A Word Of Advice (Interview: Marc Charron of TripAdvisor)

Marc Charron, who gave us a lot to smile about at this year's conference speaks to Alex Gibson on The Persuaders' Marc Charron Interview.

Technorati Tag: TripAdvisor.com, Marc Charron, The Persuaders, Alex Gibson

I've Smiled So Much...

Ever heard a bride describe how much her face hurts after her wedding day? It's been a little like that for us at Smile Central as we've wound down from a hectic few months lining things up for Smile 2006 on October 10th.

Your feedback has been great and we're delighted that we got more on the mark than not. Some of the things we were trying for the first time and, by all accounts, these worked well: the format of the event and the set-up of the room and tables seem to have gone down particularly well, whilst the speaker lineup was a real talking point.

Which sets the bar even higher for us for Smile 2007. We'll be in touch as we plot next year's event. In the meantime, drop us a line with any suggestions you have (particularly any speaker or topic that you've like to see included).

And, of course, keep on smiling!

Box Of Tricks

The power of music in helping to set the scene, whether at an event or in a restaurant or hotel lobby, is often underestimated, so I was delighted to happen upon Pandora whilst pulling together the soundtrack for our Smile Conference.

Pandora offers me the tools to create a playlist based around a particular song that I like and uses the individual characteristics of that song to suggest other songs that share those characteristics. I listen to each suggested song and give it the thumbs up or down, which helps Pandora refine its search further.

Apart from being a lot of fun, Pandora has allowed me to make a soundtrack based around Simon & Garfunkel's 'Mrs.Robinson' that taps into the particular spirit of that song (which in turn has tapped into the brand profile of the conference itself).

Seems to me that this approach offers event organisers and venue hosts the opportunity to set the scene in a way that's much more likely to strike a chord with their own visitors than the bland muzak that's usually served up.

Technorati Tag: Smile Conference, Pandora, brand

Something To Chew Over

Am just writing our welcome note to delegates and my musing over our choice of the Smile name for our conference (we believe it it reflects all that is best in this dynamic sector) prompts me to wonder what lies behind (or, gulp, beneath) the annual Shark Awards hosted by our friends in Irish advertising in Kinsale just recently.

Best not to mull over that one for too long: like the shark, we’ll just keep moving.