Decibel Picks: 5 Great Books for Event Organizers
EVENT INDUSTRY
Good event managers do it all: they understand the principles of marketing, they can respond to crisis situations with relative equanimity, they can deal with people and wrangle details. It s a career path that s part tactics, part technical experience, part money management, part psychology, and part grit. That being the case, when we sat down to pick five books that were relevant to the industry, we didn t exclusively choose books targeted at event professionals (though there are a couple here). Instead, we chose a few reads that address these core attributes.
Special Events: A New Generation and the Next Frontier by Joe Goldblatt
We d be remiss not to mention this start-to-finish resource by event production guru Joe Goldblatt. Not a work for those just starting out in the industry, Special Events takes a textbook approach to understanding ins and outs of event production. The latest edition covers modern trends in the industry, like green events and event technology.
Made Possible By by Patricia Martin
The non-profit sector spends an incredible amount of time and energy on fundraising. Targeted at that hard-to-crack market, this book is chalk-full of advice about how to do fundraising right. Patricia Martin talks us through how to not only put together a sponsorship package and land the right sponsors, but also to nurture those relationships so that they become long-term, mutually beneficial arrangements. Read between the lines, and you ll find that the material is very applicable to event fundraising.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling
Written by three veterans of corporate leadership, this book focuses on how to get initiatives executed and get your teams organized and goal-focused. The book s a little bit old-school and it s less about setting personal goals and more about helping teams get stuff done, but for event professionals who often need to keep disparate vendors and groups pointed in the same direction, it s a good read.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
Why do people come to your events, anyway? What is it that convinces your sponsors to say yes ? How can you better persuade vendors and land clients? This classic ad-industry handbook is full of Machiavellian gems that explain why human beings agree to, well, just about anything.
Freelancer s Guide to Corporate Event Design: From Technology Fundamentals to Scenic and Environmental Design by Troy Halsey
The scrappy approach to wrapping your head around the basics of lighting, rigging, seating, A/V, and all the other practical aspects of event production.
A Collection of the Web s Best Event Management Infographics
EVENT INDUSTRY
A couple of years ago, we designed and released an infographic detailing new regulations for events held on D.C. s National Mall. Ever since that piqued our interest, we ve been bookmarking event-related infographics as we ve come across them. Here s a preview of the best infographics in our collection. Some of these are long, get ready to scroll like mad.
Guide to the National Mall for Event Planners, by Decibel
How to Build an Event Budget, by Planning Pod
How Technology is Changing Events, by Event Manager Blog
Four Ways to Use Social Media to Boost Events, by Eventility
Space Planning and Story Telling, by GES
Green Events & Exhibits, by MC2
Inspiring Stadium-based Brand Activations
BRAND ACTIVATIONS & MARKETING
We find it deeply rewarding to execute activations on a stadium-sized scale it s an honor to create experiences that effect so many but the size of the undertaking comes with equally large challenges. Knowing from experience how many moving parts are involved in stadium activations, Decibel gives mad props to agencies who ve successfully navigated those waters. We ve gathered up five inspiring examples of of stadium engagement from some of the world s best shops.
Pixmob for Heinekin
We recently dropped some hints about how awesome Pixmob light tech can be for large-scale events, but if that didn t convince you, perhaps this will: Heineken was looking for non-intrusive ways to interact with people at the Sensation Dance events in Asia. We came up with audio-responsive wristbands that were handed out at the entrance of the event. As the DJ played the dance version of the Heineken music campaign track later in the evening, all 45,000 wrist bands came to life, engulfing the entire stadium in an ocean of green light.
Omage for BMW
This animation is projected on a 13 x 3 metre LED wall where participants can run against their favourite Springbok player. The stand is setup at various rugby venues and is part of the BMW M Series launch. The Springboks were shot against a blue screen then keyed out and placed in the stadium environment. The majority of the work was done in After Effects where I tried to recreate a bit of an arcade look and feel to the animation. The stadium was rendered out from 3ds Max. People running against the virtual Springbok on the screen were timed by a laser trigger at the end of the runway and compared with the Springbok s score to see if they had won a prize.
