Last Tuesday night, ISES NY Metro hosted our first event of the season, “An Evening of Innovation” at the new Sentry Centers on Seventh Avenue. The sleek conference space was transformed into a cocktail lounge and lecture hall with selections from CORT Event Furnishings, florals from Rachel Cho and staging decor by Atomic Rentals. Interactive name badges furnished by Wizard Event Technology Partners helped the many new faces mix and mingle with ISES leadership and long-time members. Guests enjoyed a signature hard lemonade cocktail and delectable menu items from Neuman’s Catering including mini-sliders and octopus salad.

To view event gallery, click HERE
Photography courtesy of KJM Photography.

After cocktails, guests were ushered into the panel moderated by Founder and Director of the Event Leadership Institute and Immediate Past President, Howard Givner. Corrin Arasa Founder and Chief Creative Officer of e2 Experiential, Scott Lehmann Director of Strategic Partnerships & Events at Esquire Magazine and Dana Ortiz Vice President of Brand Marketing at SyFy/NBC Universal shared case-studies of their outside-the-box event marketing ideas with an eager crowd. Here are some of the take-aways lessons from discussion:

Innovation is less about tools and technology and more about the implementation of good ideas.
Corrin Arasa:”Play is at the heart of Innovation.”
Example: Yahoo Mailbox: The Big Purple People Greeter

User Generated Content
Dana Ortiz: “When people are invested in your event, people will share your event.”
Example: Face Off Promo Attracts Gawkers at The Grove

Scott Lehman: “We are all in the experiential business, create the experience that you might want.”
Example: Esquire \”Augmented Reality\” Issue

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