Things wedding planner must know

A wedding planner helps engaged couples coordinate the logistics of a wedding day. When it comes to interviewing possible bridal clients there is one thing every certified wedding and event planner must be prepared. Being prepared means being on top of new and exciting wedding trends and it means that planners must anticipate the questions brides-to-be are going to ask.

Here are some of questions that wedding planners should expect; how would you answer them?

. How long have you been a planner?

. Are you a certified wedding and event planner?

. Is this your full-time job?

. How much do you charge?

. How many weddings have you planned?

. How many clients do you take on at one time?

. What is the largest wedding or event you have planned?

. Will you be at the wedding?

. Are you willing to travel to another region on the day of our wedding?

. Do you bring a staff with you?

. What are the best venues that fit our budget?

. (Once they choose a venue) Have you worked with this venue before?

. Can you help us with venue contracts?

. Can you get us discounts with vendors?

. Are you willing to stick to our budget and not guide us in a direction we can’t afford?

. How, and how often, may we contact you?

. Do you also plan honeymoons?

Suffice to say - brides are likely to add numerous questions to this list, but these are some common ones that every planner should expect to answer, and answer well. Remember that brides want to feel comfortable and feel heard. They’re likely going into this interview with a very specific vision in mind, and although your ideas may enhance their dreams - they’re still the clients’ dreams!

It’s important to remember, also, that although you’re the one being interviewed it’s a good time for you to get to know potential clients and try to figure out if you will work well with them. To do a great job and end the day with a satisfied client you have to make sure your personalities mesh well!

Radio jockey as a career

Although radio as a popular medium suffered badly once Television arrived, yet the commencing of the FM radio and its many channels have installed a new life into the medium of radio. Radio Jockeying happens to be a promising, exciting and a challenging career option for those having a passion for music, to know diverse things and of course for those who loves talking!  It happens to be the sole profession where one might be recognized by his or her voice.

Radio Jockeys are basically those whom you hear anchoring various types of programs, mostly music, on the radios. The job of a Radio Jockey, more popularly known as RJ is to offer entertainment to the listeners by conveying messages, interacting with the listeners and playing music, all in an attractive manner. They interview guests, manage contests, play music requests from the listeners, provide information on several things including weather, traffic and obviously music. Presence of mind is the most important and vital factor needed to sustain and flourish in this field. The popularity of a particular radio channel depends largely on the performances of the Radio Jockeys.

·         Career Options and Job Prospects

The job of the RJ is of diverse nature and depends on the subject matter of the type of program to be offered by the channel. It is not a 9 am to 5 pm job. A RJ can be needed to host programs anytime during the day or night. The job profile of the Radio Jockeys consists of music selection, scripting and also presenting the radio shows. The key to successful Radio Jockeying largely depends on the very way a program is hosted. The RJs are required to come up with original and interesting ways of presentations, using humor  punches, variations and one-liners. RJs are also needed to have sound knowledge of the technical equipment and computer systems.

Radio Jockeys have great job opportunities in the government and private radio channels. They can also go for voice-overs in television and radio advertisements, audio magazines and documentaries. They can host TV shows or live events and shows.

The most important attributes for a RJ are- Good voice, ability to modulate according to the situation, clear diction, accurate pronunciation, fluency and flare in language, ability to control voice pitches, the knowledge to use one’s voice to the best, good Response speed, good communication skills, good sense of humor  individuality, creativity, spontaneity, good and detailed knowledge of music, staying updated about the many happenings around, qualities of local dialects, mimicry, and comedy, diplomacy while interacting, approachable and down-to-earth attitude, friendly, spontaneous, warm, dynamic.

Event Management Certification - What it really means when it comes to finding a job.

In the rapidly growing business of event Management, professional certification is fast becoming a way to ensure that event managers are ready to meet the demands of corporate and social events across the globe. The decision to earn an event management certification can be a significant one, so make sure you choose one that best fits your current expertise and your future career plans.

You can apply for any certification that matches your qualifications, and most certifications are independent of each other. In broad terms, any certification is the process through which an organization grants recognition to an individual or an organization that meets certain established criteria. For event management certification of individuals, the individuals usually have to meet eligibility requirements, such as academic achievement, pass an examination and pay a fee.

It is important to note that certification is voluntary - unlike licensure which is mandatory in order to practice in the licensed role in a given geographic location, such as a city, state or nationally. However, that's not to say that certification is less valuable - that’s because in this highly competitive job market, employers require and perhaps prefer applicants who are certified. So why does certification matter to employers? In a word, commitment. An event management certification signifies that you’re dedicated and truly committed to your career in event management and are investing in your professional development. It highlights this dedication to employers, colleagues and stakeholders, with the end benefit of giving you an edge in the job market.

The 3 Most Common Mistakes in Event Planning (and how to avoid them!)

Events can be failed by cost overruns, poor scheduling and customer dissatisfaction due to a range of factors related to planning, communication and resource allocation. Here are the five most common event planning mistakes, and ways smart event planners can avoid them.

Mistake No. 1: Failure to allocate the right resources, with the right skills.

Problem: It’s seems fairly obvious that proper event staffing is critical, yet improperly allocating resources tops the list of most common event management mistakes. Not having the right people managing an event can be a recipe for disaster. The key to a successful event is getting the right people with the right skills. All the planning in the world won't overcome an insufficiency of talent.

Solution: Event managers need full visibility into the skills and workloads of all of their resources, including vendors, contractors and outsources  who often get left out of skills assessments even though they're doing a "huge" proportion of work. A thorough assessment of all resources at the outset of the planning process can provide such visibility into everyone's skills and workloads. Once event planners know everyone's capabilities and who's doing what, it becomes far easier to figure out how to allocate resources across the myriad elements and day-to-day work.

