IdeaStar Lights Up ICMG Conference

IdeaStar truly made the lights bright in Phoenix with our new booth. For two days we pressed the flesh and passed out exhibit booth goodies at the Inter-Company Marketing Group's Annual Meeting. The conference brings together insurance carriers and distributors who cut deals on new products and marketing relationships. IdeaStar is sought as the technology partner for the dealmakers.

Mike Wise, IdeaStar's Vice President of Insurance Technologies and Jane Hudeck, Project Manager, await the overflow traffic at the IdeaStar booth .



Susan May, Vice President of Sales Administration, Ceres Group visits the IdeaStar booth.



The only guy taller than Mike is Raymond Richard of Pinnacle Benefits.



Everyone wants to take a picture with Jane! Here's Carl Fischer, CEO, American Benefit Resource and Ed Porter, Chief Marketing Officer, Adult Care Plans. Both companies are clients of IdeaStar. You can hear podcasts with both Carl and Ed at Mike Wise's blog site.



Mike and Raymond share laughs with Dale Turvey of eGroup Manager at ICMG.



Jane and her new best friend, Doris Dallow, V.P. Krisam Group a meeting/travel planning company. Jane won a free stay at the Arizona Biltmore from Doris. Wow! Can we come too?

A Match Made In London

IdeaStar is pleased about becoming a preferred vendor of ENTA online ticketing software. Developed and sold around the globe by Galathea STS of London, ENTA is a sophisticated solution for online ticket sales. The new partnership is an excellent opportunity for IdeaStar to integrate clients' Web sites into the ENTA system including Web site design, content management, search engine marketing, automated calendars and e-commerce shopping carts.

One of IdeaStar's first projects as a partner with ENTA was for the Ravinia Festival of Chicago. "This was a remarkably successful project. Ravinia sells millions of dollars of tickets, and more than half of their customers are now using the online site," IdeaStar President Jim Fisher said.

Jim met with Galathea in London to set up a partnership. Two weeks later we welcomed Will Quickett of Galathea to the IdeaStar offices for the "official" partnership meeting and introductions. We enjoyed hosting him and giving him a chance to get to know IdeaStar and Cleveland.

The introductions went well, and on his way to the airport for the return flight, Will stopped to check out the local Great Lakes Brewing Company. After a long day he was thrilled to find a pub "like they have back home."

Recently, IdeaStar joined Galathea at the 27th Annual Intix Conference in Boston. "The intix conference was a great way for us to understand the box ticketing market. As a Web integrator, we see plenty of opportunities to help performing arts, events and athletics groups improve their Web sites," Jim said. The installation of online ticketing systems with a well designed Web site has been found to increase revenue and draw patron support. Already a new ENTA-IdeaStar project is underway in the States. Look for an announcement soon.

Galathea representatives talk ticketing at the 27th Annual Intix Conference in Boston.

IdeaStar's Business Development Manager Laurel Baldwin (second from right) fits right in at the ENTA booth. Other attendees included (left to right) Christian Terrill of Galathea STS, Richard Leggatt of Galathea STS, Chloe and Angus Watson of the Ravinia Festival, Laurel, and Lisa Allen of the Ravinia Festival.

Laurel noted, "The people at Intix were a wonderful bunch of interesting and creative people, and a group I want to be part of. There is definitely a need for IdeaStar services because while there are great ticketing solutions, the integration to the Web is sorely lacking."

For more information about online ticketing, visit Ideastar and Galathea.

Copyright © 2006 IdeaStar Inc.

Search Engine Strategies Conference

Last month, IdeaStar's General Manager Susanne Svette and Marketing Manager Mary Fisher spent five busy days at the Search Engine Strategies Conference and Expo in Chicago. The conference, held several times throughout the year, is the premier event in the Search Engine Marketing industry and provides information for basic and advanced online search initiatives. Discussions are organized by "track" and teach attendees to maximize opportunities and stay informed of the latest developments. Susanne and Mary were there for the benefit of IdeaStar's clients.

A session titled "Meet The Crawlers" covers how to submit and feed content. Speakers included representatives from Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, MSN Search and more.

Sessions in Chicago were focused on the basics of SEO and SEM and were excellent reminders about best practices for the search industry. However, "One of the most interesting topics covered at this conference was the future of Search and Pay-Per-Click campaigns," Susanne explains. "MSN is now competing with other top search marketers like Google and Yahoo with their MSN AdCenter. This third player is going to make things very interesting."

Milennium Park was a short walk from the conference center and a good place to take a quick break.

The Windy City...so much Search Engine Information, so little time!

Susanne's comments and info on the latest in Search Engine Marketing.

Copyright © 2006 IdeaStar Inc.