Category: Uncategorized

Music Festival Month: Underground and Sustainable at Gottwood 2015

LIVE EVENTS

It s Music Festival Month on the Decibel Blog, and today we re turning the lens on the boutique festival scene with a quick intro to Gottwood, one of the UK s most interesting summer events. The Gottwood festival is an intimate slice of hippy-sci-future held in the forests of Wales, a woodland rave that aims for maximum sustainability.

Gottwood 2015, now in its sixth year, ran from June 11-14, and true to their underground roots, accepted no corporate sponsorship. According to an interview with one of the three Gottwood founders in the London Evening Standard:

All seven stages and other festival outbuildings are made from materials found on site. Anything built by teams of local craftsmen will remain after the event so that it can be used by school groups or community projects, while money raised by the festival is invested in improving the area. No vehicles are allowed on site and organisers ask festival-goers to use car share schemes as much as possible. Ticket sales are kept low to 5,000 customers, plus 1,000 crew so as not to damage the site.

Here s a little overview from the organizers:

And a bit more of the vibe:

The festival is held on the Carreglwyd Estate grounds, on a wooded stretch of coastline that was named Lonely Planet s Greatest Region on Earth in 2012. The estate itself has a history stretching back 400 or so years.

Carreglwyd was built in 1634 by Dr William Griffiths. He was the Chancellor of St Asaph and Master of the Rolls to Charles the First. His grandfather, Sir William Griffiths had been the Rector of Llanfaethlu for 44 years. Charles the First gave Dr Griffiths one of the five Edward Bower copies of Van Dyke s portrait at the time of his trial. This portrait hangs in the Dining Room of Carreglwyd today.

The 2015 gallery hasn t hit stands yet, but keep an eye on the Gottwood gallery page for more stunning photos of the event, like this one from photographer Roo Lewis:

4 Truly Useful Associations Providing Services for Event Producers

EVENT INDUSTRY, TIPS & TRICKS

The event industry is a connected, supportive place where you don t have to go anything alone. These great groups specialize in creating industry-specific networks where event producers can share resources, trade insights, and stay inspired.

International Festivals & Event Association

You want the most bang for your membership buck? Look no further than the IFEA, whose membership benefits include workshops, yellow pages, market places, award ceremonies for best-in-class work, industry surveys and worldwide support for overseas events. Members are also eligible to drum up further cred by writing for IFEA s magazines and publications, distributed to industry professionals all across the globe.

Event Marketing Institute

It s not just you: everyone feels a little bit behind on their event marketing know-how, a state of affairs EMI aims to overthrow. Their membership benefits list is extensive, including exclusive access to industry analytics, marketing training, quarterly conference calls with an EMI analyst, and custom educational programs.

International Association of Speaker s Bureaus

You can t join the IASB unless you re part of the speaking industry specifically, but they do offer a membership search page where you can dig through association-approved speakers bureaus (in case you wanna find a local firm or vet your existing one). And in an uber-meta move, the IASB holds their own conferences. With speakers. That speak about about speakers.

National Association of Catering and Events

NACE takes a holistic approach to event management and catering with the tagline One industry. One association. True that where s there s people, there should be food. If you re looking for a catering pro to plug into your event or as a partner for your event production shop, do have a peek at the NACE s member directory. And if you re seeking inspiration and business connections for planning your next mega-banquet, NACE s Experience! Conference and Expo is a can t-miss.

Christmas Lighting Inspiration for A/V Nerds: Projection Mapping & Interactive LEDs

EVENT PRODUCTION INSPIRATION

Got Christmas on the brain? We ve collected up a few of the coolest videos from this year s Christmas displays. We got yer home facade mapping, yer interactive lights, and some good ol traditional holiday light shows that ll blow your mind.

Houses in Serial

This home run by Brian McNamara from Gilbert, Arizona, synced up LED systems across six adjacent houses, and included its own radio station. Day-amn.

Sixty-eight neighbors half of them kids spread across 13 houses and started building the display Sept. 17, and finished it exactly one month later. ABC crews spent five days filming in Gilbert and relied on handy-cam footage to fill out the rest. The end result was a display consisting of more than 500 circuits, 110,000 lights, 285 strobe lights, and over 50,000 feet of wire. The roughly 10-minute display show is set to four songs, which visitors can listen to on 93.9 FM as they drive or walk through.