Mistake No. 2: Lack of experienced event managers.

Problem: Event planning can quickly grow out of control without an experienced event manager at the helm who knows what they are doing.

Solution: The first step is to hire event managers with certifications and the finesse required to understand and manage the customer’s needs. Good event managers have the right combination of ‘soft skills’ and can demonstrate how to facilitate planning meetings, manage risk and handle a variety of different stakeholders. it’s really comes down to people skills, especially given the different stakeholders.

Mistake No. 3: Simple process mistakes by not following standard, repeatable event management processes.

Problem: This is a far more common event management mistake than most event planners imagine. Lack of an agreed upon plan increases the risk that tasks related to the event will fall through the cracks, that the event will have last minute issues,  fall short on budget and ultimately miss a major objective.

Solution: A well defined and agreed upon event plan helps planners tackle every task efficiently and raises the appropriate level of awareness of all the activities involved in the execution of an event. Having baseline of repeatable processes for scoping, scheduling, allocating resources and communicating with stakeholders removes a lot of the guesswork associated with events.

Public Relation: Best Tool for Today’s Marketing Scenario

Looking to build a favorable brand name for your organization amongst public? If your answer is yes, then public relation services are there for you. Public relation is the best and most effective concept which is successfully implemented by various media organizations, marketing and communication professionals and even brand managers. In recent times it has been seen that along with advertising people also go for effective public relations services. By this they not only easily communicate their message but can also generate a favorable response. Communication field is very vast and in that public relation plays a vital role. Public relation’s main aim is to have a direct relation with public that’s why public relation has become one of the most significant parts of a communications strategy. At times people tend to confuse public relation with advertising. This is a wrong notion as public relation solves different purpose whereas advertising has some other goals. Advertising is mainly product centric whereas public relation mainly emphasizes on public image. This is the reason public relation campaigns include various media events and functions. A company providing public relation services mainly act as a bridge between the public and organization. In fact they are the gateways to propagate any message to the general audience. It has been seen that with the help of public relation agency one can easily reach out to the masses and the clients and provide what they crave for. But achieving positive public relation isn't an easy deal and prior going for hiring public relations firm, it is very decisive to understand the activities involved within and around the media with an alert mind. According to the experts, public relation is a process of building better and effective relations for the growth of any business. In other words, the main aim of public relation is to provide various media services such as powerful advertising campaign, effective marketing strategy, concrete media planning and also expert marketing consultation. All these factors play a vital role in making any public relation campaign a success. Thus, if you are looking to have a sound public image then this is the time to hire the best public relation agency. Therefore for more information on public relation  please visit http://www.emdiworld.com/dubai/index.html

Goodyear Middle East bag Award for 'Best Use of Outdoor' at MENA Cristal Festival

Goodyear Middle East & Africa have bagged an award for 'Best Use of Outdoor' media at MENA Cristal awards. The campaign focused on making drivers aware that tire temperatures can be significantly higher then ambient temperatures on weather forecasts by developing a live digital temperature feed on an outdoor billboard.

The outdoor campaign in April 2012 educated drivers on the 'road temperatures' on the Sheikh Zayed Road Highway in Dubai, UAE where approximately 500,000 people commute daily. Road temperatures can affect tires severely especially during the summer where surface temperatures can be much higher than those forecasted.

Along with an awareness campaign that that was implemented, the Goodyear Middle East team went to great lengths to ensure that their latest Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 high performance and Efficient Grip SUV tires had been diligently hot weather tested.

“We have always strived for better safety through innovation using the technologies we employ in developing our tires,” commented Ersin Ozkan, Marketing Director at Goodyear Middle East. “But that is not enough; drivers need to be aware of the condition of their tires during hot summer months, and this is what our winning campaign focused on – giving them live information on what is happening on the roads.”

The MENA Cristal Festival 2013 saw both international and regional brands and agencies come together from North African and Middle Eastern countries. The event rewarded the best advertising creations with the famous ‘Cristal’ trophy, which is synonymous with the Cristal Festival in Switzerland.

McDonald's named one of world's top ten most powerful brands

McDonald's was recently named the world's seventh most powerful brand in Forbes's World's 100 Most Powerful Brands list. The only quick service restaurant to be named in the top 50 brands, McDonald's earned its top ten position based on input from 2,000 consumers from across the world.

According to the data, which was provided by Landor and Penn Schoen Berland, all 100 companies named in the list have been successful by providing products and services that enable consumers to do things better and faster. 

Mr. Rafic Fakih, Managing Director and Partner of McDonald's UAE, commented, "We are truly honoured to have been included in this list and recognised for our success. McDonald's - on a global, regional and local level - prides itself on a long history of offering high quality, delicious and convenient products. We believe strongly that our ongoing success stems from a combination of doing what is right for our loyal customers, as well as doing what is right for our business."

"McDonald's began its relationship with the UAE in 1994; in this short time, we have grown to draw a devoted and enthusiastic customer base, and in turn, we have become the largest and fastest growing international quick service restaurant in the region. The success of our business in the UAE is based on a marriage between McDonald's global practices and our own local insights, and we look forward to continued success throughout the region," he added.

The results of the study were gathered based on a combination of brand valuation exercises and a consumer survey, which asked participants to evaluate a brand based on 12 attributes of purpose. Attributes included honesty and trustworthiness, investment in innovative ideas and research, and level of impact on the everyday lives of consumers. According to Landor, consumers are becoming increasingly selective when evaluating brands; simply delivering a product or service is no longer enough, and consumers they tend to respond most favourably towards brands that have had a positive impact on their lives. Also named on the list were Apple, Microsoft, and McDonald's long-time partner, Coca-Cola. 

McDonald's restaurants across the Emirates are 100% locally owned and operated, with more than 109 restaurants operating across the UAE.