The Mind Gallery

Have you ever looked for a teambuilding activity that ensures your delegates really get their “hands dirty”? Well, here it is!

Using art as the medium, delegates will all have the opportunity to contribute in creating a masterpiece.

The Mind Gallery helps organisations to communicate a Vision, develop Innovation and buildteams.

The process creates a sense of mind share and ownership that is unparalleled by any other professional development process available today.

Using a mix of professional artists and facilitators, workshops are designed to inspire creativity, symbolism and visualization.

Focusing on whatever is most important for your business, the process involves out of the box thinking. These thoughts are then symbolized and painted by participants (with a little help from the artist).

The result is a professional quality art piece that captures the emotion and motivation of the group, and keeps it alive long after the event has passed.

Often displayed in the corporate lobby or boardroom, the finished art is a powerful visual tool that stimulates focus and performance. Digital copies of the art feature on web sites, marketing documents, etc.

Typical client feedback:

“As a spectacular thought provoker is has definitely serviced one of its purposes. On a personal level let me say that we thoroughly enjoyed the exercise and the way that you went about taking us through it. It was good fun, the more so when you moved us out of our comfort zones into less familiar ways of thinking.” Australia Post

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Aussie Geniuses Takes Over Sydney Town Hall

On March 24, almost 700 people came together at the Sydney Town Hall to support mental health research at Spark of Genius ‘06. The event was hosted by NISAD Schizophrenia Research. ICMI were proud to be a major supporter were able to bring more than 40 of Australia’s most inspirational leaders from politics, the arts, business and sport to make this a true celebration of the mind. Some of these included:

Academy Award Winner Adam Elliot, sporting icons such as Ron Barassi, Max Walker and Peter FitzSimons, Award winning TV presenter George Negus, sociologist Richard Neville and Channel 7’s global affairs guru Dr Keith Suter . Other Genii's included David Helfgott, Andrew Denton, Mambo founder Reg Mombassa, Science expert Robyn Williams, Nudie Juice Founder Tim Pethick, Justice Marcus Einfeld, Justice Michael Kirby, TV presenter and former Editor of Cleo and Dolly Magazines Lisa Wilkinson, Marie Claire Editor Jackie Frank and former Sydney Liberal Leader Kerry Chikarovski.

The evening, was outstandingly hosted by Adam Spencer and was described by many as the best night they had ever attended. ICMI was extremely fortunate that the 'Genius' on their table for the night was the brilliant David Helfgott. A sensational night that raised much needed funds for such a worthy cause.

Lee Drury from NISAD Schizophrenia Research said “we raised our target of $250 000 and ICMI was central to that success. Schizophrenia is a disease that takes away dreams – we are working hard to find the answers and thank ICMI for edging us closer”.

ICMI’s Corporate Development Luncheon – Friday 16th June 2006

ICMI’S next luncheon will feature Rob Redenbach, who has just recently returned from Iraq as a security specialist and will talk on “Rising Above the Ordinary”.

Details of the luncheon are:

Date: Friday 16th June 2006

Venue: Palladium, Crown Casino, 8 Whiteman Street, Melbourne

Time: 12pm to 2.30pm

PLEASE NOTE: Tickets are $75 plus GST

For more information about attending, please contact Barry Markoff Tel: 03 9529 3711.

For more information about Corporate Development Luncheon membership, please click here.

ICMI’s first Queensland Showcase a huge success!

On Friday 17th March 2006 ICMI’s Queensland office had their inaugural Speakers Showcase in Brisbane at the fabulous Royal on the Park Hotel.

Gerry and Donna in ICMI’s Queensland office would like to thank all their clients that attended the Showcase and to also thank them for the fabulous feedback. They are in the process of organising the Showcase for 2007, which will possibly be held on Friday 16th March. For those clients that were able to attend, and those that weren’t, they encourage you to pencil it in your diary, we know you will find it invaluable.

The day showcased a fabulous array of talent in the form of Robert Raftery, Scott Williams, Velia Nichols, Robin Daubeny, Homer Papantonio, Tom O’Toole, Adam Elliot and Brad Manuel. They all rated very highly with our audience (and the proof is in the number of bookings they have taken since the event!).

