JUNE ISSUE

NEWSLETTER

President's Message
Bryan Bell Bryan.Bell@decorandmore.com

Hello fellow ISES members,
I am proud and honoured to be your President for the upcoming year, and very excited about where our chapter is headed in 07/08.

I would like to thank the past board for the amazing effort they have put in over the course of this year, and in particular to Deborah Macfie for the outstanding job she did as President. Deborah's tireless efforts were instrumental in the continued growth of our chapter. It was a great pleasure working with Deborah and the entire board; the bar was raised this past year in terms of what we are able to provide our membership with a great mix of education, networking, and fun at our chapter events.

I am excited about the year ahead as we have some wonderful programs in place and some great initiatives featured in this newsletter, and which will be highlighted at future events. My mandate this year is to continue the growth of our chapter, and to increase the value of the programs and initiatives that we are providing for you, our members. You are the key.

There are many opportunities for each of you to become involved with the chapter this year from joining a committee, to becoming an annual sponsor, or sponsoring a venue or service for a chapter event. Your participation is paramount to the continued success of ISES Toronto.

I hope you have a wonderful summer, and look forward to meeting with each of you at our upcoming events in 07/08. I wish you all the best that this unique industry has to offer.

Sincerely,
Bryan Bell
President, ISES Toronto Chapter

Past-President's Message
Deborah Macfie sales@gourmetcuisine.com

Thank you for a great year.

My year as your President has expired, but my enthusiasm and passion for volunteerism has not. I intend to be a big part of the board in the upcoming year as your Past President. It is a great position to have on the board as it enables you to help in various areas and continue to work on initiatives that began 12 months ago.

One of my goals this year was to work very hard with the membership committee to achieve our goal of 140 members by June 30th. We are delighted to let you know that we have accomplished that goal. The membership committee was stellar in their efforts this year, and you will be hearing from them as they work on a retention program for the upcoming year. Sponsorship and marketing are also two projects that I will assist with in the upcoming year.

I am delighted to be on the gala committee this year to work with a dedicated team of volunteers to bring you another fabulous gala in November.

I have enjoyed every meeting, every event and the opportunity to speak with almost every member throughout the year. Volunteering for an association that you truly believe in is not only worthwhile, but incredibly rewarding for one's spirit. I can't tell you how much I respect the board members that I worked with this year. It has been an amazing year for me both personally and professionally.

I look forward to seeing you at events in our 07/08 year and for the many years to come.

Enjoy a profitable, productive and safe summer.
Deborah Macfie
Past President ISES Toronto Chapter

ANNOUNCING THE 2007/2008
ISES TORONTO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President
Bryan Bell
Decor and More, Inc.
bryan@decorandmore.com
Past-President
Deborah Macfie
Gourmet Cuisine Full Services Catering
sales@gourmetcuisine.com

President-Elect
Lara McCulloch
Regal Tent Productions Ltd.
Lara@regaltent.com

Vice President - Finance
Larry Cuthbertson CSP
Cuthbertson Entertainment and Events
Cuthbertsonevents@rogers.com

Vice-President, Education
Julie Brunjes
Stardust Events
stardustevents@on.aibn.com

Vice-President, Programs
Michelle McCulloch
Regal Tent Productions Ltd.
michelle@RegalTent.com

Vice President, Membership
Rachel Mangal
HR.com
rmangal@hr.com
Director, Allied Organizations
James Boyle
Fraser Milner Casgrain, LLP
james.boyle@fmc-law.com
Director, Chapter Events
Litsa Rorris
CAST Software
lrorris@cast-soft.com

Director, Communications
Martin Rubio
VROOMmedia
martin@vroommedia.com

Director, Marketing
Jayne Dunsmore
Jaynes Gourmet Catering
jayne.dunsmore@jaynesgourmet.com

Director, Member Services
Carol Mair
Balloon Corporate Events
info@ballooncorporateevents.com

Director, Student Affairs
Jennifer Orticello
Royal Conservatory of Music
jennifer.orticello@rcmusic.ca

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
We would like to extend a big welcome to all new members! Our membership continues to grow with a variety of Planners and Special Event service providers. With over 140 members in the GTA, ISES Toronto is dedicated to helping special events professionals produce outstanding results for clients while establishing positive working relationships with other event colleagues.
For those still considering membership, we encourage you to come on board for the exciting months ahead! Discover how being part of our growing association will help you establish more business and expand your knowledge. Visit our website at www.isestoronto.com to learn more about the benefits of membership or contact Carol Ford directly at info@isestoronto.com.

