Happy Holidays!

From everyone at Shackman Associates - Wishing you all a very happy holiday season and best wishes in the New Year!

NYC Meetings “Sustaining” The World’s Smallest Carbon Footprint

The New Yorker’s David Owen recently made the case that the Big Apple is the most eco-friendly in the US – without even trying! And while Flagship “sustainable living” websites such as Treehugger.com have long argued that urban living is one of the greenest ways to save the earth without personal conviction, New York meetings are indeed putting a major effort toward “going green”.

Here are 5 things we are doing to create “sustainably” successful meetings in 2010:

Innovative “city farms”: Just like Michelle Obama’s White House garden is being harvested for tonight’s state dinner, New York City has been developed some really unique gardens of our own. Rooftop farms have popped up throughout all five boroughs and in Queens, food distributors are contracting with homeowners who have backyard spaces to plant and grow specific crops.

“Green” City breweries and Wineries: Manhattan and Brooklyn have become emerging hubs for some of the hottest beverage options in the US. Instead of importing expensive wines from other parts of the country or world, meetings can now arrange tasting events at loft-style wineries right in the city and for team-building events, new wine schools are opening throughout the area that enable a corporate group to make and custom label their own varietal – without the grape stomping!

Hotels aim for “zero-sum” footprints: Manhattan’s hotels are at the forefront of the sustainable guest experience. Some of the new boutique hotels have developed actual formulas that offset a guest’s footprint, other venues donate portions of room rates to green organizations, and we have worked closely with the entire local hospitality industry toward encouraging use of the city’s world-class mass transit system. We have managed several recent meetings where attendees were given pre-paid MetroCards for downtime travel around New York.

“Tap” It for Water: It doesn’t get much press, but New York City’s tap water is ranked by experts as the country’s purest. More and more hospitality venues are teaming with leading environmental groups to reduce bottled water in the trash and some are partnering with non-profits such as “Tapit” Water to create tap water portals in high-end restaurants and hotels throughout Manhattan.

Bikes over buses: Meetings groups who want to see all of Manhattan’s beauty are opting for guided bike tours as alternative to double-decker buses. We have arranged custom Central Park tours that make meeting attendees feel they have entered a completely pristine world away from 8 million people – and tours along Riverside Park offer spectacular Hudson River views with the entire skyline off to the side.

NYC Triple Threat

It’s our favorite weekend of the year – Hallo-fallback-a-thon!

Saturday kicks off with gouls and goblins haunting the streets for some Halloween fun. Don’t forget to set your clock back 1 hour on Saturday night as we fall into Winter. And of course, the Grand Daddy of them all – the NYC Marathon crosses the finish line on Sunday.

Get your kicks warmed up because it's going to be a fast paced weekend!

Go-Go Gadget Meetings!

Associations Turn a challenge into opportunity

An ironic outcome of the challenging economy is the advent of association "super-meetings" in New York. While in past years, numerous smaller meetings may have been held in multiple locations, merging everything into one big event to save money creates both opportunities and challenges in attendee networking.

First, the challenge - how can an association keep track of all these extra attendees? An international food association we recently worked with frequently uses a hand held product called SpotMe (http://www.spotme.com/). Other associations are opting for special networking events, scheduling off-site dinners, and splitting the meeting into smaller working groups that in-turn split off into smaller venues within and away from the main site. That requires great communication among attendees and we work closely with top New York hotels who now offer inclusive Wi-Fi throughout their properties.

Now, the opportunity. Gadget-makers, especially those with the latest hand-held devices are eager to test their products in a major consumer mecca like New York. Put 800 business people in one Manhattan location for several days and sponsorship opportunities will abound.

As a leading New York DMC, we are on the front lines of new tech product placements both in the storefront, on street-level ads, and at meetings. As June's launch of the newest Palm proved with 2-hours lines, New York City is the place to sell a gadget to professional.

Octoberfest!

We’re back with round two of what’s happening this Fall in NYC.

