20 Essentials For A Well-Stocked Production Office

When producing a remote event, few things are as frustrating as not having the appropriate tools at your disposal when you need them. In the heat of battle, the act of acquiring something as simple as a tape measure can become a herculean proposition. Conversely, having an appropriately stocked production office can be the deciding factor that makes your entire production a smooth (and hopefully enjoyable) affair. But how would one define “well stocked”? Although hardly an exhaustive list, I've detailed twenty items that any well-equipped production office/go-kit should contain below, as well as the reasoning behind each selection.

1) Chalk – useful for marking equipment locations prior to setup, and creating impromptu directional signage on walkways. Just keep it away from the more mischievous members of your staff, lest you have chalk body outlines lining your event area (I speak from experience).

2) Gaff Tape – The production managers best friend, used for marking, labeling, repairing, and yes, even holding down the occasional cable. Get as many rolls and colors as you can afford.

3) Sharpie Markers – Necessary for writing out passes, impromptu signage, and the marking the hands of unruly crowd-surfers (I'll explain this at a later date).

4) Digital Camera – Capturing crowd shots, creating credential photos, and documenting any unfortunate damage that may occur.

5) Tape measure – This one is self-explanatory. You can save yourself a ton of time and headaches by measuring that couch before you try to jam it into the dressing room. 25 Ft length at minimum.

6) Small Note Pad – Need to dash off a quick note, do a simple calculation, or make a list for your next supply run? A pocket sized notepad and pen are your best friend. Smart phones are great, but you'll end up duplicating efforts and/or wasting time in the end.

7) First Aid Kit – You'd thing think this was an obvious inclusion, yet you'd be surprised how many times I've had to improvise with paper towel and masking tape due to the lack of a simple Band Aid.

8 ) Extra Print Cartridges – Portable printers have become a godsend to event production. Unfortunately, the ink cartridges in most commercial units last roughly as long as Jack Daniels does at a Poison after-show party. Make sure you have a spare with you at all times.

9) Generic Receipt Book – Depending on your printing capabilities, a receipt book may be optional. Regardless, you should have some means of documenting smaller financial transactions, especially for those instances when your staff needs to purchase production-related items out of pocket. Although your accounting department may disagree, the loss of a receipt should not prevent your staff from being reimbursed when they submit expense reports. Provide them with a receipt and fight that battle for them. They did you a favor after all.

10) Petty Cash – Have as much hard currency on hand as is reasonable and/or safe. It's much easier than playing the remote credit card game with your runners, and a lifesaver when you encounter unforeseen necessities.

11) Power Strip / Extension Cord – Depending on your production office setup, you may be yards away from the nearest power outlet, and with everyone carrying a cell phone, blackberry, laptop, and printer, you'll need all the outlets you can get.

12) Foam Earplugs – Perhaps not necessary in all environments. If they are, get yourself a box (they're cheap) and hand them out liberally to whoever may need or request them. Added PR bonus – keep a handful in your pocket hand give them to kids in the crowd who's parents didn't have the good sense to provide them with ear protection.

13) Business Cards – You never know who you may run across during your event. Also works as a quick and dirty access pass when necessary – write your name and phone/radio number on the card, and have your guest show the card to security when they arrive. At minimum, the guard will be able to call you to confirm and/or track you down.

14) Zip Ties – Ideally a bag of each size, but given they're pricey I'd settle for a bag of the midsized ones. The duct tape of the production world, you'll find unlimited uses for zip ties. One of my former venues was practically held together with them.

15) Selection of extra batteries – as is the case on Christmas morning, you'll never be able to find a battery when you need them. Don't trust your gut...have extras of all sizes on hand.

16) Extra pair(s) of socks (and shoes if possible) – When you've been on your feet for hours, nothing short of a shower is as refreshing as a new pair of socks, and if possible, shoes. Trust me on this one.

17) Clothes line – Good for hanging signage, tying down tents/tarps, temporarily securing gates, and restraining unruly guests (I'm kidding about the last part...sort of).

18) Bull Horn – Although the most expensive item on the list, a bull horn is critical if you're producing a mid-to-large scale event. Should you lose power or otherwise need to communicate to a large group in a noisy environment, it's about the only way to ensure that your communication is getting across. Make sure you have extra batteries (see #15).

19) Flash Light – Aside from the obvious uses, a flashlight can serve as a crowd-control tool (directing), communication tool (signaling), and means of identification in a large group.

20) Throat lozenges – You're going to be talking and/or yelling for most of your day. If your throat isn't shredded by the end of the evening, you're doing something wrong.

Think of something I should have included? I'd love to hear your suggestions in our comments section below.

Why We Prefer Live

Seth Godin has a brief yet characteristically insightful piece up at his website suggesting why people might prefer the "live" experience to the lasting (and undoubtedly cheaper) experience recorded media provides. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mr. Godin, shame on you...he's one of the most brilliant marketing philosophers out there, and his books should be mandatory reading for anyone who's serious about delivering an exemplary product to their guests. Your penance is to head to his website straight away, read the article, and pick up any of his fantastic works. Your events will be better for it.

Why We Prefer Live (Seth Godin)

West Coast Hustlin'

Things have been a bit quiet on the site lately, and with good reason. Not wanting to face another Midwest winter, I pulled up tent stakes at the end of September and relocated to Portland, Oregon. That said, the last month or so has been spent on the usual tedium that comes with most moves (cleaning, unpacking, locating a decent cup of coffee within walking distance), and there hasn't been much time for business. However, now the terminal has been dusted off and the network is running (somewhat), Sytelabs is back in business, refreshed and ready to rock. We have some exciting things coming up in the next few months, so check back often for the latest updates. Thanks again for your patience.

