Texas legislators gather for The Bow Tie Cause

As of April 13, 2011 and Senate Resolution No. 758, the purple bow tie is Texas’ official symbol of collaboration and will be recognized annually.

As the resolution sponsored by Senator Eddie Lucio and Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams states,

“Texas Bow Tie Day at the Capitol is a joint effort organized to highlight the benefits of bipartisan collaboration while raising funds for cancer research and survivorship….this exceptional occasion serves as a model of bipartisan cooperation for a worthy cause.”

The foundation of the decree is the brainchild of Cincinnati Bengals linebacker and TEDx Cincy speaker, Dhani Jones. Jones began wearing bow ties in support of and on the advice of longtime friend, Kunta Littlejohn (who was fighting Non-Hodgkins lymphoma). He came to realize that bow ties were conversation starters. He began to use these conversations to frame ideas on how we serve our communities. He shares, “It’s about a conversation which becomes ACTION!”

Gaining momentum in a relatively short time, he has since gone on to incite others to get involved in what he believes are four critical areas of need: collaboration, service, self-representation and critical thought. His platform? The Bow Tie Cause.

It’s working.

Produced by CLINK, the event conceived of by James Frinzi was made possible by the generous sponsorship of Goodman Networks and AT&T. The first gathering to celebrate the new resolution was hosted at The Driskill. The details of the event are re-capped on our design blog.

Conference and meeting registration or information transfer has a new face….the QR tag.

Simply put: QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. QR is the abbreviation for Quick Response, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

CLINK is experiencing the amazing capabilities of this quirky new (relatively to America at least) technology for TEDx Austin. As part of the event’s production team, we have seen the registration process evolve with the use of QR tags. The response has been significant.

Interested parties downloaded a free reader on their Smart phones– like ScanLife — aimed their phones at the a barcode (similar to the one above) and shot a photograph of the square box of “squiggles.” Participants were immediately taken to the front page of the TEDx Austin website for more information which included video links, general information, photos, prompts, etc.

According to Inc. Magazine, industry experts predict Americans will be able to pay for a bus ride, buy a can of soda, and board an airplane all through the use of phones with built-in code-readers.One source shared it perfectly:

“We have a great story to tell about the brand,” says Therese Bird McGuire, interactive marketing manager for Bonterra Vineyards, which is based in Louisville, Kentucky and which started using Microsoft tags on its packaging and advertising this summer. “Ads just didn’t give us enough space to tell the whole story. We’re using the tags to help supplement them.”

Consider using QR tags to illustrate the following:

CONFERENCES

• Virtual Swag Bags (include speakers bios/photos, performance videos, sponsors coupons and links).
  
• Free Giveaways during conferences. Change the QR tags hourly for booth discounts, free offers and targeted outreaches.
  
• Attendees can opt into an expanded address book for all participants. Ever wish you could reconnect with an attendee you met?
• Go Green–attach footprint data on refuse bins.
  

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

• Sponsor a vegetarian or gluten-free zone and post QR tags for each dish served.
• Hand-wrapped donated snacks can have both nutritional information and a coupon for later use attached.
  

PARTICIPATION/DONATION

• Highlight a cause.
• Donation opportunities can be attached to a QR tag participants choose to view.
  

The “rest of the story”…

• Expanded branding opportunities (more information)
• Video representations
• Pricing/Packages
  

Retail Applications

According to Baum & Whiteman, one of the most noted international restaurant and food consultant groups out of New York, the new buzz words for food in 2011 include monikers like designer donuts, fancy poutine, upscale food courts, convenience store cuisine, artisan ice pops, fregola, and a nod to our part of the woods –”down-home” Southern cooking….among others.

Perusing the list, we realized CLINK got in front of a few of these predictions with corporate groups in late 2010 including creative meatball usage, gourmet Airstream stations, flavored ice and artisan popsicles,  fresh veggie bars and late-night breakfast bars.

“BUZZWORDS FOR 2011: Coconut water, awash in a mythology of good
health; bourbon, for people who actually like booze; cucumbers, lavender and
hibiscus, especially in cocktails; upscale food courts; umami along with
stealth use of miso; sangria with new twists; peppadew; fancy poutine, a
Canadian calorie bomb, could have a US trend life of a year; macarons, not
macaroons; whoopee pie; Korean spicing and condiments; pesto variations;
newfangled machines vending fresh fruit and vegetables; designer donuts
imitating froufrou cupcakes; meatballs; burrata; tacos with global and wacky-
fillings; convenience store cuisine; artisan ice pops; “free from” food labels;
pop-up restaurants; fregola, a pasta from Sardinia; Greek yogurt; ever-larger
“snacks” and multiple snacks replacing meals; meatless Mondays; reinvented
grits and down-home Southern cooking; and isn’t anyone tired yet of black
kale?”

Enjoy the FULL REPORT HERE.

1. Board/Advisory Meetings: our annual event management contracts includes LOTS of board and advisory meetings–we love them. While certain standards apply, the dossiers kept on the companies we manage ensure smooth no-fuss logistical planning so meeting time is maximized.
2. Sales & Training Conferences: our conference partners generally require full-scale planning and production of internal and/or public-driven gatherings. Our extensive knowledge and scalability allows us to work independently as well as with in-house planners to support their vision.
3. VIP DMC programs: our full-service VIP management contracts have us moving from private airstrip to boardroom to vineyards. We’re told our hands-on management of executive groups is invaluable.
4. Lunch n’ Learns: from sourcing speakers to logistical planning and entertaining aspects of lunch n’ learns, we absolutely love producing these. We’ve done so for internal groups, for client appreciation gatherings and for continued education purposes.  2011 requests for these smaller educational opportunities are already coming in. Many are booking for the four quarters to receive preferential annual contracts/concessions.
5. Award Programs: people love appreciation. This will never change. We work hard to produce the “unexpected” for award programs. We’ve even been known to produce top winner peer videos as well as custom slides and custom designed corporate awards for every category.
6. Destination Management Programs: 2011 should prove a great year for destination management programs in Austin, Texas. The people flooding to our fair city to maximize event/incentive budgets has never been higher. What we’re hearing? People have grown weary of economic fear and are instead digging deep and thanking their employees for stepping up during challenging times. Popular? Spouse excursions, wine tours, dine-arounds and alternative space gatherings (think galleries, private spaces and underground vaults).
7. Executive Retreats: this year we’ll see retreats in the Texas hill country, Canada and Beaver Creek…..so far. Our clients tell us that we provide such an easy time that they can really focus on annual forecasting and strategy.
8. Customer Appreciation Events: many think of these only as social events however some companies are choosing to bring in highly sought after speakers and turn customer appreciation events into educational opportunities. The “wow-factor” of the speakers spike participation — a great way to keep the client interaction alive.
9. Hunting Excursions: Yep, we handle them. Yep, we love them. We’ve produced everything from skeet shoots to full-on hunting weekend excursions. We only do it right though so if your idea is to take a few clients out and throw some sandwiches together at mealtime, we’re not for you.
10. Large-scale Corporate Social Events: we regularly produce both high-brow and low-brow corporate social events including picnics, company carnivals, galas, seated dinners and private concerts.