsunami for dinner.

Look having said all that – my post today is all about giving some consideration to ducks within your event desing. They are proven winners when used within fundraising events and can be suprisingly effective as prizes and props during team building exercises where guests need to get all their proverbial ducks in a row.

Anyhoo, some other helpful linkagery for you -

Rubber Ducky lyrics courtesy of Squidoo

The Logo Duck is brought to you by… Dell I guess via LogoDucks.

The funky looking designer duck can be purchased at a number of placed including Giftmonger.

Editor:  Arrr Greg mate, that’s a lotta outbound linkage we got right there. I can already hear our SEO expert fellow weaping and muttering inbound links people… inbound! But you know what, I am guessing you don’t give a proverbial ‘duck’ about that. Still, ducks are kinda cool…

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At one point they form an image of the ‘Mona Lisa’ with the various coloured LEDs on their back. Cool.

Apparently more than a million internet users have watched the viral video in the four days since it was released online.

The creators of the video revealed that they recruited Welsh national sheep herding champion Gerry Lewis, and a team of Welsh sheep herders to guide the flocks into position. They also admitted to the use of computer trickery – which in a sense is kinda of a pity so let’s just quickly brush over that revelation.

Matt Smith, the co-founder of ad agency The Viral Factory said:

The people on camera are real farmers and they were really controlling the sheepdogs. Rather than trying to fake it all we did it for real. The sheep herding bit is straight up – no trickery but there is a fair amount of computer trickery and post production work. We thought the Mona Lisa was the big wink to people – once they saw that we thought they would realise it was not all real. But we have been quite surprised that there is still a debate about whether it is all real and people have been coming up with various theories.

Matt said the main problem on the shoot was not herding the sheep, but getting enough of them.

We filmed it at the end of last month and it is lambing season so we could not disturb the sheep that were lambing because it would have been too stressful. We used different sheep over the two day shoot because we couldn’t have them running around all day. We didn’t give them any treats because they got to wear an LED coat – I can’t think of anything better. The video is silly and joyful. This one has caused a real stir.

Here’s the ad – enjoy the cast, their flock of stars and their combined efforts… and forgive the computer trickery.. if you spot it that is. (we could tell you but then we’d have to have you with mint sauce!)

So how successful do you think their efforts were? Did it sell more Samsung product?

That we don’t know. But a quick show of hands indicated that this ad was a huge hit with the staff at FACTOR168 and the real testiment to the success of this ad was when we questioned friends and regulars at our local coffee haunt – a surprisingly large number of people remembered the ad and almost all associated it with Samsung.

This strong and positive recollection was, despite a considerable amount of time having passed since the ad went ‘viral’, pretty impressive to say the least.

FACTOR168 | Creative Event Management Company

Consider branding slogans such as ‘Nike = Just Do It‘ or ‘, Compaq (HP) = Inspiration technology‘, ‘Nokia = Connecting People‘ or ‘FedEx = Absolutely, positively overnight‘. With amazing economy, they capture the essence of each companies personality, project their unique selling point, and are universally recognized within the marketplace.

A good event name and in turn theme should do exactly the same thing – present and project personality and purpose.

With the instant recognition that comes with famous movie one liners, they too can also serve as a creative resource starting point when developing an event identity.

Two one liners that I like to drop into conversations with work colleagues and family alike are – whispering in a knowing way that ‘I See Dead People’. And falling dramatically to my knees, arms outstretched to the sky and screaming ‘Stttte-lllllllla!’ Care should be exercised when delivering this when receiving the bill or check in a restaurant. It is not appreciated as a general rule by anyone.

I am also mindful of not sharing these movie inspired one liners around my significantly better half. It would seem that my wife no longer is blessed with a sense of humor. Along with a new facial tick whenever I am in the house. She also objects to the sound of me breathing while I sleep. But enough about me.

Check out this compilation as it counts down in 200 second the 100 top movie one liners. It’s really interesting to note how many of these have now become a firm fixture in our day-to-day language.