Nancy Tse - Aga Khan Foundation Canada
nancy@akfc.ca

Zahra Malik - Aird & Berlis LLP
zmalik@airdberlis.com

Melanie Woodward - C!AO Event Management
melanie@ciaoeventmanagement.com

Philip Mondor - Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council
pmondor@cthrc.ca

Stephen Mangos - Canadiana Flowers
stephen@canadianflowers.com

Craig Gruzd - Designing Trendz Inc.
craig@designingtrendz.com

Linda Bennett - Feast Your Eyes! Inc.
lin@feastyoureyes.ca

James Boyle - Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP
james.boyle@fmc-law.com

Christine Rose - Iceculture Inc.
christine@iceculture.com

Andrew Horberry - Imagination
andrew.horberry@imagination.com

Lin Cullen - Lifestyles Plus
lin@lifestylesplus.ca

Carolyn Lykkemark - Lykkemark Soul Enterprises
carolyn@darley.net

Theresa Beenken - National Speakers Bureau
theresabeenken@nsb.com

Stuart Sinukoff - PRG - Production Resource Group Canada Ltd.
ssinukoff@prg.com

Chris MacKechnie - SlingShot Inc.
chris@slingshot.ca

Kirsti Stephenson - Solutions with Impact
kirsti@solutionswithimpact.com

Rawle Borel Jr. - Sugarfoote Communications
rarole@sugarfoote.com

James Nienhuis - The Butler Did It
james@thebutlerdidit.ca

CSEP STUDY GROUP INTRODUCTION

The CSEP designation is the pinnacle of professional achievement in the special events industry. The Certified Special Events Professional designation is earned through a Balance of industry experience, professional development, and leadership service to the industry and a commitment to excellence.

Preparing to sit for the CSEP exam involves a disciplined regimen of study, review and practice, which will provide a candidate with the level of confidence and the ability to effectively communicate his or her experience and expertise within the entire scope of Event management.

Preparing for a major examination such as this requires effective study habits. However, few individuals take major exams on a regular basis and therefore, do not have the opportunity to develop their rigor or discipline of studying. Many individuals find that learning and exam preparation is easier and certainly more fun, when others participate."

ISES Toronto, will provide this mechanism for cooperative learning and preparation for the CSEP Exam. The benefits of such a group extend beyond just those individuals seeking the CSEP designation. Study groups are an opportunity for all Industry Association Members to take advantage of an educational program that will enhance their professional careers.

Please fill out a short survey if you are interested in being part of this study group. An orientation meeting date will be announced once the surveys have been tallied.

The survey is available online at www.isestoronto.com/survey.html and will take only a few moments to complete.

NOTE: Please complete your survey by Monday July 16.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

Julie Brunjes
VP Education, ISES Toronto
(905) 479-2660 stardustevents@on.aibn.com

MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
Congratulations to the following members for their award-winning events!

2007 ISES Esprits Award Nominees

Event with a Legacy
D�cor and More
Dan Noot

Best Industry Innovation
Regal Tent Productions
Michael McCulloch

Best Meeting/Conference Program $75,000 to $200,000 USD
Eclectic Events International
Carolyn Luscombe

Best Meeting/Conference Program over $200,000 USD
Marta Pawych
HRPAO

Entertainment Production Under $30,000 USD
Eclectic Events International
Carolyn Luscombe

ISES Team Effort over $100,000 USD
Seven Deadly Sins
Carolyn Luscombe, Eclectic Events
Leslee Bell, D�cor & More
Simon Rayment, Pandor Productions
Barb Sauder, Eclectic Events

Congratulations to all of the 2007 ISES Esprit Nominees!

DIRECT MAIL - Getting Your Envelope Opened
By Robert Wilkinson

If you use direct mail it's in your best interest to get as much of it opened and read as possible. You may have spent a small fortune on the copywriting and the expensively printed brochure, but if you don't ensure that as many packs are opened and read as possible, then both copy and brochure are wasted.

There are two main schools of thought on how to avoid being binned. The first is to use disguise, and the second to use persuasion.