Enacting A No-Smoking Policy

As more and more municipalities enact anti-smoking ordinances in bars, restaurants, and other public facilities, it's was only a matter of time before the event industry has had to step up and either enforce these ordinances, or enact it's own policy at the request of guests or local government. The event industry faces some unique conditions in this regard – we often deal with large numbers of guests, which makes consistent policy enforcement challenging. Many event venues, although technically theaters, are outdoors, which places them in a gray area in terms of a local ordinances' scope. Most significantly, our guests are usually paying customers on private land, which means they may feel that the “rules” regarding smoking in their municipality simply do not apply in this instance. Regardless of these challenges or their source, below are several thoughts regarding the enactment of your event's smoking policy that may prove helpful. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section below.

Signage is important, but not for the reasons you may think - How many of us remember the “Lethal Weapon” movies from the late 80's, wherein Mel Gibson's character defiantly lights a cigarette within plain sight of a no-smoking sign? How many times have you seen this exact same scenario within your own venue? Truth is, signs are a rather ineffective enforcer of policy. They're static, spartan, and given their ubiquitous placement, almost universally ignored. So why are they still vitally important to your event's smoking policy? Because they grant the appropriate amount of “authority” to any staff member who must personally intervene with a smoking guest. If an employee is simply able to refer a guest to a posted sign, there's no “gray area” in judgment that the guest can latch on to and argue with. Its not personal...they're simply enforcing venue policy. Especially if your event staff is young and inexperienced, policy signage of all types is a remarkably useful tool to ensure confident enforcement of the rules.

If possible, have a designated, well-marked smoking area – I would add, make sure that any area you set aside is moderately convenient for the guest to access, or at a minimum isn't horribly inaccessible. The reason for this is obvious...if a guest who smokes isn't horribly put out in having to relocate for a quick fix, they're much more likely to do so without employee intervention. Although smoking has thankfully diminished among the population as a whole, it is still a legal activity, and your guests who smoke are paying customers just like anyone else. There's no need to coddle them with luxurious accommodations. However, if we make the enjoyment of their evening excessively difficult, they're much less likely to return.

Enacting a smoke-free policy is a courtesy to our guests. Don't make the enforcement of the policy equally distracting – Depending upon the crowd density of your event, thorough enforcement of your smoking policy may prove to be a simple task, or a Sisyphean adventure. You've chosen to go smoke free at your event out of concern for your guest's enjoyment, which means that performing a flying tackle across three rows of seating to get at a patron lighting up is probably the wrong way to go about matters. If a smoking guest is difficult to access, your best response is to either wait until you're able to get the guest's attention discreetly, or are able to access them through other means. One method I recommend is the creation of “pass-down” cards to give to all of your employees. If a guest in an inaccessible seating area is smoking, the employee man pass down the row a simple card detailing the venues smoking policy and requesting that they put out their cigarette. This method of communication is much less obtrusive, and has the added benefit of communicating the policy to everyone who handles the card.

Make smoking policy enforcement everyone's business – Enforcement of an event's smoking policy has all too often fallen exclusively on the shoulders of the security staff. After all, a smoking guest is breaking the rules, and given security's job is to enforce said rules, they need to take ownership of this task, right? Conceptually, this is correct. However, I would argue that an event's smoking policy is more a customer service issue than a security issue, and thereby falls on the shoulders of every event employee, from maintenance workers, to concessions, to (yes) security staff. By entrusting all staff with the enforcement of this policy, you're guaranteeing virtually 100% coverage of your event grounds, and ensure a more comfortable event environment for all involved. One word of caution, however...make sure that the strength of enforcement of this policy is justifiable. There are much larger issues to attend to on your event, most of which are more pressing than someone lighting up a cigarette. Make sure your staff knows their priorities before they spend all evening calling out our nicotine-supported patrons.

Be creative! - You've decided to enact a no-smoking policy to create a more comfortable environment for your guests. No one says you can't make a bit of revenue off of the policy as well. Consider selling a sponsorship package to your venue's designated smoking area . Tobacco companies, smoking cessation products, even non profit groups such as the American Lung Association would jump at the chance to secure this tailor-made and captive audience. Likewise, you could sell signage within the area, even have sponsored disposable ashtrays and matchbooks. Your options are remarkably vast, and limited only by your philosophical viewpoint regarding smoking and your desire to profit off of your patrons addictions. Which, in all fairness, is the crux of the event industry as a whole.

Whats In A Name?

When selling a name-in-title sponsorship program for your building (NIT), make absolutely certain that you articulate to your client that sponsoring a venue is not the same as OWNING the venue. Although an obvious point to those of us in the profession, the financial outlay involved with purchasing naming rights to a building often gives a false perception as to what “rights” the client will receive while on-site. Unless you're extremely generous (or remarkably trusting), rights such as backstage access, unlimited access to seating and stage areas, and credited bar tabs are NEVER included, and you should not assume that your client is aware of this fact.

Perhaps more importantly, make sure that you client communicates this fact to their own employees. Nine times out of ten, it is your client's employees and co-workers that will be the ones you chase out of the artist's dressing room, not your client themselves.

The Importance of Customer Service

As the event industry continues to feel the effects of this latest economic downturn, it's become increasingly apparent that the traditional thinking regarding what constitutes “good” customer service is no longer relevant.

Now more than ever, customer service must go beyond the surface-level expressions that many companies pass off as customer service, and become an all-encompassing philosophy that guides every action you take in executing your event. It's going beyond simple assistance, and doing whatever is necessary to ensure that a client or guest has an exceptional event experience. It's not simply telling someone where the restroom is located, but walking them there personally, while soliciting their impressions of the event and inquiring what we can do to make it even better. It's firing out a late-night email to a client with an idea that could make their event shine, without solicitation or expectation. It's about rolling up your sleeves and helping a client through their last-minute preparations, regardless of whether it's “in the job description”. Perhaps most importantly, customer service is the simple and sincere expression of gratitude for allowing our organization assist them.