Interactive Facade Mapping Christmas Tree

Props, Mariachi Events and Palnoise, this tree is made from a list of Decibel s favorite keywords. On display this year in Dubai, the tree s program includes an automated program followed by a participatory segement. In other words, once the projection is done playing, guests can grab their iPads and decorate the tree themselves, adding leaves, snowflakes, and other virtual baubles.

SAKS Fifth Ave.

Nobody does class like SAKS. This display is up at Rockafeller Center in New York.

Melbourne Town Hall

Created by large-scale projection pros The Electric Canvas, the Melbourne Town Hall Christmas projections were in top form this year, following a city-wide initiative to sink some extra cash into the community Christmas spirit. The result was pretty rad.

O Light Divine

This one s actually from 2012, but it s cool enough to deserve a repeat. Designed by David Barshow, the interactive app-driven light display was up in Menlo Park, California. Visitors could install the O Light Divine app, adjust the light settings, and enjoy.

Let it Go

This monument to ice queens, created by the Larsen Family and made from around 1,000,000 LEDs, enjoyed a nod on ABC s Great Christmas Light Fight , and for good reason.

The Force Awakens

Not that we blame them, but someone in Pittsburgh was mad excited about Star Wars Episode 7.

Event Wrap-Up: The Archdiocese Gala

COMPANY NEWS, UNCATEGORIZED

Catholics the biggest party animals on the planet, amirite? We kid, we kid we kid because we love! In any case, as it so happens, the Archdiocese of Baltimore throws a pretty excellent shindig every fall a black tie gala to raise money for their schools and this year we were proud to be among the organizers.

Held on October 3, this year s gala was staged at Towson University s SECU Arena, which was transformed into an elegant dining hall decked in blues and purples, with gauzy white curtains and exquisite flower arrangements. In addition to a delicious dinner, guests were treated to an evening of student performances and alumni talks. As in past years, this month s event drew around 800 attendees, whose generous donations go to supporting Archdiocesan schools and raising funds for need-based scholarships.

All in all the evening went off without a hitch, and succeeded in raising funds for a good cause. It was our pleasure and pride to be involved in such a fantastic event. Thanks to The Classic Catering People, EventEQ and Select Event Group for their amazing work!

Check out pics from the event below:

Seasonal Event Design Inspiration: 10 Big Christmas Trees Made out of Weird Things

EVENT DESIGN

Sick of the same old fir needles and fairy lights year after year after pine-scented year? Yeah, neither are we. But some people are, so they decided to make:

1. This brainy Christmas tree made of books:

2. This Christmas tree made of lobster traps:

3. This Christmas tree made of packing pallets:

4. This Italian Christmas Tree made of glass:

5. This Christmas tree made out of a dress that s made out of a Christmas tree:

6. This Christmas tree made of bicycles that was built in a mall in Shenyang, China:

7. This geeky Christmas tree made out of Pacman:

8. This Christmas tree made of Jack Daniels whiskey barrels by the rad folks over at Scruffy Dog:

9. This handy Christmas tree made out of a ladder:

10. This zen Christmas tree that exists where the Christmas tree is not:

The Big Chill: Five Ways to Warm Up Your Outdoor Autumn Event

TIPS & TRICKS

Summer usually gets all the glory when it comes to outdoor events, but fall is no slouch either. After all, who doesn t love the changing leaves, crisp air and blazing blue skies of a beautiful autumn day? (Not to mention the hot toddies that follow once you get home.) The worry, of course, is how falling temperatures may affect your guests. Here are five ways to make the most of an outdoor fall event, and keep everyone cozy from head to toe.

Set up a tent

Tents are a good idea no matter what the season to protect against weather contingencies, but in the fall, they can also serve as a cozy retreat when the mercury drops. For the coldest days, ditch the canopies you d use in milder weather and arrange for heated tents with sidewalls secured at both the top and the bottom, as well as doors instead of wall openings. (If you still want a view of the foliage, make sure to get sidewalls with cathedral windows.) You can either get patio heaters or, for bigger tents, secure propane-powered console heaters, which can be installed outside the tent. Bonus points if you get some ceiling fans to keep the air circulating, and prevent warmth from pocketing around the top of the tent. (In the market? Check out our post on tent rental ideas.)

