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Schmooze News

Travelling for the holidays?

As part of the Lifestyle Series of exclusive events and services to Schmooze members, we are delighted to announce this new benefit to our members.

RoomRates.com.au is a Canberra-owned and operated business which, since 2006, has provided customers with a range of great hotel deals and a unique reservation service. RoomRates.com.au is the only web site of its kind to donate part of each booking to charities that help find shelter and beds for people in need.

It is also the only site that rewards every customer with a Free Main Meal at a leading restaurant.

RoomRates.com.au delivers discounted hotel rates all year round - up to 60% off normal hotel rates. Schmooze members can access further discounts by logging into the Members Lounge and visiting the Roomrates.com.au page.

RoomRates.com.au provides a wide selection of accommodation and an extensive range of one to five star properties in a variety of styles including luxury resorts, serviced apartments, budget motels and global hotel chains.

The website is the brainchild of entrepeneur, Robert Letiq (and Schmooze member naturally) of Privileges card fame, and with over 45,000 hotels in 120 countries of all levels of accomodation, Schmooze members are certain to find great venues for their next holiday or business trip as well as assist worthy charities in the process.

For more information please see the Roomrates page in the Members Lounge.

 

Holiday Arrangements

Even at Schmooze HQ we need to have a break from dreaming up new schemes for our events, and so Schmooze's founder Phillip will be on holidays through December whilst everyone will be enjoying the festive season.

However, the team will still be on deck to welcome new members, process any events and notices being added to the website by members and generally keep the wheels turning.

There won't be any official Schmooze events in December, though keep an eye on the website for any member hosted activities or special offers.

So any correspondence or enquiries will be fielded in Phillip's absence by his assistant Susan, or another of the team.

The plans for 2009 are well underway already and we'll be rolling out the first Schmooze events from mid-late January and introduce a host of new professional development and networking opportunities for members!

 

 

Sponsorship Opportunities in 2009

We are seeking sponsors for our events and activities in 2009.

In particular we are seeking hosts for our very popular Monthly Schmoozes for both the Professional and Young Professional Branches from late January. We are finalising the first six months program for next year so we encourage you to get in touch as these events are quickly booked.

These events attract 80-150 participants and are a perfect opportunity to showcase your venue (if you have one) or introduce your organisation in a tasteful way to a very desirable demographic. We offer a range of promotional benefits including being featured on the SchmoozeTV clips and co-branding, and promoting your expertise through our website and e-news.

Some of the options include:

  • sponsoring or hosting a Monthly Schmooze- the flagship networking event each month (there is one each for Profesionals and for Young Professionals)
  • sponsoring or hosting boutique networking events such as networking dinners or invitation only boardroom lunches
  • providing in-kind or cash support to the network as a whole or one of the branches
  • participating in the Schmooze Lifestyle Series which provide social opportunities to members
  • offering special offers or ongoing benefits to Schmooze members
  • lucky door prizes

About Schmooze

The Schmooze network offers a wide range of targeted marketing and promotional opportunities. With its three branches of activities (Professional, Social and Young Professional) and several events each month throughout the year venues, services and organisations have the opportunity to engage with their target audience.

Our membership is currently about 380 (as of 11 November 2008) and we gain about 7 members a week with a renewal rate of about 50%. The majority of our members are established professionals over 30 to 50 across a wide range of sectors and 25% are in their 20's.

In addition, the website enjoys a 20% growth per month of unique visits (some 350 in August 2008) offering additional profile and the mailing list has some 1500+ direct recipients representing the ACT regions leading companies and government departments.

Our approach is to provide a collaborative and targeting means for our members to enjoy the best events, services and venues the region has to offer and avoid a hard-sell approach.

To get a sense of some of the organisations we worked with in 2007, please see this page, and for a list of recently joined members see here.

We aim for a sophisticated and personalised approach that respects the intelligence and taste of our membership, and to ensure our sponsors receive the recognition and support they deserve. Its a policy that we only use member venues and services for our activities, so we would expect that any sponsor would join the network (which is itself a superb way to source hundreds of new contacts and raise your professional profile)

Contact

For a confidential discussion about sponsorship possibilities the Schmooze Network can offer, please contact Phillip Jones.

 

2009 program preview

Read more here and please get in touch if you want to get involved as a presenter, sponsor or just help out with next years dyanmic program!

 

Schmooze Your Way Through the Festive Season

 

Watch the Schmooze Ad

 

Schmooze Lifestyle Series - special offers for members

The Schmooze Lifestyle Series offers each month a range of exclusive events or services offered to members of the network.

Members can access either special discounts on products, services or events by logging into the Members Lounge part of the website and viewing the Notice Board page, and the Social Calendar.

We've selected several leading Canberra businesses, each offering complimentary benefits and events, and others will be added through out the year.

The Schmooze Lifestyle Series complements several professional networking events and for more info please see this page.

 

Schmooze Cafe Groups

Schmooze is always looking to provide opportunities for its members to well, network.

So the Schmooze Cafe concept has been introduced where members who work in similar fields can meet informally over coffee or lunch or breakfast on a regular basis. They also provides the space for conversations between peers to foster the sharing of ideas, collaboration and leads.

We have three groups at the moment, and others will follow in 2009:

  • Leadership Group:  for owners of SME's and senior managers -an invitation -only group, who meet for lunch monthly to explore synergies, trends and business opportunities. To express your interest, please contact Phillip Jones via email
  • Marketing/Communication Group: This is coordinated by new member Pippa Ainley for any member working in these sectors, If you are interested in participating in the group please get in touch with her via email
  • Home and Micro Business Group:  Do you work from home or by yourself and want to meet fellow small business people? This group is for any member who wants to get out make some useful contacts with those who have the same challenges and share ideas, insights and explore synergies. To express your interest in participating please contact coordinator, Rosemary Done via email  

If you have an idea for a group please contact Schmooze- and there is also more information on the Schmooze Cafe page in the Members Lounge part of the website.