In this industry more than any other, if we fail to impress our clients and guests, then we simply will not remain competitive in the marketplace. After all, there are limits to both programming opportunities and customer dollars, especially in economic times such as these. Beautiful facilities and popular bookings are no longer enough...one must deliver an experience to our clients and guests that cannot be replicated anywhere else.

Man Jumps to Death at California Concert Venue

This past Thursday brought the sad news that a guest at a Swell Season show in Northern California committed suicide during the band's performance. The man apparently gained access to the roof covering the outdoor stage at the Mountain Winery, and jumped 20 feet to his death, landing on stage near the end of the band's set.

As I am not an employee of this venue, nor was I at the concert, I will not speculate as to what the security staffing plan for this event was. Nor how this guest gained entry to a (presumably) inaccessible area. I will say, however, that every professional concert venue places the security of their guests and artists above all other considerations, and the finger-pointing that occurs whenever any of these tragedies strike is both misguided and unproductive. In incidents such as this, a guest who is determined to cause harm to themselves will find a means to achieve those ends, regardless of the precautions we take. However, this incident should serve as a reminder that even the most unexpected of areas can quickly become a point of incident, and should be assessed when building your staffing and operations plans. You may not be able to staff every square inch of your event. However, your assessment may uncover a number of methods to minimize any potential hazards.

Most importantly, we should mourn those affected, then we should learn so as their loss can act as the barrier to future occurrences.

Man jumps to death onto stage at Calif concert  (AP)

Evaluate Seasons, Not Shows

Back when I was selling venue sponsorship packages, we'd perform a ritual before any big pitch or client renewal meeting. The morning of the meeting, we'd place a call to our talent buyer, and proceed to beg, bribe, or otherwise cajole him into giving us an approved list of potential talent that would be performing at our venue that season. This necessity of this dance was to due to scheduling - we were tasked with securing our sponsorships well before we had anything closely resembling a season to work with. Without having a few big names to hang our hat on, it was often impossible to get a sponsor to commit their marketing dollars to us. But if we could dangle a name like "Dave Matthews Band" in front of a marketing director, you'd nearly hook them. After all, THEY loved the band, knew that they sell out virtually every show, and who knows, maybe they'd even get to see the show themselves under the guise of "auditing their program". They'd write the check right there if they could...

Unfortunately, to their own detriment.

Just as I mentioned in a previous post (regarding talent booking), the fascination with the "big name" act can often work counter to your purposes. In sponsorship, this tension is almost exclusively due to money, and who receives it. Most large acts usually have their own roster of "tour" sponsors, which at minimum will have to co-exist with your venue sponsorship. However, with some of the most coveted acts such as the aforementioned Dave Matthews or Jimmy Buffett, your house sponsorship will often be compromised to accommodate the tour sponsor, or in extreme cases deactivated for the event all together. Likewise, you may be struck from venue advertising related to the event, have your signage covered, and your presenting status disregarded This will usually only be the case with competing sponsors (automakers, beverages, etc), but has occurred with all house sponsors at one point or another. After all, why would the artist want to make the sponsors that paid THEM compete with those who haven't, when one line in a contract can simply make that competition "go away" for the night? Most talent buyers worth their salary fight like hell to get such clauses removed from local contracts, but the fact remains that if it comes down to your sponsorship program or the concert, you'll likely be the one home watching re-runs that warm summer evening.

The takeaway is this - when evaluating whether or not to sign on to a venue sponsorship program, you're best bet is to completely drop these "large shows" from your assessment altogether. Look at the core of the season's shows (either as established or through the venue's past history), and look at these large shows as "outliers" to the model. If the core programming fits with your marketing plan, then go for it..the big acts may simply prove to be a cherry on top of a (hopefully) successful sundae. However, if the rest of the season doesn't fit with your marketing direction, don't sign on to a questionable season for the promise of those “big nights” to balance things out. All to often, they shine less brightly than you've imagined, if at all.

Talent Tip - The See-Saw Rule

Deciding what talent to book for your event involves a number of considerations. You must determine whether the act's performance is to be the primary focus of your event, or if they're simply providing entertainment for a larger production. The popularity of any chosen act must be considered as well, both in terms of their ability to attract an audience and how much they will require in performance fees. Above all, you must consider your intended audience and what will appeal to their tastes. For event producers who rarely work in the music realm, balancing all these considerations can become overwhelming, and our natural inclination to secure the “biggest” act we can afford is all too tempting. After all, instinct and outside observation seems to show that the bigger the act, the larger or happier the audience, therefore the bigger the profit.

What if I were to tell you that you could make a larger profit producing an event with an 1980's metal band (say, Poison), than you could with U2 or the Dave Matthews Band? This is due primarily to what I refer to as the “See-Saw Rule”.

The “See-Saw Rule” states that to achieve the greatest potential profit for your event, you need to strike a careful balance between an artist's ability to draw a crowd, and their required performance fee. If you book someone who's gotten too large and/ or buzz-worthy, then the amount of money you'll need to lay out for their services will reduce your event's profitability. Conversely, if you choose your talent based primarily on price, the chances of securing an act that will draw an audience large enough to turn a profit are reduced as well. Ideally, you should “balance the see-saw” and seek out talent that is popular ENOUGH to draw a good crowd, but still have reasonable performance guarantees. These are usually acts just on the cusp of making it big, acts who have been around the block but are past their peak popularity, and oldies acts who haven't had a hit in years, but still perform fairly regularly and have a dedicated fan base.