Keep the hot drinks flowing

Hot drinks don t just warm up your hands and belly according to studies, they make people feel friendlier and more cheerful. Channel some of that positive energy (and add a little seasonal flair) with big batches of warming drinks, like mulled wine, hot toddies or spiced apple cider. Be careful on truly cold days, though alcoholic drinks, contrary to conventional wisdom, have been found to lower body temperature, so they re not a great idea if guests don t have an indoor space in which to warm back up. For a less boozy option, go for some rich egg nog or hot chocolate.

Rent the right kind of heaters

For evenings that are nippy but don t require full-on shelter, your first line of defense should be outdoor heaters. So which kind should you get? While ceiling- and wall-mounted spot heaters offer concentrated heat and reduced clutter, their scope is limited. Instead, opt for a freestanding patio heater, which emits 360 degrees of heat in a diameter as far as 20 feet. Other perks? They re portable, which means you can move them around as needed, and they provide an instant meeting spot for folks to congregate around.

Wrap up tight

If there s one thing slankets have taught us, it s that blankets are no longer just for the indoors. While most people wouldn t dream of wearing one outside (to their detriment, we say!), slankets or just plain old blankets remain a great way of staying cozy when you most need it out in the elements. Keep your guests snuggly with fleece blankets that they can wrap up in when the weather turns nippy. Best of all, blankets can double as a kind dynamic accent for your decor, so make sure to buy or rent ones in warm colors with festive prints.

Go for a warm color scheme

Placebo effect or not, studies show that warm colors like red, orange and yellow can actually make people feel warmer not to mention more energized and (careful now) more hungry. Make the most of your fall backdrop by incorporating traditional fall colors and accents into your decor, increasing the event s festive atmosphere and subtly raising attendees internal temps.

Holiday Engagement: 6 Christmas Experiential Marketing Campaigns that Really Nailed It

BRAND ACTIVATIONS & MARKETING

Christmas marketing is its own animal. It s gotta bring the warm fuzzies while staying on brand. It s gotta be clever but hold to tradition. It takes planning, prep, and a whole lot of creativity. Here are a few campaigns from the last couple of years that scored high on memorable Christmas magic.

Post Office Christmas Stamp shop

Aw. Cute. This pop-up shop experience, created by Immerse Agency, lets visitors make their own personalized stamps for sending Christmas greetings.

Control the Choir Campaign

UK kinda-Tivo-but-not-Tivo television service provider Freeview launched a campaign in 2012 called Control the Choir , letting audiences use a comically large remote to stop, start and re-wind live performances by carolers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSqYo6_f578&feature=youtu.be

Gingerbread Bank

PNC opened a life-size gingerbread branch over the weekend in Philadelphia to promote its annual holiday financial report that calculates the prices of all the gifts in the carol The Twelve Days of Christmas. Created by Deutsch with some help from Philadelphia s Bredenbeck s Bakery, the 340-square-foot bank was made with 5,000 pounds of gingerbread. Those who came through its doors over the weekend could open an account with the bank or use a cookie-covered ATM. Best. Event. Breakdown. Ever.

The Christmas Spirit Tree

Social media, interaction, Christmas and data visualization all in one? Canadian Tire, you re on the nailed it list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daip9S4piP4

Share a White Christmas

You know who s the hands-down king of Christmas marketing? Coca Cola, that s who. It takes more than one fistful of genius to turn a soda into a holiday brand, but they did it. Makes sense, really: they ve been refining the art of seasonal ads 80 years. They even kinda invented Santa. And last holiday season they were at it again with an international snow-transporter-portal-kiosk deal that let kids in Lapland send snow drifts to kids in Singapore instantly. Respect.

Wrapping-paper Billboard

Just a smidgen more love for the C-and-C:

In their most recent Christmas campaign, Coca Cola has teamed up with Duval Guillaume Modem to create outdoor advertising with a twist. Instead of showcasing a flat poster, as is traditionally the medium for such billboard type advertisement, Coca Cola has run a simple guerrilla marketing campaign that has proven to be very effective. Seen in Belgium a few days before Christmas, Coca Cola set up outdoor billboards that dispensed Christmas wrapping paper, in a variety of Coca Cola friendly designs, for the shopping masses to take as much as they pleased.

Seen any good Christmas marketing campaigns yourself? Tell us in the comments.

Mobile (Road Show) Marketing Trends of 2015: Ideas & Inspiration

MOBILE MEDIA

The Kenzo Fashion Bus

Kenzo, who s marketing department are quickly proving themselves masters of experiential fashion, show off their hottest print of the season on the exterior of the Kenzo Fashion Bus.

