Friday, February 8, 2013

The Outdoor Retailer Jack of all Trades

By Sarah Niklas

It's been a week and a half, and I think I've finally recovered from my second Outdoor Retailer experience. For Winter Market, one of my favorite brands- SmartWool- hired REM to plan a winter party of fire and ice.

Being in the event planning industry, my Outdoor Retailer experiences are a bit different than the average show attendee. As most of you spend each day holed up in the convention center, I actually only spend about two or three hours at the show the entire week I am there. Instead most of my days are spent at off-site locations prepping for whatever festivities we are working on for that night. So, while you get to check out the latest and greatest gear, I am most likely- moving boxes (lots and lots of boxes), climbing a ladder, posing as a lighting, audio or IT expert, or making the scenic drive south of town to rent whatever item we need last minute from Al's Party Rent-a-Center.

At the end of the day it's always a fun and crazy experience and I ALWAYS end up at the best party in town.

This year's party could not have gone off more smoothly. We were at our favorite Salt Lake eatery- Caffe Molise where party-goers got to enjoy amazing food, specialty cocktails from the custom ice bars, and fire pits with s'mores to keep everyone warm and toasty! All to the sounds of our favorite hometown band, Mandatory Air.

Here are a couple of photos to highlight our night.

Cheers!

Sarah


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

2013 We Are Coming in Hot!

With the number of brands we work with on a purely event basis, it can be impossible to keep track of all the placements REM’s events bring in over the course of a year. But last week three really fun ones popped up on our radar from events throughout 2012. All had a Jackson twist and all featured lots of our friends' businesses and so I can't help but share.

The first was Powder Players in the New York Post, by Doree Lewak who met Dan Sherman of SKI.COM at the annual cocktail party he and I host for a dozen of the hottest ski hotels of the year. For anyone that’s been contemplating making the move to a ski town…..click above and read this article in full:


The second was by great friend Josh Dean and featured a bunch of our favorite Jackson locals: Bet the Ranch, MADE, The Rose and Wool and Whiskey, as well as the Fine Dining Restaurant Empire!  Several of these are the result of our casual window shopping stroll around town while we killed some time before his delayed flight out of Jackson:

And the third- possibly my favorite because Sarah Niklas and yours truly got to feel like socialites for a day – SNOW Magazine’s feature on the Jackson Hole GOAT event, and the Billy Goat gathering this fall in NYC:


Just landed in Denver after two great days at the Viceroy in Aspen/Snowmass skiing fresh powder with 9 media for SIA and CSCUSA– hoping to see placements like these for Aspen, the Viceroy and SIA in 2014!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Check out our newly redesigned website by Caldera, and please let us know what you think!  www.rendezvouseventmanagement.com
Looking forward to seeing many of you in the next few weeks at Outdoor Retailer, X Games and SIA. Be sure to come back in early February for a recap of the great events we hosted in Salt Lake City, Aspen, Denver and Winter Park as a part of the the winter trade show madness.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Cheers to 2013!

In the days before Christmas as the snow piled up, and the few locals who had avoided traveling to family for the holidays discovered endless untracked powder, I was struck by the pure joy I am able to experience on a daily basis in my Jackson life.

Even if I am putting in a 10-hour day at my computer, I can usually sneak out for a quick run, bike or skate ski on the trails 3 minutes from my house. There, beyond the fresh air, stunning views and raised heart rate, it’s pretty common to bump into a moose, a few deer or sometimes something as bizarre as say a snowmobiler pulling a kayaker through the fields of cold winter snow- paddle, life vest, nose plug and all. That’s when you stop, you stare, and then shake your head and say “only in Wyoming.”

As I sat down to write this - my first and many years overdue blog entry- I decided to inspire myself by browsing through some pictures from 2012 with the thought of writing a recap of the year. But really I was just again blown away by the incredible experiences my job opens up to me and how those result in so much personal joy. And beyond that, even more rewarding, are the looks of happiness on the faces of those clients and media I experience it all with.

Some Highlights of 2012:

• Yurts…lots of yurts
• Olympic Bobsleds and Rams
• A private plane or two
• Deep powder…actually make that REALLY deep powder
• Lots of city fixes in the Big Apple
• Re-learning how to rock climb
• A Whiskey Speak EZ
• A secret trailer park called Hicksville and the even more bizarre Integratron sound bath
• Aerialists
• Inspiring people and organizations like Chris Rutgers and Outdoor Outreach
• A lot of frequent flier miles, a lot of new friends and even more inspiring brands

So as 2013 starts to ramp up I hope you’ll check back every once in a while to get a Rendez-view on what’s new in our little world. And on that note- let us know if we can help you with anything going on in yours.

Thank you for being a part of our ride.