This concept explains why you see dozens of classic rock acts on the road every summer. If you're like most people, you undoubtedly chuckle to yourself when you see their show advertisements, and wonder how it is that they're still out after all these years (The Rolling Stones being the obvious exception). From the promoter's perspective, however, it's a sound business decision to book these acts - even though they're (well) passed their prime, the performance fee's they command are usually quite reasonable, and there's still enough audience demand for their act that most events remain profitable. Unlike many high-ticket shows with more “popular” acts, where the promoter often struggles to sell out a show simply to make the artists guarantee.

There are exceptions to the "See Saw Rule". If your research indicates that the food and beverage numbers on an artist's past shows have been spectacular, you can likely afford to pay more for them, as you'd recoup the additional costs through your F&B take. Likewise, If the artist is part of a larger festival with additional revenue opportunities, you have flexibility in either direction, but more opportunity to take creative booking risks.

Finally, if the artist is merely providing entertainment for the event (and their inclusion has little impact on either ticket sales or marketing), reasonable performance fees should be a high priority. Your cash reserves are better spent on items/activities that will have lasting resonance with your audience, not “background noise”.

Five Event Staff Positions You May Not Know You Need

All to often, we as event managers take a “one-size-fits-all” approach to staffing our one-off events. For example, we know we'll need someone in charge of our security, our ticketing, and our concessions, so we simply scale these departments to the size of the event, and move on to other matters. However, by taking this approach, we not only frequently overpay for unnecessary staff, but overlook key operational areas that saddle us with extra work due to this inattention. Below are five event positions that you may not have considered when producing one-off events, along with some proposed responsibilities, why you should consider developing this position, and what to look for when selecting them.

Delivery Manager

Primary Responsibilities: The delivery manager is a ground-level position that assumes primary responsibility for all load-in/out vehicle traffic, as well as any and all deliveries for your event. They will direct delivery vehicle traffic, sign for orders, coordinate unloading, and ensure that the appropriate parties are notified of their delivery.

Why You Need One: Without proper delivery and vehicle coordination, your event can become a headache before it even begins. Think dozens of trucks jockeying for position, irate delivery drivers, lost orders, and general backstage mayhem. This is especially true with events that have a short (usually same-day) build schedule. Without a dedicated person charged with coordinating these activities, you could easily spend the bulk of your time dealing with load-in issues, to the detriment of your primary event-management responsibilities.

What to Look For: It's important that your delivery manager not only be extremely organized, but is strong enough not to be easily pushed around by the drivers they're working with. After all, most drivers have other deliveries to make, and don't take kindly to being told to wait their turn. Similarly, make sure they are even-tempered, polite, and have no problems communicating with a variety of personalities.

Guest Service Manager

Primary Responsibilities: The Guest Service Manager will be your primary go-to for resolving most customer-related issues. These may include lost tickets/items/children, performance and/or crowd related concerns, and general complaints of all types.

Why You Need One: 95% of the time, most guests can be made to feel better about their situation simply by having an understanding person there to listen to their complaints. And although as event managers we'd love to listen to every one of our guest's complaints (ahem), our job simply doesn't allow for it. By offering them a live, caring person with the authority to resolve most their concerns, you not only limit the number of post-show issues you need to resolve, but your “empathy” for their plight will hopefully spread a bit of positive PR cheer for future events

What to Look For: Look for someone who is friendly, open, and above all PATIENT. However, make sure whoever you place in this position isn't too quick to claim “responsibility” for customer complaints when dealing with customers. Understanding and agreeing with a complaint are two distinct actions, and they should be able to do the former without resorting to the latter. This can become especially important when a complaint has the potential of bringing future litigation (such as minor injuries, fights, etc). Former and future teachers and lawyers are especially suited for this position for obvious reasons.

Maintenance Technician

Primary Responsibilities: On-call repairs of any and all event-related items, including seating, electrical equipment, tents, fences, vehicles, and just about anything else you can possibly think of. And many more you wont until they break.

Why You Need One: Of all the positions on this list, I would argue that your maintenance technician is by far the most important. The reasons are numerous...immediate response time, lower repair costs than outsourcing, and most importantly, seamless resolution of damage to event-related infrastructure. I speak from experience when I say that a great maintenance technician is priceless...when the forklift won't work, you have three broken chairs in need of repair, and you can't seem to open gate two, you'll understand what I'm saying.

What to Look For: Unlike most other positions on this list, you're not NECESSARILY looking for Mr. Personality here...although they should be at least pleasant when dealing with the general public. Strong and varied mechanical aptitude is key, and I would look for a broad range of experience as opposed to specific credentialing and/or experience. Contact your local venues or community college for recommendations, or seek out and interview local handymen for the position. The interview is important...they must understand the event environment and the importance of a timely response.

IT/Technology Manager

Primary Responsibilities: On-site setup and repair of technology-related equipment, including internet and telephone networks, audio/video systems, and radio communications equipment. With the right person, you may be able to combine this position with your on-site maintenance technician (although this is not recommended as explained below)

Why You Need One: Although some of us can hack our way through setting up a printer or getting our computer up on a wireless network, there are still a number of people who are generally clueless of technology beyond turning on the power. With the ever-increasing reliance on technology in all aspects of the event environment, a network outage, offline printer, or phone system collapse can be catastrophic to your operation. By having a dedicated person acting as your technology manager, you can ensure that any issues encountered on-site are handled quickly and correctly. If your maintenance technician is skilled in these areas, it is possible to combine the two positions to save on operating costs. Keep in mind, however, that technology repairs often involve a good deal of troubleshooting to identify the issue. Tying up your maintenance technician could potentially leave many “real world” issues unattended.