It's hard to believe October is already here, but at least it brings with it a whole new batch of things to see, taste and experience in the City that never sleeps.

October Happenings:

NYC Wine & Food Festival: October 8-11
Spend Columbus Day weekend with an all-star lineup of celebrity chefs including Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, Tom Colicchio, Guy Fieri, Giada De Laurentiis and many more. Enjoy culinary demonstrations, discussion panels, book signings and special tasting events in America's culinary capital. Proceeds benefit the Food Bank for New York City and Share Our Strength.

Battle of the Badges: NYPD vs. FDNY Boxing: October 9
It’s been more than a two-decade wait, but the Battle of the Badges is back! The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden plays host to a new take on this New York tradition, as the toughest of the tough from the NYPD and FDNY step into the boxing ring for a night of friendly competition and good fun. Of course the real winners this night are the charities: the New York Firefighters Benevolent Association and the NYPD Fighting Finest.

The Lord of the Rings at Radio City Music Hall: October 9-10
For true-blooded fans, it’s not enough to see The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in a movie theater. It’s not even enough to see it on an IMAX screen. Really, the only way to truly appreciate J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic saga of the battle for Middle Earth is in Radio City Music Hall, at a screening set to live music by the 21st Century Orchestra. This lavish production, which already received rave reviews when it opened in London, is an impressive experience for both music fans and fantasy fans alike.

Times Square Dog Day Masquerade: October 18
Dogs in costumes? Just another day in NYC. It’s silly and it’s cute (last year’s winner was a Chihuahua dressed as Elle Woods from Legally Blonde), but it’s also all for a good cause—the event raises awareness for Animal Haven’s Adopt-a-Pet program.

CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival: October 20-24
An annual event with nearly 30 years of tradition, the CMJ Festival has always cut out the middle man and brought the music industry (and more recently, the film industry) directly to its fans, from the newest media to the most-vibrant live performances at New York's top venues. Odds are, 2010's need-to-know bands and films will be here, so don't miss the chance to take a peek in the crystal ball this October.

NY Chocolate Show: October 30-November 1
Life in the City gets sweeter for a week every fall, as restaurants, bars, retailers and others find ways to feature chocolate in their businesses. The week culminates with the Chocolate Show, a full-on chocolate expo, chock-full of inventive live demonstrations, samples and more. And the chocolate’s not just for eating: previous installments have featured chocolate-clad models strutting down runways and children creating chocolate artwork.

Summer Blues? September is Hot!

With Labor Day behind us and Fall events in full swing, it’s time to pull out our Blackberry (or day planners for those who won’t give up the pen and pad) to fill our schedules with a month jammed packed with events. Some of the highlights for September?

September Happenings:

Fashion’s Night Out – September 10
When Anna Wintour and Mike Bloomberg get together to throw a party, you know it's going to be huge. Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers of America team up with NYC & Company to produce Fashion's Night Out, a fabulous citywide shopping event to kick off Fall Fashion Week and kick-start the City's retail industry. Hundreds of designers and retailers are participating, from the upscale (Versace, Chanel) to the edgy (Philip Lim, Stella McCartney) to the everyday (Uniqlo, Urban Outfitters). You’ll be sure to find in-store parties, fashion shows, freebies, celebrity appearances and live-music performances.

MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City – September 13
After staging last year's show in Hollywood, MTV brings its Video Music Awards show back to its New York City roots. At the first VMAs in 1984, Madonna rolled around on the Radio City Music Hall stage with a wedding dress up over her knickers; this time around, we're guessing featured performer Taylor Swift will comport herself in a more ladylike fashion. Still, bedraggled Brit comic Russell Brand returns to host again, which means something scandalous is bound to happen. Tickets to the VMAs are scarce (you have to be famous, a contest-winner or shell out a few thousand bucks), but remember: standing on Sixth Avenue screaming as the limos pull up is free.

