There's a lot of games that are available to play on smartphones, from the casual to the hardcore - and each of these games have their own following. We take on for example two trending games that are hit with the anime-loving youth: The LoveLive! School idol festival and Mystic Messenger.

LoveLive! SIF is part of the multimedia LoveLive! School idol project franchise that produced the eighth best-selling musical act in Japan of the year 2015, two anime titles, a full-length movie, so on and so forth. It is a rhythm game where you can collect cards of various designs of its different characters, depending on the seasonal campaigns that are constantly being conceptualized.

On the other hand, the newcomer Mystic Messenger published by Cheritz in South Korea last June is a game wherein you talk to pretty guys and get into different situations. Heck, the game will even "call" or "message" you all of a sudden - even at 3 in the morning, as some players have mentioned.

What these games have in common? Both are available on the two common mobile OS platforms Android and iOS, both have in-app payments ("lovecas" or gems in SIF, "hourglasses" in MM), and both provide rewarding experiences to its players (the character cards are the things players look forward to in SIF, while MM players - mostly female - are looking forward to gush on their in-game crushes).

Now, the smartphone is an all-purpose device - we've told you before that your smartphone is a rewards card, and now we've shown you another aspect of the smartphone (as well as mobile computing on its own) - it's no longer reserved for the ones in business like in the 90's, and consumers are really into it more than the TV. With that said, smartphones are no longer a buzzword but a household name.

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If you are a Customer Loyalty professional, check out the 5th Customer Loyalty Conference and Expo featuring key resource speakers, fellow customer experience professionals, and a great environment to share concepts on Customer Experience.

The 5th Customer Loyalty Conference and Expo is part of the Customer Love Fest 2016, happening at the New World Makati Hotel on October 20 to 21. For reservations and other inquiries, contact 633-0153, SMS 0920 981 4376 or 0920 924 2532, or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

If you have been glued to the internet during the long weekend, you should relate well to this post: Clips from various series playing to the tune of Gary Valenciano's rendition of Sugarfree's "Wag ka nang Umiyak" have been sprouting online, and the viral meme has left most series unscathed - Spider Man, How I Met Your Mother, so on and so forth. (If you haven't watched these series before, we'll warn you of spoilers right now.)









We laughed (and cried, or rather, cried laughing) at these videos, but what does this "If X is made in the Philippines" are trying to say? We love telenovelas. Which way you want to see it, we love doing our primetime habit. Even if most are disappointed with the state of prime time television (as evidenced by the gaffe between the head writer of a major TV station against those who are claiming that the station's upcoming series resembles an adaptation made overseas, this and that), we cannot deny that this prime time habit has a majority target audience who are OK to see the typical TV tropes over and over again.

Just few years ago, most of our local telenovelas talked about infidelity, and we got tired of it eventually. This year, trend is more into romance and youth. Truly, Filipinos are romantic.

Notice the difference between the series that have been parodied in the videos above - they play the same song in the end, but they have different outcomes. You can say that the memes reflect how monotonous the prime time business in our country is; or how unoriginal we are, but on the other hand, the people who created these videos have their creativity intact, and are just waiting for someone to think of better ideas through these.

Customer Experience is not an "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" thing - experiences wind down eventually, and once the experience winds down to a monotonous level, it's up for the creatives to build another kind of experience. This applies to the entertainment industry as well, though we don't recognize this at face value.

To sum it up, here's the takeaway from this narrative: Most of us love telenovelas, but the concepts can wind down, so it's up to the creative minds to come up with different experiences so as the audience won't get tired and bored watching at night.

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If you are a Customer Experience professional, check out the Customer Experience Management Conference featuring key resource speakers, fellow customer experience professionals, and a great environment to share concepts on Customer Experience.

The Customer Experience Management Conference is part of the Customer Love Fest 2016, happening at the New World Makati Hotel on October 20 to 21. For reservations and other inquiries, contact 633-0153, SMS 0920 981 4376 or 0920 924 2532, or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

One of the best frameworks for creating a successful event is by using the ICOM Model.

The ICOM Model is used in project management, and since events are project, beginners or masters of creating and producing events will greatly benefit from using or considering the ICOM Model.