Ensemble: the KFC Skybox
The guys over at Ensemble don t aim low when they say they aim to grow brands through contagious ideas. KFC Skybox was an Australian first that got people talking. Elevated 50 meters above the SCG, Ensemble sent 360 KFC cricket fans into the sky for an Ashes experience like no other, complete with a hot KFC meal.
VWV for Vodacom
A shout out to the large-scale event production pros over at VWV for their stadium activation for Vodacom, the Give a Gift. Give a Happy campaign, that takes on-field brand activation with a marriage of old-school and new school.
Populous: Kauffman Stadium
During the renovation to Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals, the Populous design had to meet increasing fan expectations for an exciting game day experience. The renovation goal was to create a 360-degree branded fan experience while integrating some of the ballpark s most iconic existing features. With something for all ages, the Outfield Experience incorporates everything from a children s carousel and miniature golf course to a sports bar and party deck. Now the largest in Major league Baseball, the full-bleed LED scoreboard is topped with a sculptural metal crown that modeled after the iconic original. In addition, fans can now take a stroll along the famed stadium fountains for a refreshing view and an up-close encounter with outfield play.
Event Design Mood Board: Art Deco
EVENT DESIGN
If you love the 1920 s as much as we do, you ll recognize the intricate geometric patterns and glittery, high-contrast colors of the art deco style. After such a long period of single color, flat design , we find the ornate detailing refreshing.
Lighting
Chandelier by Hector Guimard
This gorgeous piece is available via Westland London.
Vintage Fixtures
Take a look at more art deco lighting antiques at Deco-Dence.
Interiors
Cruise Ship Stairs
This post comes to us via stair-loving blog Trying to Balance the Madness, and shows the interior of the SS Paris cruise ship in 1921.
Interior Stairs
From the Wedding Style Inspiration Board at Brides.com comes this stunning shot of a beautiful art deco event location, with intricate flooring inlay and ornate banisters.
Food & Table
Cup & Saucer
Deco Teacup and Saucer ~ an intricate set of emerald green with silver accenting. Tirschenreuth, c1927.
Colorful Art Deco Cake
This incredible work and many more can be viewed in the mind-blowing portfolio of Olofson Design (London).
Plates
The Essex collection from QSquared of New York has these opulent art deco banquet plate sets in gold and black.
Hey you, eat this: the challenges of food sampling campaigns
FOOD & CATERING, MOBILE MEDIA
Couple of years back, Decibel took to the road for Doubletree by Hilton, managing their Cookie CAREavan sampling campaign. You know what we found out? Everyone loves free noms, and the stats back us up on that. According to a 2015 study by the Event Marketing Institute, consumers are 78{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} more likely to purchase a product if they re given the opportunity to try it out first. But if they have a negative experience, you might lose that customer for good.
Doubletree by Hilton Cookie CAREavan
Sampling campaigns, whether run indoors in a single location (think supermarket sampling stations) or on the road out of the back of a truck, feature their own unique challenges. Here are some of the crucial considerations when planning :
Sample Consistency
If every sample is a little different from the last, you won t be able to trust any feedback you might receive from tasters. If your sampling campaign is dispersed across multiple locations and your samples aren t served in individual packages, you ll need to write up a strict guide outlining the right way to complete preparation. That guide should detail any necessary recipes, serving sizes, ideal serving temperatures, serving containers and utensils.
Preparation Simplicity
It s much harder to maintain consistency if the preparation and service team has to jump through a dozen hoops to get those samples on the trays. If you can t afford a professional chef to accompany your team, keep sample preparation as easy as possible.
Environmental Temperature & Humidity
Taking your food on the road? Passing out sorbet in an Alabama summer? You ll need refrigeration. If you re stationary, this is less of a problem, but if you re going mobile, refrigerator-equipped trucks can increase campaign budgets significantly.
