PHILADELPHIA, March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The global event marketing agency Sparks announced today that it will partner with industry leader Gina Rudan, President of Genuine Insights Inc., a professional development and coaching firm, and author of Practical Genius: The Real Smarts You Need to Get Your Talents and Passions Working for You, for its 2013 "Women in Events" program. Rudan will kick off the series of women centric events on May 7, 2013 with the Master Class: "Harnessing Your Practical Genius," held during the Event Marketing Summit in Chicago, IL. and continue through the summer with half day workshops in the Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco areas.

Event planning is slated to be the 10th fastest-growing job in the U.S. by 2020, according to the latest release from the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics[1]. Not only that, but the field also ranks as number 6 out of the 10 most stressful jobs -- right up there with military personnel, firefighters, and other fields dominated by men, according to a 2012 CNBC poll[2]. Women in events, says Rudan, often put added pressure on themselves by criticizing themselves for not being creatively brilliant enough.

"Most people consider genius to be a gift, a 'lightning bolt from the gods' that only strikes people like Einstein or Mozart… Not true," says Rudan, who has also been a guest lecturer, trainer, and executive coach for organizations including Microsoft, PepsiCo, Merck Co., Summit Series, the BET Network, the Interpublic Group, Nike, LinkedIn, and more. "Every one of us has a capacity for genius. Anyone is capable of achieving exceptional accomplishments at home and work." In this social mixer and professional workshop session, women in the profession will get practical, ground-level perfective on harnessing their own genius and putting it to work.

Sparks, a leading event marketing firm, is a pioneer in paving the way for women's success in the field of event marketing, holding regional and national workshops and events to address creative, practical, and innovative strategies that attendees can put to use in their work lives immediately.

Recognizing that women often prefer a collaborative approach to discussing professional issues, Sparks' Women in Events program's leadership workshops are specifically designed to combine instruction, self-reflection, and group discussion activities. To this end, women in event marketing are supplied with a variety of opportunities to hear and discuss real-world examples of how to apply business strategies, as well as to acknowledge the frank challenges women encounter on their path to success.

Sparks is delighted to be partnering with Rudan for its 2013 Women in Events Program and looks forward to helping women make further strides in this exciting, challenging 21^st Century field.

ABOUT SPARKS (event marketing division)
Sparks is a global event marketing agency that creates charismatic brand engagements for their customers through events, exhibitions, and experiences. Sparks' strategic thinkers value close relationships with their clients in order to get the most out of the brand experience. Sparks specializes in creating experiences that alter perceptions, and nurture preference and influence decisions.  Sparks integrates and deploys their core service offerings of strategy, creative, production, management, marketing and measurement across multiple brand touch-points. Sparks has created trade show exhibits, events & meetings, consumer activations, branded environments, audience engagements, and more for the likes of Motorola, Google, Boston Scientific, and The New York Times. For more information visit www.sparksonline.com.

[1] Bloomberg BusinessWeek 12/8/12; US Department of Labor Statistics

[2] 2012 CNBC poll: http://www.cnbc.com/id/45859025

Contact:
Michelle Conron
215-625-7988
michelle@skaibluemedia.com

SOURCE Sparks