Although we were unable to raise the R50 000 we were aiming for, we still managed to raise R10 000. This is an incredible achievement considering that the idea to host a benefit evening was only thought about in January, and that the entire event was planned within 4 weeks.

During this past week, I’ve received wonderful feedback emails and telephone calls from people who attended, telling me how much everyone was amazed, and enjoyed a fun and memorable evening.  One gentleman had approached me immediately after the show and said he couldn’t remember the last time he laughed so much!

Thank you to everyone who supported this special event — your contribution to the Upliftment Programme will help make a real difference to many South African children’s lives.

Once again, a big thank you to the primary sponsors: Grand West Casino, Enterstage SA, Nomu and Hirt & Carter.

Here are a few photographs of my performance:

Click to view full image

Newspaper: Weekend Argus
Section: The Good Weekend
Page: 7
Date: 20th February 2010
Writer: Bianca Coleman

Subtitled “Speed dating for your brain”, the concept is for everyday Capetonians to spend an evening engaging with passionate & fascinating people.

A vast wealth of knowledge, wisdom and trivia is stored in isolated pockets in the collective consciousness of Cape Town.

For one night only, the UCT Graduate School of Business invites you to interact with an encyclopaedia of fascinating people in a beautiful location. 60 experts from a wide range of fields and backgrounds gather in the depths of the Iziko South African Museum to share revelations with you. Their brief is to respond to the topic “This information could change your life”.

A bell marks the time and you move from table to table engaging in four intimate 20 minute conversations with … a cosmologist, a trends analyst, a sex worker, a nuclear physicist, an ecologist … who knows who you will meet and how your life might be changed.

Originally posted on www.infectingthecity.com

This event is made possible through the generous funding of UCT’s Graduate School of Business, where I regularly speak on magic, marketing and creativity.

I consider it a great honour to have been selected along with well-known and respected entrepreneurs, politicians, speakers, engineers, artists and activists!

“Three of a Kind” Charity Hat Trick

10 February 2010 — Three of the country’s top magicians, Jacques le Sueur, the only person to ever successfully steal (and return) former President Nelson Mandela’s wrist-watch (twice), Andrew “Magic Man” Eland, one of the most experienced and well-travelled magicians in the country and Marcel Oudejans, recognised both locally and abroad as one of the busiest corporate event entertainment specialists in Africa, will delight audiences at a charity benefit hosted by the UPliftment Programme at the Grand West Casino on 20 February.

Established six years ago, the UPliftment Programme has trained more than 50 volunteer care clowns who share joy with over 3 500 children every month. Operating across the country, the NPO visits children in hospitals and homes, providing them with regular doses of fun and laughter. All proceeds raised from the event will go towards uplifting a further 500 children every month.

“The UPliftment Programme is committed to sharing the healing power of joy,” Nikki Jackman, joy activist and founder of the organisation, said. “Three of a Kind will be a magical evening and a spectacular show. It’s an opportunity for us to share what the UPliftment Programme does on a daily basis — joy activism – a powerful and necessary healing tool.”

Audiences will be treated to a world-class performance. Le Sueur, Eland and Oudejans have all independently built international profiles for themselves, with regular invitations all over the world. Their performances will be filmed and screened live by Enterstage who have come onboard to provide lighting, film and live edits on the evening.

“We will be pulling out all the stops. Thanks to Enterstage, Three of a Kind will be larger than life event with real time close-ups, special lighting and effects. It’s not often that three of the country’s top magicians unite, audiences are in for a really special treat and it’s all for a worthy cause,” Jackman said.

Tickets will cost R130 and can be purchased on www.theup.org.za.

For further information on the” Three of a Kind” event, email: .

Special thanks to our sponsors:

• Grand West Casino

• Enterstage SA

• Nomu

• Hirt & Carter

About the magicians:

Marcel Oudejans:

South African Corporate Magician & “Infotainer”, Marcel Oudejans, is recognised both locally and abroad as one of the busiest corporate event entertainment specialists in Africa by his peers and clients alike. At age 28, he has performed professionally for over 150 companies over the past 10 years, and has been invited to perform, lecture and attend at exclusive events as far as Los Angeles and India. As a enthusiastic entrepreneur, and author of “The Serious Business Owner’s Guide To Creating Customers For Life”, Marcel specialises in integrating his amazing sleight-of-hand and engaging personality with compelling presentations on marketing, customer service and sales. Marcel serves as the current Vice-President of the Cape Town Chapter of the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa, and is a regular guest lecturer at the UCT Graduate School of Business.
Marcel is also one of the directors of the UPliftment Programme.