Serving Times
Sample food at an appropriate time of day. An ice-cream sampling campaign shouldn t launch in the morning, and you shouldn t be sampling waffles at 8pm.
Reporting
If you don t know what worked and what didn t, your sampling campaign loses effectiveness. Your team should ideally be able to provide post-campaign day-by-day reporting, which should include basic numbers (how many samples given, etc.), average dwell times (how long people hang around stand), and notes of any verbal feedback received.
Throwback Thursday: Vintage Freight & Logistics Pictures
EVENT INDUSTRY
We re on a freight and logistics roll this month as we take a look at a couple of neat cargo, trucking and train transport pics from bygone days. In this episode of Decibel s #tbt, we learn that the more things change, the more things stay the same. These images from back-of-the-house logistics operations over the last 150 years are full scenes both familiar and alien.
1866: Central Pacific Railroad Company
Holy moly. When this picture of a Central Pacific Railroad Company train was taken, the American Civil War had just ended, and Kodak hadn t yet invented photographic film. This image shows a freight engine hauling goods across the post Gold Rush California landscape.
1943: Sleeping Truckers
This 1943 shot by photographer John Vachon shows drivers getting a little shut-eye in bunks at a Baltimore-based trucking terminal for the Associated Transport Company. Long hours and tiring routes: the rigors of the trucking industry haven t changed much in the last 70 years. Luckily, these days, the Department of Transportation has implemented that govern the number of hours drivers can be asked to stay behind the wheel (and you can checkout our write-up on new 2013 DOT rules here).
1906: Cargo Hold
Taken around the turn of the last century and owned by the Detroit Publishing Company, this shot shows the hold of the freighter S.S. JH Sheadle, empty of cargo.
1942: Train Dispatch
Hard to imagine a pre-computer world where dispatchers had to keep track of hundreds of trains on a chalkboard, but that world did once exist. This mid-World War II shot shows the engine dispatching office in Tulsa, Oklahoma s Frisco rail yard.
1909: Storage Company Truck
Good on ya, Guarantee Storage Company, for fireproofing that warehouse.
Conference Planning for Geeks: Tips for Engaging a Nerdy Audience
TIPS & TRICKS
What flies at run-of-the-mill events doesn t translate to the geek conference sphere. Here are four tips to help you stay away from the most common pitfalls.
Be Egalitarian
If event managers take a lesson from Eric Shmidt, CEO of Novell and a man with a lifetime of experience managing geeks:
Perhaps the least-becoming aspect of the geek community is its institutional arrogance. Remember, just because geeks have underdeveloped social skills doesn t mean that they don t have egos. Tech people are uppity by definition: A lot of them would like to have been astronauts. They enjoy the limelight. In a power relationship with management, they have more in common with pro basketball players than they do with average workers. Think of your techies as free agents in a highly specialized sports draft. And the more specialized they are, the more you need to be concerned about what each of them needs as an individual.
Of course, Mr. Shmidt is talking about corporate management rather than event management, but the principle still applies. Don t treat your geek attendees as cattle to be herded around or pandered to. Approach them instead like the highly-skilled, intellectually-keen individuals they are, and you ll get better results.
Ideas are Everything
Most events offer content that targets the lowest common denominator in order to capture the widest possible audience, but geeks are fascinated with high-quality ideas. While targeting the majority is always good practice, when your audience is full of technically-minded folks, the lowest common denominator isn t very low. Spend time ensuring that your speakers are addressing more specialized topics that are interesting to a niche audience.
Ditch the Dress Code
This a target market that doesn t place a ton of stock in social conventions, and may actually be put off by settings that encourage attendees to suit up. Don t make a big deal about adhering to a dress code, and definitely don t create an environment where geeks will feel out place wearing jeans and t-shirts.