Using disguise is mainly a business to business approach but it works for business to consumer mailings too. Business to business promotional mailings are marked out in that they don't appear to have been handled individually. This can be indicated by an envelope pre-printed with a postage mark, and use of a window or address labels to show an address.

Try one or more of the following to give the envelope a more individual look.

Use stamps. They have to have been put on by hand, so it must be individual. There's no more obvious an indicator than a pre-printed stamp impression. When a preprinted impression is used in conjunction with a window envelope it practically screams advertising so don't do it.

Hand write the address on the envelope. This is probably only viable for higher value items but will certainly get more attention this way. It doesn't have to be copperplate, it just needs to look as though it's been handled individually.

Use an unusual material for the envelope, say vellum or a textured paper. In tests conducted by a paper merchant, this alone increased responses significantly. The additional cost for the special paper was more than compensated for by the additional revenue generated by the mailing.

Again, do anything to make your mailing appear more individual and personal to the recipient. Probably the most important element is the use of stamps. This on it's own can be enough to get you under the recipient's radar.

Secondly, use persuasive tactics. This is completely the opposite from disguise and is used mainly for business to consumer, but again it works for business to business too. In this instance we mark it out specifically as commercial by using advertising images, copy and headlines on the outside of the envelope itself. In this instance it doesn't matter if you use a printed postal impression.

Unlike the previous method which uses curiosity to get your envelope opened, we need to give the recipient a good reason to open the envelope. This can take a variety of forms, but as a couple of examples you can state a benefit, "Increase sales by 15%", or alternatively provide an incentive, "Reply by the end of the month and get 2 for the price of 1".

Be very clear and very specific about what the contents are going to achieve and remember you are only trying to get the envelope opened and read. Avoid anything vague. Don't expect to appeal to everyone using this method. You don't have that much room on the envelope, and you can't be all things to all people.

Hopefully you will achieve a strong enough response in a small percentage of recipients that they open, and read the contents. Your persuasive copy will follow on logically from the envelope copy, and keep your prospect interested.

There is a lot of advise against this in business to business direct mail, and there is probably an element of truth in this. If you are mailing to an executive whose mail is screened then it's likely good advice. However there are plenty of owner/managers out there that still open their own mail, if the offer or benefit is clear enough and of interest, it will get opened. You may well consign your mailing piece to the bin for the 99.5% of your prospects by doing this, but it wasn't about them was it?

In summary it's pretty simple. Don't be run of the mill. Step away from the norm and make sure your envelope is overtly commercial with a clear benefit or incentive or alternatively make it look it personal. If you do this you are halfway to getting it read and that's more than half the battle.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM ARTICLECITY.COM

About The Author
Robert Wilkinson is the owner of http://www.arhiann.com a direct mail production company specializing in mailings for small and medium sized business.

ISES Meeting Recap - ISES TORONTO ANNUAL CRUISE



A big thank you to all who attended our highly successful ANNUAL BOAT CRUISE on the Mariposa Oriole. Although it was a windy evening, the weather was beautiful and the sunset spectacular!





Thank you to our Event Sponsors:

Mark Your Calendar!

ISES Toronto will be holding its upcoming meetings on the following dates. Be sure to save these dates in your calendar now!

Event Date Event Details Thank You To Our
Meeting Sponsors!

September 18 2007 Making Magical Memories: Lessons in Leadership
with special guest
David LeLoach from WALT DISNEY WORLD� Resort

October 16 2007 Rapid Fire Speed Networking with special guest
Donna Messer from
ConnectUs Communications

November 6 2007 ISES Toronto Annual Gala TBD

January 15 2008 Driving Innovation in
the Event Industry

February 19 2008 ISES Toronto
Annual Venue Crawl TBD

March 2008 ISES Green Event:
How to make your events environmentally friendly TBD

*If you are interested in sponsoring one of the above events please email Michelle at michelle@regaltent.com

See you there!

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR CHAPTER SPONSORS...

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please reply to this message with (REMOVE) in the subject line

ISES Toronto Chapter
52 Lowe Blvd.
Newmarket, Ontario, Canada     L3Y 5T1
Tel: (905) 898-7434   Fax: (905) 895-1630
E: info@isestoronto.com    W: www.isestoronto.com