Jacques le Sueur:

Jacques le Sueur, South Africa’s Premier Corporate Magician and “Professional Adventurer”, gives demonstrations of powerful, dynamic magic at society parties and corporate events worldwide. Clients from Hollywood to Hong Kong call on Jacques when they need his fun-loving, direct personality to amaze and impress their most jaded guests. He holds the distinction of being the only person to ever successfully steal (and return) President Nelson Mandela’s wrist-watch on two separate occasions! A leader in his chosen field, most of his current shows are for global corporations and high-end celebrity parties, but he has also performed in ludicrously extreme places: from nightclubs in Europe, the jungles of Central Africa, theme parks in Korea, and even inside the Pyramids of Cairo. Jacques has published two internationally acclaimed books on building a career as a professional magician.

Magic Man:

World-class performer Andrew “Magic Man” Eland is one of the most experienced and well-travelled magicians in the country. He has been touring North America, Canada and Asia for the past 15 years building an impressive list of achievements. Magic Man performed at the Edinburgh Festival and headlined at top nightspots across Europe, Canada and South Korea — entertaining the rich and famous — from the Rolling Stones at the Sticky Fingers restaurant in London to the ”wrap-up” party in Vancouver for U2’s Zooropa Tour. Since 1999, Magic Man has been a hit at comedy clubs nationwide and has appeared on M-Net’s “It’s a Funny Country”, SABC 2’s “Chuckle and Chat Show”, and the 1998 Smirnoff International Comedy Festival in Durban and Cape Town. He currently performs regularly at Joe Parker’s “Comedy & Jive” comedy club in Monte Casino, Johannesburg, where he is considered to be a crowd favourite!

Distributed on behalf of the UPliftment Programme, for further information contact:
Beverley Houston 082 824 8671

We’ve received an AWESOME sponsorship from Grand West Casino — we’ll be able to seat 750 people in their Market Hall — and from Enterstage SA — a full compliment of stage, lighting, sound and live video & projection! This production will be of world-class quality, and your R130 ticket not only goes to assisting the Upliftment Programme, but you’ll also experience an unforgettable evening of laughter, fun & magic … I truly hope that you’ll join me in making a real and sustainable difference to the youth of South Africa …

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS VIA CREDIT CARD, EFT BANK TRANSFER OR uKASH VOUCHERS NOW!

Launch of new health, safety guide for event organisers

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) will launch the second edition of the standards guide — Health and safety at events — requirements at the Development Bank of South Africa in Midrand, Johannesburg, on Thursday, 21 January 2010, at 3.30pm.

This edition expands on the current edition and is a critical resource for all event organisers wishing to organise events that conform to legal requirements. Printed copies, normally R295, will be made available for attendees at a discounted price of R200 per issue.

“The presentations will cover the need for the new issue and overviews of the standard and various health and risk management issues,” explains Petro du Plessis, standards writer at the SABS. “The evening will end with entertainment and cocktails but bookings are essential as places are limited.”

For bookings contact Petro du Plessis on +27 (0)12 428 6011 or email .

Originally posted on bizcommunity.com

Over the past few years, I’ve observed the difference between a successful event planner & someone who is clearly not a regular event organizer.  What is becoming apparent is that many people are looking for the ”secret” online. They’re like the many people who approach me after a show, telling me that they’ve tried Googling for the methods to my magic, but could not find a suitable solution!

Well, here’s what I’ve learnt from my experiences: the biggest & best events are planned & organised early, from the early budget stages right down to the last minute.  Events can be planned & held in a very short time, but unfortunately most people can experience quite a lot of stress if they forget how vital the planning stage is.

So I decided to create a basic tool to help initiate the planning stage so that an event planner, just like you, would be able to know that you’re getting off to a good start.  It’s a basic guide for how to plan a function,  and will definitely help you avoid the common mistake that most event planners make!

