10 Things I Learned at This Year’s Women Presidents’ Organization Conference

May 10th, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

Here are some of the kernels I took away from my participation in the Women Presidents’ Organization 2013 International Conference:

1. Women are starting to understand the power they have in numbers. They are mentoring each other, empowering each other, and creating businesses that are making a difference in their communities and in the lives of other women.

2. I am lucky to have heard Linda Applegate a few times as the head of the OPM program at Harvard Business School. Every time I hear her lecture, even if I’ve heard the content before, I hear something new. This time, I heard the term pivotal growth, and I think that’s the stage we are now in at 5th Avenue Digital. Read the rest of this entry »

What’s New with 5th Avenue Digital’s YouBooth

April 26th, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

Just when you thought you’d seen it all, we found some new ways to make our YouBooth photo booth even better.  With a few technological tweaks and twists, we’ve made it more simple and fun to use. Here’s what’s new:

Enlarged Screen—Our monitor is twice as big, so you can see yourself better.

Photo Preview—See what your photo will look like before it prints.

Retake Option—If you don’t like how your photo looks, you have the option of retaking it.

 

 

Read the rest of this entry »

A Perfect Match: Meet 5th Avenue Digital’s New Sales Associate

April 11th, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

Please welcome Adrienne Hays, who joined 5th Avenue Digital this past February as a sales associate for our social photography division. Adrienne’s strong desire to work more directly with clients in a creative environment led her to us. We’re happy to have her on our team. A stint as a salesperson for one of Manhattan’s major storage companies taught her about sales, but it was “too restrictive” and didn’t take advantage of the people skills she’d honed from her years as a concierge in the hotel industry—where she was known as the “negotiator”—or offer much in the way of creativity. It’s second nature for Adrienne to make other people feel comfortable. However, she knows she has a long way to go before she catches up to Elizabeth Beskin and Beth Baynum, who she assists with sales, as she learns the business of event photography. The close relationships and loyalty they’ve built with 5th Avenue Digital’s clients impresses Adrienne. Bordering on awe, she states, “The same event planners, same hotel representatives, call again and again.” Read the rest of this entry »

How to Maximize Your Event Photography

February 25th, 2013 by Beth Baynum | Share Blog

One of our most loyal and beloved clients, Consultants 2 Go, recently celebrated their 10^th anniversary in business, and we were there to capture the event.  Consultants2Go® is a management consulting company providing marketing and analytic consultants to Fortune 1000 companies.  Being experts at using PR to market their services, they had a specific plan in mind for using their event photos.

We asked Sandi Webster, one of the company owners, to re-cap their strategy for maximizing use of the event photos:

1.    All photos were posted to the company’s Facebook Page and website

2.    Individual photographs of clients, consultants and staff gave more ways to market:

• Sending individual emails to each attendee who was photographed, along with a Thank You for attending.  For clients, this individual email was a follow-up to any conversation had at the party, and was another client touch point.
• For some clients, including a photo of a consultant who can help their business.  Even if they didn’t speak at the party, it gave them an increased comfort level since they probably saw the person at the event.
• For consultants who attended, sending a link to the Facebook page so that they can see the album

3.    Emailing a newsletter including links to the pictures

4.    Sending a press release announcing the anniversary, with a photo

5.    Making commemorative photo albums for the staff

These are just a few ideas for extending the use of your event photos.  Including your event photos as part of your overall marketing efforts is strategic and smart – just like Sandi.  Thank you for sharing your marketing expertise, Sandi, and congratulations on 10 years in business!

Ten Things I Learned this Week in Sandy’s Aftermath

November 5th, 2012 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

1-It is time I start to believe the hype about incoming storms. Sometimes they are correct.  I’ll never go through a tunnel again without remembering the sight of the flooded Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.  Kudos to Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg for leading us calmly and fearlessly.

2-It’s time to move to higher ground.  It’s tiring getting evacuated once a year.  My family in Connecticut all own their own generators. That won’t help on the 19^th floor.

3-New Yorkers are always nicest in crises.  I met the most wonderful people sharing cabs, bargaining with livery drivers, waiting on the bus line and sharing a power strip in Starbucks.  We come together and help one another when it counts.

4-Facebook has improved communication in crises.   This was the first crisis I’ve been involved in where Facebook was a major source of family communication.  We found out who left town, what Fire Island looked like, who had showers, and who needed a hug.  We shared sad pictures and humor and we have been able to help out friends in need faster than in times past.

5-New Yorkers are tough.  When one way doesn’t work, we find other ways.   We band together to help our neighbors and we speak our minds when we think we are not being treated fairly. Staten Island was offended by the idea of the merriment of the marathon – and Bloomberg listened.

6-It’s key to have a friend in the Police Department.  After the crane collapse on 57^th Street, we couldn’t get into our office, but needed to, to access our equipment for the weekend’s jobs.  Detective Bueller and Sergeant Gardella could not have done more to help us.  We were able to get into the office and get the equipment we needed. This was the result of Sergeant Gardella being a good friend of one of my dear friends, Alexis Fine DeAngelis of the Glazier group!   Detective Bueller even helped us lug our equipment down the street!

7-I have the best friends in the world!  This is not something I needed Sandy to learn, but it’s always reassuring to see how my friends are always there to check in and give support, to offer a desk, a bed, a shower and laugh.  I am eternally grateful.

8-I have the most amazing team.  While I also did not need a hurricane for me to learn this, Sandy reaffirmed it in a big way.  Camping out in Starbucks, strategizing how to get event galleries completed and YouBooth jobs fulfilled was a wonderful day.  We each brought humor and skill to the tasks at hand.  When the news came at the end of the day Friday that the marathon was cancelled and all our herculean efforts were for naught, Rylan and Beth went back to work managing the new information and informing the rest of our team.  I am so fortunate to be working by their side and learn from them always.