ICMI Showcase’s give clients the chance to see a selection of our wonderfully talented speakers and entertainers, to consider for your future events, all in the one free event.

The morning was great fun with perhaps one of the highlights being Gerry up on stage with Brad Manuel dancing to Village People’s YMCA!! The audience were wiping tears of laughter away for a good five minutes later….very funny!

On behalf of Gerry and Donna, thank you again to all who attended. They appreciated you taking time out of your busy schedule. Thanks also to all the friendly, helpful staff at Royal on the Park and also the fabulously talented presenters.

They hope to see you there next year!!

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How do you choose the right entertainer for your event?

As we all know, entertainment at an event can really make for a memorable experience for your guests. The big questions is, how do you know what is the right act for your event? Unless you have seen an act live yourself, ultimately there is only really one way to be sure… seek professional help.

Listed below are some key things to remember when selecting an act?

• Objective : Decide whether you want the corporate entertainment to function at the centre of the event or periphery to the business at hand.

• Budget: Have you determined your budget? There are generally suitable entertainers to suit most budgets however it helps in the decision making process if you can identify this early on.

• Venue : What is the venue like and will it be suitable for the entertainer you are interested in? i.e. is the venue indoors/outdoors, will it fit the staging/productions requirements of the act

• Demographics : What are the demographics of the audience? Age, gender ratio, senior management, factory workers etc. Although most quality corporate acts will generally appeal to the masses, understanding your audience can really impact the type of act you book

• Production: What are their audio visual or production requirements? Do these fit within your budget?

• Experience: Who have they worked for in the past? Do they have testimonials to support their profile?

• The act : Can they tailor their act to my brief or is simply a standard “off the shelf act”?

Ok, having said all this…who are some of Australia’s very best corporate acts. We have selected 8 of the best.

Music & Cabaret

The Leading Men - Premier Collection of Australia’s finest stage performers, performing songs from all the great stage shows.

Steve Armstrong – Incredibly talented music cabaret act

Nikki Bennett – One of Australia's leading Cabaret performers and corporate entertainers. Her clients now fly her all around the world to entertain their VIP guests.

The Rat Packs Back - A tight, polished, tongue-in-cheek cabaret act evoking the style of the infamous American Rat Pack.

Comedy

Shane Bourne - One of Australia's best-loved comedians and in recent years has become one of the most sought after performers on the corporate function circuit.

Raymond Crowe - described as one of Australia's leading contemporary magicians.

Vince Sorrenti – No comic is in more demand in Australia

Scott Williams - Scott is funny, quick, fresh, energetic, sure-fire, bright, fun, original, a natural blonde, hilarious unpredictable, crowdpleasable, and unputdownable!

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Keran Wicks

Keran founded Network Video aged 33, making her the only woman to head any video rental group, franchise or independent, in the world.

As head of Australia's largest independent marketing and buying group Keran travels constantly, speaking to groups of retailers and studio heads, ranging from 10 to 500 at a time. In 2001, she was the only Australian and the only woman to present at a major international conference put on by 20th Century Fox in the US. Keran showcased her award-winning 'Videology' marketing campaign.

Keran has been an active member of the Australian Video Rental Retailers Association (AVRRA) board since 1998. She was a key driver in the successful case brought against Warner Bros in the Australian Federal Court in 2001. More recently Keran helped take the fight up to Foxtel.

For more information on Keran Wicks please click here.

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Marty Fields

Marty Fields is a versatile, widely experienced comedian and presenter - a valuable asset to any event.

As a Comedian, Marty Fields is a rapid-fire power station of material and one of the genuine big guns on the Australian comedy circuit. He began his stand-up career in 1987, playing the comedy circuit in hotels and clubs all over the country.

Well recognised from his five years on Hey Hey it's Saturday, The Battle of the Sexes, Blankety Blanks or his character Roy Holland on Blue Heelers, Marty has a comedy radio show that is networked to over a 100 stations nationally. As the best selling author of three comedy books, Marty is recognized as Australia’s authority on one-liners for every possible topic. His corporate comedy performances have been praised for the past fifteen years by regular clients such as Toyota, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Ford, The AFL, BHP, Telstra, Shell, IBM, Beaurepaires and Cadbury.

For more information on Marty Fields please click here

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