There are a number of very cool, app-based event management services that have hit the market recently. Seems like every day brings a new round of innovative start-ups that can be very helpful to business professionals, in general, and event planners, in particular.
Today, I’d like to turn the spotlight on three such offerings …
PAGING SIMON COWELL … HELP NEEDED!
You know America’s got talent and you know there are American idols everywhere, but you’re hundreds of miles from home and your boss/client expects you to book just the right music talent for your next event. You prefer booking locally (for altruistic and budgetary reasons) but, unfortunately, you don’t know jack about your destination’s music scene. You don’t even know what instrument Jack plays!
What do you do?
Check out GigTown, a full-service, online, live music management agency that works with corporate clients of all sizes. Scroll through the roster of city/area-specific musical talent – single acoustical acts to full concert-hall ensembles from virtually all musical genres. You can download audio or video files of past performances for a “test drive” of the acts you’re considering.
GigTown also offers local DJs and corporate bands for that post-Awards Night After-Party. Interactive employee voting systems are available, as well as a dedicated, onsite GigTown rep to handle everything while you’re busy tending to other event priorities.
Simply go online to review the talent offerings, fill out the form, submit, and lock in your entertainment at competitive pricing. Currently, GigTown operates in the deep-pool music hotbeds of Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Los Angeles/Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and Tampa.
Check ’em out at: https://www.gigtown.com/
GET YOUR SHYP TOGETHER
Return shipping, especially after events where awards are handed out, is always a post-event pain-in-the-neck. Plaques, crystal, office supplies, leftover amenities, breakout materials, directional signage, banners, etc. make the final-day pack and load-out a genuine drag.
It needn’t be.
Fire up the Shyp app on your smartphone or tablet, snap a picture of what you need to ship, hit “Send”, and a vehicle will be dispatched in short order to pick up your parcel(s) which can range from shoebox size to XL (a box that fits in the backseat of a sedan).
Launched in 2013 and recently named one of Fast Company’s 50 most innovative businesses, Shyp offers packing services, batch label-printing, on-demand and scheduled pickups, tools for tracking high-volume shipping, and pricing that’s lower than the “big boy” shipping companies. The company serves the personal, small business and enterprise markets so you may find yourself contacting Shyp for sending birthday gifts or blasting out 300 marketing kits to your field sales reps.
The Shyp app currently serves San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago. However, rapid market expansion is anticipated since the company has raised more than $62 million in venture capital.
Check ’em out at: https://www.shyp.com/
MAKE YOUR NOTE NOTEWORTHY (AND BYPASS THE HAND CRAMPS)!
Your mega-successful business event has loaded out, you’re on a coast-to-coast flight home, exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. Suddenly, you remember you need to send thank-you notes to a number of people with recently busted humps.
The old-fashioned way. Written by hand. Quick, for impact.
Ugh. Welcome to Choresville, USA.
An email is way too impersonal, a text inexcusable, and you’re so whipped you don’t know whether or not your already marginal handwriting would even be legible.
PunkPost to the rescue!
This recently launched app, the brainchild of a husband-wife team in San Francisco, understands your dilemma and may quickly become the “handiest” app you’ve downloaded in a while. It can help you blast through those dreaded but all-important gestures of old-fashioned etiquette … in a new-fashioned way.
Once you’ve downloaded the PunkPost app, select your front-cover art from a number of constantly updated collections. (BTW, these are not your standard, run-of-the-mill, yawner collections. On the attitude scale, you can go sassy and irreverent on one extreme — Hey, Sweet Cheeks! … This S%*t is Bananas! … You’re Dope … etc. — or buttoned-up corporate on the other.) You can really customize the mailing to fit the recipient’s personality.
Next, key in the recipient’s address along with your message to them. Then select your preferred style of handwriting (elegant, formal, simple, fun, or sweet) and hit “Send”. An actual handwritten thank-you note will be generated by a live, human “scriptist” who prides themselves on fluid strokes of stylish penmanship and fun graphics. The envelope is then addressed, stamped and mailed to your friend, colleague, client, etc. – all within 24 hours.
Now, here’s the “Boom!” part of PunkPost …
Prices range from just $6 per note sent domestically to $7.50 per note sent internationally, including postage. You can even add a “confetti bomb” and photo for $1.50 more. A portion of the proceeds flow back to the artist who created the original design – and your first note is free.
Check ‘em out at: http://punkpost.co/cards
CONCLUSION
Work smarter with event technology like GigTown, Shyp and PunkPost — three cool, new, app-based service offerings that can help make your personal and professional life a little easier and a lot more productive.
ONE MORE THING…
At dynami, one of our points of pride is staying abreast of what’s new, trending and relevant to the business professional. We all live, work and play in a world experiencing change and evolution at an astonishing pace. No longer is it enough to stay current, these days you need to know what’s around the bend. From time to time, we’ll share with you cool things we come across to help make your life a little easier and a lot more productive.
If you haven’t taken a close look at dynami lately, check out our right-outta-the-oven, 45-second video.
Until next time, cheers!