A few months back, I posted a short list of free event planning software and templates on my company’s blog & discovered that many people would like an event planning template manual that would making planning an event easier: a simple, easy to use, “connect the dots & fill-in the blanks” guide that will get your successful event started!

Best of all, I wanted to make this shareable so I’ve licensed it under Creative Commons so that it’s open-source. You can get your FREE copy of ”Event Planning Templates For Planning Corporate Events” simply by completing the form below!

This free manual includes 9 basic event planning templates that you can print as many times as you require — just mark what is appropriate to your function requirements & you’ve got a basic event proposal!

Here’s what is included in the ”Event Planning Templates For Corporate Events”:

• Pre-Planning template,
• Guests, Venue & Catering template,
• Decor & Flowers template,
• Table Planner template,
• Entertainer quotation/service template,
• Presentations, Technical & Recording template,
• Delegation of Tasks template,
• Service Providers quotation/brief/service template, and
• Post-Event Evaluation template!

Whether you decide to use any other free event planning software or not, we hope that we can give you some inspiration to help you create the kind of event that your bosses, colleagues, friends and family will thank you for!

I’m requesting your email address so that I can send you any updates or additions to these templates in the future.  Your details & information will not be shared or sold & you will always have the ability to unsubscribe.  Of course, I’ll make sure that you can contact me at so that we can assist you in making your event a success.

Today, we’re chatting to Marcel Oudejans, one of the busiest and most entertaining corporate infotainment and presentation specialists in Southern Africa. He has been performing professionally for over 10 years and has recently published his first book “The Serious Business Owners Guide to Creating Customers for Life”.

Marcel, most of us know you as a magician (and a pretty mindblowing one at that) – but your offering transcends card tricks and rabbits. Can you clarify your positioning?
I am a Corporate Magician and Infotainer. Someone who uses magic, illusion and entertainment to create a compelling “story”, often about a company or a new product, that people not only remember, but are compelled to talk about. I offer a unique service where I also customize my presentation to my client’s marketing requirements. “Infotainment ” is about using the medium of entertainment to deliver important information or a key message. An example was when I used Absolut Vodka in my act, purposefully.

How did you get into this field? (We’re guessing it was a choice of Kung Fu or Magic as a kid… and you picked the one where you could score more girls.)
My first memory of being totally astonished by magic was at age seven. My Mom showed me a magic trick and she wouldn’t tell me how it worked. She told to read a library book and learn. I was instantly hooked! I started performing magic professionally from age 15 and ended up at Madame Zingara restaurant in Cape Town. My entertainment was a great way to retain customers and, of course, the more I performed the longer they would stay – which increased sales. I literally became part of their ‘brand experience’. I was offering something fun and personal, but also it made business sense: give your customers a reason to talk about their experience with you. Six years ago, I took the time to study as much about marketing as I could – both for myself, and because I felt I need to understand why my clients were hiring me. Entertainment at an event makes sense – you need to provide something “different” to make your event special. I got thinking seriously about why companies host events: they’re a great way of developing and nurturing the personal relationships needed to grow a business. It’s a big part of what I do now. So, while there’s little doubt that Magic can be used to “score girls” – I’m currently interested in “scoring clients” instead.

Nicely handled. So, is it quite a competitive industry? Are there a lot of folk doing this sort of thing?
The Art of Magic as a hobby is fairly common, there’s no shortage of people capable of doing a small number of tricks. But there a very few full-time professional magicians as a whole, perhaps ten full-time magicians in the entire Sub-Saharan Africa. We all know and respect each other and we all generally work our own markets. It is such a small industry in South Africa, so the “competition” is a lot more personal. We are aware of each other’s styles, so it’s advantageous that we co-operate with each other and work on maintaining a professional standard. Since attending an exclusive personal tutorship in Los Angeles in 2007 with the world’s top Infotainer, Joel Bauer, I’ve become the only certified Infotainer in Africa that delivers the same high standard of experiential marketing as the best in the world.

What advice do you have to someone wanting to get into “Infotainment”?
Firstly, you’ll need a performance skill that you are able to demonstrate with confidence. It could be anything: unicycling, comedy, boxing, graffiti … as long as it’s something slightly quirky. Then you practise, practise, practise and practise some more so that you consistently deliver in any situation, regardless of how suitable the environment is to the quality of your performance. Then: Get out there! Every performance is an opportunity to get a new client.

