AS A PLANNER WHO focuses mostly on corporate events, Cindy Lo says she was hit harder by the recent AIG scandal than by budget cuts in the past year.

"Event clients that were always fiscally responsible with their money didn't want to spend as much because they didn't wan to end up on the front page," she says.

So she had to scale back and find ways to host quality events without the extras they may have included in the past. The silver lining? "Budget cuts can make you think harder and be more creative," she says.

As she looked over the numbers, an interesting trend emerged. Out-of-pocket cash dropped, but sponsorship levels at her events did not. In some cases, as sponsorship levels increased they filled every spot.

"Companies are being a lot more strategic with their marketing dollars, but their budgets more of less remained the same," she says. "And even if the amount of the sponsorship increased, they were still saying, 'Let me be that title sponsor.'"

She recognizes that not everyone has the luxury of strong partnerships for their event, but for those who do, it's an easy way to bring in more income for the event and help offset budget cuts in other areas.

She also began to look internally for entertainment and speakers. Most organizations have a large board of very well-connected advisers who can often reach out to others in the community to find a good speaker for the event, potentially saving thousands in speaker fees.

In one instance, she was able to bring in a band for entertainment at very little cost, as one of the members was an employee. "People liked it even more because we tied it back to the company," she says.

For a tech group made up mostly of men, she borrowed a Wii for the entertainment and rented a flat-screen TV. The group liked being able to casually network at the hotel without having to go "hang out at a smoky bar".

Lo has also gone to her suppliers for help. She says it's been difficult to ask past partners to do the same job at a significantly reduced rate, but those who are working with her to still provide the "wow" factor instead of resorting to cheap supplies "have made me realize they are the lifelong partners," she says.

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