In breaking down the ICOM Model, here is why it will be greatly beneficial:

Input

Events start with the clients narrating their wants and needs. This is the input. I always asked my clients about these two elements, without knowing this, you will be at a lost when you start implementing the event.

The inputs of your clients or stakeholders are important, in the input the event objectives and expected results are enumerated.

INPUT’s other important elements besides the objectives are the Scope of Work.

Constraints

The reality is that events are like the heartbeat we see in the emergency rooms, there are peaks and valleys. The life of an event manager is not a straight line, we are in a business to solve and arrive on immediate solutions to problems and impediments that prevent the event from becoming successful.

Indeed, we cannot escape encountering constraints. Some of the event constraints are financial (budget), time (deadlines), legal, environmental, and quality just to name a few.

The good news about identifying the constraints is we are able to be better prepared and take action more wisely.

In addition, we are able to adjust the objectives, wants and needs of the client because of these constraints.

In other words, we are able to avoid promising the stars or the heaven, we are able to commit to them what is realistic and doable.

But of course, I always subscribe to under promise and over deliver dictum. This is the signpost that I wanted you to consider after surveying the constraints and relating it to the inputs of the clients.

Mechanism

How do you achieve the objectives? In achieving the objectives, you need mechanisms to move it forward. The mechanisms are the people, knowledge and expertise of suppliers and talents, capital, event tools like checklists and rules, and technology.

Of course, you can still add more, if you think they are mechanisms that will allow you to move forward the event closer to the desired input.

Output

We are now going to the most important part of the event that is the output or results. Have you achieved and satisfied the client’s desired objectives, needs and wants?

I always talk to them and conduct surveys in order to know if the output passed their expectations.

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In conclusion, the ICOM Model in Event Management is an effective framework in creating a successful event and becoming a successful event manager.

It provides you a clear direction on what critical success areas to consider. It guides you in the process of making your own Key Result Areas (KRA) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

Having said this, I hope that by applying ICOM Model you will be more confident and assured that the event you will be managing is on its way to becoming a resounding success and that you will be making your clients happy.

The 5th Customer Loyalty Conference is the pioneer conference in the country dedicated for loyalty and brand officers. Started in 2012, this conference has grown into what is now the two-day Customer Love Fest.

This year, we are bringing in two overseas speakers to join us in the party with local customer loyalty professionals who will share their expertise and experience in customer loyalty and rewards.

• "Content Marketing Hacks in Making your Loyalty and Rewards Program a Success"
  Mr. Usama Qasem, IKEA UAE, Egypt, Oman and Qatar
• "Engagement, Excitement, Emotions, Exchange, and the interface with Customer Expectations"Mr. Darrel Wisbey, Retail Mentor
• "Best Practices in Implementing Rewards and Loyalty Program"
  Ms. Yayu Javier, Avanza
• "The 3 P's of Digital in Personalized Engagement"
  Ms. Pauline Pangan, All Famous Digital
• "Standing Tall: How Brands Stand Tall Using Loyalty and Rewards Programs"
  Ms. Brie Caces, SM Hotels and Conventions

The 5th Customer Loyalty Conference and Expo is part of the Customer Love Fest 2016, happening at the New World Makati Hotel on October 20 to 21. For reservations and other inquiries, contact 633-0153, SMS 0920 981 4376 or 0920 924 2532, or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Calling all businessmen in the Ortigas-Mandaluyong area - join the Business Development Forum 2016 this September 30, Friday, 9:00am onwards, at the Tektite Tower Auditorium in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

The Forum features key resource speakers in business talking about insightful and inspiring topics that are fit for the improvement of your business, such as Wong+Bernstein Senior Advisor on Branding and Marketing Mr. Willy Arcilla, ActionCoach Philippines General Manager Mr. Roberto Dimayuga and RBG Philippines CEO Mr. Raymond Lim.

The early registration fee of Php999 is until September 20, 2016. On-site registration fee is Php2,999. Registration fee includes meals, certificate of attendance and event kit.

For reservations and inquiries, contact 643-3887, SMS 0920 924 2532 or email info@exlinkevents.com. This event is a fund-raising project for the benefit of the Rotary Club of Mutya ng Pasig. Program is subject to change without prior notice.