Specifically, if you want to get into “branded entertainment” then you’ll need to have a thorough understanding of how and why companies use entertainment for branding and marketing. Doing your standard act while wearing branded clothing is simply not enough! You’ll need to develop the skill of combining your client’s key points with a fun and captivating show. Ultimately having the experience of several different persuasion skills that combine into a valuable presentation.

Ok, so everyone’s thinking it. We’re going to ask it. How the hell do you do the watch trick? (where you take the watch off an audience member while he’s watching you!) That’s just freaky man!
Using one of the primary tools of magic: misdirection. One of the principles is that “the greater motion covers the smaller motion”, and this is because of basic human behaviour. In the wild, our early ancestors would be alerted to danger by detecting movement, so we instantly focus on large and fast motions. This also means that we are easily distracted: show the victim, errrm, volunteer… something interesting that peaks her curiosity, and she’ll be far more interested in what you’re talking about and won’t be paying attention as you steal her watch.

The skill of stealing a watch one-handed, while the person is listening to you, must be learnt through sheer tenacity and “big cahoonas”. Once you get comfortable with the “mechanics” of stealing a watch, then you start to develop the ability to create the misdirection necessary. That’s often the hardest part – creating the opportunity to give a rational and reasonable explanation to keep your volunteer’s attention, while you’re (frantically) manipulating a watch-strap with one hand!

Actually, come to think of it, how the hell do I do it…? Really, I’m still surprised by how it often I’m able to do it… and surprised that most people never even suspect that I’m taking something right out of their personal space. I don’t have kleptomania. I do it because the volunteer’s reaction is typically very strong. Having your watch stolen from right underneath your nose is probably one of the most remarkable things you’ll experience (as you know, Fred).

And finally, your top 5 inspirational figures?
My best friend & South Africa’s #1 Close-Up magician, Jacques le Sueur, who mentored me when I started my own business.
Joel Bauer, author of the best-seller “How To Persuade People Who Don’t Want To Be Persuaded”, and probably one of the best speaker-trainers on the planet right now.
The pair of Travis Miller & Jimmy Vee, co-authors of “Gravitational Marketing” with my mentor, Joel Bauer. Known as @BigIdeaGuy and @5ftHighMktgGuy, these guys are social media marketing geniuses!
And a whole bunch of magicians who have inspired my performance and “tricks”: Mark Wilson, Michael Ammar, Dave Williamson, Eugene Burger, Greg Wilson, Banachek, Bill Malone, Tom Mullica, Richard Osterlind, Jon LeClair, Darwin Ortiz, Joshua Jay, Derren Brown and the hundreds of magicians I’ve connected with. I love learning magic and I always try to learn something from every fellow performer that I get the opportunity to meet.

Ok, that’s cheating – wayyy more than five – but since we’re scared you’re going to steal more of our stuff, we’ll let you get away with it. Marcel, thanks for your time pal. We’re huge fans, and look forward to seeing you perform again. Ideate readers, get hold of Marcel on his website, or follow him on Twitter here.

Interviewed by Fred Roed
Original article on Ideate blog

The Ideate blog encourages entrepreneurs to think BIG. It’s offers refreshing & valuable content … and they like to give things away! This South African blog reaches approximate 2 000 readers per day.

I’ve just received this email & I thought it would be particularly interesting to year-end event coordinators …

The Pavilion Conference Centre
Deliberate Conferencing Pleasure

YEAR-END SPECIAL:
Zero Rand Venue Hire

“Looking for ideas for your year-end customer or staff party? This upcoming December and January [2009] we offer you any one of five beautiful rooms with stunning view for free when you book your dinner or evening cocktail party with us.  Experience our amazing cuisine and attentive service.

Minimum booking numbers and conditions apply. This offer excludes the Theatre, Exhibitions Floor and Atlantic Deck, valid for all 5 rooms on first floor.”

Contact:

Lindsay Goslett
Sales & Marketing Manager
The Pavilion Conference Centre

http://www.thepavilion.co.za

What a fantastic special offer!  I’m sure you’ll agree that while some companies are cutting back on their entertainment budget these days, when there is the chance to use a free venue for their event — particularly one as stunning at The Pavilion — it means that practically anyone can host a staff party or client event this year.