Good fun and a great source of ideas for building a marketing campaign from. And yet…

I am a tad disappointed.
This compilation missed the two all time favorites.

Despite the huge number of Jack Nicholson appearances there was no ‘You Can’t Handle The Truth’. And the famous line taken from the last Tom Cruise movie, before he really lost his mind, didn’t make the list. My wife likes using this one. Let’s not go there. She is lovely, she just has shockingly bad taste in her men… thank goodness.

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Inspired by your NZ, Brisbane, and Vegas experience marketing TVCs, I thought I’d share this little conversational accented gem with you. This is not the very worst tourist genre advertisement out there (feel free to post your suggestions in) but gee it would have to be in contention. And this also serves as a good example of why a musical soundtrack or in this case the almost virtual absence of one can be so mission critical. By comparison the 100% Pure NZ ad is a masterpiece. Go on… en-joy.

I kinda don’t really get it. Is the ad trying to attract tourists? Business investment? Convince Albertans it’s good to be Albertans? Where is Alberta? You’ll find a handy map here but just think Edmonton or even better Calgary – they are full of Albertans. Think the middle of Canada and bang! you’re pretty much on the money… think of this ad… and your not.

And since we are talking about money – the non-conformer’s Canadian weblog last post back in Feb this year chronicles the mass media response to the “once golden goose of the Canadian economy, Alberta is now shedding jobs like feathers, Albtertains were hit last week with…(yada yada yada)” The thing is… during this time of economic recession, this is not Alberta specific… everyone is posting a deficit.

But let’s not go there today. Today it is all about being in a state of Alberta. And a quirky thing that screams Alberta to me is this giant roadside billboard (below) advertising the Naval Museum of Alberta. Which is really cool and very creative in terms of using the periscope… and yet so very very Albertarianly odd.

You see the thing that unhinges me here is that Alberta is landlocked. Between the Rocky Mountains and foothils, and a huge spread of forested plains – covering almost 90% of the area I’m so told. Sure. That’s what I was thinking – where the heck are the oceans for these Albertan submarines… ‘eh?

And now that I have settled a little, it just occurred to me that I have been referring to Alberta as a state within Canada but perhaps they prefer being called a province? After all some refer to it as the Princess Province – named after the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria… ummm… Princess.. Alberta. Any ideas. State or Province? And where are the subs?

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Listen carefully and for those that have worked or crossed paths with event production crew in all their strange and wonderful forms – you’ll know that Obama is on the money.

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Sure, it’s comfortable, safe and I guess perfectly acceptable but eventually the aged but much loved couch starts to lose its sense of value.

If neglected, one invariably starts to consider other more appealing couches that offer more than just a functional legacy. Perhaps a more appealing, more contemporary, better conditioned couch that better fits our lifestyle and needs just that little bit better.

In our opinion, pretty much all businesses over time evolve into my Grandma’s couch.

And they keep evolving if neglected straight from the living room to the garage and in turn to the refuse tip weighted down by all the other items that had lost their appeal.

Of course this can be avoided by applying the mantra; you know the one – embrace change and evolve. Armed with this outlook, a collection of great ideas, and most importantly a sense of personal and organizational courage – you can re-envision Grandma’s couch. Revitalise and refresh it by considering where and how it could be better employed into the future, perhaps refurb it or better still apply a styling makeover.

The thing is, even with courage, the application of great ideas can be challenging. It is the nature of great ideas that they can be demanding. Ideas can be pushy and hard work but that’s kinda why they are so powerful and energizing for everyone involved.

Okay so perhaps your Grandma’s couch may not evolve into something way cool. Like a clunky Sony cassette walkman into an intuitive stylish Apple iPod or a telephone handset morphing into a next to no cost communication experience via Skype – but it might very well become the very best and most appealing couch around. Couch couture.

Let’s face it – we all like to sit down. If it means sitting down with a couch (or business) we already have a pre-existing relationship with or with a new impersonal one that doesn’t yet quite mould to our preferences for… well sitting – then I for one will take Grandma’s facelift couch every time.  Same with like-minded businesses who keep their appeal with great ideas.