There are lots of events in the country covering spectra such as entertainment (concerts and contests, etc) and business (trade fairs and exhibitions, etc.), but there's one common ground for any kind of event: These may change all of a sudden.

We have here Bruce, who is an example of an event organizer. He, along with his team, has been formulating the program for their event as far as a year before the exact date. However, there are many adjustments that they have to take note of. These may include last-minute cancellations for guests, contests and activities, rescheduling of program activities, so on and so forth.

Bruce manages a concert that is long-awaited by enthusiasts of smooth jazz, especially those of the overseas guest/s that have been invited. One day, the specific guest had to postpone his appearance - this will make some fans sad as they had filed their leaves prior to the date of his appearance (considering that even some still have work on the weekends).

Luckily, this was just a reschedule, but what if the guest did cancel his appearance? That will definitely take a toll on Bruce, as he has to cancel the guest's round-trip plane tickets, hotel bookings, so on and so forth. This also affects their ticket sales - so much that they can refund the visitors who paid for the concert just to see the guest.

The next course for Bruce is to fill in the void that the overseas guest has left. Luckily, he was able to fill in the void by getting more local jazz artists, and while the anticipation of the concert did went down, Bruce was able to position it to a different niche, delving more into showcasing the local jazz scene instead of having just one big jazz concert.

What visitors should understand about events organizing? There are sudden changes that can hurt the fans and the organizers altogether. Now, even if Bruce was able to mitigate a flop, what will happen in next year's event? They will go back from the drawing board, picking up the pieces from what has happened and then prepare the next format for another one.

Change is constant, and this is really reflected on the event industry, no matter where you go. This hard yet exhilarating events industry is truly wonderful.

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If you've been going to events for a long time and appreciate the effort organizers give to each event and its visitors, why not discover your inner Bruce? We here at Ex-Link Events are looking for young, active and resourceful individuals to be part of our Events Staff. Send your letter of intent and resume at info@exlinkevents.com. You can also send your queries at the same email address.

Follow Ex-Link Events on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram for updates and event offerings.

It's that time of the year again! The last four months of the year in the country, dubbed as the "-ber months," is said to be the time where we are preparing for the holiday season more than our neighboring countries. With that said, we expect many people to line up in malls or markets to buy gifts for their loved ones.

There're a lot of choices around, and you might want to get them all - but remember to get the present that your loved ones will appreciate the most. Here are some tips on how to prepare for your holiday shopping:

1. Keep the receiver in mind. Know his/her interests, likes and dislikes. The more you know about the things he/she appreciates in life, the better.
2. Ask advice from friends. Don't rely on just yourself. If you know his/her friends, you can ask them about the things and quirks he/she has.
3. Know your limits. Most of the time, we can't offer what we want to give to our loved ones
4. Know where to buy. Spend time to research on the places where you can buy the gifts. Spare a day or two to canvass and compare which place is the best one to buy gifts.
5. Know how to present the gift. Presentation is key. This depends on a case-to-case basis - if you are going to give to someone who can't afford it, make sure that it's special. If you're going to give to someone who can afford it but has no time to buy it, you can keep it simple as well. It all depends on how do you know the person you're giving to.

We hope this five tips give you a hindsight on what will you do for your holiday shopping - and this can also work for birthdays and debuts!

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We have five events that are coming up for the rest of the year, namely the Rotary Club of Mutya ng Pasig's Parenting Summit and MSME Business Development Seminar this month, the Customer Love Fest 2016 this October, the Kabuhayan Expo this November and the OFW & SME Business Expo this December.

If you want to have Ex-Link Events execute your business events, call 633-0153, SMS 0920 924 2532 or 0920 981 4376, or send an email at info@exlinkevents.com. You can also message @exlinkevents on Facebook Messenger, and follow @exlinkevents on Twitter and Instagram for updates.

The 7th Philippine Business and Entrepreneurs' Expo at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall 1 has just finished its run last weekend. Aside from the exhibit, the 7th PBEX is filled  and here are the five takeaways from the event's conferences.