What to Look For: Personally, I wouldn't contract with an outside IT provider unless your on-site system is quite extensive, or has a number of specialized technologies rarely encountered in the everyday world. If you have a designated IT person at your office, them I would bring them in for your event...not only will they be familiar with a number of your staff, they'll have likely worked with the technology before (your company computers, routers, etc). If you're an independent entity (or have no such person in the office), I would ask for personnel recommendations from your preferred contractors or people within your professional network. Often times, they'll be able to direct you to a young gun in their office that can fix anything, and is likely familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the event environment.

Assistant Event Manager *

*or a I like to affectionately refer to them, a “mini-me”

Primary Responsibilities: In a nutshell, the AEM will act as your surrogate in those situations you're unable to attend to. These mostly involve addressing situations that, although important and requiring higher-level direction, can be time consuming and/or distracting from your big-picture responsibilities.

Why You Need One: If your budget allows, you should consider an dedicated AEM for two primary reasons. First, it is virtually impossible to be everywhere at once...the ability to have someone handle lower-level situations in your place can be a godsend. Secondly, there's no better means of bringing up the next generation of event managers than having them shadow you, and granting them authority to make decisions in your place.

What to Look For: The primary qualification for an AEM is simple – do you work well with them, and do you trust them to make decisions in your absence? Given that, the criteria is highly subjective, and depends primarily on the event manager's judgment. As a rule, however, you'll want someone who is ambitious, organized, creative, a great communicator, and exudes that elusive quality that makes everyone recognize them as a leader. Basically (as the nickname implies), you want to find another “you”.

In terms of locating such a person, I would advise against placing an advertisement, unless the position is of a long-term nature. Rather, I would cast your eye internally, and locate someone who best fulfills your personal qualifications. Word of advice...don't limit yourself by current position or department. I've seen office managers make great assistants, as well as accountants and sales-people. Who knows, you may swing them in a direction they never knew was open to them.

This list is certainly not extensive...feel free to leave a comment and list any others I may have missed.

18 Killed at Germany's "Love Parade"

The details are still coming to light, but it appears at least 18 people have been killed at this years "Love Parade" in Duisburg, Germany, a electronic music and art festival that draws over a million people annually. Given that the sequence of events is sketchy at this point, I'm reticent to make any commentary beyond expressing my sadness and condolences to everyone affected. I personally cut my teeth in the electronic music scene (albeit in Detroit), and have yet to encounter a group of enthusiasts so antithetical to their public perception. This is a dark day in those circles.

On a professional level, this should serve as a reminder that no matter how well planned your event may be (the Love Parade began over 20 years ago, after all), incidents can and DO happen, often with tragic results. We owe it to our guests to ensure that every possibility is accounted for in our planning, and that we never lose sight of what we do...which is provide a safe and enjoyable environment for all our guests.

Be safe out there,

Jake

18 killed in mass panic at Germany's Love Parade (Yahoo News)

19 Steps to a Greener Event

A few years ago, I was producing an event featuring Jack Johnson. A noted environmentalist, Johnson's production rider contained a number of suggestions of steps the venue could take to raise public awareness and make the event a bit more earth-friendly (no small feat, as anyone who's produced a large event knows). As I just recently read that he's on tour again, I decided to expand on his recommendations, and share them with anyone looking for some hints on producing a “greener” event.

• If using generators to power your event, inquire about the use of bio-diesel blends as opposed to regular diesel fuel (check with generator supplier first, NEVER assume its ok, regardless of what the fuel supplier tells you ).


• Make sure you have plenty of clearly marked recycling bins throughout the facility.


• Where possible, require your catering contractor use washable dishes and silver wear. When not possible (such as with your general concessions), ensure disposable goods are biodegradable and/or recyclable.


• Offer a free on-site sponsorship to a solar storage unit provider. Offer them display space and other amenities in exchange for the powering other small on-site displays. There's no better way to demonstrate your product than powering the show!


• Sell a sponsorship for small branded bags to be placed on each seat. Include a flier that directs guests to fill the bag with their trash and drop it at the exit. Make each bag redeemable for a giveaway (a ticket voucher, coupon, etc). Helps save money on cleanup too!


• Encourage biking to the event with a specially designated bike-check area. Offer complimentary air, and perhaps partner with a local bike shop to provide discounted tuneup service.


• Set up special "compost" bins for food scraps. Have them picked up by a local community gardening group after the event. Better yet, allow them to promote their group on-site in exchange for them administering the program (i.e. emptying the bins throughout the event).


• To encourage car-pooling, offer a parking "rebate" or a coupon for vehicles containing 4 or more passengers. Promote this aspect before the show for maximum impact. Sell the program as a promotional sponsorship package to an auto dealer, fuel supplier, or anyone trying to convey a "fuel efficiency" image.


• If technology permits, encourage digital ticketing whenever possible (more on this in a future post).


• Work out a promotional deal with a local bus company for transit to and from your event.


• Institute a "no idling" policy backstage for deliveries and truck/bus drivers. Create a "cool zone" with air conditioning, television, and wi-fi for drivers. (those trucks and buses are usually the drivers home. Make sure they have a place to relax when you tell them to turn it off).


• Discourage the use of non-biodegradable confetti in artist set pieces (i.e plastic or foil). Make note of this policy in your production advance.


• Ensure that your cleaning contractor uses non-toxic supplies whenever the option exists.


• Whenever possible, use paper cups for drinks as opposed to plastic (check your local ordinances regarding alcohol, it may need to be served in a transparent cup).


• Combine runner trips to conserve fuel.


