Good Show!

The Longaberger Bee: A Cost-Effective Convention Done Right!

First, I should let you all in on my secret, which shouldn't be a secret at all:  my avocation is being a Longaberger Independent Sales Consultant.  For those of you who don't know, The Longaberger Company is, "the best damned basket company on the planet".  You can see their products on my avocation website:  www.longaberger.com/angelastory-krug.  Skilled American artisans weave these durable heirloom baskets in America each day and create beautiful solutions for your home that help with organization, decorating, and entertaining.  I recently got to meet the folks that make the baskets I use in my home every day.  Visit my website.  I'm sure you'll love them too!

Second, let me say it is a rare happening for me to attend a conference without producing it.  Nevertheless, last week I attended the Longaberger Bee for the first time.  I was pleasantly surprised ok, REALLY surprised, at the level of executive participation in roles that are definitely not in their job description and the number of home office employees who participated in whole-hearted fun and foolishness to the delight of a packed arena of home consultants from across the country.  Normally, a convention for a company the size of Longaberger uses a professional "spokesmodel" or "emcee", but Longaberger used their own staff for extensive general sessions and they were amazing!  Many corporations hire high-priced headline entertainment to drive home their message and entertain the attendees.  Instead, Longaberger spoofed a well-known comedian using one of their own executives and he was marvelous!  I don't know if the scripting was done in-house or if a professional writer was used, but either way, the production was outstanding.  Additionally, they knew where to spend production dollars to get the most bang for their buck.  When we were celebrating, it was raining confetti, when they introduced Christmas products, it was snowing.  The staging, lighting, and visual effects were well done.  The only "outside" entertainment was a dance group that supported the "Bee Boys", yet another group of employees who provide hilarious and quality entertainment, and live musicians to support all the stage activity and to get the crowd pumped before a session began.   

With some industries feeling the strain of a tightening economy, my "real" job as the owner of a meeting and event production company has seen a slow down in recent months.  Some clients are canceling annual events in an effort to save money, but they don't realize that their employees and customers need those events in order to stay dedicated and excited about their respective products and services.  I left the Longaberger Bee with a renewed sense of purpose about my avocation.  The baskets I sell keep American workers employed.  I'm going to set higher goals, work to achieve them, and make more money for my family as well as for The Longaberger Company.

Companies who are cutting back on conferences and events can take a page from Longaberger's playbook.  It pays to keep your employees, sales force and customers energized!  While an undertaking like the Longaberger Bee is not a low-cost production, I am confident the company realized a great savings using a good writer, good producer, good production and an in-house team of actors and performers who made the most of the company's convention budget.  Kudos to The Longaberger Company for keeping us excited about your product! 

What is your company doing to keep customers and employees engaged?  The Longaberger Bee is proof that cost-effective production can be done right and still have a mighty impact.  Call us.  Let us create a cost-effective meeting or event to energize your customers, keep your employees loyal, and get your sales back on track!  www.eventsourcepro.com    

Temperature, temperature, temperature.

Have you ever been to a meeting where the room is so cold your teeth are chattering louder than the speaker's voice?  Or worse yet, you want to fan yourself with the meeting materials because the room is so hot?  How much do you remember about those meetings other than the temperature?  There are many elements that comprise a successful meeting or event, but with even if every other element is amazing and perfectly executed, temperature can ruin the entire function. 

I recently served as the wedding attendant for a bride who is a colleague and had planned her wedding down to the last detail.  My job was simply to execute her plans on her wedding day.  The wedding went off without a hitch and the reception room was gorgeous.  During the wedding itself, my team was busy setting up the reception.  We commented on the temperature, requested several times that the room be cooled down, and even kept the velour drapes covering the windows along both sides of the room drawn until just before guest arrival.  We started our set up around 2pm and reception was not until 6pm.  There was more than adequate time to cool that room down to 68 degrees or less before 300 people entered the room and temperature began to rise.   However, the facility seemed uninterested in accommodating our requests.  Since I had not signed the contract, I didn't have the authority to insist that the room be at 68 degrees, but one would think that a facility of this caliber would do everything possible to accommodate a guest who had spent a significant amount of money at their facility. 

The end result was a hot venue, sweating guests, a wedding reception that probably didn't last as long as it should have because of room temperature, and a bride and groom who want their money for the room and the hours of open bar that no one used refunded.  The facility will have to negotiate with the bride and groom and will have tales of a bad guest experience spread like wild fire all because they were unwilling to turn up the air during a June wedding.  Guests may eventually forget, but the bride and groom will always remember how their reception was negatively impacted by room temperature.  How ridiculous.

Likewise, a corporation can spend thousands of dollars on a great speaker, a wonderful business theatre environment, the costs of travel, accommodations, food and beverage, and lost productivity of each attendee and still not have a successful meeting.  If the room temperature impedes or in some cases supersedes the speaker's message, it is valuable training and communication dollars down the drain.  Again, the impact of a speaker's message is composed of many factors, but one that is key and easily controlled (especially in an indoor environment) is temperature.

What should the room temperature be?  I thought you'd never ask.  I generally request a room to be set at 68 degrees upon guest arrival.  Perhaps in some instances for social functions with ladies in sun dresses, inch it up to 70 degrees, but never more than that.  Put the temperature request in writing in the facility contract or banquet event order (BEO).  The lower temperature will even out once guest enter the room and will make for a comfortable and receptive audience.

Fade to black

Hello Meeting & Event World!

Happy Independence Day!  Welcome to my first ever blog.  The name Good Show! derives from way back in my Disney days, as a recent college graduate learning the ropes of customer service, event psychology and live show production.  When something was done right, it was called, "good show".  Conversely, when something was not done right, you guessed it, it was called "bad show".

This blog seeks to compile all that is good about meeting and event planning and production.  I'll write about any topic that is relevant.  As a meeting and event producer, I strive to make all my shows "good shows".  I attend many shows that I produce and many shows that I don't.  Often times I am not in complete control of all elements of a meeting or event and I have to force myself not to shout out "what were you thinking when you planned this?!?"  Now, instead of shouting, I can blog, and the best part is, I own the company so my boss can't fire me!  Click here to learn more about my company, Event Source Productions.

Writing my observations and expert opinions is new medium for me.  I haven’t expressed my thoughts on paper since my “dear diary” days.  I usually just tell people what I think.  At least in a blog, I can edit as I editorialize.  You’ll thank me, I’m sure, and feedback is highly encouraged.  Email me at angela@eventsourcepro.com.

The topics on this blog will focus on the meeting and event industry, so if you are an industry professional, internal corporate planner, thinking about a career in the meeting and event industry, or just like to read about it, this blog is for you.  Our industry is rapidly growing and changing.  If there is a topic you’d like to read about, please let me know. 

Here are some topics I am considering:

• Why and when should I hire a professional meeting or event planner?
• RFPs: Exposing intellectual property
• Let’s not waste time: Discussing the budget up front
• Imperative elements of a successful meeting or event.
• Planning vs. Producing

These first few subjects should get the blog juices flowing and bring about many more interesting issues to discuss.  My hope is that this blog will help to improve our industry standard practices and help clients better understand and respect our craft.  Check back often.  I will try to tackle topics in a timely manner (say that 5 times fast), schedule permitting.  I hope you’ll learn something you can use, teach me something I can use, or at least find a camaraderie where we can share triumphs, air frustrations, find solutions and improve an industry we all love.

Fade to black