Fifth Avenue Digital Unveils New Technology at the ISES Big Apple Awards

The Metro New York chapter of the International Special Events Society (ISES) marked the end of a difficult year for the special events industry by showing their united spirit at this year’s Big Apple Awards gala. With a colorfully impressive show, ISES presented 25 awards for outstanding achievement in the New York special events industry.

This year, five business leaders were honored for their exemplary careers and contributions to the industry: Dick Cattani, CEO of the Premier Hospitality Division of Compass Group; Fern Mallis, IMG Fashion; Josh McCall, Chairman and CEO of Jack Morton Worldwide; and Candida Romanelli, VP and Show Director of the New York International Auto Show. Each honoree revealed how they rose to their positions, and what continues to inspire them.

In addition to providing photography coverage for the event, Fifth Avenue Digital introduced new technology that enables event photography to be used as a brand marketing tool. And for this unveiling, ISES is the brand!

“Photo activation” and “photo marketing” are some of the terms used to describe the newest service from Fifth Avenue Digital. We are very excited to bring this new innovative application for photo technology to the events industry.

Here’s how it works:
• guests are given ID badges or bracelets with bar codes that link back to their pre-programmed email addresses
• each guest’s bar code is scanned prior to having a picture taken
• after the event, guests receive a branded email with their picture and a link to view all of the images they appear in, with an option to see all images
• the images can be downloaded, saved, printed or emailed

Now more than ever, it’s vital for brands to extend the life and ROI of their events by continuing the communication with their target markets and existing customers, even well after an event is over. Photo activation is the perfect way to initiate these conversations.

I want to say a special thank you to my incredible team at Fifth Avenue Digital for helping me manifest my vision of this ground-breaking new service. I imagined being able to use our images to produce true ROI on events, and my team helped me make this happen. The hours of working on this concept go beyond the requirements of most jobs. They put their hearts and souls into perfecting this technology, and I couldn’t be more grateful for their expertise and dedication.

I also want to send a shout-out to all the volunteers that helped produce this fabulous gala. There is always room for improvement at this type of collaborative event, especially with so many people involved in putting on a “show.” The camaraderie and appreciation for each other developed by tirelessly working together on a project helps deepen these valuable industry relationships. Reed Baker, Joan Sherman, Howard Givner, Jennifer Quinones, Mark Addison -- I watched each of them push it to the limit! And I know there were many others on hand that helped make the evening a success.

Some of the highlights for me!
• The stage and the use of the projection in the round- designed in tandem with Mark Addison of EventStyle and Debra Roth of Pink Inc. The stretch fabric proscenium stage was gorgeous and fun, and a great way to see an awards presentation! (picture)
• I was impressed with the speech by Dick Catannis from Restaurant Associates, and his humble nature
• I loved watching all my old friends that I dragged into ISES have fun with each other!!
• And I’m inspired by how excited everyone was to see the new photo activation technology in action.

For a link to the site, click here.

ISES takes a break for the summer, but will pick up again in the fall with a new board, new programs and more industry innovations to share.