The lower deck features a Kenzo fashion showroom where new SS15 runway collection and accessories are out on display, and available for exclusive pre-order for fashion bus passengers only. Whilst the upper deck plays host to the Kenzo lounge where refreshments are served up. (Buro 24/7)

Holiday Inn Pancake Selfies Bus

Narcissism and breakfast: two of our favorite things. Decibel was honored to work on the Doubletree by Hilton Cookie Careavan tour a couple of years ago, and we re twice pleased to tip the hat at the new Holiday Inn s innovative pancake selfie bus. Take a photo, and get your face printed on a pancake. And then eat the pancake, because Freud.

Volkswagon Truck Tracker

Volkswagon took a clever approach to promoting its new truck tracker: glow-in-the-dark truck wraps. From Trendhunter:

Volkswagen s Volksnet truck tracker system is extremely valuable for truckers, since they are often susceptible of having their cargo stolen, especially as they sleep. In order to get the word out about this truck tracking system, the S o Paulo-based agency AlmapBBDO sent out a unique truck to deliver an advertisement rather than cargo.

A standard cargo truck was set up with a phosphorescent wrap that became illuminated and ever-visible, even in the black of night. Simple bold text was used to reiterate that cargo will never disappear. With the Volksnet Glowing Cargo, the truck was driven up major roads in S o Paulo, serving as a way to show that your very precious cargo will never be out of sight. The ad is simple and extremely clear, since the trucks themselves serve as the messenger.

Samsung Safety Truck

Speaking of using trucks in ways other than intended, take a gander at the Samsung Safety Truck, which uses a mounted Samsung TV screen to help drivers conquer the frustrating visibility issues created by driving behind a massive carriage.

Air France Food Truck

Giving out samples of airline food to folks on the ground is risky. Unless, that is, you re Air France, you have a Michelin star chef creating the meals, and you re dead sure you ve got a solid product. According to Airline Trends:

Items on the menu included Pain au Chocolat for breakfast, cucumber and smoked salmon brochette (lunch), French Shepherd s Pie with duck confit (dinner) and assorted French macarons and petits fours as a dessert.Parked in one location per day, the Air France food truck could be found at respectively Rockefeller Center, Union Square, SoHo/Broadway and Wall Street.

Valentines, shmalentines: the World s 7 Least Romantic Event Venues

LOL, VENUES

Hey, don t give us that face. We don t have anything against romance. Romance is great. It s the chocolate sprinkles on the cupcake of life. But every other blog on earth has that one covered, so in preparation for that special day of the year when single event professionals eat grocery store sushi and ruminate on dying alone, here are seven libido-killing locations for your next event.

Costa Rica: Fuselage 727

Hey, I know. Why don t you throw a party in the body of a downed airliner that looks like it just finished doing an impression of your last relationship?

In fairness, Fuselage 727 wasn t built inside a crashed plane, it was restored from an out-of-use chassis that was dragged through miles of jungle, gutted, and refurbished into the unique monument to making your own fun that you see here today. Still, though.

This fully outfitted, meticulously detailed, two bedroom, Boeing 727 fuselage suite jets out from the jungle canopy, affording you views that will make you feel like you re flying. We salvaged this airframe from its San Jose airport-resting place. We carefully transported the pieces on five, big-rig trucks to the jungles of Manuel Antonio where they have been resurrected into a unique jumbo hotel suite.

Book it

Latvia: Karosta Prison

Housed in a real soviet naval port prison, Karosta Exuberant TripAdvisor guest reviews crow, Scary place! and Most awkward museum I ve ever been to . Venue staff can organize activities including an Escape from the USSR game, in which teams dress up like emaciated prisoners and scrabble to freedom through a series of dirt tunnels (no, really). Plus, catering s available:

In our authentic prison buffet we have warm pies and aromatic coffee, also rich hot food. And do not forget to try our special refreshments! You will be served by a real soviet-time buffet-lady.

Oh, man, special refreshements . Book it

New York: Ripley s Believe it or Not

18,000 square feed of shrunken head collections, cockroach attack simulations and albino giraffes. Ladies be goin crazy, amirite? Event planners can book either of two theaters, the largest with a max capacity of 150. Book it

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Once a poorly-managed house of horros, now an event planner s dream locale for cocktail parties and team building retreats.

