Posts Tagged ‘san jose doubletree hotel’

Grass Shack Events & Media recently produced the technical and creative for an award winning online marketing campaign for the Doubletree Hotel San Jose, California to increase the hotels web presence. We will be talking about it as one of the case studies at the MPI World Education Conference WEC in Salt Lake when Jon Trask and I present this July.

After starting out with a portal blog, the Doubletree staff takes turns doing daily and weekly postings. They also have attacked Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and travel sites to keep abreast of what clients are saying about the hotel and getting into those conversations for customer relations and quality control. The General Manager and the Director of Business Development produce a weekly web show where they discuss happenings at this popular San Jose hotel and the Silicon Valley that surrounds it.

Working on your web presence is getting more and more popular as businesses understand that when seeking information Google.com is usually the first choice of travelers. No longer do people just get their information from the phone book, look at magazine advertisements, watch commercials on Television etc…. They look to the web. What are you doing to catch the eyes of your clients?

How about this online campaign by Air New Zealand. Think they are catching peoples eyes?

This article was forwarded to me by Rob Balmer the General Manager of the San Jose Doubletree Hotel. Really great guy and a smart cookie. (no pun intended by the famous warm Doubletree cookies which you receive at check in)

Do’s and don’ts for keeping Gen-X salespeople engaged
Certain strategies are necessary in sales meetings to address the preferences of Generation X salespeople. They include making sure the event is full of information that cannot be found on the Internet or through reading books; scheduling meetings in interesting towns; making sure the venue is technologically advanced; and keeping social events entertaining.

Original source – Selling power.

www.grassshackroad.com

As I am constantly looking to find new ideas and ways to present material see how other conferences are successful. I was surprised I did not see Tim Bourquin at this event. He seems to be at every event these days. But many people were in animal suits so he could have been there.

< --I called this furry a lounge lizard and paid the price.

I met my old friend Steve and we had a beer or two and watched the action in the San Jose Doubletree hotels lobby. I did have some apprehension being so close to wild animals after the Tiger attack at the SF Zoo recently. But the Tigers here were more concerned with hugging each other. We wanted to see what this whole Furry conference is about. He actual brought his girlfriend back to the conference the next day. He also enjoyed meeting the Furry who also went to USC.

The Furcon or Futher Confusion or Furry Conference Here is the website.

Description:

Further Confusion is one of the largest international conventions celebrating anthropomorphics in all its guises. With an attendance of over 2,000 and growing, it is one of the premiere events of its kind. Further Confusion includes charitable benefits, educational seminars, art shows, panels and general social activities. It was the first event sponsored by Anthropomoprhic Arts and Education Inc. and continues to be its largest.

Furry, is a colloquial term used to describe a particular category of fictional animal. A Furry creature is anthropomorphic, where human and animal characteristics are both present. It can be physical, mental or both. They can be funny or serious. Usage of the term furry is limited almost exclusively to members of Furry Fandom or other cultural groups aware of furry fandom. The term Furry is also sometimes used to refer to fans of the anthropomorphic arts. Such arts range widely and include animators, illustrators, film makers, costume designers and performers, actors, voice talent, literary authors and songwriters.

My take on this conference is I think its fantastic the furries have a place to hang out together. Everyone was friendly even to those of us who walked aroudn taking pictures of the animals. I found it interesting that many had real animals with them. Mostly dogs.

< --poor guy was dressed up like a human.

One ballroom was full of furry art and it was really amazing. I got a handful of cards of artists. Talked to a few. You never know when you might need some sort of animal drawings or animations done for an event or meeting. (no pictures were allowed in the ballroom)

Some more media from the lobby.

Click To Play

Every conference has lines.

Utilizing the reader board.

I swear this guy was Chris Brogan. Who else would be such a friendly character.