As you consider all the benefits of not having an additional venue hire cost, then I’m sure you’ll agree that you can now afford to hire the world-class quality corporate entertainment services that we offer.  Remember that if you book my performance within 20km of Cape Town CBD, there are no additional tranport or accomodation charges to our performance quotation!

I’m certain that many companies will wish to take this opportunity — but dates are limited & it’s best that you book now to avoid disappointment.  Don’t think twice! Contact The Pavilion Conference Centre to book your “Zero Rand Venue” & use our Online Bookings Enquiry Wizard to receive a performance quotation ASAP.

I really do enjoy these presentations because the class & I have a lot of fun being amazed by magic, but also connecting the experience to simple but important marketing tactics.  But I must admit … I was a little intimidated by the list of respected experts who were also speaking during this course.

“Presenters that I would like to give prop’s to are Dave Duarte (programme founder and much more), Mike Perk (MD at World Wide Creative), Rob Stokes (founder of Quirk eMarketing — check out their text book licensed under the creative commons agreement), Marcel Oudejans (Magician and Marketer, I kid you not!) and Allan Kent (Group Head: Saatchi & Saatchi @Play). I found what they had to say especially interesting (Dave and Allan took the time to chat to me over lunch regarding my development in the field, which was not necessary, and which i really have respect for), so if you want to find out more, follow their links.”

Source: markpretorius.com

Unfortunately, due to scheduled meetings, I was only able to be there for my own presentation so I was unable to watch all the speakers.  But Mark Pretorius, who works at Old Mutual, wrote a blog post with some of his highlights:

“My most important out-takes from the course for me were:

• Strategy embraces trends, and tactics use applications
• Be relevant, authentic, succinct and immediate
• Think like the client (this is the most “duh” item, but it really does take someone to remind you to do this when you get into the daily grind of things)
• Sell the advantages, not the features
• Talk to people in the common ground between what i believe to be true and what they believe to be true, or they won’t understand me or care
• Create a media neutral campaign and use that across mediums, don’t create something for TV and adapt it to other media.”

Source: markpretorius.com

Although I didn’t know it, Mark was filming one of my demonstrations with his cellphone camera, which he was kind enough to share on Youtube.  Apologies for the quality of the sound, but it was a great attempt nonetheless. Thanks Mark!

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you are an event manager, entertainment agent or are simply this year’s “year-end party planner”, this is a great opportunity for you to meet with the role players in the industry. Everyone is welcome, so bring your family & friends to join in the fun!

The Expo will provide ideas and solutions for your events & make it an ultimate entertainment shopping place from New Year to Christmas and every party in-between. It promises to be an ultimate party shopping & organisation destination, where one can get all the greatest & latest from the entertainment industry & shop for all “party goodies” under one roof.

You’ll also be treated to performances by a variety of performers, dancers, musicians, magicians & comedians performing at different times. There will be 3 zones — “Corporate Events“, “Kids’ Party” & “Let’s Party“ — so that you will be able to find similar suppliers & products in close proximity.

I’d love to have the opportunity to meet you & show you the the results of my performances. Because I don’t often have the opportunity for ’general public’ performances, due to the fact that my events are exclusive to my clients’ guests, this would be a great time to see me live & in action!

I will be performing on Stage 2 & Stage 3 at the following times on both days:

Stage 2: 10h00 & 15h00

Stage 3: 12h00 & 16h30

My performances will be approx. 30 minutes each, & I’ll be doing a spectrum of the performances I offer. I’ll also have a few copies of ”Creating Customers For Life” for sale, & will also have ‘Agent Packs’ with me.

If you are entertainment supplier & have considered using my performances in the past, now would be a fantastic opportunity for you to see why our clients rave about us!

Party, Event & Entertainment Expo Details:

Start Date: 19 September 2009
End Date: 20 September 2009
Times: 09h00–17h00 daily
Venue: Coca-Cola Dome, Randburg, Gauteng
Event Type: Consumer Exhibition
Price: R60 adults; pensioners and kids under 12 free
Contact Person:
Telephone No: (011) 787–2591
Web Site: http://www.partyexpo.co.za

If you would like to meet me at the Expo, please contact me so that we can arrange a time & location … see you there!