• Rent electric golf carts whenever possible. Better yet, rent bicycles...they're cheaper and better for you and the environment. They may even have cargo bikes for your supply needs.


• If you manage the venue where your event is held, consider landscaping the venue with native vegetation. It's less costly and easier to maintain than traditional landscaping.


• Make your event completely smoke free. Aside from the benefits to air quality, you'll greatly reduce your waste from all those cigarette butts. If this isn't an option. Restrict smoking to an isolated area on-site.


• If the above steps are impossible, consider donating part of your profits to a local environmental charity. If you opt to purchase carbon offsets, be VERY rigorous in your investigations before doing so.

As you can see, some of these steps are easier to institute than others. I welcome any additional ideas you may have in the comments below!

Signage Is Not A Sponsorhip Program

If you're researching event sponsorship options, or are currently involved in one you're unhappy with, please pay close attention to the following statement:

Signage is NOT a sponsorship program.

Regardless of what the seller is telling you, a signage-only sponsorship package is simply a waste of your marketing dollars, regardless of how many "impressions" you may get. If you doubt this statement, answer this - who's sign is behind home plate at your favorite baseball teams stadium? Who has spent a great deal of money to place a sign on the nearest concert venue's marquee? What about next to the stage at the last festival you attended? If you have trouble recalling (as a marketer!), should you expect the audience to?

Signage cannot demand attention, it can only be noticed. Signage cannot draw your customers in, or speak to them in in their language. Signage cannot make a sale for you. So if it's unable to perform the tasks that a sponsorship is designed to do, why should you base your program around it?

Signage can be considered as an ELEMENT of a sponsorship package. View them as a perk, or as a means of integrating your larger program. But I would rarely advise spending a significant percentage of your financial resources on them. Unless your goal is simply to add color to the fences and boost the sellers commission.

Bring Value, Not Information

When asked, the majority of one-term sponsors will tell you the reason they are not returning is that they simply didn't see any results from their sponsorship. However, if you were to look at their marketing program, it undoubtedly focused on providing information to their audience. While important in the long run, information does little to "encourage" sales. Providing value does.

Imagine if, as opposed to the fancy brochures and beer coozies, your audience was given free MP3 downloads and discounts. Would their impression remain the same?

Pre-Event Forecasting

Even if as event producers aren't charged with knowing every aspect of an event's financial performance, you can rest assured that when the final invoices come in, someone (be it your boss, or your client) will inquire about the necessity of most spending decisions. To head off such post-game inquiries, I would advise that you develop an operating financial forecast, and present it to key decision makers well in advance of the actual event.

Before you slam your computer shut in disgust, let me clarify that this is not meant as an accounting exercise, nor does it need to be incredibly detailed. Quite the contrary, an operating financial forcast is a simple summary designed to ensure that your spending decisions are defined by you BEFORE the accountants place their spin on things. It will act as documentation of your decisions to date, establish a level of trust with your clients/superiors, and allow any potential issues to be address well before the actual event. It isn't as difficult as it may sound, and is well worth a few hours legwork.

How To Create Your Financial Forecast.

In putting together the financial forecast for your event, you'll need to calculate three figures:

1. Your estimated revenue


2. Your estimated costs


3. An accurate calculation of your potential risk-cost.

Although the necessity of calculating each of these figures may seem obvious, it's remarkable how many experienced event producers fail to perform all three steps for each event (especially #3), or do so inaccurately. I would argue that the reason for this stems from the same reasons we became event producers in the first place – we're action people, not accountants (really, I have nothing against accountants. They're just...different). Our instincts tell us that success is defined by a human connection and flawless execution, not how much money came in (or went out) the door. However, by calculating these figures in advance, you'll have an excellent framework in which to guide your spending decisions, as well as a platform in which to justify any that may be deemed unnecessary.

Step 1 - Calculate Revenue.

Be honest - we all would love for our festival to make us millionaires, or receive hundred of thousand of dollars in donations at our next charity gala. However, most of the time this is simply impossible given the mechanics of our event. Events cost money (usually LOTS of money), and the revenue to offset those costs are comparatively limited. A person can only eat so much food, or drink so much beer, or buy so many commemorative t-shirts before their wallet or their body gives out (believe me, I've tried). Given that, how do we establish this figure for something that hasn't happened yet?

The most accurate way to estimate revenue is to establish the per-capita revenue for each guest (the “per-cap”). This figure is simply the amount of money generated at the event, averaged out across each attendant. To estimate this figure BEFORE the event requires some research. If you have revenue figures from a similar production, you can simply create or utilize the per-cap for that particular event, and use that figure to calculate your estimate using your anticipated attendance. To get a more accurate figure, however, you may want to piece-meal your estimate together using information derived from outside sources. For example, if you're putting on a festival featuring “The Bleeding Eardrums”, but only have past revenue information from last year's event featuring “Cuddles Johnson and the Soft Pillows”, your merchandise is unlikely to be the same (since some bands are more merch-centric than others). If you reach out to a producer in your professional network that has worked with “The Bleeding Eardrums”, they may be willing to give you the merchandise revenue for their event. You can then simply add this figure to your per-cap calculations for your remaining revenue areas (adjusted for attendance, of course). Similarly, you may want to do this with your alcohol sales (depending on demographics and weather), food sales (event times and length), and parking fees (age of the demographic and location of event).

Once you establish the figures, calculating the per-cap is a matter of simple mathematics. For example :

Now that you've established a reasonable per-cap estimate based on your control figures, you can estimate your revenue using your attendance estimates.

$21.69 x (Your attendance estimate i.e. 2365 guests) = $51,296.85 anticipated revenue

Simple stuff so far. Now that we've established the fun stuff, let's take a look at the downside – costs.