Fakers Won t Make It
Geeks can smell disingenuous gimmicks from a mile away, and being branded a poser is poison for your event brand. If your event content or promo material sounds like it was created by marketing interns pretending to be experts in javascript, your event is looking down the barrel of some bad reviews on social media. The solution for non-geek organizers planning a geek-friendly event? One, be humble and honest about who you are. And two, surround yourself with geeks that can give you feedback on your tone and approach.
It Just Won t Stop: More Killer Projection Mapping Videos
EVENT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY, FACADE MAPPING
So, uh, we can t stop staring at gorgeous light sculpture and projection mapping videos. It s like getting your fortune told and finding out you re gonna get magic powers. Our industry is already pretty fun, but now that this kind of stuff is moving from experimental to mainstream , A/V and production design is about to go spare. Join us while we ogle the future and applaud the architects that are making it happen:
The Skrillex Cell
Yes, hunty, yes! A deep bow to the particle artists over at V Squared Labs, who created this intense live-robot-DJ-booth-thing for the Skrillex Mothership Tour. They say, The Skrillex Cell is a multidisciplinary touring production that mixes 3D projection mapping and real-time motion capture for live performance. Collaborating closely with Production Club, Phil Reyneri, Leviathan, and Blood Company, the V Squared team helped bring the Skrillex Cell to life. V Squared Labs created custom animation for real-time projection mapping and generative, audio-reactive effects using elements of the proprietary V Squared Labs Epic 3D mapping video server.
Student Projects in Creative Media
Tobias Gremmeler, Visiting Associate Professor at the School of Creative Media in Hong Kong and researcher of new media, showcases some incredible student work over on Vimeo and his personal site. He combines light and media installations with what he calls kinetic sculptures , which are actually, we ll let the expert explain:
A Kinetic Sculpture is a physical object that contains moving parts, driven by electronic motors or other forces. Its motion behaviour can be controlled by a software sequencer or input sensors. When using sensors, the objects motion is reacting interactively to its environment. Thus, the movement is triggered by gestures, sounds or other processible impulses and data. Furthermore, a Kinetic Sculpture can produce sound similar to mechanical music or is able to dance a certain choreography.
Real-time Projection Mapping in 3D
ROM is a lab that explores the boundaries between art and technology . In this look behind the curtain, ROM shows off a simple interactive projection mapping technique that we think will form the basis for a throng of new approaches to experience design.
Aquaszenarium Krimml
The Aquaszenarium is the interactive heart of Krimml s Waterfall Center, located at the base of Europe s highest Waterfalls. The installation features a fully interactive 3D projection, immersing the visitors in magically transforming water worlds. Floor as well as walls are multi-touch sensitive, allowing the visitor to dive directly into the scene, interacting with artificial lifeforms and playing with water particles.
mayer+empl
My personal favorite (and naturally, also German), this interactive light sculpture by mayer+empl responds to sound.
Futuristic Fabbing: Booth and Exhibition Designs Inspired by High-Tech
TRADE SHOW
We like us some TRON-inspired goodness. Stumbling across an old Bizbash post about the glowing arrivals carpet at the 2012 premier of Total Recall, we were reminded of some rad spatial design we d seen recently. Take a look at these LED-bedecked exhibits (and remember, we can get anything built for you, so drop us a line if you need something custom):
Yota Devices Pavilion
Man, trade show booths don t usually warrant their own videos, but this one was is a real joy to look at. Created with extreme skill by artists at External Reference Architects, the Yota Devices Pavilion was out and proud on the expo floor at the 2014 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
INFINITYCONST Europshop
Another future-forward booth design captured on video, the first of these was made by Studio Dega from St. Petersburg for the 2011 World s Fair in Dusseldorf. Three cheers for consistency: Studio Dega followed up in 2014 with a similar, but updated, design.
Cloroflot Booth for Levi Strauss
Creator Ningning Zhang tells us that this exhibit design was inspired by chrysalis. A chrysalis pulsates with emerging life and draws us to look closer and feel its energy, she says.