9- After 25 years of marriage and a few crises beyond our control, my husband is the best partner I could ever ask for.  I hold it together for a good period of time, but when I don’t he is there to make the decisions and work together in a true partnership to get through.  I am incredibly lucky and I am reminded often.

10- Some things work out the way they are supposed to.  About three months ago, our top technician, Ron, told us he was getting married on November 3^rd and asked us to use the YouBooth for his wedding.  When the marathon booked three booths, we quickly began working on YouBooth version 3 so we would have an extra for Ron.  We were close to it being finished, but Sandy got in the way and we were closed out of the office because of the crane.   Ron understood of course.  When the marathon cancelled, we had an extra booth and were able to supply it to Ron and Daphne!

All in all, there is always learning that comes from catastrophe.  The government will be spending lots of time on how to improve New York’s infrastructure.  I’m lucky to know that there is nothing I need to improve except my need to be in control.  Because, are we ever really in control??

Green Screen Photography Takes Consumer Marketing Around the World

October 19th, 2012 by Beth Baynum | Share Blog

Hey all you event marketers out there!

Check out how Hotels.com created a contest from their Bedventure event held last week in Toronto — The contest is now over, but it was a huge success.  Here is a link to the page.   This event, executed by the event wizards at Eventstyle, used our Social Media Portal technology to create a contest from the event photos.

The guests uploaded the images to our social media portal.  The images were than uploaded to our new contest program.  Guests were able to get votes and receive 2 nights stay for the guest with the most votes.

This is the winning photo.

 

Contest entry is just one way to use our Social Media Portal.  You can also conduct a survey, capture email address data, and trigger a follow-up email, all using the Portal.  Give us a call if you want to learn more.  Meanwhile, here’s a video that showcases how the Portal uses Social Media to exponentially expand your marketing reach:  https://vimeo.com/46046963

Event Focus Friday With Michael Zac Design Group

September 28th, 2012 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

In the wise words of Rachael Yohai, “You can’t think too big and you can’t think too small”. In honor of Event Focus Friday, Michael Zac Design Group shared what inspires them while producing top of the line invitations for some of the biggest events in NYC. Catering to a diverse clientele of celebrities, socialites, event planners and corporations, Michael Zac Design Group offers outstanding customer service in addition to cutting edge designs.

Where did the idea for your business or specific project come from?

I’ve loved paper and pens since I was a little girl.  Around 15 years ago, I co-authored a book “Pen Passion: A cylindrical obsession” and opened by company “Michael Zac Design Group”

Describe a typical event working day.

Well the excitement for us is usually 3-6 months before the event when we sit down and put all the essential design elements and essential information into an invitation that gets the party momentum started.

What’s your “secret sauce” for success as an entrepreneur?

A genuine connection with my clients.  I care about making them happy.

If you were to start again, what one thing would you do differently? Read the rest of this entry »

A Look Back on Summer 2012

September 6th, 2012 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

This summer brought tangible signs of growth for 5th Avenue Digital. The weddings we provided with photography, videography and our YouBooth photo booth were heartfelt and beautifully tailored to each couple.  We saw an uptick in same sex marriages that’s been encouraging and re-affirming.  John and Scott had been together 27 years before they were able to have a celebration that was as lavish and beautiful – and legal! – as every other wedding we’ve photographed over the years.

Our newer photographers were also able to spread their wings this summer to fantastic results. We couldn’t be more excited to see what creativity unfolds on the jobs they have booked for the fall. Nikki Scheidt is a new addition to our sales team as she has been doing a wonderful job meeting with our social clients at a time when all anyone wanted to be doing was going to the beach. Read the rest of this entry »

The Social Media Portal Sweetens a Promotion for Hershey’s S’mores

August 21st, 2012 by Beth Baynum | Share Blog

At the recent BlogHer Conference at the New York Hilton, Hershey’s was looking for a way to draw attendees to their promotional suite for their eternally-popular S’mores treats.  They accomplished this by creating fantastic interactive sets, with the help of the top-notch team at Empire Force Events , masters at the art of event marketing.

The Hershey’s Suite gave everyone a chance to make – and EAT! – S’mores while relaxing in the created settings.  One set was a campfire, the other a backyard barbeque.  After getting their photos taken, everyone used our Social Media Portal to email the pictures to friends and family, Tweet them and post them on Facebook.  This created lots of buzz and drew more visitors to the S’mores Suite.  It’s another example of event marketing done right.  The client was thrilled with the results and the photos are – of course – SWEET!

Dressing for Successful Headshots

August 8th, 2012 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

A headshot will get you noticed, for better or for worse.  It is what people see first, before reading anything about your accomplishments or services.  If you’re going to take the time to do the photo session, you need to highlight your assets.  Hiring a make-up artist and stylist is essential to getting your best results. After all, this headshot is your brand and should convey your strengths and professionalism in the best possible light.  The stylist is indispensable for vetting your wardrobe choices and choosing the right combination.  The make-up artist ensures that your best features are highlighted and make-up is appropriate to the type of headshot desired.

General advice for looking your best:

• Avoid alcohol and high-salt foods the day before the appointment, and get a good night’s rest.
• Choose clothing that is tailored and bring something you feel comfortable in.  The type of clothing will depend on what you are trying to convey, but men typically come prepared with a suit or suit jacket, a dress shirt or two and sometimes a sweater; women bring a suit or jacket with a nice selection of blouses. Avoid white, ostentatious and busy patterns, stripes, colors that approximate your flesh tones, and overly bright colors. Keep jewelry to a minimum and make-up natural and flattering for daytime but not overly done.
• During the shoot, get comfortable, tell the photographer how you are feeling and what you wish to convey and…relax!