Step 2 - Calculate Costs

Not surprisingly, figuring your costs is substantially easier than your revenue, simply because so much of it is contract-based as opposed to attendance-based. You're given a quote for a service, and pending any sort of changes, you know more or less what you can expect to pay ahead of time. However, this is a fantastic opportunity to re-examine all contracts, with an eye towards uncovering any hidden clauses that may increase your total expenditure (minimums, service fees, etc). Also, verify if any taxes are included in your quote. If not, factor them in based upon your area's rates.

When it comes to labor expenses, things are similarly straight-forward. Using your best estimate on event time, calculate your labor expenses based on your staffing plan. An important point – make sure you're including payroll tax (if applicable) into your calculation, along with any up-charge you may be passing on to your client. Typically called the re-charge rate, this will be the amount that your client will be billed for, so make sure its used for all calculations. When I used internal staff for contract projects, I'd typically added 25% to my internal rate to cover payroll taxes and costs – you can set yours based on how much you like your client. Also, make sure you're including any pre/post event time that may be needed, such as briefing, cleaning, and check-out.

Finally, make sure that your including EVERYTHING in your expenses. No matter how trivial they may seem, they will add up, and affect your bottom line. These can include meals, hospitality, office supplies, phones, fuel...you get the idea...

Add it all up, and you have your cost estimate established.

Step 3 - Calculate Risk

Of the three calculations, quantifying risk is the most difficult to do, and is therefore usually disregarded when forecasting. The debate generally centers around whether risk costs should be included, as they're rarely incurred (thankfully). The thought is that their inclusion will give a lower impression of forecasted profit, potentially impacting critical late-term spending decisions. However, I would argue that if calculated methodically and communicated openly, the impact of including these costs on your forecast will be minimal and generally appreciated by your client/superior..

To figure out the potential risk costs, one must first identify what these potential risks are. This requires conducting a risk-assessment of for your event. The subject of risk assessment is a topic in and of itself, so I'll be dealing in generalities for now. In a nutshell, a risk assessment is simply a brainstorm to determine every possible complication you may encounter during your event, and applying a dollar amount to it. For example, if the generator powering your stage fails, how much would it cost for you to secure a replacement? If you're forced to postpone your event due to weather, how many deposits could you expect to lose? Or if you needed to add security staff due to a last-minute artist request, how much of a premium would you pay? These would be examples of potential risk-costs.

As you can see, if you included each one of these possibilities as an individual cost, you'd quickly eat up every cent of your revenue. Likewise, doing so would make little sense, as the chances of EVERYTHING going wrong at once are (hopefully) slim. That said, the method I have generally used is as follows:

• Of the potential risks, discard every cost you can verify would be covered by insurance. This includes most accidents and Act-of-God occurrences.


• Discard any costs that have a contractual remedy. This usually includes most contract-based services, wherein you'd simply re-schedule such services for a later date. If an artist is forced to postpone, they will generally incur most associated costs. However, If the event is canceled altogether and there's a deposit involved, continue to include these costs.


• Discard anything that seems completely outlandish or otherwise EXTREMELY unlikely. Sure, it's POSSIBLE that there could be an invasion by Canada during your event...but if there is, you have more to worry about than dollars. Such as figuring out the current exchange rate.


• Finally, look at the figures that remain. Of those, select the figure that has the HIGHEST risk-cost associated with it. Using this figure, determine the percentage of your total revenue (after cost) this represents. For example, a $3000 risk charge against a $12,000 after-cost profit = 25%.


• At this stage, you have two options. Either subtract this amount off of your forecast straight away as a risk-cost, or add it as a byline to your traditional revenue-cost projections as a “worst-case” scenario.

Step 4 -Putting it all together.

You now have everything you need to create your event forecast. Now it's time to put it together in a form that best communicates your estimates to the client while not triggering an intense audit. The format doesn't need to be complicated – a simple word document or excel spreadsheet should suffice. Depending on your operating environment an email may acceptable, although I would still present the client with a “clean” copy for their records.

For guidance, I suggest you include the following information:

1. Event Name


2. Event Date


3. Event Time


4. Event Location


5. Event Summary – A brief rundown of the event type, purpose of the event, historical precedent if available.


6. Estimated Revenues (Provide figure and a short summary as to how the figure was compiled)


7. Estimated Costs (Provide figure and a short summary as to how the figure was compiled )


8. Estimated Risk-cost – I would provide this as percentage as opposed to a dollar figure. Summarize potential risks you have identified and provide the percentage of potential risk. They client choose to do the math internally and knock the dollar figure off their profit estimates in advance, or they may disregard them all together. Either way, allow them to make that decision and do the legwork involved. If you provide a dollar figure for them, you can guarantee that amount will be subtracted in advance, and will result in greater scrutiny of your late-game financial expenditures.


9. Assumptions and qualifications – This is important, and constitutes a simple paragraph that states that all figures are based upon current conditions and do not constitute a guarantee of any sort.

As mentioned at the beginning of this post, the purpose of creating an operating financial forecast is not to replace the “formal” budget forecast. Rather, by giving an accurate estimate of how your event's finances are shaping up, it demonstrates your attention to not only the event's operational performance, but it's financial performance as well. As long as you've been mindful of your costs to date, your client will be appreciative. Perhaps your accountant will, too.

Says Who?

Sponsoring an 8ft sign at a well known concert venue is "valued" at around $9000. Exhibition space at that same location is worth $2500 per event. And to put your name on the building? Well, that's worth well over $250,000.

Says who?

When negotiating your sponsorship deal, it's alright to play the snotty kid on the playground sometimes.