New York 400 Week – September 8 through 13
While festivities celebrating Hudson's arrival have taken place throughout the year, NY400 Week will be highlighted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Johannes Vermeer exhibit, the New Island Festival, the unveiling of the New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion at Battery Park and will culminate in NYC's first-ever Harbor Day. And, this time around Continental Airlines will make sure your trip goes smoother than Hudson's with a special airfare!

NY Craft Beer Week – September 11 through 20
Back for its second year, the NY Craft Beer Week is primed to saturate you in the country's best brews. Planned festivities include crash courses on hops and malt, citywide beer crawls and multicourse beer dinners hosted all over town.

Feast of San Gennaro – September 10 through 20
The Feast of San Gennaro brings more than one million people to the streets of historic Little Italy in the annual salute to the patron saint of Naples. The street festivities—including parades, entertainment, food stands and a cannoli-eating contest—are capped with a celebratory Mass and candlelit procession with the statue of San Gennaro.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week – September 10 through 17
In what is reportedly its final run at Bryant Park before moving to Lincoln Center in 2010, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week promises yet another week of star-studded soirees at the tents. The world’s top designers debut their spring collections on the runways, as style-conscious celebrities from Hollywood, sports and the modeling world look on. You can be right there with them (but you'll need to land on a guest list first).

Couture fashion week at the Waldorf=Astoria – September 11 through 13
Launched in 2003 by designer Andres Aquino, Couture Fashion Week is a mini-event targeted at the international jet-set crowd (who are presumably also readers of Aquino's glossy magazine, Couture & Luxury). Designers from exotic locales such as Beirut and Turkey send over-the-top luxury wear down the runway (read: feathers, fur and sequins galore), supported by an equally over-the-top array of dancers, musicians and acrobats. The shows are capped off by a black-tie dinner and ball on Saturday evening, with tickets starting at $600 per guest.

Piggybacking and Grouping Costs Can Save Your Meeting

Shackman Associates New York continues to save money for businesses holding meetings in Manhattan through our network of close relationships with vendors. But when the current economy requires businesses to save even more, piggybacking and grouping components can be an effective solution.

Here are a few creative ideas we have successfully used:

Food and Beverage
We recently chose the same food and beverage menu at an advanced reservation quantity of 1,800 for two back-to-back financial and insurance meetings of 900 attendees each. The hotel in-turn saved on supply orders and delivery costs - which is passed down to the meeting. The second group of 900 reduced costs even further by piggybacking the audio visual component with an unrelated meeting also going on at the hotel.

Transportation from Airport

This is especially effective for meetings that involve attendees arriving in small groups from many locales around the country. We have helped associations with similar flight arrival and departure times for attendees by arranging group pickups. Scheduling convenient pickups for small groups at a time per terminal can significantly reduce costs for any meeting without sacrificing an important New York City transportation amenity. In the current economy, these kinds of cost savings can make the difference between a meeting that is well-attended and one that is not.

Broadway’s Celeb Packed Season

With Broadway shows going through a complete overhaul this season, they’ve also added a new twist to their repuitoire. This fall, catch celebs like Jude Law, Sienna Miller and James Spader make their Broadway debuts in some of the most anticipated shows of the fall season. The celeb-studded roster begins in September with ‘A Steady Rain’, starring 007 actor Daniel Craig and X-Men’s Hugh Jackman. Following right after, heart throb Jude Law takes the stage. Not to be outshadowed, Sienna Miller debuts in ‘After Miss Julie’; Julia Stiles and Bill Pullman in ‘Oleanna’; and James Spader in ‘Race’.

Broadway is hoping that the star-power will help to boost ticket sales in the middle of this major recession, creating a buzz of excitement in these interesting times.

Blast from the past – Don’t forget these celebrities who made their own Broadway debuts in recent years:

-In 2006, Julia Roberts debuted in ‘Three Days of Rain’.
-The following year, Jennifer Garner took her first shot on Broadway with 'Cyrano de Bergerac’.
-And just last October, Katie Holmes made her Broadway debut in ‘All My Sons’.