Originally designed to house 250 patients in solitude, the hospital held 717 patients by 1880; 1,661 in 1938; over 1,800 in 1949; and, at its peak, 2,600 in the 1950s in overcrowded conditions. A 1938 report by a survey committee organized by a group of North American medical organizations found that the hospital housed epileptics, alcoholics, drug addicts and non-educable mental defectives among its population. A series of reports by The Charleston Gazette in 1949 found poor sanitation and insufficient furniture, lighting, and heating in much of the complex . By the 1980s, the hospital had a reduced population due to changes in the treatment of mental illness. Those patients that could not be controlled were often locked in cages.

Book it

The Ocean: Frying Pan Tower

Frying Pan Tower, formerly the U.S. Coastguard Frying Pan Light Station, is a lighthouse situated at the end of the Frying Pan Shoals, 32 miles south of Bald Head Island N.C. This is the southernmost end of the feared Graveyard of the Atlantic which stretches up to the northern end of the Outer Banks of N.C.

Tower organizers can arrange for guests to be flown in by helicopter or shipped in by boat, and can tailor your event to include team building activities like deep sea fishing or diving, skeet shooting and golfing contests with biodegradable targets and golf balls! Hey, man, nobody said these weren t cool. We just said no one s getting laid afterwards. Book it

Taiwan: Grand Hyatt Taipei

I envy the no-nonsense, fate-tempting practicality of whoever decided to build this place on a former World War II execution ground. According to Vogue

During its design phase, feng shui experts were hired to place sacred scrolls and various chimes throughout the lobby to ward off evil spirits. Rumor has it that actor Jackie Chan abruptly left the hotel after seeing a ghost.

Book it

Myrtle s Plantation

No. No burial grounds. Burial grounds are a guaranteed sexytime boner-killer. Thrillist reports:

This stately home is said to have been built on an ancient Native American burial ground, which pretty much never works out. And apparently 10 murders were committed within the hotel s walls since the 1700s, the most well-known of which was William Drew Winter, who was shot on the porch and managed to crawl up 17 stairs before dying. He can occasionally still be seen doing today, according to legend.

Book it

A White (House) Christmas: Decorating Tips from the First Family

EVENT DESIGN

You think you ve got it bad doing the interior d cor for your holiday event the White House has a dozen rooms that it needs to decorate each Christmas, all of which will be toured by tens of thousands of guests, not to mention top-level media. The first lady and her decorators, however, have always proven up to the task, and this year was no different.

Based on the theme A Timeless Tradition which aimed, according to the White House s official website to inspire visitors to celebrate long-held traditions while also creating new memories this year s holiday d cor features 12 spectacular rooms of Christmas spirit, dreamed up by First Lady Michelle Obama in conjunction with Boston- and New York-based event design company Rafanelli Events (nice job, guys!). Read on for tips on how to curate a stunning holiday display.

Involve the Community

For a venue like the White House a public institution as much as it is a private home it s only appropriate that the d cor include members of the community. The White House achieved that this year by hanging 8000 paper snowflakes hand-cut by Washington DC students from the ceiling of the East Colonnade. Best of all? The kids wrote their education aspirations on each one.

Personalize the Decor

Avoid making your event look like an upscale department store by personalizing elements of your d cor. For example? This year, the White House features larger-than-life dioramas of the Obama family s two dogs, Bo and Sunny, spun from thousands of feet of knitted yarn. Who would ve thunk family pets could be so impressive?

Incorporate seasonal elements

We know, this one sounds kind of duh, but when you re decking the halls with spools of electric lights and plastic holly (which, by the way, you should never use), it can be easy to forget. Natural seasonal elements are a great way to create bold-colored accents without going over the top. This year, the Red Room, according to boston.com, features apple wreaths, red cardinals, crisp golden oak leaves, and a garland. Of course, let s not forget the other obvious pics for natural highlights: pine wreaths and poinsettias.

Make It Delicious

What s better than Christmas d cor that represents the aspirations of schoolchildren or the beauty of nature? Stuff you can eat. As the Starbucks cup debate has shown us, there s a diversity of opinions about what the holiday season does or should represent, but there s one thing nobody can deny: That it is, in large part, about stuffing your face. The White House got this one right by showcasing what is essentially the most magnificent cookie any of us has ever seen a gingerbread White House. Now if you can t manage something quite this impressive, try something a bit simpler; reindeer-shaped cookies may be a bit more your speed.

Featured image: Whitehouse.gov