Says who? Remember those words.

All to often sponsorship sellers derive the "value" of their package elements based on the latest industry guideposts, or some book that determines value based solely on impressions. It's an easy method, but it's completely inaccurate. Because it bases value on what it COULD be, rather than what it IS.

True value is not how many people are exposed to something, but how people "act" on that exposure. A book will never be able to articulate that. That measure of that value should be coming from past sponsors, or better yet, current ones who can articulate why it is they've continued their partnership. Would you rather have 1000 impressions that go nowhere, or one great (and hopefully reoccurring) sale?

Says who? Hopefully, those who have been there.

Make Them Work For It

An idea for marketing managers - thinking of sponsoring an event on a one-off basis this summer? Turn the notion of the "sponsorship fee" on its head, and make the property/agency work a bit for your marketing dollars. Propose setting the sponsorship fee based on a base charge (say, half of their normal "package" cost), with an incremental charge based on attendance (maybe $100 per 1000 guests). After all, why should you pay fixed fee when the goods you're buying (i.e. impressions) can vary so widely? Shouldn't the risk be shared?

You'll likely get a bit of push-back - everything from accounting concerns to the typical "we just don't do it that way". But I urge you to hold firm. Remind them that if they're confident in the product they're selling, they stand to make more than they would under the traditional model. If they walk away from the table, so be it. That's a sure sign that you'd be wasting your money anyway.

Don't simply hand over your money - make them work for it.

A Great Resource Tip

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a great online course on special event contingency planning. Although geared towards public-sector agencies, the concepts it covers are more than applicable to private sector event planning.

Special Event Contingency Planning

They also have dozens of additional courses on everything from emergency response to livestock in disasters (really!). I highly recommend checking any them out - they're packed with information, and completely free!

Who do you run to?

A few notes on event staff management :

• Make sure that your event management structure is clearly defined and known by ALL staff (not just the supervisors) – this should be addressed in your pre-event meetings, and again at the beginning of the event. This is not to discourage cross-functional teamwork, but to ensure that in the heat of battle, valuable time isn't lost seeking answers. A great idea is to create an index card-sized laminate for all staff, detailing supervisors, responsibilities, and contact information.

• Assign a #2 that has full authority to act on you behalf if you're unavailable (and make sure you're comfortable with them doing so). The last thing you want is for critical action to be delayed while you're attending to other matters. If something will require your full attention for longer than a few minutes, have your #2 assume full control. Don't even attempt to do it all.

• Build your team organization based on what you're comfortable with them controlling. If you're reticent to release any particular piece of the production (no matter how trivial), it's better to hold on to that function and delegate something else. If you're worried about something getting done, you'll never really “let it go” anyway. Better yet, identify these items of concern early and pay special time and attention to their delegation.

• Make sure you let your supervisors see the “big picture”. For example, it can be uncomfortable letting subordinates know the financial aspects of the event. However, doing so will often contextualize for them many of the decisions you make throughout the course of the event.

• Work within a reasonable span of control (SOC) – ideally, I like to work within the parameters of the Incident Command System (ICS) structure, which dictates an SOC of between 3 and 7 team members per supervisor. If more than 7 persons are to be allocated to a particular function, they should be split into two (or more) teams. Allocations of less that three persons should be combined with other functions. This is obviously not practical for all situations, but its a great guide to ensure you're not over (or under) supervising your event staff.

Looking for more ideas on how to develop and manage your event team, contact Sytelabs to schedule your initial consultation.

Eyes on the Road

It goes without saying that the key to achieving a stress-free and successful live event is a well-thought and detailed event plan. Given that, my following statement may seem completely counter-intuitive.

Do not hesitate to cast your event plan aside when circumstances on the ground change.

There is no mistaking the comfort created by having your project mapped out. However, that same sense of comfort can foster an inflexibility in responding to unforeseen circumstances. A road map can point you in the right direction...but you still need to read the road signs.

Sometimes its best to just put the map away, look around, and drive on.

Leading the Charge

Want to inspire loyalty in your event operations team? Make sure you're the type of leader that mans the front lines. Entrance gates backed up? Don't simply call for support, jump in and start taking tickets. Long wait at the concession stands? Start pulling beers and tossing slices, and do it with a smile. In short, be willing to lead the charge and your army will follow. Even if its only for a short while, it'll be noticed.

Event Tip - Staff Breaks

When solidifying an event location, make sure you're mindful of your surrounding resources – specifically access to food, water, and rest areas for your staff. This isn't simply a gesture of good will to your staff (although that would be enough in and of itself). It's a matter of productivity on several levels.

Assuming you're granting meals and breaks to your working personnel (you should be), it's within your best interest to keep them close at hand in the event of an unforeseen issue. If the nearest reprieve from the chaos of your event is the Burger King 15 miles away, rest assured that will be the destination. Factor in the drive, time to order, eat, and use the facilities, you've lost nearly an hour of precious productivity. If you push your staff to “make it quick”, then you've silently told them that giving them some time to recoup is more a begrudging obligation than an indicator of their worth (not to mention that such pressure almost always has the opposite effect).

If you have concessions on site, this is a partial solution for meals. However, if you don't provide a semi-quiet location for your staff to hole up during their break, rest assured the “dirty laundry” of the day will be aired right out in the open, potentially in front of guests. If you don't mind the public hearing how “disorganized” things are, then there's no worries. Otherwise, build a “staff break area” into your event plan, and do your best to leave it to them (i.e. stay away). After all, they may need a break from YOU.

Your best solution? Provide on-site break areas and meals for staff, or work out a deal with your food vendor/concessionaire to provide a discount to staff on their food and drink. Both will go a long way to ensuring a happy and productive event staff.