Something Russian This Way Comes
All we know about this lovely piece is that it was created by Russia s Dimitri Androsov, and that we like it. Dimitri has a killer portfolio of clean, sharp booth concepts, but this is our personal pick of that litter.
Nike Shanghai Exbition
Created by China-based designers Queenie Yehenala and Jay Chi, Nike SH Marathon EXPO Centre was a hub to serve marathon runners premium experience of pre-race gearing, running consultancy and product trailing. The 1200 sqm warehouse space was divided into 3 sections: the House of Tee, Gait Lab and Nike Running Retail.
Decibel Exclusive: early bird access to Super Bowl 50 Bucket List packages
DEALS & OFFERS
You know it and we know it: Super Bowl 50 is gonna be madness. Wall-to-wall, sold-out, jam-packed, tailgate-of-a-lifetime madness. And if you want an amazing ride on the pigskin boat, you ll need to book your experience early. Way early. We got our hands on a couple of lux, customizable package deals for Super Bowl fun, so if you or your clients have insane football party vacation anywhere on your bucket list, now is the time. Here s what you can get:
The Deluxe Package
- Deluxe hotel accommodations for three or four nights in Downtown San Francisco
- An Upper Level Super Bowl game ticket
- Express security entrance into Levi s stadium for the game
- Access to NFL official pre-game hospitality tailgate on-site at stadium: Official NFL hospitality venue adjacent to Levi s Stadium at the Santa Clara Convention Center (3 hours pre-game; premium menu, open premium bar, NFL player and cheerleader appearances, entertainment)
- Deluxe luxury motor coach transportation to and from the Super Bowl
- Your own dedicated event planner to assist with all of your pre-planning needs
- The entire event management team will be on-site to oversee your group
- All taxes, gratuities, and our service fees are included with all of our package prices
The Premium Package
Includes everything in the Deluxe package, plus:
- A premium deluxe gift bag of licensed Super Bowl 50 merchandise
- Full American breakfast each day
- Deluxe luxury motor coach transportation to and from the Super Bowl
- Welcome reception and chalk talk hosted by NFL personalities
Upgrade: More Access
We can upgrade your tickets, or get you and your team on the field for the post-game ceremony!
Upgrade: Michael Mina s
Exclusive in-stadium tailgate and hospitality at Michael Mina s will be the premier hospitality venue for Super Bowl 50. Located in the stadium this event will be attended by celebrity talent. Your group will enjoy a gourmet buffet, premium open bar, live entertainment, and NFL player and cheerleader appearances for 3 hours before the game and a 90 minute post-game party.
Add-on: Access to all the best parties
While supplies last, we can get you and your group tickets to all the hot Super Bowl 50 parties, including the celeb-packed ESPN NEXT Party, the Rolling Stone Super Bowl Party, the Playboy Party, the Maxim Super Bowl Party, DirectTV s Super Saturday Night, and Taste of the NFL.
Add-on: Celebrity Chefs & Private Dinners
- Host your own private celebrity chef dinner with our top chefs in San Francisco. Our vendor will create an amazing brunch, lunch or dinner with the culinary industry s top talent.
- Let us set up your own celebrity chef tailgate anywhere in the Bay Area before heading to the game.
- We can add in some of our CAA represented NFL players and Broadcasters to mingle and sign autographs for your guests.
Add-on: NFL Talent
Current and former NFL players, TV broadcasters, and other celebrities can personally appear at private dinners, golf events, and other corporate functions during Super Bowl week, including Marcellus Wiley, Damien Woody, Michelle Beadle, Rich Eisen, Tony Gonzalez, Lindsay Czarniak, Charles Davis, Adam Schefter, Jenn Brown, Brian Dawkins, Eric Davis, London Fletcher, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Randy Moss, Chris Mortensen, Rachel Nichols, Wendi Nix, Antonio Pierce, Brady Quinn, Tom Rinaldi, Darren Rovell, Tim Tebow and Michael Wilbon.
Sweet, yeah? Give us a ring for details and pricing.