Welcome to Padgett’s Audience Response & Interactive Games Blog!

By Lauren Traviesa

Director of Business Development

Padgett Communications is proud to sponsor an informational roundtable session at the upcoming Corporate Event Marketing Associations’s (CEMA) 2008 Summitt. The 3-day summit for event marketing professionals will be held July 20-22 at the Red Rocks Resort in Las Vegas.

Padgett’s roundtable session will feature a brief demonstration of our Audience Response System and a short presentation detailing the powerful uses and benefits of incorporating ARS into corporate events and meetings.

Founded in 1990, CEMA is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving event and marketing professionals in all sectors of the technology industry through educational/networking opportunities both regionally and nationally.

For more information on CEMA or to become a member, please visit www.cemaonline.com.

By Christina Infinger, Project Manager

Padgett Communications was one of several sponsors that supported Dean Hurst as he participated in the AIDS/LifeCycle, 7-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Hurst was one of 2,500 cyclists from all over the world to participate in the momentous and challenging event. All of the riders and 500 volunteer roadies raised a record $11.6 million, more than any other annual HIV/AIDS fundraising event. Hurst raised funds through full-day sponsorships; and one, five, and ten-mile increment sponsorships.

Now in its seventh year, the AIDS/LifeCycle event is designed to advance shared interests to end the pandemic and to make a difference in the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS.

To read more about the AIDS/LifeCycle event, visit http://www.aidslifecycle.org/

By Christina Infinger 

Representatives from IBM’s Web conferencing company - Lotus Sametime Unyte - visited Padgett Communications today to film a short company spotlight that will broadcast on the Unyte Web site late this summer.

The two-minute Webcast will feature Padgett’s Director of Operations, Tim Alcott, and Director of Business Development, Lauren Traviesa, as they detail the benefits of using Unyte’s Web conferencing services. Padgett Communications currently uses the Unyte platform to power our online Audience Response demonstrations with prospective clients.

We will keep you updated as to when the spotlight goes live! For more information on Sametime Unyte, visit www.sametimeunyte.com If you would like to schedule an online demonstration of any of the Padgett Audience Response Systems, please call 888-233-4724.

By Lauren Traviesa, Director of Business Development

Well, I am happy to report that we had an exceptional turn out at this year’s INFOCOMM EXPO & International Marketplace in Las Vegas. Our largest trade show, INFOCOMM draws more than 30,000 attendees from the audio visual and technology industry worldwide for three days of networking and exchange.

This was our third year exhibiting as an Audience Response provider at INFOCOMM and we were pleased to see many friendly faces - as well as make several new contacts! It seems that with each year, the attendees are becoming more educated on the benefits and uses of Audience Response Systems. This year, we were happy to offer our new Padgett University tutorial on DVD as an additional educational tool. You can view Padgett University online at http://pcipro.com/video-select.html. 

See below for a picture of the InfoCOMM 2008 Padgett team. We would also like to thank the team at Fleetwood, our keypad manufacturer, for their continued support and quality products. See you next year! 

June 19, 2008

By Christina Infinger, Project Manager

And the winner is…! Last week our audience response system helped determine the winner of a talent show held at Google’s national sales conference in San Francisco.

The conference attendees utilized our interactive keypads to deliver votes for their favorite talent act of the night. The 12 acts included a pianist, a cellist, singers, dancers, sketch comics, and various other crowd pleasers. Actor and stand-up comedian Bill Bellamy hosted the event and entertained the audience as they voted for their favorite performers.

By Lauren Traviesa, Director of Business Development

We just added two new animated intros to our Web site that highlight our new Padgett University. To see all three intros consecutively, visit www.pcipro.com  three times in a row and close out your browser each visit. We had a lot of fun coming up with the concepts for each of these pieces and we hope you’ll enjoy them too! 

By Christina Infinger, Project Manager

Padgett Communications is proud to be one of several sponsors supporting local professional golfer Brian Rogalski in his advancement throughout the 2008 Nationwide Golf Tour.

Rogalski honed his golf skills by participating in various events including the National Golf Association Hooters Tour and the Moonlight Tour, as well as previous stints on the Nationwide Tour. 

“I’ve been blessed with friends, family and business associates who express a genuine interest for me and my future, and I am truly grateful,”Rogalski said.

Rogalski’s ultimate goal is to play alongside the big names on the PGA Tour. With the help of those who believe in his ability, the golf enthusiast is closer than ever to attaining his dream. We wish him the best of luck!

For more information on Brian Rogalski, visit www.BrianRogalski.com

By Lauren Traviesa, Director of Business Development

It’s a busy week for us at Padgett Communications with the start of our trade show season nearing. Today we are preparing to exhibit at the American Society for Training and Development’s annual International Conference and Expo, held June 2-4 at the San Diego Convention Center.

ASTD is the world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning and performance professionals. Members come from more than 100 countries and work in thousands of organizations of all sizes. The annual conference provides a forum for training professionals to share ideas, education and industry insight as well as preview the latest products and services related to workplace development.  

Representatives from Padgett Communications will be at the conference demonstrating the benefits of incorporating Audience Response in the workplace training environment. Using ARS in professional training is great way to engage employees while simultaneously tracking their content retention and progress.

For more information on the 2008 ASTD International Conference and Expo, please visit http://www.astd.org/. Already attending? Stop by booth #120 for a live demonstration of Padgett Communications’ interactive Audience Response System!

By Lauren Traviesa, Director of Business Development

It’s always rewarding when we are able as a company to give back to the local community. And today is one of those days. J

Earlier this spring, Padgett Communications donated a 32-keypad Audience Response System to the students at St. Petersburg High School. We are very pleased to announce that the SPHS students used their new Interactive Keypads for the first time today with great success!

SPHS teacher Ryan Hyypio led a history lesson where students using the Interactive Keypads were quizzed on subject matter from their class textbook.

“The Padgett keypads and voting software are proven educational resources. It is a great learning device that makes classes interactive and fun, while displaying immediate results. What a great tool for our students! They were engaged and excited to vote,” Hyppio said.

The donated Audience Response System will continue to be used in 9^th & 10^th grade American & World History classes as a way to review material and evaluate students. Padgett Communications wishes Ryan Hyypio and all the SPHS students the best of luck in the coming school year!     

By Amanda Gammisch, Project Manager

We have initiated our first recycling program at Padgett Communications! From this point forward, all internal paper, plastic and newspaper will be collected and recycled using services provided by the City of Clearwater. Padgett is committed to energy saving practices both in our office and in the products and services that we offer to our clients.

Using Audience Response Systems instead of paper evaluations/surveys is a great way to keep your meetings eco-friendly. Cut down on thousands of wasted printed materials using our wireless voting system and do your part to help the environment.