Sonny Ganguly

Leading expert in Social Media, going mobile and online trends, Sonny Ganguly, Chief Marketing Officer for Weddingwire.com will be the guest speaker at Las Vegas Wedding Network on November 2nd.  Aliante Station Hotel & Casino is hosting this event and Catering Director, The Aliante Station  always puts on an event that will be long remembered.  So come network with fellow wedding professionals and learn about current online trends. For questions, call the team at Bridal Spectacular.

Register to attend here.  Advance registration is $25 and after Nov 1 it will be $35.

LVWN Promo May 2011 from Memory Lane Video on Vimeo.

Photo Montage with photos provided by Orange Soda Photography

Las Vegas weddings are planned at The Bridal Spectacular, come meet Memory Lane at the next show.

Networking situations have interesting dynamics. What makes people gravitate toward others? Why do certain individuals stand out and others become invisible?

Last night, Singer/SongWriter/Performance Artist, Lady Gaga, appeared at the Pearl Showroom, in the Palms, Las Vegas. There was a positive review in the paper, this morning. No review of Lady Gaga would be written without a thorough discussion of her wardrobe (costuming). Her ever-changing glam fashion facade recalls breakthrough presences of performers such as Madonna and David Bowie.

Eyes can be on you, without having to be ostentatious. Here are two examples.

DJ Marcello Pedalino is the first. I first met Marcello six years ago at DJ Conference. What stood out about him was that he was impeccably dressed. Suit and tie; neat as pin.

DJ Marcello Pedalino

In a gather of mobile DJ’s, who all to often sported T-shirts and jeans, accessorized by expanding waistlines, Marcello always stands out. If you didn’t know him, you would think, “I wonder who HE is. he must be somebody important.”

Over the long term, this has created what I’ve termed The Marcello Effect. Year by year, I see more and more mobile DJ’s decked out in suit and tie, even when it might not be absolutely necessary. Hopefully, they are continuing that fashion statement in their local networking opportunities, not just at national DJ conference, because it looks good.

Darcy Anderson, Fashion Director, JC Penney’s: Darcy was a client of mine about 30 years ago when my company, Music Man, was providing music for many fashion shows in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Darcy was a stylish dresser, but what stood out was her singular fashion accessory, a bumble bee pin. Actually what stood was not the pin, itself, but where she wore it. Darcy always wore it on her right shoulder, on the back of her jacket.

Invariably, people would see the pin from a distance, and come up to her to let her know she had ‘something on her shoulder.’ only to see that this was not a mistake, but a fashion accessory.

This simple staple of Darcy’s wardrobe made her distinctly memorable. Here I am, blogging about it thirty years later.

What are you doing to make yourself distinct and memorable? In this case, not your company, YOU. When you walk into a room of 125 people, many of whom you haven’t met, is there anything you’re doing by your presence or actions that makes you memorable?

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Who is qualified to blog, speak, or consult?

Problem #1: Anyone can publish a blog. That doesn’t necessarily make them knowledgable on any subject. The internet is littered with abandoned blogs; quite a few on wedding marketing.

It’s important not to believe that blogging is high art. It is some form of self-expression, but not journalism, in the traditional sense of the word. You may notice that recently, I have clearly labeled sections of posts on this blog as NEWS ANALYSIS and OPINION, separate from the main content of the post.

I do this to add clarity when reporting on wedding industry issues (for the most part). In those cases, it’s my intent to provide both content and comment, but to make certain that the difference is clear for my readers.

It is the nature of bloggers to be opinionated. There is nothing inherently wrong with that; however, one shouldn’t be flip without putting distance between fact and opinion. And, preferably, some degree of writing skills matter.

On being qualified: Having an extended run of wedding industry success, plus having some real marketing training and expertise is what really counts. Anyone is entitled to their opinion, but not all opinion is of equal value. Having baked a cake, published a couple of failed magazines, or any other short run of experience does not give one the credentials to advise others in any medium or forum. Do a little scratching beneath the surface and see if there is real substance… or just an empty suit.

It’s on the internet. It must be true!

Nonsense! Don’t take everything at face value. Invest some time in a little due diligence. Vet your sources. Put value in trusted advisors. Measure your results. Reevaluate your success. Do it all over again.

“There is such a glut of wedding marketing websites, social media, and who-knows-what-else. Where do I even start?”

Pardon me, but I have no sympathy. Zero! It’s a great thing to have choices, provided you’re not lazy.

In a most shocking moment, during my opening presentation at the Wedding MBA (2010), I asked how many people attending had a written marketing plan. In a room of 1500, only a dozen hands went up. Less than 1%… and these are the people who were taking time to enhance their businesses. Wow!

I wonder how many people took massive action after the conference.

There are many right answers and strategies

Our school systems have oriented us to answer in True/False, Yes/No, and Multiple Choice. Rarely is there an essay question. During my eight years teaching marketing and small business management, at the college level, the effect of this jumped out at me.

The aftermath still exists, today; including the wedding industry. Too often, wedding professionals seek THE right answer, when in reality there may be several paths of success or failure.

I am reminded of the story about Professor Albert Einstein giving a final exam. His teaching assistant asked, “Professor Einstein, the questions on this exam are the same as last year. Isn’t that a problem?” Einstein responded, “No, it’s not a problem. The questions may be the same, but the answers have changed.”

Reality Check

To stay ahead of the competition, one has to have more wedding marketing acumen than two or three decades ago. That is a given.

Complaining about the number of new challengers in your category of business is a waste of air and energy. We may be more aware of competitors, today, but there are always businesses entering and exiting the wedding market.

If you are not checking your website statistics AND understanding with they mean, you are flying blind.

If you don’t understand the difference between your Facebook page, a business Facebook page, and a Facebook group/community, you better get busy.

And as Einstein pointed out: The answers will continue to change.

Today’s Final Opinion:

Don’t let yourself fall into paralysis-from-analysis, and stop looking for easy answers.

In fact, the key is to develop better critical thinking skills that help you land on Boardwalk, more often, rather than Mediterranean Avenue.

Choose your gurus and resources wisely. Measure, evaluate, and plan. Then move forward, boldly, and without hesitation. Even when you do all those things well, you may not attain the desired result.

But I promise you this: You will win, the majority of the time, and will pass your your competition like the they are wooden indians in front of a cigar store.

Thanks for allowing me to get all that off my chest

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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In ceremonies held at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN, BSPI (Bridal Show Producers International) presented awards for Best Print Ad, Best Exhibitor Marketing Piece, and Show Aesthetics.

Member businesses, worldwide, competed for these honors. In the category of Best Print Ad, honorable mentions were earned by The Wedding Fair (Minneapolis, MN, Matthew Trettel and Bruce Vassar) and The Wedding Show, Forever Bridal Productions, Raleigh, NC, Laura and Dominick DiGirolamo.

The award for Best Print Ad was earned by The Wedding Show (Lisa Charles, Auckland, NZ).

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For Best Marketing Piece, Honorable Mentions went to: Black Tie Bridal Showcase, Sioux City, SD, Kari Black and Bridal Spectacular, Las Vegas, NV, Debra Hansen.

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The Award for Best Marketing Piece was earned by: The Wedding Show, Forever Bridal Productions, Raleigh, NC, Laura and Dominick DiGirolamo.

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The award for Show Aesthetics was presented to The Wedding Fair (Twin City Bridal Association, Minneapolis, MN, Matthew Trettel and Bruce Vassar).

Click on image for big view

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority